Alan N. Schechter, MD
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH
Bethesda, Maryland

Organizing Committee

Session Chair
Nitrite-heme Biochemistry

Presentation Title
Mechanism of Nitrite Formation in the Erythrocyte (Summary of Presentation)

Dr Schechter’s group is currently focusing on the interaction of nitric oxide and hemoglobin with the goal of understanding how NO may be transported by blood and thus act at distal sites, opening the possibility for its use as a pharmacological agent. This work has the potential for developing therapies for a variety of ischemic diseases, as well as sickle cell anemia and related hemoglobinopathies in which blood flow is impaired. Other research projects currently underway involve studies of the pathophysiological role of cell-free hemoglobin, cell signaling in the NO pathway, and the control of fetal hemoglobin expression.

Dr Schechter received his MD from Columbia University in 1963.