[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING NOBEL PRIZE WINNER DR. FERID MURAD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 14, 1998

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Dr. Ferid Murad of the 
University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston on being awarded 
the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Dr. Murad, along with 
Dr. Robert Furchgott of the State University of New York in Brooklyn 
and Dr. Louis Ignarro of the University of California at Los Angeles, 
were recognized for detailing the important biologic properties of the 
gas nitric oxide. Their work has led to new treatments and promising 
research in areas such as heart and lung disease, shock, and 
degenerative diseases such as arthritis, saving and improving millions 
of lives around the world.
  Dr. Ferid Murad and his colleagues demonstrated that nitric oxide 
helps to maintain our body's regulatory system. When Dr. Murad and his 
colleagues started their research more than 20 years ago, many of their 
peers did not believe that such a gas could be so important to the 
regulation of circulation. As a result of this research, we now know 
that maintaining the proper level of nitric oxide in the body is vital 
to good health. Dr. Murad's research has shown that this colorless, 
odorless gas is a key regulator of transmitting signals between cells.
  Dr. Murad's innovative research focused on how the drug 
nitroglycerine relieves chest pains by encouraging blood vessels to 
relax and dilate. Dr. Murad found that when patients receive 
nitroglycerine, it is broken down in the body to create nitric oxide. 
Once this gas is released, it sends messages to blood vessels to carry 
more blood to cramping, oxygen-starved tissues. As a result, patients 
receive more oxygen and their chest pains are reduced.
  Dr. Murad has a long record of distinguished service as a scientist 
and researcher. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Department 
of Integrative Biology, Pharmacology, and Physiology at the University 
of Texas Health Science Center (UT Health Science Center) in Houston. 
In 1996, Dr. Murad was awarded the Albert and Mary Lasker Basic Medical 
Research Award by the National Academy of Sciences for his innovative 
research in understanding the biochemical mechanisms in numerous cells 
and tissues. Prior to his tenure at the UT Health Science Center, Dr. 
Murad served as the Vice President of Research and Development at 
Abbott Laboratories and an adjunct professor with Northwestern 
University Medical School in Chicago from 1988 to 1992. From 1981 
through 1988, Dr. Murad served as the Chief of Medicine at the Palo 
Alto Veterans Administration Medical Center as well as a professor at 
Stanford University. From 1975 through 1981, Dr. Murad served as a 
Professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Pharmacology at 
the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
  In addition to congratulating Dr. Murad, I also want to congratulate 
UT Health Science Center for fostering an environment of innovation and 
cutting-edge research that attracts and supports the world's best 
medical researchers and students. Although the initial discovery of 
nitric oxide's biologic role was made at the University of Virginia, 
Dr. Murad has continued to conduct nitric oxide research at the UT 
Health Science Center. And with the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Dr. 
Marud, UT Health Science Center will continue to attract new facility 
and students from around the nation and the world who wish to work with 
such prestigious researchers as Dr. Murad.
  I want to congratulate Dr. Murad for achieving the highest honor in 
his field, the Nobel Prize, and recognize the significant contributions 
that he has made to understanding the body's regulatory system and 
saving lives.

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