Dr. Costantino Iadecola, the G.C. Cotzias Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College, and chief of the Division of Neurobiology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, has been chosen as the winner of the 2009 Willis Lecture Award.
The honor, which is given by the Stroke Council of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, is reserved for a senior investigator who has made outstanding contributions to the stroke field over a sustained period during his or her career. It is the most prestigious honor presented in conjunction with the annual International Stroke Conference, where Dr. Iadecola will give his lecture entitled "The Changing Landscape of Cerebral Ischemic Injury." This year's conference will be held February 17-19, 2009, in San Diego.
"I am deeply touched by this recognition by my colleagues and the American Heart Association," said Dr. Iadecola. "There is much to be done in stroke, a leading cause of death and disability for which effective treatments are limited. This award strengthens my resolve to continue the search for a cure by pursuing further the mechanisms by which stroke kills the brain."
Dr. Iadecola received an M.D. degree from the University of Rome in 1977. In 1980, he joined Cornell University first as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Donald Reis, and then as neurology resident with Dr. Fred Plum. In 1990, Dr. Iadecola was recruited to the department of neurology of the University of Minnesota. He rose through the academic ranks serving as professor and vice chairman for research there from 1997 to 2001. In 2001, Dr. Iadecola was recruited back to Weill Cornell to his current post, previously held by his mentor Dr. Reis. He received the Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association and the Javits Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the NIH.
Dr. Iadecola's research focuses on the mechanisms of normal and abnormal cerebrovascular regulation, and on the molecular pathology of ischemic brain injury and neurodegeneration. The Willis Award was given in recognition of his pioneering contributions on the role of prostaglandins and nitric oxide in stroke damage and on the role of cerebral blood vessels dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease.
The Willis Lecture Award was established in honor of Thomas Willis, a prominent physician credited with providing the first detailed description of the blood vessels of the brain, the brain stem, the cerebellum and the ventricles, with extensive hypotheses about the functions of these brain parts.