THE PASSANO AWARDS 1945-2011

2012 Laureate
Eric N. Olson Ph.D.

Eric Olson discovered key transcription factors and mechanisms responsible for heart development and disease. His discoveries include the MEF2 transcription factor, which regulates differentiation of all muscle cell types; myocardin, a master switch for vascular muscle cell fate; and Hand1 and Hand2, which orchestrate the formation of the cardiac chambers.

2012 Passano Physician scientists

Irina Burd, M.D., Ph.D.
Gynecology and Obstetrics
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Jonathon M. Gerber, M.D
Hematology
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Kevin N. Sheth, M.D.
Stroke and Neuro-Critical Care
University of Maryland School of Medicine

2011 Laureate
Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D.

Elaine Fuchs is a world leader in skin biology and its human genetic disorders, which include skin cancers and life-threatening genetic syndromes such as blistering skin disorders. She is widely credited for bringing dermatology into the molecular biology era.

2011 Passano Physician scientists

Gloria Reeves, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Child Psychiatry Division
University of Maryland

Adam Hartman, M.D., FAAP
Assistant Professor of Neurology & Pediatrics
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Aravindan Kolandaivelu, M.D.
Fellow in Cardiac Electrophysiology
Johns Hopkins Hospital

2010 Laureate
David Julius, Ph.D.

David Julius, Ph.D., a pioneer in sensory neurobiology, will receive the 2010 Passano Award for his discovery of the molecular mechanism of thermosensation and his elucidation of the manner in which temperature and pain sensation are integrated. Dr. Julius’ research was conducted at the University of California at San Francisco, where he is Chairman of the Department of Physiology.

2010 Passano Physician scientists

Marlis Gonzalez-Fernandez, M.D., Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Nilofer Azad, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Assistant Professor of Oncology

Afshin Parsa, M.D., M.P.H
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine

2009 Laureate
Irving L. Weissman, M.D.

Irving L. Weissman, M.D., Director of the Stanford Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, will receive the 2009 Passano Award for his ground-breaking contributions in the field of modern stem cell biology in the development of a general approach, now widely used, which has led to the isolation of all restricted lineage hematopoietic progenitors from mice and man.

2009 Passano Physician scientists

Mahendra Damarla, M.D.
Department of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine

Jason Farrar, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Department of Oncology
Pediatric Division

Ikwunga Wonodi, M.B.B.S
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Maryland Psychiatric Research Center
University of Maryland, School of Medicine

2008 Laureate
Thomas C. Südhof, M.D.

Thomas Südhof, a Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, received the 2008 Passano Award for his ground-breaking investigation of the biochemical composition of the synapse and his elucidation of the calcium-dependent mechanism of neurotransmitter release, one of the central events in brain function. Neurons communicate at synapses by the controlled release of neurotransmitter from the pre-synaptic cell and the sensing of neurotransmitter by receptors on the surface of the post-synaptic cell. Ever since the pioneering work of Bernard Katz half a century ago, it has been known that neurotransmitters are released in packets and that this release is controlled by calcium entry into the presynaptic neuron. With the visualization of synaptic ultra-structure by electron microscopy, it became apparent that neurotransmitters were stored in presynaptic vesicles and that the release of a packet of neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft is produced by the fusion of one of these pre-synaptic vesicles with the plasma membrane. Therefore, a central mechanistic question is how presynaptic calcium entry controls vesicle fusion.

Twenty years ago, Südhof set out to answer this question by systematically identifying proteins that are enriched in presynaptic vesicles and plasma membrane. This work led to his discovery of the synaptotagmin proteins as the calcium sensors that trigger vesicle fusion. Using a combination of structural biology, electrophysiology, and gene manipulation in mice, Sudhof showed that cooperative calcium binding to the synaptotagmins produces rapid, efficient, and reliable control of neurotransmitter release the three essential attributes of neurotransmission.

Südhof also pioneered the identification and analysis of molecules that control the formation of synapses during brain development. In particular, he discovered a cell-surface receptor-ligand system the neurexins and the neuroligins that display enormous structural diversity and that play a central role in initiating the formation of pre- and post-synaptic structures.

Südhof's work on the molecular mechanisms of synaptic development and function have broad implications for human health, as current evidence suggests that many neuropsychiatric disorders arise from defects in synaptic development, function, and/or plasticity.

2008 Passano Physician scientists

Thomas E. Lloyd, M.D., Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Department of Neurology
Neuromuscular Division

Edward Schaefer, M.D., Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Department of Urology

Wilbur H. Chen, M.D.
University of Maryland
Assistant Professor

2007 Laureate
Joan Massagué, Ph.D.

Joan Massagué, Ph.D. of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, will receive the 2007 Passano Award for the originality and importance of his work in elucidating the mechanism of TGF- action on diverse cell types: from receptor activation to signal transduction and to eventual activation of gene transcription, to discovering the first mamilian cyclin-dependant kinase inhibitor, p27, as an essential component of cell machinery, and more recently, the unraveling of the dichotomous role of TGF- in cancer: as a tumor suppressor in early-stage cancer and as a promoter of metastasis in later stages of tumor progression. Foundation directors and colleagues applaud Dr. Massagués accomplishments. Joans contributions to science, principal among them his elucidation of the steps in the TGF- signaling pathway, reflect an uncommon gift for scientific insight extended by first rate investigative skills, notes Harold Varmus, M.D., President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York. As a leader in the fields of both cancer biology and cell biology, much of Dr. Massagués recent work has also focused on the study of metastasis, the process by which cancer spreads from one part of the body to another. His laboratory has identified sets of genes that drive the spread of breast cancer to the bone and the lungs.

2007 Passano Physician scientists

Rachel Damico, M.D., Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Department of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Andrew Mammen, M.D., Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Department of Neurosurgery

Susanna Scafidi, M.D.
University of Maryland
Assistant Professor

2006 Laureate

Napoleone Ferrara, M.D., a pioneer in vascular biology received the 2006 Passano Award for the discovery of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the elucidation of VEGFs role in mammalian biology, and the development of anti-VEGF therapies for human disease. Dr. Ferraras work was carried out at Genentech, a biotechnology company in South San Francisco, where he currently holds the position of Genentech Fellow in the Department of Molecular Oncology.

2006 Passano Physician scientists

Frances L. Johnson, M.D.
University of Maryland
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Medical Director, Heart Transplantation

Brett Morrison, M.D., Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Neurology Research and Clinical Fellow

Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology

2005 Laureate
Jeffrey M. Friedman, M.D. Ph.D.
Marilyn M. Simpson Professor, Rockefeller University
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Jeffrey Friedman discovered the fat-cell hormone leptin and characterized its metabolic actions. He proved through positional cloning of the Ob, or "obese", gene in mice that the gene product is a hormone-like polypeptide that he named leptin.

2005 Passano Physician Scientists

Bradley J. Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
Otolaryngology

David J. Kouba, M.D., Ph.D.
University of Maryland Medicine
Dermatology

Wells A. Messersmith, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
Medical Oncology

Jennifer L. Payne, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
Psychiatry

Sangeeta D. Sule, M.D., Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
Pediatric Rheumatology

2003 Laureate
Andrew Z. Fire, Ph.D.

Member on the Carnegie Institution of Washingtons Department of Embryology in Baltimore, will receive the 2003 Passano Award for his discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), which must surely come to rank as one of the turning points in the history of genetics. This highly specific, RNA-directed method of gene silencing constitutes a fundamental and widespread new regulatory mechanism whose research and clinical applications are already being intensively explored.

2003-2004 Passano Physician Scientists

Francesco Saverio Celi, M.D.

Obesity and insulin resistance are important risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease. By first introducing the gene encoding the enzyme in a cell culture system, and secondarily introducing the gene encoding the enzyme in a cell culture system which responds to the beta-3-adrenergic stimulation, Dr. Cell will attempt to study the activity of this newly found mutant enzyme and its interaction with the beta-3-adrenergic stimulation. This research could lead to the development of specific therapies aimed toward a reduction of the obesity, insulin resistance and the related cardiovascular risk.

Joseph Mark Savitt, M.D., Ph.D.

Parkinson's disease results largely from the marked loss of the dopamine producing cells of the midbrain and the subsequent deficiency of dopamine in the striatum. Because of ethical and practical concerns associated with the use of fetal brain tissue, the most common source of transplantable cells aimed at restoring this deficiency, Dr. Savitt is exploring the use of embryonic germ cells that could be manipulated to replace the dopaminergic cells lost in Parkinson's disease.

Tao Wang, Ph.D.

Mental retardation is the most common cause of handicaps in children and young adults. X-linked mental retardation (XLMR) occurs in 1 in 600 males and is genetically heterogeneous. Dr. Wang has developed a strategy of using a human X chromosome-specific cDNA microarray to identify responsible genes. Combined laboratory research and clinical training will help Dr. Wang develop a solid knowledge base and gain experiences in research and clinical care for patients with mental retardation.

2002
Alexander Rich, M.D.
William Thompson Sedgwick Professor of Biophysics,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Rich was chosen for his seminal contributions to the current understanding of the biochemistry, structural biology, and biological function of nucleic acids, as well as to the current understanding of protein biosynthesis and the role of conformational change in DNA function, which have created the foundation for great strides in molecular biology, genetic engineering, and life sciences in general.

2001
Seymour Benzer, Ph.D.
James Griffin Boswell Professor of Neuroscience, California Institute of Technology

Dr. Benzer was recognized for his pioneering contributions to molecular genetics and neurobiology.

2000
Giuseppe Attardi, M.D.,
Grace C. Steele Professor of Molecular Biology, California Institute of Technology,
and
Douglas C. Wallace, Ph.D., Chairman, Department of Genetics and Molecular Medicine,
Emory University,

Drs. Attardi and Wallace were selected for their landmark contributions to the mitochondrial genome project and their development of innovative methods for studying mitochondrial genetics and human disease.

1999
Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D.,
Professor and Chair of Microbiology
and Immunology
University of California,
San Francisco
and
Carol W. Greider, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Molecular
Biology and Genetics
Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine

Drs. Blackburn and Greider were chosen for determining the molecular nature of telomeres (chromosome ends) and discovering the enzyme telomerase, which carries out the synthesis of the telomeres.

1998
H. Robert Horvitz, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Biology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Horvitz was recognized for establishing that programmed cell death, a major aspect of animal development, is an active biological process dependent on the functioning of particular genes.

1997
James E. Darnell, Jr., M.D.
Vicent Astor Professor
and
Head of the Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, Rochefeller University

Dr. Darnell was recognized for his breakthrough work identifying signal transduction pathways from the cell membrane to the nucleus. His work promises to be of landmark importance to greater understanding of polypeptides and cell growth, cell specialization in response to infection, and the maintenance of tissue homeostsis.

1996
Leland H. Hartwell, M.D.
Professor of Genetics
University of Washington
Winner of the 2001 Nobel prize in Medicine

Dr. Hartwell was selected for his pioneering insights into the life cycle of the cell and its role in the development of cancers. He was the first to identify the molecules that regulate cell division, and developed and proved the concept of cell cycle checkpoints.

1995
Robert G. Roeder, Ph.D.
Professor and Head, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University
and
Robert Tijan, Ph.D.
Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley

Drs. Roeder and Tijan were selected for their independent, fundamental contributions to the understanding of the biochemistry of transcription, the process by which genetic information encoded in DNA is transferred to the RNA molecules that control the synthesis of cellular proteins.

1994
Bert Vogelstein, M.D.
Professor of Oncology
Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine

Dr. Vogelstein was selected for his seminal contributions to the understanding of human tumorigenesis. He was the first to demonstrate the importance of a series of specific losses in function of key tumor suppression genes, and the activation of known oncogenes in the progressive transformation of normal colonic epithelial cells into fully invasive colon carcinomas.

1993
Jack L. Strominger, M.D.
Professor of Biochemistry
and
Don C. Wiley, Ph.D.
Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Harvard University

Drs. Strominger and Wiley were selected for their contributions to the understanding of the human immune response. Their discovery is a milestone in molecular immunology, comparable to the elucidation of the structure of antibodies three decades ago.

1992
Charles Yanofsky, Ph.D.
Herzstein Professor of Biology,
Stanford University

Dr. Yanofskys work demonstrated the relationship between the structure of genes and proteins. He conducted studies of microbial gene expression that led to the discovery and elucidation of the phenomenon of attenuation.

Young Scientist Award
Tom Curran, Ph.D.
Associate Director,
Roche Institute of Molecular Biology,
Head, Department of Molecular Oncology and Virology,
Roche Institute of Molecular Biology

Dr. Curran has made significant contributions in the field of molecular oncology, including pioneering work on the role of the fos and jun oncogenes in the regulation of transcription.

1991
William S. Sly, M.D.
Professor of Biochemistry, St. Louis University School of Medicine and Stuart Kornfeld, M.D.
Department of Internal Medicine,
Washington University School of Medicine

Drs. Sly and Kornfeld were honored for their elucidation of the pathway by which lysomal enzymes are targeted to their specific location within lysomes.

Young Scientist Award
Roger Tsien, Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmacology
and Chemistry,
Univesity of California, San Diego

Dr. Tsien was honored for his development of the methodology for measuring changes in calcium levels in living cells.

1990
Young Scientist Award
Matthew P. Scott, Ph.D.,
Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder

Dr. Scott was honored for his pioneering work on the molecular basis of development.

1989
Victor A. McKusick, M.D.,
University Professor of Medical Genetics,
Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine

Dr. McKusick was recognized for his important contributions to the field of medical genetics.

Young Scientist Award
Louis M. Kunkel, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Harvard Medical School

Dr. Kunkel was honored for his discovery of the genetic defects responsible for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

1988
Edwin G. Krebs, M.D.,
Senior Investigator,
and
Edmond H. Fischer, Ph.D.,
Professor of Biochemistry, University of Washington, School of Medicine
Winners of the 1992 Nobel prize in Medicine

Drs. Krebs and Fischer were honored for their pioneering studies on the role of protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation cycles in cellular regulation.

Young Scientist Award
Peter Walter, Ph.D.,
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
University of California School
of Medicine, San Francisco

Dr. Walter was recognized for his characterization of a signal recognition particle that identifies newly synthesized proteins and directs them to their membrane locations.

1987
Irwin Fridovich, Ph.D.,
Professor of Biochemistry,
Duke University Medical Center

Dr. Fridovich was recognized for his discovery of the biological significance of oxygen radicals and the mechanisms employed by living things to defend themselves against the toxic effects of these radicals.

Young Scientist Award
Jeremy Nathans, Ph.D.,
Department of Biochemistry,
Stanford University School of Medicine

Dr. Nathans was honored for the isolation of the genes that specify the protein moieties of the three different color-sensitive pigments in the human eye, and his contributions to the molecular genetics of abnormalities in color vision.

1986
Albert Lester Lehninger, Ph.D.,
University Professor of Medical Sciences, Johns Hopkins University,
School of Medicine and
Eugene Patrick Kennedy, Ph.D.,
Hamilton Kuhn Professor and Director
of the Department of Biological
Chemistry, Harvard Medical School

1985
Howard Green, M.D.,
Professor of Pathology and Biophysics,
Harvard Medical School

Dr. Green was honored for his pioneering research in cell biology.

Young Scientist Award
Mark M. Davis, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor of Medical
Mycology, Stanford University

Dr. Davis was recognized for his discovery of the genes that encode the antigen receptors of T lymphocytes.

Dr. Lehninger was recognized for his many important contributions to bioenergetics and its relation to mitochondrial calcium metabolism and to proton transport.

Dr. Kennedy was honored for his highly original contributions to the understanding of the mechanism of synthesis of complex lipids and of the function and organization of cellular membranes.

Young Scientist Award
James Edward Rothman, Ph.D.,
Professor of Biochemistry, Stanford
University School of Medicine

Dr. Rothman was recognized for his clarification of the functions of a specific and highly characteristic set of stacked intracellular membranes known as the Golgi apparatus.

1984
Peter C. Nowell, M.D.,
Professor of Pathology, University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine,
Philadelphia

Dr. Nowell was honored for the discovery of the first characteristic and consistent chromosomal abnormality in cancer cells (the abnormality known as the Philadelphia chromosome).

Young Scientist Award
Thomas R. Cech, Ph.D.,
Professor of Chemistry,
University of Colorado, Boulder
Winner of the 1989 Nobel prize in Chemistry

Dr. Cech was recognized for his highly original discovery that nucleic acids (RNA) are capable of catalyzing their own splicing reactions in the absence of conventional enzymes.

1983
J. Michael Bishop, M.D.
and
Harold E. Varmus, M.D.,
Professors of Microbiology,
University of California School
of Medicine, San Francisco
Winners of the 1989 Nobel prize in Medicine

Drs. Bishop and Varmus were honored in recognition of their pioneering research on the molecular biology of tumor viruses, and in particular for their key discovery that the cancer-causing genes (oncogenes) of a major class of tumor viruses are present as normal components of the chromosomes of all vertebrates, including man.
Young Scientist Award
Gerald M. Rubin, Ph.D.
and
Allan C. Spradling, Ph.D.,
Staff Members of the Department
of Embryology, Carnegie
Institution of Washington

1982
Roscoe O. Brady, M.D.,
Chief, Developmental and Metabolic
Neurology Branch, National Institute of Neurological and Communicative
Disorders and Stroke, National
Institutes of Health
and
Elizabeth F. Neufeld, Ph.D.,
Chief, Genetics and Biochemistry
Branch, National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Diseases,
National Institutes of Health

Dr. Brady was selected for elucidating the molecular basis of a series of hitherto incurable hereditary diseases of complex lipid metabolism.

Dr. Neufeld was chosen for her contributions to the understanding of the molecular basis of a group of hereditary diseases known as mucopolysaccharide storage diseases.

Young Scientist Award
Roger D. Kornberg, Ph.D.,
Professor of Structural Biology, Stanford University

Dr. Kornberg was recognized for his contributions to the current understanding of the structure of chromatin.

Drs. Rubin and Spradling were chosen for their outstanding research in developmental genetics.

1981
Hugh O. McDevitt, M.D.,
Professor of Medicine, Stanford
University School of Medicine

Dr. McDevitt was recognized for his research on the relationships between the immune response, histocompatibility antigens and human disease.

Young Scientist Award
William A. Catterall, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of Pharmacology, University of Washington
School of Medicine
and
Joel Moss, M.D., Ph.D.,
Head, Section of Molecular Mechanisms,
Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism,
National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute,
National Institutes of Health

Dr. Catterall was selected for his pioneering contributions to the understanding of the relationship of ion transport to electrical excitability.

Dr. Moss received the Award for his contribution to an understanding of the action of bacterial toxins and his exemplary combination of clinical and scientific skills.

1980
Seymour Solomon Kety, M.D.,
Professor of Psychiatry,
Harvard University

Dr. Kety received the Award for his original and creative contribution to our knowledge of brain function and the biology of mental illness.

1979
Donald F. Steiner, M.D.,
Professor and Chairman, Department of Biochemistry, University of Chicago

Dr. Steiner discovered the mechanism by which insulin is synthesized in the body.
Young Scientist Award
Richard Axel, M.D.,
Professor of Biochemistry and Pathology,
Institute for Cancer Research, Columbia University, New York

Dr. Axel was selected for his research on gene transfer in cultured mammalian cells.


1978
Michael S. Brown, M.D.,
and
Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D.,
Professors of Medicine, University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Winners of the 1985 Nobel prize in Medicine

Drs. Brown and Goldsteins insights into the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis resulted in reappraisal of its prevention and treatment.

Young Scientist Award
Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D.,
Professor of Medicine,
Duke University

Dr. Lefkowitzs work added substantially to current understanding of hormonal control mechanisms.

1977
Curt P. Richter, Ph.D.,
Professor Emeritus of Psychobiology,
Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine

Dr. Richter made many outstanding and fundamental contributions to knowledge in psychology, physiology, neurology and endocrinology.

Young Scientist Award
Eric A. Jaffe, M.D.,
Assistant Professor of Medicine,
Cornell University Medical College

Dr. Jaffe made fundamental discoveries in the general area of blood coagulation physiology and biochemistry.

1976
Roger Guillemin, M.D., Ph.D.,
Professor, The Salk Institute
Winner of the 1977 Nobel prize in Medicine

Dr. Guillemins pioneering research provided decisive evidence which demonstrated control by the hypothalamus of release of pituitary hormones.

Young Scientist Award
Ralph A. Bradshaw, Ph.D.,
Professor of Biochemistry, Washington
University School of Medicine

Dr. Bradshaws extensive accomplishments related protein structure and function, most notably, dehydrogenase enzymes and nerve growth factor.

1975
Henry G. Kunkel, M.D.,
Professor, Rockefeller University

Dr. Kundels fundamental research on human immunoglobulins helped establish the field of immunogenetics.

Young Scientist Award
Joan Argetsinger Steitz, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor, Yale University

Dr. Steitz research on protein biosynthesis provided a deeper understanding of cellular regulatory mechanisms of viral infections and of antibiotic action.

1974
Seymour S. Cohen, Ph.D.,
Professor of Microbiology, University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Denver

Dr. Cohen pioneered studies of virus development and the effects of viruses on cellular metabolism.

Baruch S. Blumberg, M.D., Ph.D.,
Associate Director of Clinical Research, The Institute for Cancer Research, Fox Chase, Philadelphia

Dr. Blumbergs seminal studies on hepatitis-associated antigen opened a new era of research on viral hepatitis.

1973
Roger W. Sperry, Ph.D.,
California Institute of Technology,
Division of Biology
Winner of the 1981 Nobel prize in Medicine

Dr. Sperry discovered an unexpected specificity in the recognition of one neuron by another, and he offered new insights into the functions of the surgically disconnected hemispheres, first in animals, then in human patients operated upon for intractable epilepsy. He made fundamental contributions to our understanding of the mind/brain relation and the neurologic bases of human behavior.

1972
Kimishige Ishizaka, M.D.,
and
Teruko Ishizaka, M.D.,
Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine, Immunology Division

Drs. Ishizaka received the Award for their fundamental research into the cause and mechanism of allergic reactions. Working as a team, they have investigated many aspects of the antibodies which cause human allergy, research which had led to the discovery of a new class of immunoglobulins, IgE, which are responsible for the disease process. This work opened a new era of research into hypersensitivity reactions at all levels, biochemical, pathogenetic and clinical.

1971
Stephen W. Kuffler, M.D.,
Chairman and Robert Winthrop
Professor of Neurobiology,
Harvard Medical School

Dr. Kufflers work includes analyses of how information is transmitted from one cell to another, how it is analyzed in the nervous system and how muscle movement is controlled and executed. From his early research in neuromuscular transmission processes, he went on to an investigation of the chemistry of synaptic inhibitory transmission, which led to the discovery of gamma-aminobutyric acid as a synaptic transmitter of inhibition in Crustacea.

1970
Paul Charles Zamecnik, M.D.,
Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Zamecniks pioneering investigations opened the process of protein synthesis to direct study, free from the structure of the intact cell, and led to the identification of the role of the ribosome, the amino acid activation reaction and transfer ribonucleic acid in protein synthesis.

1969
George Herbert Hitchings, Ph.D.,
Vice-President, in Charge of Research,
Burroughs Wellcome & Company
Winner of the 1988 Nobel prize in Medicine

Dr. Hitchings showed exemplary leadership in the rational application of the antimetabolite concept, in conjunction with exploration of differences in the enzymatic machinery of host and parasite, to the design of clinically important chemotherapeutic agents for immunosuppression and for therapy of leukemia, gout and malaria.

1968
John Eager Howard, M.D.,
Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine

Dr. Howard was recognized for his distinguished contributions over many years in the etiology of arterial hypertension and the metabolism of calcium and its endocrine control. In particular, he was honored for the discovery of chemical factors in the blood and urine that could inhibit renal stone formation and other calcification processes.

1967
Irvine H. Page, M.D.,
Research Consultant,
Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Dr. Page was honored for his outstanding contributions to the understanding of the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of hypertension, a disease condition related to many illnesses. He has served on the boards of many professional societies.

1966
John T. Edsall, M.D.,
Professor of Biological Chemistry,
Harvard University

Dr. Edsall was acknowledged for his incisive experimental achievement in analyzing the physical-chemical basis of the structure and biologic activity of amino acids, peptides and proteins; his influential leadership in fostering the physical-chemical approach to biochemical problems; and his service to biochemistry and medical science through professional societies.

1965
Charles B. Huggins, M.D.,
Director, Ben May Laboratory for
Cancer Research, Chicago
Winner of the 1966 Nobel prize in Medicine

The Award was bestowed on Dr. Huggins for his contributions to the knowledge of the role of hormones in the induction and control of cancer. He discovered the use of female hormones in cancer of the prostate. In addition, he has worked on calcium metabolism, blood enzymes, bone physiology, experimental surgery and cancer research.


1964
Keith R. Porter, Ph.D.,
Professor of Biology,
Harvard University
George E. Palade, M.D.
Member and Professor of Cytology,
The Rockefeller University
Winner of the 1974 Nobel prize in Medicine

Drs. Porter and Palade shared the Award in recognition of their original work in developing the use of the electron microscope in cytologic research and the subsequent importance of their work in the field of genetics. The techniques and applications which they developed became extremely valuable to researchers in cytogenetics and cell biology.

1963
Horace W. Magoun, Ph.D., D.Sc.,
University of California School of Medicine, Los Angeles

Dr. Magoun received recognition for his studies in neurophysiology and anatomy, especially his discovery concerning the influence of activity of the reticular formation of the brain on the activity of the brain proper.

1962
Albert H. Coons, M.D.,
Harvard Medical School

Dr. Coons contribution to scientific medicine was the development of fluorescent antibodies, which allow the microscopic localization and identification of infectious bacteria and viruses, foreign proteins in animal cells, structural materials of animal cells and the general application of immunologic specificity on a microscopic scale.

1961
Owen H. Wangensteen, M.D.,
Professor and Head of Department of
Surgery, University of Minnesota
Medical School

Dr. Wangensteen received the Award for his many contributions to surgical technique and postoperative care of the patient. He developed a gastrosuction device to relieve distention in cases of intestinal obstruction, and a procedure to circulate an ethanol solution in a balloon inside the stomach, thus making surgical relief feasible, or unnecessary, for patients with bleeding duodenal ulcers.

1960
Rene J. Dubos, Ph.D.,
Member and Professor of Pathology,
Rockefeller University

Dr. Dubos was chosen because of his many and fruitful researches in bacteriology and biochemistry, notably the use of specific enzymes in biochemistry, the chemotherapy of tuberculosis and pioneer work on antibiotics from soil organisms.


1959
Stanhope Bayne-Jones, M.D., Sc.D.,
Formerly Technical Director of
Research, Office of the Surgeon General

Dr. Bayne-Jones was recognized because of a long and extraordinary service to science both as educator and administrator. His distinguished career included the deanship of the Yale University School of Medicine, presidency of the Joint Administration Board of the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, of The Society of American Bacteriologists, the American Association of Immunologists and the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists.

1958
George Washington Corner,
M.D., D.Sc.,
Executive Office, American
Philosophical Society

Dr. Corner, Sr., was honored because of his long and distinguished career as investigator, educator, historian, and philosopher of science. He has served at the University of California, at Johns Hopkins Medical School, was Professor of Anatomy at Rochester School of Medicine and Director of the Department of Embryology at the Carnegie Institution.

1957
Williams Mansfield Clark,
Ph.D., Sc.D.,
DeLamar Emeritus Professor and
Research Professor of Chemistry,
Johns Hopkins University

The Award was made to Dr. Clark for his basic work in the demonstration of the importance of physical methods, particularly in the control of basal metabolism and of oxidation-reduction, to the study of life processes.

1956
George Nicholas Papanicolaou,
Ph.D., M.D.,
Director of the Papanicolaou
Research Laboratory of
Cornell University Medical College

Dr. Papanicolaous fundamental researches in exfoliative cytology, now widely applied in the early detection of cancer, especially of the uterus, and of great value also in the study of many problems of reproductive physiology, earned for him a place among the Laureates.

1955
Vincent duVigneaud, Ph.D.,
Professor and Chairman of the
Department of Biochemistry, Cornell
University Medical College
Winner of the 1955 Nobel prize in Chemistry

Dr. duVigneaud was chosen for his investigation of the posterior portion of the pituitary gland, which has culminated in the identification and synthesis of oxytocin (used for contracting the uterus) and vasopressin (valuable in the treatment of diabetes insipidus).

1954
Homer William Smith, Sc.D.,
Professor and Chairman of the Department of Physiology, New York University College of Medicine

Dr. Smiths pioneer work in renal physiology formed the basis for several tests of kidney function which are routinely and widely used. He developed and elaborated the clearance concept of renal function, thus revolutionizing the study and management of renal disease, and his work led to the development of surgical techniques that have been successful in many kidney operations.

1953
John Franklin Enders, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of Bacteriology,
Harvard Medical School;
Childrens Hospital, Boston
Winner of the 1954 Nobel prize in Medicine

Dr. Enders contribution was the development of relatively simply methods for the isolation and cultivation of polio virus in tissue culture. These techniques made it possible to isolate virus from the excretions of most patients with poliomyelitis, and to type the virus rapidly.

1952
Herbert McLean Evans, M.D.,
Endocrinologist,
University of California

Dr. Evans was recognized for his skill and leadership in the analysis of the mammalian reproductive cycle, the discovery and chemical identification of vitamin E and the isolation and purification of the pituitary growth hormone and adrenocorticotropic hormone.

1951
Philip Levine, M.D.,
Ortho Research Foundation,
Raritan, New Jersey
and
Alexander S. Wiener, M.D.,
Jewish Hospital, Brooklyn, New York

The Award was presented to Dr. Levine because of his brilliant discovery of the relationship of Rh incompatibility to the phenomenon of iso-sensitization in pregnancy and its etiologic relationship to erythroblastosis fetalis. It was given to Dr. Wiener because of his original and valuable work on the Rh antigens of human red blood cells, their importance in blood transfusion and their relationship to erythroblastosis fetalis. Their accomplishments significantly reduced infant mortality.


1950
Edward Calvin Kendall, Ph.D., D.Sc.,
Chemist, Mayo Clinic
and
Philip Showalter Hench, M.D., Sc.D.,
Physician, Mayo Clinic
Winners of the 1950 Nobel prize in Medicine

Drs. Kendall and Hench received the award for their work on cortisone. Dr. Kendalls work included the isolation of thyroxin, the determination of the constitution of glutathione, and isolation of several physiologically active steroids. Dr. Henchs contributions included the demonstration of the physiologic and pharmacologic actions of certain products of the adrenal cortex and related substances, and their relationships to rheumatoid arthritis and the collagen diseases.

1949
Oswald Theodore Avery, M.D.,
Emeritus Member, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research

Dr. Avery was chosen in recognition of his comprehensive investigations of the pneumococci, their classification, and their immunologic relationship, which led to a wider basic understanding of heredity and environment as well as to more advanced knowledge of the processes in infection.

1948
Alfred Blalock, M.D.,
Professor of Surgery,
and
Helen Brooke Taussig, M.D.,
Associate Professor of Pediatrics,
Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine

Dr. Taussigs work on the circulation of the blood in cases of congenital malformation of the heart led to the establishment of criteria for surgical intervention in the relief of pulmonary stenosis and atresia. Dr. Blalock developed new techniques for this surgical intervention in blue baby cases.

1947
Selman A. Waksman, Ph.D.,
Microbiologist, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
Winner of the 1952 Nobel prize in Medicine

Dr. Waksman was honored in recognition of his long-continued investigations of the several antagonistic effects of certain soil microorganisms on pathogenic bacteria, culminating in the isolation of streptomycin as a therapeutic antibiotic, followed by its clinical application, thus strengthening the armamentarium of the physician in the struggle against disease.

1946
Ernest William Goodpasture, M.D.,
Professor of Pathology and
Dean of the School of Medicine,
Vanderbilt University

Dr. Goodpastures research included pioneer studies of the growth of viruses, bacteria and Rickettsiae in the chick embryo and the development of techniques for stimulation of such growth. These studies have led to improved understanding of the host-parasite relationship, and have opened up a new chapter in the history of the conquest of disease.


1945
Edwin Joseph Cohn, Ph.D.,
Professor of Biochemistry
Harvard Medical School

Dr. Cohn, who began his work on blood and blood proteins in 1919, discovered the principal fractions of blood plasma (fibrinogen, immune globulin, plasma albumin, proteins, etc.). The first Passano Award was presented to Dr. Cohn in recognition of his fundamental and fruitful investigation of blood derivatives and of the application to the preservation of life and the alleviation of suffering.