Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine in 1998, Professor Ferid Murad is currently Professor and Chairman of the Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology of the University of Texas - Houston Medical School in the USA.

　　Professor Murad has made distinguished achievements in both academic medicine and the pharmacological industry. He has led research in major pharmaceutical corporations. His work has focused on cell signaling and signal transduction systems. He discovered the new properties of nitric oxide - a colourless, odourless gas that acts as a messenger to tell blood vessels to relax and widen, lowering blood pressure.

　　For his discoveries, Professor Murad has shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1998 with two other scholars. Not only have these discoveries led to the development of Viagra for treating impotence, nitric oxide is also found to be involved in heart function, infectious and lung problems and the defence of the body against tumors and thus have the potential to treat the relevant diseases. The research of Professor Murad has opened up new horizons for the research of cell signaling.

　　In March 2000, Professor Murad visited The Chinese University of Hong Kong and delivered a public lecture on "Cellular Signaling with Nitric Oxide and Cyclic GMP". He is also the Honorary Director of the Epithelial Cell Biology Research Centre of The Chinese University of Hong Kong established in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Military Medical Sciences, and has contributed tremendously to the development and research of the Centre.