image: This is Cam Patterson, MD, MBA, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. view more
Credit: Image courtesy of UNC School of Medicine
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Cam Patterson, MD, MBA, division chief of cardiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has been named the recipient of the 2012 North America Vascular Biology Association Judah Folkman Award in Vascular Biology.
The award recognizes outstanding contributions from vascular biologists who are at mid-career (within fifteen years of their first faculty appointment). Patterson is the Ernest and Hazel Craige Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and professor in the departments of pharmacology and cell and developmental biology. He is also associate dean for health care entrepreneurship and physician-in-chief for the UNC Center for Heart and Vascular Care.
In its announcement, the association states the Folkman Award "recognizes Patterson's significant contributions to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that control angiogenesis," blood vessel development. Among other areas, this includes "groundbreaking work" in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) cell receptor signaling.
Moreover, group notes that the basic research findings emerging from Patterson's laboratory are already making their way toward clinical trials involving new therapies aimed at cardiovascular blood vessel growth.
Patterson will present the Judah Folkman Award Lecture during the NAVBO Workshops in Vascular Biology 2012 to be held in Pacific Grove, California at the Asilomar Conference Grounds on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012. At a ceremony following the lecture, Patterson will receive a plaque to commemorate the event and a monetary award.
Moses Judah Folkman, MD was a Harvard Medical School professor best known for his research on tumor angiogenesis, the process by which a tumor attracts blood vessels to nourish and sustain its existence. Folkman founded the field of angiogenesis research, which has led to the discovery of a number of therapies based on inhibiting or stimulating new blood vessel development.