The following was adapted from a press release from the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.
Elazer Edelman, the Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Professor of Health Sciences at MIT, has been awarded this year's Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) Career Achievement Award for his extraordinary contributions to the field of cardiology.
A lifelong researcher and innovator, Edelman is core member of the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, director of the Harvard-MIT Biomedical Engineering Center, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a senior attending physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He and his students have been credited as some of the key contributors and pioneers of the coronary stent.
His research examining the cellular and molecular mechanisms that produce atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease critically advanced the development and optimization of the first bare-metal stents and subsequent iterations, including drug-eluting stents. His most recent publications have focused on how tissue engineered cells might be used for the local delivery of growth factors and growth inhibitors in the study of the vascular homeostasis and repair, cancer invasiveness and metastases, and the homology between endothelial paracrine and angiocrine regulation in cancer and vascular diseases.
“We are extremely proud to honor Elazer Edelman with the TCT 2017 Career Achievement Award,” says Martin Leon, founder of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), a nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to helping doctors improve survival and quality of life for people suffering from heart and vascular disease. Leon is also CRF's co-director of medical research and education. “Over the course of his distinguished career, he has transformed patient care by bringing together experts from various disciplines to create highly effective and clinically relevant solutions to medical problems. His research, which combines his passion for basic science with practical medical training, has contributed to generations of life-changing devices such as bare-metal and drug-eluting stents.”
“Dr. Edelman is widely recognized for his vision, leadership, advancement of technological innovations, and novel insights into biomedical pathways and vascular responses,” added Gregg Stone, who is also a co-director of medical research and education at CRF. “Along with his extensive academic, clinical, and medical pursuits, he has devoted a significant amount of his career to mentoring the next generation of researchers and clinicians.”
Edelman’s research integrates multiple disciplines including polymer-based controlled and modulated drug delivery; growth factor biology and biochemistry; tissue engineering; biomaterials-tissue interactions and the vascular response to injury. He has been deeply devoted to the education and training of colleagues and future generations by mentoring more than 350 graduate students and postdocs. He has also authored or co-authored nearly 300 original scientific publications.
Edelman received bachelor of science degrees in bioelectrical engineering and applied biology, a master's of science in electrical engineering and computer sciences from MIT, and a PhD in medical engineering and medical physics from MIT. He also holds degree in medicine from Harvard Medical School. His graduate thesis work, under the direction of Professor Robert Langer, defined the mathematics of regulated and controlled drug delivery systems.
After receiving his degrees, he completed an internship and residency in internal medicine and fellowship in cardiovascular medicine, all at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. He subsequently spent six years as a research fellow in the Department of Pathology at Harvard Medical School with Professor Morris J. Karnovsky, working on the biology of vascular repair.
Edelman is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, American Society for Clinical Investigation, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Inventors. As chief scientific advisor for Science: Translational Medicine and member of the FDA Scientific Board, he has set the tone for the national debate on translational research and innovation.
The TCT Career Achievement Award will be presented on Monday, Oct. 30, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado.
Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) is the annual scientific symposium of CRF and the world’s premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. Now in its 29th year, TCT features major medical research breakthroughs and gathers leading researchers and clinicians from around the world to present and discuss the latest evidence-based research in the field. For over 25 years, CRF has helped pioneer innovations in interventional cardiology and educated doctors on the latest treatments for heart disease.
