The nominees were evaluated and a winner selected by a Judging Panel of three world-renowned cardiologists.
Mara Lorenzi MD (Panel Chairman), Professor of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Senior Scientist and George and Frances Levin Scholar in Diabetic Retinopathy, Schepens Eye Research Institute Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA, USA;
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Mara Lorenzi, MD, is Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, and Senior Scientist and the George and Frances Levin Scholar in Diabetic Retinopathy at the Schepens Eye Research Institute Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She is Consultant in Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and Visiting Professor at the Universita’ Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
Dr. Lorenzi’s clinical and research focus has been Diabetes. She directed the Diabetes Clinic at the University of California San Diego, and is associated with the Diabetes Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She has headed for many years a basic research laboratory dedicated to understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms for the vascular complications of diabetes and directed the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDRF) Center for Diabetic Retinopathy at the Schepens Eye Research Institute. Her group introduced in the field and documented the concepts of “Glucose Toxicity” for vascular cells and of “Memory” of the effects of high glucose and diabetes on gene expression. Her studies on the cellular biology of human diabetic retinopathy have provided mechanisms for the histological hallmarks of the complication. An additional current focus is the development of biomarkers of risk for diabetic retinopathy.
Dr. Lorenzi has been a member of the NIH Advisory Panels on Diabetic Complications, Animal Models of Diabetic Complications, and Special Funding Program for Type 1 Diabetes; of the Steering Committee of the Council on Complications of the American Diabetes Association (ADA); and of the Advisory Editorial Board of Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). She co-chaired workshops of the NIH and EASD, and has served in Grant Review Committees of the NIH, ADA, and JDRF.
Ignatios Ikonomidis MD, Ph.D., FESC, Assistant Professor in Cardiology, Director of the Laboratory of Preventive Cardiology, 2nd Cardiology Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Attikon University Hospital, Athens, Greece;
Dr Ignatios Ikonomidis is Assistant Professor in Cardiology in 2nd Cardiology Department, Attikon Hospital, of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. He is the director of the Vascular Laboratory of the Preventive Cardiology and works in the field of non invasive cardiovascular imaging He has a national and worldwide reputation and is regarded as one of the leading experts in the field echocardiography. As a result he is a permanent grader of the accreditation examination in cardiac ultrasound for European Association of Echocardiography Certification.
He used to work in the Department of Clinical Cardiology in Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College, London, U.K. During this period he was responsible for the running of the department of Stress and Contrast Echocardiography in Echocardiography Laboratory of Hammersmith Hospital. He also received a Research Grant from the Special Health Authorit of Hammersmith Hospital (LOCR-RC/259) for a research project examining the effects of apirin on cytokine, platelet and thrombin activation and its concomitant effects on myocardial ischaemia in patients with coronary artery disease This project was completed as Ph.D thesis in University of Athens and was published as full paper in Circulation journal.
He is member of several national, european and international associations. He has published over 100 original papers with over 1400 citations (h-index 20) and contributed in several medical textbooks.He has given several invited talks at international meetings and has been invited to chair sessions at scientific meetings. She has also been active in both organizing and teaching in courses and symposia. He acts as a regular reviewer of research papers for high impact international journals.
He has participated in several rmulticenter trials examining the effects of antiplatelet and antithrombotic and antiinflammatory agents in CAD (Paragon A, Oasis 2, STABILITY ) as well as in European registries of CAD (EUROASPIRE III) and international registries of acute heart failure (ALARM).
He has published original work about the effects of aspirin on inflammation, platelet activation and coagulation in patients with CAD (Circulation 1999 and 2005) as well as on the effects of interleukin 1 inhibition on coronary circulation, vascular and LV function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic CAD (Circulation 2008, Heart 2009 Thrombosis Haemostasis 2011). He has also studied the beneficial effects of postconditioning on coronary microcirculation using contrast echocardiography in patients with acute coronary syndromes (Atherosclerosis 2009,2012, Heart 2010) He has participated in position papers of the European working group of peripheral arteries regarding the use of non invasive techniques to assess endothelial function. His main interests are the study of microcirculation, vascular and LV function in cardiac diseases in association with atherogenetic and inflammatory processes.
Can Ince Ph. D., Professor of Clinical Physiology, Dept. of Translational Physiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Dept. of Intensive Care Adults, Erasmus MC University Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Professor Can Ince is a physiologist who heads the Department of Translational Physiology at the Academic Medical Center (AMC) of the University of Amsterdam. In addition Professor Ince is a part-time staff member (40%) of the Department of Intensive Care of the Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam (head prof Jan Bakker). This combination allows bench to bedside translation of concepts and techniques related to circulation and tissue oxygenation in surgery anesthesia and critical care medicine to be accomplished. Together with his team he conducts both experimental and clinical research directed at (micro)circulation and oxygenation in intensive care, cardiothoracic surgery and anesthesiology. Areas of investigation include blood transfusion, fluid resuscitation, sepsis, shock and resuscitation, acute renal failure, heart failure, functional hemodynamics, oxygen transport to tissue and mitochondrial function. In addition to experimental and clinical research, medical technology research related to the afore mentioned topics is carried out. His main contribution to peri-operative medicine has been the development and clinical introduction of hand-held video microscopes allowing the first time monitoring of the microcirculation at the bedside during surgery, anesthesia and intensive care medicine.
Prior to his current position as professor in Clinical Physiology (cardiovascular aspects of peri-operative medicine) he was professor of Experimental Anesthesiology at the Dept of Anesthesiology as well as Prof of Cell Physiology at the AMC (from 1993 to 2006). Before going to the AMC (1993) he was associate professor at the University Hospital of Rotterdam at the Intensive Care Unit of the Dept of General Surgery (head prof. HA Bruining) . Prior to that he had worked at the Dept. of Infectious Diseases (University Hospital Leiden) for some ten years on immunological research directed at macrophage function. He has a PhD degree in Immunology/Cell physiology from the University of Leiden. Before entering medicine he obtained degrees in electrical and electronic engineering (BSc University of Birmingham (UK), MSc Information Theory at the Dept of Electrical Engineering at the Technical University of Delft (Netherlands).
Prof Ince is past-president of the Dutch Physiological Society, former chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Netherlands Society for Intensive Care Medicine and past-president of the International Society of Oxygen Transport to Tissue. He is a member of the Hemodynamics Working Group and of the Medical Technology Assessment Working group of the European Society for Intensive Care Medicine. He is on the editorial boards of several journals and has organized several international conference on the topics of his research interests. He has authored close to 300 scientific peer reviewed papers.