Joseph T. Coyle, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
Louis J. Ignarro, PhD, is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the UCLA School of Medicine. He has broad and extensive experience in the molecular and chemical biology of the nitric oxide-cyclic GMP signaling systems. He and his basic research teams have discovered and expanded the production and actions of nitric oxide in mammalian tissues, including the protective roles of nitric oxide in preventing hypertension, stroke and myocardial infarction, and its neurotransmitter role as the mediator of erectile function in humans. For these discoveries, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Ferid Murad was born in Whiting, Indiana. Working concurrently on an M.D. and Ph.D. in Pharmacology, Dr. Murad graduated with both degrees from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1965. His many honors include the Alfred S. Maschke Award for Clinical Excellence from Case Western Reserve University in 1965. He has held several distinguished positions, including Acting Chairman in the Department of Medicine and Acting Division Chief, Division of Respiratory Medicine at Stanford University. He currently is CEO and President of Molecular Geriatrics Corporation in Lake Bluff, Illinois. Dr. Murad is married and has five children.