News Release

Michael A Gimbrone, Jr, M.D., to receive the ASIP 2017 Gold-Headed Cane Award

Grant and Award Announcement

Experimental Biology

First awarded in 1919, the Gold-Headed Cane Award is the most distinctive honor granted by ASIP, in recognition of long-term contributions to pathology, including meritorious research, outstanding teaching, and general excellence in the field and leadership in pathology. Awardees receive a mahogany cane topped with a 14-karat gold head and engraved band at the ASIP Annual Meeting. The 2017 recipient of the Gold-Headed Cane Award is Dr. Michael A Gimbrone, Jr, Director of the Center for Excellence in Vascular Biology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Elsie T Friedman Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Gimbrone has enjoyed a long and illustrious career that has earned the respect and acclaim of his colleagues, as well as countless other pathologists, genomicists, researchers and physicians. He discovered methods to isolate and culture endothelial cells from human umbilical vein and according to Dr. Patricia D'Amore, Director of Research at Schepens Eye Research Institute, "these cells have formed the basis for thousands of peer-reviewed papers and revolutionized the study of vascular biology."

Furthermore, "his development of the method for reliably culturing vascular endothelial cells so they maintained their essential functional attributes was the stimulus that led to the explosive growth of vascular biology as a research area," according to Dr. Abul Abbas, Chair of the Department of Pathology and Distinguished Professor of Pathology at UCSF. He adds that "this was the foundation for many seminal studies that came out of [his] lab. He demonstrated the effects of shear stress on endothelial cells, now recognized as a fundamental concept about the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. His lab established the effects of cytokines on endothelium, studies that directly led to the identification and molecular cloning of E-selectin...Collectively, the work from his lab resulted in acceptance of the paradigm of endothelial activation, which has proved to be a fundamental (and long-lasting) concept underlying virtually all disorders of blood vessels. There are few individuals who can be said to have established a new field of investigation, and Michael Gimbrone is truly one of these."

Dr. Jeffrey Golden, Chairman of the Department of Pathology and Ramzi S. Cotran Professor of Pathology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and HMS, shares these sentiments, calling Dr. Gimbrone "a pioneer in the field of Vascular Biology and thought leader in this discipline for over four decades... His work has been a guiding force in both basic and applied research in Vascular Biology and Cardiovascular Medicine."

Dr. Gimbrone has published more than 250 research articles, reviews, and book chapters in the area of Vascular Biology and collaborated with numerous leading vascular biologists and scientists. It was in the laboratory of the late Dr. Judah Folkman that Dr. Gimbrone met Dr. Ramzi Cotran, who was to become a mentor to Dr. Gimbrone. In time, Dr. Gimbrone was named the first Ramzi S. Cotran Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. He in turn has been a mentor to many young investigators, some of whom are recognized as world leaders in Vascular Biology.

Dr. Gimbrone has been a member of ASIP since 1975 and served on the ASIP Council from 1989 to 1994 and as President of ASIP from 1993 -1994

Dr. Gimbrone received his MD magna cum laude with Honors in a Special Field from Harvard Medical School. He completed several fellowships, including a research fellowship at the Boston City Hospital and later at Children's Hospital Boston with the late Dr. Judah Folkman, who pioneered the field of angiogenesis.

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Dr. Gimbrone will present his award lecture, "Understanding Vascular Endothelium: A Pilgrim's Progress," on Monday, April 24, 2017 at the ASIP 2017 Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology in Chicago, Illinois. He will receive the Gold-Headed Cane Award on Saturday, April 22, 2017 at the ASIP Awards Presentation and Business Meeting.

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About Experimental Biology 2017

Experimental Biology is an annual meeting comprised of more than 14,000 scientists and exhibitors from six host societies and multiple guest societies. With a mission to share the newest scientific concepts and research findings shaping clinical advances, the meeting offers an unparalleled opportunity for exchange among scientists from across the United States and the world who represent dozens of scientific areas, from laboratory to translational to clinical research. http://www.experimentalbiology.org #expbio #ASIP2017

About the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP)

ASIP is a society of biomedical scientists who investigate mechanisms of disease. Investigative pathology is an integrative discipline that links the presentation of disease in the whole organism to its fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms. ASIP advocates for the practice of investigative pathology and fosters the professional career development and education of its members. http://www.asip.org

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