Oncology Researcher Honored by Hellenic Medical Society of New York
Dr. Paraskevi Giannakakou, associate professor of pharmacology in medicine and director of laboratory research in the division of hematology and medical oncology
The Hellenic Medical Society of New York awarded Dr. Paraskevi Giannakakou, associate professor of pharmacology in medicine and director of laboratory research in the division of hematology and medical oncology at Weill Cornell Medical College, the Mary Kalopathakes Award on April 19 at Lenox Hill Hospital.
Dr. Paraskevi (Evi) Giannakakou's research focuses on the biology of the microtubule cytoskeleton in cancer and the mechanism of action of cancer chemotherapy. More specifically, her research seeks to identify the intracellular trafficking and signaling pathways that require an intact and dynamic microtubule network, as well as the functional consequences of drug-induced microtubule disruption and cell death. Dr. Giannakakou is leading NIH-funded multi-disciplinary research efforts in order to translate her research findings into true clinical gains.
The award bestowed upon Dr. Giannakakou honors Dr. Mary Kalopothakes, the first Greek-American female physician. Dr. Kalopothakes was born in Athens in 1859. She graduated from the Harvard Annex (now Radcliffe College) and studied medicine in Paris, France, since women were not being admitted to American medical schools in that era. After graduation and specialization in pediatrics, Dr. Kalopothakes served as a surgeon and director of the Hospital of the Red Cross in Greece during the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. She also founded a clinic for women and children and trained nurses focusing on public health and the prevention of tuberculosis while maintaining her practice as a pediatrician. In 1909, she published a report on public health in Greece outlining rates of infant mortality, hygiene and tuberculosis in the book "The Health of the Nations."
The Hellenic Medical Society of New York established the award in 2011, through the efforts of Dr. Stella Lymberis (NYU — radiology/oncology) to recognize the achievements of female physicians and scientists of Hellenic descent who provide inspiration to their students and their colleagues.
Inaugural Antonio M. Gotto, Jr. Prize in Atherosclerosis Research Awarded
Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., dean emeritus of and co-chairman of the board of overseers for the Medical College and vice president and provost for medical affairs emeritus for Cornell University
The inaugural Antonio M. Gotto, Jr. Prize in Atherosclerosis Research was awarded to Dr. Helen Hobbs, an investigator from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, during the International Symposium on Atherosclerosis last month in Sydney, Australia.
The triennial prize, endowed by Weill Cornell Medical College and the International Atherosclerosis Society in honor of Dr. Gotto, dean emeritus of and co-chairman of the board of overseers for the Medical College, recognizes outstanding scientific, medical or organizational advancement in our ability to understand the causes and the development of atherosclerosis.
Dr. Hobbs, director of the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, received the award for her research on the genetics of cholesterol metabolism. She seeks to identify the genetic factors that contribute to variations in the levels of cholesterol in the blood, especially low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Elevated levels of LDL cholesterol increase the risk of a heart attack.
A UT Southwestern faculty member since 1987, Dr. Hobbs majored in human biology at Stanford University and earned her medical degree at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. The Boston native completed an internship in internal medicine at the then-named Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York before moving in 1980 to Dallas and UT Southwestern, where she finished her clinical training and served as chief resident in internal medicine at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
The prize aims to encourage basic, clinical and translational research in areas relating to the causes, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease globally, a field to which Dr. Gotto, who is also vice president and provost for medical affairs emeritus for Cornell University, has dedicated his career. The former president of both the American Heart Association and the International Atherosclerosis Society, Dr. Gotto's research has demonstrated the link between cholesterol and the development of heart disease.