A Nobel Prize winner will soon be teaching and conducting life saving research at the George Washington University. Professor Ferid Murad, recipient of the Nobel Prize in medicine and world renowned pioneer in biochemistry, will join the faculty in April 2011. Professor Murad, who will serve as University Professor, will be deeply engaged with students across the university, teaching a course for undergraduates, mentoring graduate and medical students and leading a lab program in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
"Professor Murad has distinguished himself not only as a brilliant physician and scientist, but also as a dedicated mentor who has influenced scores of students and colleagues. The opportunity for our students and faculty to work with a scientist of Professor Murad’s caliber will have a profound effect on the university and create exceptional educational opportunities for our students," said GW President Steven Knapp.
In 1998, Professor Murad and two other researchers received the Nobel Prize in medicine for their discovery of the role of nitric oxide in the cardiovascular system. The discovery not only contributed to a better understanding of how information is transmitted between cells, but also had a significant influence on cardiovascular medicine, leading to changes in treatment following a heart attack. His research and findings on the effect of nitric oxide continue to make inroads into cancer and arthritis and other human diseases. Professor Murad will continue this important research on cellular signaling at his lab to be established at the George Washington University.
“I think I have something to offer young people that gets them excited about medicine. I love research. I love to answer tough questions. I love to figure out how this information can be beneficial in clinical medicine to treat people,” said Professor Murad. “GW is changing. I think it is ready to strike out and take off.”
Professor Murad brings to GW deep experience in academic medicine and research at many of the nation’s most prestigious research institutions as well as extensive experience in industry and entrepreneurship. He currently serves the University of Texas at Houston as Director Emeritus of the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases; Director of the IMM Center for Cell Signaling; Regental Professor and John S. Dunn Sr. Distinguished Chair in Physiology and Medicine; and Director of the UT Health Science Center at Houston Program in Intracellular Signaling.
He previously served on the faculty of Northwestern University and the University of Virginia, where he served as Director of the Clinical Research Center and Director of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology with appointments in Medicine and Pharmacology. He served as Chief of Medicine at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital; Chairman of Medicine at Stanford University; and Vice President of Research and Development at Abbott Laboratories. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences; Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and member of the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science Technology.
Professor Murad earned his B.A. from DePauw University and his M.D. and Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University. He completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health.
Among his many awards and honors, Professor Murad has received the prestigious Albert and Mary Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, the American Heart AssociatDistinguished Research in the Biomedical Sciences from the Association of American Medical Colleges. He also has been awarded the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology Distinguished Research Prize and the President's Scholar Award from the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center.
GW students, faculty and staff are invited to a welcome ceremony honoring Dr. Murad and Carol at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at the Jack Morton Auditorium (Media and Public Affairs Building, 805 21st Street, NW).
