Akira Endo, a Japanese scientist who
discovered the first cholesterol-lowering statin drug, was one of five winners
of the Lasker Medical Research Awards. Akira Endo (Biopharm Research
Laboratories, Inc., Tokyo)
won the clinical research award for the discovery of the statins, which are
drugs with LDL-cholesterol-lowering properties that have revolutionized the
prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD).
Endo’s most important
work in the 1970’s was on fungal metabolites and their effects on cholesterol
synthesis. Endo and colleagues grew more than 6000 fungi, harvested the broth
in which each had grown, and tested whether the material could interfere with
an early step of cholesterol synthesis in a test tube. The scientist purified a
substance from the fungus Penicillium citrinum, called mevastatin or compactin,
which became the first member of the statin class of drugs. Additional analysis
led to the development of other statins and discovery into the metabolism of
cholesterol. Statins represent a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol levels
in people with cardiovascular disease or in those who are at risk of developing
heart disease; they also raise levels of high-density lipoprotein, HDL or “good”
cholesterol. Endo and colleagues found that the statins lowered the LDL, the
so-called “bad” cholesterol level, in the blood by 17 percent. Merck
manufactured lovastatin (Mevacor), the first statin to be licensed, in 1987.
Stanley Falkow, cancer research professor
at the Stanford University School of Medicine, received the Lasker-Koshland
Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science. “Dr. Stanley Falkow is one of
the most remarkable and respected scientists of our time,” said Philip Pizzo,
dean of the Stanford
Medical School.
“His elegant research contributions to the field of bacterial pathogenesis,
which he fathered, have been enhanced by his incredible leadership as a teacher
and mentor for a generation of physicians and scientists worldwide.” Dr.
Stanley Falkow is sometimes referred to as the father of molecular microbial
pathogenesis for his research into microbes. His research was conducted at the Walter Red Army Medical
Center, Georgetown
University, the University of Washington
and then Stanford. His findings helped in the understanding of the molecular
nature of antibiotic resistance and revolutionized the way scientists think
about how microbes cause infections and disease.
Victor Ambros, 54, of the University of
Massachusetts; David Baulcombe, 56, of the University of Cambridge in England,
and Gary Ruvkun, 56, of Massachusetts General Hospital shared the Lasker prize
for basic medical research for their pioneering look into the universe of
molecules that can control the activity of genes. These scientists found that
some of RNA molecules, which are called mocroRNAs can control the activity of
many genes in animals and plants. The Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research
Award honors scientists whose fundamental investigations have provided
techniques, information, or concepts contributing to the elimination of major
causes of disability and death, the foundation writes on its Web site.
The Lasker Awards have been presented since
1946 by the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, which supports biomedical
research toward overcoming diseases, enhancing human health and expanding life.
The awards are sometimes referred to as “America’s Nobels.” Seventy-five
Lasker laureates have received the Nobel Prize. The awards have been awarded
annually since 1946 to living scientists, physicians, and public servants who
have made major contributions to medical science.
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