NEW YORK (Nov. 26, 2012) -- Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College and provost for medical affairs of Cornell University, is a winner of the Dr. Luis Federico Leloir Prize of International Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation from Argentina's Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation. One of Argentina's most prestigious awards, it recognizes Dr. Glimcher's contributions to enriching international scientific cooperation with the nation.
"It is exciting and deeply humbling to accept this high accolade from Argentina's Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation," Dr. Glimcher says. "Science and medicine shouldn't have any barriers or borders hindering its advancement to heal patients. The most significant and pivotal biomedical research discoveries are often the result of meaningful collaborations, and it is among my deepest honors to be able to contribute to the successes of fellow investigators in Argentina and science around the globe."
The Dr. Luis Federico Leloir Prize is named after the outstanding Argentine biochemist Luis Federico Leloir (1906-1987), who in 1970 became the first Argentine winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and throughout his life advocated for international scientific cooperation with Argentina. The prize was established in 2010 by Minister of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation Dr. Lino Barañao in order to recognize the work of foreign experts who have made meaningful contributions to the promotion and strengthening cooperation in science, technology and innovation with Argentina.
Minister Dr. Barañao named Dr. Glimcher a Leloir Prize winner on Nov. 23 at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation's ceremony hosted at the Palacio San Martín in Argentina. This year, other honorees included: Dr. Manuel Cardona and Dr. Arsenio Muñoz de la Peña of Spain; Dr. Ignacio Grossmann of the United States; Mr. Günter Kniess, Argentina's former German Ambassador; Dr. Thomas Maibaum and Dr. Robert Pankhurst of the United Kingdom; Dr. Mogessie Aberra of Austria; Dr. Esther Oliveros of France; Dr. Rafael Radi of Uruguay; and Dr. Paulo Slud Brofman of Brazil. Dr. Glimcher plans to travel to Argentina next year to accept her award.
Nominated by Argentina's science and technology advisors and chosen by the Minister, Dr. Glimcher was acknowledged for her generous research contributions and collaborations investigating immune responses in cancer with top Argentinian physician-scientists, including Dr. Gabriel Rabinovich and Dr. Eduardo Arzt. Dr. Rabinovich is the head of the Laboratory of Immunopathology at the Institute of Biology and Experimental Medicine of the Argentinean National Research Council (CONICET) and professor of immunology at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires. Dr. Artz is a member of the Research Scientific Career of the National Research Council of Argentina, professor at the University of Buenos Aires and director of the BioMedicine Institute of Buenos Aires – CONICET – Partner Institute Max Planck Society.
Dr. Glimcher joins the ranks of some of the most world-renowned scientists who have earned the Leloir Prize honor, including Margaret Ann Shipp, director of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Lymphoma Program in Boston, Mass.; Jorge Allende, a professor at the University of Chile; Ugo Montanari, a professor at the University of Pisa, Italy; Robert Boyer, director of research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France; Ricardo Ehrlich, Uruguay's minister of education; and Jose Manuel Silva Rodriguez, former director-general for Research of the European Commission.
As a leading immunologist, Dr. Glimcher's research discoveries have helped improve understanding of the human immune system and how to manipulate it to better fight cancer. Her laboratory uses biochemical and genetic approaches to elucidate the molecular pathways that regulate lymphocyte development and activation in the immune system. Cell-mediated immunity involves T helper lymphocyte responses that are critical for both the development of protective immunity and for the pathophysiologic immune responses underlying autoimmune, infectious, allergic and malignant diseases. Dr. Glimcher's laboratory has studied the regulatory pathways that control these important immune checkpoints by controlling the production of small hormone-like mediators called cytokines.
Dr. Glimcher is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Sciences USA, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. She is also a member and past president of the American Association of Immunologists, which awarded her the Huang Meritorious Career Award in 2006 and the Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2008. She was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation, from which she received the Outstanding Investigator Award in 2001, the American Association of Physicians and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Glimcher previously directed the Division of Biological Sciences program at the Harvard School of Public Health and was a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, where she headed one of the top immunology programs in the world. She also served as senior physician and rheumatologist at the Brigham and Woman's Hospital.
This is the third award Dr. Glimcher received in 2012. Earlier this year, she was awarded the William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic Immunology from the Cancer Research Institute and the Ernst W. Bertner Memorial Award from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her numerous other awards include the American Association of University Women Senior Scholar Award (2006); American College of Rheumatology Distinguished Investigator Award (2006); Dean's Award for Leadership in the Advancement of Women Faculty at Harvard Medical School (2006); the Klemperer Award from the New York Academy of Medicine (2003); the American Society of Clinical Investigation Outstanding Investigator Award (2001); and the FASEB Excellence in Science Award (2000).
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. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances -- including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.