Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr. Receives Prestigious Pasarow Foundation Award for Cardiovascular Research
Weill Cornell Researcher Recipient of 24th Annual Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award in Cardiovascular Research
Newswise — NEW YORK (April 20, 2012 ) -- Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., dean emeritus of Weill Cornell Medical College and co-chairman of its board of overseers was honored on Friday, April 20 in Los Angeles with the 24th Annual Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award in Cardiovascular Research. Dr. Gotto was recognized by the Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation for his long-time contributions and research excellence in the field of heart disease.
Dr. Gotto has made significant contributions during his career to the advancement of lipid therapy for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. His medical research has led to a better understanding of the structure, metabolism and function of lipoproteins and apolipoproteins, including their relation to atherosclerosis. Dr. Gotto has investigated clinical disorders of lipid transport and has helped establish statin medication as a standard of care for heart disease.
"I am deeply honored to be recognized by the Pasarow Foundation for my research in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease," says Dr. Gotto, who is also the Lewis Thomas University Professor at Weill Cornell and vice president and provost for medical affairs emeritus for Cornell University. "The Foundation has greatly helped to stimulate medical research over the past 24 years."
The Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation celebrates the extraordinary achievements, creativity and distinction of physician-scientists in medical research in the fields of cancer, cardiovascular disease and neuropsychiatry through its annual Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Awards. The Pasarow Foundation was established in 1987 by Mr. Robert Pasarow, founder and former President/CEO/Chairman of the Board of CHB Foods, Incorporated, with his wife Claire in Beverly Hills, California.
Dr. Gotto is one of three recipients of this year's 24th Annual Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award in Cardiovascular Research. Fellow award honorees include Dr. Robert W. Mahley of the University of California, San Francisco and Dr. Peter J. Ratcliffe of Oxford University's Centre for Cellular and Molecular Physiology.
"I am especially gratified to share this award with my distinguished colleagues Dr. Robert Mahley, who is also a longtime friend, and Dr. Peter Ratcliffe," says Dr. Gotto. "I am indebted to my many collaborators and to the institutions that have supported my work -- the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, the Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital in Houston, and Weill Cornell Medical College."
As a world-renowned physician-scientist and former president of the American Heart Association and the International Atherosclerosis Society, Dr. Gotto's work has been internationally recognized. His research helped establish the link between cholesterol and the development of heart disease, and he has played a leading role in several landmark clinical trials demonstrating that the class of cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins can reduce the risk for heart disease. In addition, he and his team determined the complete cDNA and amino acid sequence of apo B-100, one of the largest proteins ever sequenced and a key protein in atherosclerosis.
The Pasarow Foundation received nominations this year from leaders of medical institutions across the United States and Canada. In addition, it solicited recommendations through an announcement in Science. All nominations were then evaluated by past awardees through a selection and voting process. The Foundation selected Dr. Gotto for his groundbreaking basic, clinical and translational research dealing with key topics in cardiology, ranging from protein structures related to atherosclerosis to statins and lipid therapy.
Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., MD, DPhil Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., MD, DPhil, is Dean Emeritus and Co-Chairman of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, New York, where he is also the Lewis Thomas University Professor. In addition, Dr. Gotto is Vice President and Provost for Medical Affairs Emeritus of Cornell University. From 1997-2011, Dr. Gotto was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean at Weill Cornell and Provost for Medical Affairs at Cornell University. Previously, at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, he was the Bob and Vivian Smith Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine, Scientific Director of the DeBakey Heart Center, and the JS Abercrombie Chair for Atherosclerosis and Lipoprotein Research. He also served as Chief of the Internal Medicine Service at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. Dr. Gotto's postgraduate work included doctoral studies at Oxford University in England, as a Rhodes Scholar, and residency training at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. In the field of atherosclerosis, his basic science research interests include clinical disorders of lipid transport and the structure, metabolism, and function of lipoproteins and apolipoproteins. He and his associates were the first to achieve complete synthesis of a plasma apolipoprotein (apo C-I); they also determined the complete cDNA and amino acid sequence of apo B-100, one of the largest proteins ever sequenced and a key protein in atherosclerosis. In addition, Dr. Gotto has played a leading role in several landmark clinical trials demonstrating that cholesterol-lowering drug treatment can reduce the risk for heart disease. As a lifelong supporter of educational efforts aimed at cardiovascular risk reduction, Dr. Gotto has been National President of the American Heart Association and President of the International Atherosclerosis Society. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of many honors, including the Gold Heart Award from the American Heart Association, the Distinguished Alumnus award from Vanderbilt University and the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, the Order of the Lion from the Republic of Finland, the International Okamoto Award from the Japan Vascular Disease Research Foundation, the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art First Class, the Maurice R. Greenberg Distinguished Service Award from NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the National Lipid Association. He has received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Bologna and Abilene Christian University, honorary professorships from the University of Buenos Aires and Francisco Marroquin University (Guatemala), and he is an Honorary Member of the Society for Progress in Internal Medicine (Ludwig Heilmeyer Society) in Germany. Dr. Gotto speaks nationally and internationally on cardiovascular disease and has contributed more than 500 scholarly articles and books to the medical literature. In addition, he is coauthor of a series of books that explain the origins and treatment of cardiovascular disease to the general public. His latest book, The Living Heart in the 21st Century, will be released by Prometheus Books on April 24, 2012.
Robert J. and Claire Pasarow FoundationThe Foundation was created in 1987 by Mr. and Mrs. Pasarow of Beverly Hills, California. Mr. Robert Pasarow was the founder and former President/CEO/Chairman of the Board of CHB Foods, Incorporated. Claire Pasarow actively participated in the business and was also a gifted sculptor and artist. The Pasarows established the Foundation to celebrate extraordinary achievement, creativity, and distinction in research in three areas of medicine: cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neuropsychiatry. Their shared enthusiasm, passion, and enjoyment in learning the stories of the work of the medical researchers who received the Pasarow Awards was deeply appreciated. Robert Pasarow's courage and love of entrepreneurship and Claire Pasarow's spirit and love of creative effort were a joy to all of us who knew them.
Weill Cornell Medical CollegeWeill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances -- including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.
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