Professor Ferid Murad, Nobel Laureate in Medicine
Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of TX at Houston Health Science Center

"Discovery of Nitric Oxide and Cyclic GMP in Cell Signaling and Their Role in Drug Development"

The QF Research Division is pleased to present to the public a lecture and dialogue session with a Nobel Laureate who will speak on a niche area of science that affects our daily lives.

Date: Sunday, May 4, 2008
Time: 10:00 am-12.00 pm
Venue: Qatar Foundation, Doha

Biography of Dr. Ferid Murad

Nobel Laureate in Medicine, Professor, Distinguished Chair, Director Emeritus, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA

Born in Whiting, Indiana, Murad studied medicine and pharmacology simultaneously at Western Reserve University, receiving both his M.D. and Ph.D. in 1965.He was an intern and resident in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital until 1967, and then worked until 1970 at the National Institutes of Health's National Heart and Lung Institute as a clinical associate and staff fellow.

Then followed a series of academic, research, and administrative appointments at the University of Virginia (1975-1981), Stanford University and Palo Alto Veterans Administration Medical Center (1981-1988), and Northwestern University and the University of Texas (starting in 1996).

Murad has also worked in the pharmaceutical industry. From 1988 to 1992 he worked for Abbott Laboratories, becoming vice president of pharmaceutical research and development, and from 1993-1995 he was full-time president and chief executive officer of Molecular Geriatrics Corporation.

Murad's work with nitric oxide began when he was in graduate school. He set out to learn how nitroglycerin, used for more than 100 years to treat angina, affected blood vessels. He found that nitroglycerin was effective because it prompted release of nitric oxide, which relaxed smooth muscle cells. Prior to this, nitric oxide was best known as an air pollutant present in automobile exhaust fumes. The gas was known to be present in bacteria, but it was not thought to be important in higher animals such as mammals.

Based on this, Murad postulated that nitric oxide and other nitrogen-containing compounds (he coined the term nitro vasodilators to describe them) might be produced by one cell, travel through membranes, and then regulate the function other cells. At the time, this was an entirely new concept for signaling in biological systems, but it was independently confirmed by Furchgott and Ignarro, clearing the way for entirely new therapies and diagnostic methods.

Nitric oxide is now known to play a key role in many biological functions including inflammation, blood flow regulation, cell growth, smooth muscle relaxation, and preserving memory.

Murad's winning of the Nobel Prize for discovering that nitric oxide is nitroglycerin's secret weapon against angina had an odd coincidence noted by some after the Nobel awards presentation. Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist who founded the famous prizes named after him, made his fortune using nitroglycerin to invent dynamite. In fact, Nobel suffered from angina and his doctor once advised him to take nitroglycerin to ease his chest pain. The industrialist would not take the substance, saying that, in his case, it caused headaches.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Research is an essential component in Qatar Foundation's strategy to make Education City a world-class center for innovative education. Qatar Foundation's Research, Science and Technology Division, with Education City's branch campuses and Research Centers, is aiming at pursuing cutting-edge research and development that helps build Qatar's innovation and technology capacity, supports the growth of Qatari society and uncovers solutions to national challenges in health, climate change, the environment, clean energy and other fields.

Qatar Foundation's research strengths will be organized around core platforms of medicine, biotechnology, information and communication technologies, environmental sciences, molecular sciences and nanotechnology. Each of the university branch campuses boasts a research element, and Education City's Medical and Research Centre will be as much cutting-edge research facility as clinical care provider. And Qatar Science and Technology Park will be an incubator where private companies can partner with government agencies and academic institutions and developing research into commercial applications. Qatar National Research Funds plays a vital role in providing financial support to researchers at all levels, from students to professionals, in the private, public and academic sectors.

As part of Qatar Foundation supporting national aspirations for research and development, the Research Science and Technology Division implements a number of programmes that relate to achieving the development in niche areas of science that give the country competitive advantage while raising the research profile at the global stage. The QF distinguished lecture series provides an avenue to invite renowned scientists to share their experiences through lectures and to provide opportunities for local scientists to approach them for potential research collaborations. The Scientific Research Exchanges serves to establish collaborative programmes with hosting institutions for junior scientists to receive training in niche areas of research which are not available locally.

The Scientific Advancement and Coordination programme highlights Ethical, Environmental, Economic, Legal and Social Issues of science and technology that must be addressed in a country in order to progress. The International Science Cooperation programme helps to initiate targeted areas of research that give strengths to Qatar Foundation, Qatari Centres and Institutions by directing concentrated efforts in a particular area of work that is of strategic importance to Qatar Foundation and Qatar.

Qatar Foundation envisions research as a catalyst for expanding and diversifying a country's economy; enhancing the education and well-being of its citizens and the training and development of its workforce.

ABOUT QATAR FOUNDATION

The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is a private, chartered, non-profit organization in the state of Qatar, founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar.

Guided by the principle that a nation's greatest resource is the potential of its people, the Qatar Foundation aims to develop that potential through a network of centers devoted to progressive education, research and community welfare. The chairperson of Qatar Foundation is the Emir's wife, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned.

Qatar Foundation's flagship project is Education City which has branch campuses of six major American universities. Others are expected to join in the coming years from various parts of the world. The branch campus concept - world-class universities bringing their best-regarded programs to Qatar as full-fledged partners with Qatar Foundation - is unique in the history of education.

Education City is, in essence, a university of universities, a community of educational and research institutions that serve the whole citizen, from early childhood education to post-graduate study. A string of knowledge-based organizations is being created at Education City, including the Qatar Science & Technology Park which will house technology-based companies and entrepreneurs, and link the universities with industry.

By the end of the current decade there will be an academic medical center which aims to reach the highest standards in patient care, medical training and research. Its initial specialization will be in women's and children's medicine.

Qatar Foundation's mission is to prepare the people of Qatar and the region to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world, and to make Qatar a leader in innovative education and research.

Learn more about the QF Distinguished Lecture Series at www.qf.org.qa/research.