The American Stroke Association's highest honor - the Thomas Willis Award - will be bestowed on Costantino Iadecola, M.D., a neurology scientist known for pathophysiology research at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2009.

Iadecola, the G. C. Cotzias Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience and chief of the Division of Neurobiology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York City, delivered the Willis Lecture: "The changing landscape of cerebral ischemic injury" at 11:25 a.m. PT, Wednesday, Feb. 18.

The American Stroke Association also will present awards to: Larry Goldstein, M.D., professor of medicine (Neurology) at Duke University and the Durham VA Medical Center and director of the Duke Stroke Center, will be honored with the William Feinberg Award for Excellence in Clinical Stroke.

Raul G. Nogueira, M.D., assistant in neurology and radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Clinical Instructor in Neurology, Harvard Medical School, will be given the Robert G. Siekert New Investigator in Stroke Award.

Michael T. Froehler, M.D., Ph.D., a fellow in vascular neurology and interventional neuroradiology at University of California at Los Angeles, will receive the Mordecai Y.T. Globus New Investigator Award.

Erin Grise, M.D., a fellow at the University of Cincinnati in neurocritical care and neurovascular emergencies, will receive the inaugural Stroke Care in Emergency Medicine Award. Iadecola's lecture will focus on recent advances in the pathobiology of cerebrovascular injury and developing it to deliver specific, targeted treatments widely available to stroke patients.

The nominating committee hailed him as a world leader in the area of physiology and pathophysiology of blood flow control in the brain and a "true translational scientist," as his scientific work originates at the laboratory bench and moves to the bedside and vice versa.

Iadecola's major area of interest deals with the interactions between cardiovascular risk factors, stroke and Alzheimer's disease. He has published more that 180 papers in peer reviewed journals and is active in several national and international research organizations and funding agencies.

He has served on the Research Committee of the American Heart Association and on its Stroke Council. He has chaired the Program Committee of the International Stroke Conference and is an associate editor of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. He participates in focus groups and review committees at the National Institutes of Health and as Reviewing Editor for the Journal of Neuroscience, and the editorial board of the Annals of Neurology, the American Journal of Physiology (Heart and Circ. Physiol.), and the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. He has received the Laurence McHenry Award from the American Academy of Neurology, the Louis Sklarow Memorial Award, the Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association, and the Jacob Javits Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

The Willis Award - which recognizes "major contributions to the understanding of stroke over a sustained period" - honors pioneer physician Thomas Willis (1621-1675), who is credited with providing the first detailed descriptions of the brain stem, cerebellum and ventricles along with hypotheses on their function.

Goldstein received the Feinberg Award, which honors "significant achievement in the clinical investigation and management of stroke." He is a Senior Fellow in Duke's Center for Clinical Health Policy Research, and principal investigator of Duke's American Stroke Association-Bugher Foundation Center for Stroke Prevention Research.

His lecture, scheduled for 12:05 p.m. PT, Wednesday, Feb. 18, focused on the continuum of stroke research.

Goldstein has published more than 400 journal articles and professional papers and has made important contributions in several stroke areas including carotid endarterectomy and the effects of pharmacologic compounds on stroke recovery and outcomes research. He has chaired or has been a member of several national guideline writing committees, including the American Heart Association Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Ischemic Stroke, Guidelines for the Prevention of Stroke in Patients with Ischemic Stroke or TIA, Guidelines for Early Management of Ischemic Stroke, Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, and Anticoagulants and Antiplatelet Agents in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

In addition, Goldstein has spearheaded legislative efforts on improving stroke care in Washington, D.C., and now serves as chair of the AHA Advocacy Coordinating Committee. He serves as a reviewer for numerous professional journals as well as national and international granting agencies. He is a member of the editorial boards of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association; Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes Neurology; Neurology; Emergency Medicine; Cerebrovascular Diseases; Emergency Medicine; and Continuum.

Goldstein has received many awards including the Chairman's Award, National Volunteer Advocate of the Year, the Leadership Award from the Stroke Council, and the Award for Meritorious Achievement, all from American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

The Feinberg Award is named for Dr. William Feinberg (1952-1997), a prominent stroke clinican-researcher and American Heart Association volunteer who contributed to a fuller understanding of the causes of stroke. The award is supported by an educational grant from the pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim.

The three other awards recognize noteworthy research presented by young investigators.

Nogueira is honored for Abstract 100, entitled "Predictors of Clinical Outcomes in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Undergoing Thrombectomy: Pooled Analysis of the MERCI and Multi MERCI Trials," which examined baseline factors to determine predictors of clinical outcomes after mechanical clot removal (thrombectomy). The oral abstract will be presented at 11:12 a.m. PT, Thursday, Feb. 19.

The Siekert Award is named for the founding chair of the International Stroke Conference.

Froehler's winning Abstract 162, entitled "Inhibition of Leukocyte Migration by Blocking VLA-4 Prevents Vasospasm after Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Haptoglobin 2-2 Mice," confirmed that sudden cerebral blood flow restriction (vasospasm) is mediated by inflammatory pathways and suggests a promising new therapeutic target for drugs that may prevent vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage - bleeding around the brain that results from the rupture of an aneurysm. The oral abstract will be presented at 9:52 a.m. PT on Feb. 20.

The Globus Award is supported by the University of Miami and is named for the late renowned cerebrovascular researcher Mordecai Y.T. Globus.

Grise, is honored for Abstract P235 entitled "ABCD2 Score Predicts Emergency Department Disposition of Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) Patients: A Population-Based Study," which analyzed the utility of a scoring tool developed to calculate which TIA patients that present to emergency departments are at high risk.

The poster abstract will be presented at 12:45 p.m. PT, Thursday, Feb. 19.

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NR09-1017 (ISC09/ Awards)

Source: Bridgette McNeill
American Heart Association