After Larry
Keefer received his B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Oberlin College (1961, chemistry)
and the University of New Hampshire (1965, organic chemistry, mentor Gloria G.
Lyle), respectively, he held research positions at the Chicago Medical School
and the University of Nebraska College of Medicine before coming to the
National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 1971. He and his colleagues in the NCI's
Chemistry Section, Laboratory of Comparative Carcinogenesis, are intensively
studying the chemistry and pharmacology of the diazeniumdiolates
(also known as NONOates) as sources of nitric oxide
and nitroxyl for biomedical applications.