Ohio State's heart program names 2013 Schottenstein Laureate

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's Heart and Vascular Center has named Dr. Garret FitzGerald, professor of Medicine and Pharmacology; chair of the Department of Pharmacology and director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics at the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, the recipient of the 2013 Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Prize in Cardiovascular Sciences.

The Schottenstein Prize is among the largest monetary prizes in the United States dedicated to cardiovascular research. The prize was established with a $2 million gift from philanthropists Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein, and is awarded to an international leader in the clinical sciences of cardiovascular medicine, cardiothoracic surgery, or the basic sciences of molecular or cellular cardiology. With the gift, the Schottenstein Laureate receives an honorarium of $100,000. FitzGerald will receive the award during a ceremony in Columbus on Oct 2.

According to Ohio State's Heart and Vascular Center Director, Dr. Thomas Ryan, this prize not only provides international recognition to someone who is on the leading edge of his or her field, it also offers an unparalleled educational opportunity for Ohio State University's academic, medical and research communities and the community at large. The awarding of the Schottenstein Prize exposes these groups to the knowledge and discoveries of a physician or researcher of extraordinary talent and caliber.

FitzGerald's research takes an integrative approach to elucidating the mechanisms of drug action, drawing on work in cells, model organisms, and humans. His work contributed substantially to the development of low-dose aspirin for cardioprotection. His lab discovered how lower doses of aspirin than had been previously used to treat pain and inflammation act on blood cells called platelets to shut down their role in blocking arteries to cause heart attacks and strokes. Low-dose aspirin is now used for this purpose throughout the world and has saved the lives of tens of millions of people. His group was also the first to predict and then mechanistically explain the cardiovascular hazard from nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). His laboratory also described the first molecular clock in the cardiovascular system.

While in Columbus, FitzGerald will lecture during a special Grand Rounds in the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital and meet with cardiovascular researchers at the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute.

Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein are well known for their support of The Ohio State University and non-profit organizations throughout the country. Jay serves on The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center External Strategic Planning Committee and as an emeritus member of The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute Foundation Board. Jeanie is a director of The Ohio State University Foundation Board and her work has led to the creation of the Women's Health Initiative to further develop women's health research, education and clinical programs.

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Ohio State's Heart and Vascular Center is a leader in cardiovascular care, translating research discoveries made at the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute into patient care in cardiovascular medicine, vascular surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at the Ross Heart Hospital.