Rafael Lorente De No

Rafael Lorente de No (April 8, 1902 — April 2, 1990) was an American neuroscientist who advanced our understanding of the nervous system with his seminal research. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academies Press called him "one of the premier neurophysiologists in the United States".

Life and career
Lorente was born in Zaragoza, Spain. He received his medical degree from the University of Madrid in 1923. He immigrated to the United States in 1931 when he accepted a position at Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis. In 1936 he joined the Rockefeller University also known as the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. Lorente was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1950.

Awards and Distinctions

 * Member of the American Physiological Society
 * Member of the American Association of Anatomists
 * Member of the National Academy of Sciences
 * Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
 * Honorary degrees by the University of Uppsala, Clark University, and Rockefeller University
 * He was the initial recepient of the Karl Spencer Lashly Award from the American Philosophical Society in 1959
 * The Award of Merit in 1986

Notable research and discoveries

 * Seminal research of the structure and function of the cerebral cortex.
 * Studies of the relationship between the nervous system the electrical and chemical basis of nerve functions
 * Experiments that showed that nerve transmit electrical nerve impulses