Honor Recognizes His Achievements in Prevention of Heart Disease
NEW YORK (March 4, 2008) — Weill Cornell Medical College Dean Antonio M. Gotto Jr. was inducted into the Nashville Public Schools Hall of Fame today by the Nashville Alliance for Public Education, recognizing his achievements as a researcher and educator in the prevention of heart disease.
This year's honors were bestowed on four distinguished graduates of Metro Nashville Public Schools.
After graduating from Donelson High School (Nashville) in 1953, Dr. Gotto attended the University of Oxford, where he received a doctorate in biochemistry in 1961, and later graduated from Vanderbilt Medical School, also in Nashville. He currently serves as the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, where he is also professor of medicine and provost for medical affairs of Cornell University.
Dr. Gotto's research interests include the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis and heart disease. He has made major contributions towards our understanding of how cholesterol and lipoproteins cause atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, as well as to the prevention and treatment of heart attacks. He has served as the national president of the American Heart Association; as a member of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Advisory Council; and as a member of the National Diabetes Advisory Board. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was the recipient of the Gold Heart Award from the American Heart Association and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Vanderbilt University and the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is co-author of "The New Living Heart" and "The New Living Heart Diet," which explain the origin and dietary treatment of cardiovascular disease to the general public. He is also author of "The Living Heart Cookbook."
In addition to Dr. Gotto, this year's inductees included Bill Purcell, former Nashville mayor; Marynell Meadors, head coach and general manager of the Atlanta Women's National Basketball Association franchise; and Earl Swensson, FAIA, chairman of the board of Earl Swensson Associates. Recipients were selected by the Nashville Alliance for Public Education, a nonprofit organization that works to raise private money to invest in public schools in Davidson County.
Weill Cornell Medical College
Weill Cornell Medical College — Cornell University's Medical School located in New York City — is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Weill Cornell, which is a principal academic affiliate of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, offers an innovative curriculum that integrates the teaching of basic and clinical sciences, problem-based learning, office-based preceptorships, and primary care and doctoring courses. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research in such areas as stem cells, genetics and gene therapy, geriatrics, neuroscience, structural biology, cardiovascular medicine, transplantation medicine, infectious disease, obesity, cancer, psychiatry and public health — and continue to delve ever deeper into the molecular basis of disease in an effort to unlock the mysteries behind the human body and the malfunctions that result in serious medical disorders. The Medical College — in its commitment to global health and education — has a strong presence in such places as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. With the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Cornell University is the first in the U.S. to offer a M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances — from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, the first indication of bone marrow's critical role in tumor growth, and, most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally-conscious brain-injured patient. For more information, visit www.med.cornell.edu.
Lezlie Greenberg
leg2003@med.cornell.edu