Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Narahashi, Founding Father of Modern Pharmacology, Remembered for Six Decades of Research
Uncategorized

Narahashi, Founding Father of Modern Pharmacology, Remembered for Six Decades of Research

By Roger AndersonApr 23, 2013
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
Toshio Narahashi, PhD, John Evans Professor of Pharmacology and former chair of the department, was known as a leader in neurotoxicology and the father of cellular neuropharmacology.

Toshio Narahashi, PhD, John Evans Professor of Pharmacology and former chair of the department, has lost his battle with cancer.

Known as a leader in neurotoxicology and the father of cellular neuropharmacology, Narahashi is being remembered for his dedication to mentoring, scientific accomplishments, and well-developed sense of humor. A memorial service is scheduled for 3-6 p.m. on Friday, April 26, inside the Canning Auditorium on the third floor of Prentice Women’s Hospital.

A postdoc of Narahashi’s at Duke University from 1971-74, and faculty member at Feinberg while Narahashi was chair, Jay Yeh, PhD, professor in molecular pharmacology and biological chemistry and anesthesiology recalls the professor fondly.

“We worked closely on many projects over the past 40 years,” Yeh said. “But he was more than just my colleague, he was also my mentor and good friend.”

In March, many of the people whose careers have been touched by Narahashi attended a symposium to honor him for his contributions to pharmacology. His research interests in the field ranged from therapeutic drugs, natural products, insecticides, and toxins. At the event, William Lowe Jr., MD, vice dean of academic affairs, presented him with a plaque honoring his accomplishments during six decades as a scientist.

“Dr. Narahashi has had a major impact in our understanding of the biology of ion channels and throughout his career he trained many individuals who are now having their own impact on the fields of neuropharmacology and neurobiology,” Lowe said. “The ceremony brought together many of Dr. Narahashi’s previous trainees to discuss their shared experiences, his more recent scientific explorations, as well as his impact on their career development.”

A Groundbreaking Career

After graduating from the University of Tokyo in agriculture in 1948, Narahashi started his scientific career studying insecticides in a laboratory of applied entomology. Using primarily homemade electrophysiological equipment, he made four important discoveries, leading to 26 published papers and a PhD in 1960.

He came to the United States as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Chicago in 1961 and accepted a faculty position as assistant professor at Duke University Medical Center in 1963. Through his 12 years at Duke, Narahashi established himself as a leader in neurotoxicology and became known as the father of cellular neuropharmacology.

While at Duke, he discovered the highly-potent and specific blocking action of tetrodotoxin, puffer fish toxin, on the sodium ion channel. Ion channels in the nervous system are important target sites for a variety of therapeutic drugs and toxicants.

Narahashi joined Feinberg in 1977, assuming the chairmanship of the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry. During his 17 years as chair, he continually upgraded the department as it became one of the most active in the country.

Over the years, Narahashi received numerous society awards, including the first Distinguished Investigator Lifetime Achievement Award in Neurotoxicology from the Society of Toxicology Neurotoxicology Specialty Section (2001), Honorary Member of the Japanese Pharmacology Society (2002), and the Distinguished Toxicology Scholar Award from the Society of Toxicology (2008). He published 324 original papers, 148 chapters and reviews, 376 abstracts, and edited 11 books. He also trained more than 140 professionals, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. In the weeks before his passing on Sunday, April 21, he said that retiring had never come to mind.

Narahashi is survived by his wife of 59 years, Kyoko; son, Taro; daughter, Keiko; son-in-law, Peter Belamarich; grandson, Micah, and a granddaughter, Joy.

Alumni Research
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

How ChatGPT Has, and Will Continue to, Transform Scientific Research

Mar 21, 2023

New Directions for HIV Treatment

Mar 21, 2023

Humans are Not Just Big Mice: Identifying Science’s Muscle-Scaling Problem

Mar 20, 2023

Comments are closed.

Latest News

How ChatGPT Has, and Will Continue to, Transform Scientific Research

Mar 21, 2023

New Directions for HIV Treatment

Mar 21, 2023

Humans are Not Just Big Mice: Identifying Science’s Muscle-Scaling Problem

Mar 20, 2023

AOA Honors New Members

Mar 20, 2023

Celebrating Feinberg’s 2023 Match Day

Mar 17, 2023
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20230315_NM036
20230315_NM046
20230315_NM134
20230315_NM205
20230315_NM206
20230315_NM132
20230315_NM130
20230315_NM082
20230315_NM063
20230315_NM058
20230315_NM030
20230315_NM038

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.