U.S. award recognizes outstanding Robarts geneticist

LONDON, ON -- Robarts Scientist Dr. Robert Hegele has earned a place among a prestigious group as the first Canadian-based recipient of a key research award from the American Heart Association. Dr. Hegele, Director of the Blackburn Laboratory for Cardiovascular Genetics at Robarts Research Institute, has been recognized for his outstanding contribution in the area of arteriosclerosis and vascular disease with the 2004 Jeffrey M. Hoeg Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Award for Basic Science and Clinical Research. He will be presented with the award at an AHA conference in San Francisco on May 8. Previous recipients include prominent researchers from Harvard University, the University of California and the University of Washington. “This a real honour for me, particularly as Jeff Hoeg was such a key figure in cardiovascular research. He was both a role model and a mentor for me when I was training in the States,” said Dr. Hegele, an endocrinologist and geneticist whose lab at Robarts has discovered the molecular genetic basis of eight human diseases and identified more than 80 human mutations contributing to premature cardiovascular disease and diabetes. (The AHA award honors the late Dr. Jeffrey M. Hoeg, a cardiovascular researcher and key official at the U.S. National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.) Dr. Hegele is no stranger to accolades and awards. Last month he received the Hellmuth Prize, The University of Western Ontario’s top research award. In 2002, he earned the Canadian Diabetes Association Great West Life/London Life Young Scientist Award and one of his discoveries was named one of the Top 10 research advances for 2001 by the AHA. Dr. Hegele also holds the Edith Schulich Vinet Canada Research Chair in Human Genetics and is professor of medicine and biochemistry at Western. “We at Robarts are extremely proud of Dr. Hegele’s continued success and accomplishments as one of North America’s leading clinician-scientists,” said Dr. Mark Poznansky, Robarts President and Scientific Director. “He has built an enviable research program that is admired well beyond the city; he contributes extensively to the academic and research communities and, best of all, his work in the lab has a direct impact on the patients he cares for in his clinical practice.” Recruited from Toronto in 1997, Dr. Hegele holds memberships in many professional societies and serves on several grants panels, committees, organizations and editorial boards. He has published more than 260 research papers and has presented at over 100 national and international conferences. For more information or to arrange an interview with Dr. Hegele, please contact Linda Quattrin at (519) 663-3021.