Louis J. Ignarro
Louis Ignarro with President Bill Clinton and fellow 1998 Nobel laureates at the White House.
The White House, via the archived Office of Science and Technology Policy. Public domain in the United States. Full original photograph; no changes.. Public domain in the United States: photograph credited by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to The White House, a United States Government work.
Why Included
Pharmacologist whose nitric oxide signaling research contributed to the shared 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Biography
Louis J. Ignarro is a pharmacologist known for research on nitric oxide as a biological signal. His parents were immigrants from Italy. UCLA's Fall 2002 Graduate Quarterly, reporting his commencement address, describes their encouragement of his education.
Ignarro shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Robert F. Furchgott and Ferid Murad for discoveries concerning nitric oxide's signaling role in the cardiovascular system. Shared credit is central to understanding this research history.
In a 1987 paper, Ignarro, G. M. Buga, K. S. Wood, R. E. Byrns and G. Chaudhuri compared the biological and chemical behavior of nitric oxide with endothelium-derived relaxing factor, a substance released by blood-vessel lining cells. Their results supported identifying that factor with nitric oxide.
The paper's abstract is a useful introduction to how researchers compare competing explanations and connect an observation to a conclusion. Read it alongside the Nobel account, keeping the experiment, its authors and the broader discovery distinct. This is an account of laboratory research, not a recommendation about medication, supplements or personal treatment. It does not attribute the discovery of nitric oxide itself to Ignarro.
Notable For
- Research on nitric oxide as a cardiovascular signaling molecule
- Experimental identification of endothelium-derived relaxing factor
Honors & Recognition
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1998), shared with Robert F. Furchgott and Ferid Murad
Sources
- Nobel Prize: Louis J. Ignarro factsfoundation
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Louis J. Ignarro Italian?
Yes — Louis J. Ignarro is of Italian heritage. Pharmacologist whose nitric oxide signaling research contributed to the shared 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Articles about Louis J. Ignarro
Notable Italian Americans: Science in Public Life
· 7 min read
Meet Mario Capecchi, Riccardo Giacconi, Louis Ignarro and Federico Faggin through the experiments, instruments and collaborators behind their work.
Explore the wider history of Italian Americans.
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Quick Facts
- Field
- Medicine & Public Health
- Specialty
- Pharmacology
- Years
- b. 1941
- Birth Place
- Brooklyn, NY
- Origin
- Italian American descendant
- Publication Status
- Published
- Ancestry Verification
- Confirmed
More in Medicine & Public Health
- Alberto Alesina(1957–2020)
- Alberto Ascoli(1877–1957)
- Mario Capecchi(b. 1937)
- Anthony Cerami(b. 1940)
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