Skip to content

Home  |  JOIN  |  Contact Us  |  Member Portal

Meritorious Awards

2024 Recipient of the Judah Folkman Award in Vascular Biology

The NAVBO Meritorious Awards Committee and the NAVBO Council announce with pleasure the selection of Benjamin Hogan, PhD, as the recipient of the 2024 Judah Folkman Award in Vascular Biology. This award recognizes outstanding contributions from vascular biologists who are at mid-career (within fifteen years of their first faculty appointment). Dr. Hogan will present the Folkman Award Lecture and receive the award at Vascular Biology 2024 in Pacific Grove, California (October 20 - 24, 2024).

After completing his undergraduate degree in Genetics at the University of Melbourne, Dr. Hogan earned a PhD in Developmental Genetics from the same institution in 2005. He pursued post-doctoral research at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Melbourne and the Hubrecht Institute for Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Utrecht, The Netherlands. He returned to Australia as a Junior Faculty member in the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland, rising to Division Head in 2015. Since 2019, he has been Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at the University of Melbourne and Co-Head of the Program in Organogenesis and Cancer at Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Research in Dr. Hogan’s laboratory focuses on discovery of molecular mechanisms of  lymphatic vessel development and their contribution in lymphoedema and diseases including cancer. His work has utilized and developed the zebrafish model in lymphatic research, and he has confirmed key discoveries using mouse and human endothelial models. Much of his work has utilized large-scale phenotype-based genetic screens in zebrafish, to discover key genes and molecular mechanisms in lymphangiogenesis. Current work in his lab includes studies of lymphangiogenesis, blood brain barrier function and novel approaches to model endothelial cell-tumor interactions. Collectively, these investigations have characterized several new molecular components and downstream effectors in the VEGFC/VEGFR3 signaling cascade, advancing our understanding of this VEGF family growth factor/ receptor pathway, its targets and regulation in lymphangiogenesis. Dr. Hogan’s research has been well-supported by fellowships and grants from EMBO, the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. His work has generated 85+ peer-reviewed papers, reviews and book chapters. He has received numerous awards in recognition of his many scientific contributions, including Researcher of the Year Award from the National Heart Foundation Australia (Queensland) in 2015 and an Emerging Leader Award from the Australia-New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology in 2016

Colleagues writing in support of Dr. Hogan’s nomination for the Folkman Award all note his pioneering work using zebrafish as an experimental model for study of vascular development and function, producing, as one writes, work that “…stands out for its boldness, its rigor, and its enormous impact.” Another recommender celebrates his passion “…for training the next generation of scientists and for translating his discovery research to clinical applications that improve outcomes for patients of vascular disease.” And beyond the many scientific achievements, Dr. Hogan has impressed his colleagues with an “…open-minded, friendly and inclusive attitude make him a highly valued and positive member of the vascular biology community.”

Please join us at VB2024 this October to honor Dr. Hogan as he receives the Folkman Award in recognition of his accomplishments…and bright future…as a vascular biologist.

FEBRUARY 24, 1933 – JANUARY 14, 2008
JUDAH FOLKMAN AWARD IN VASCULAR BIOLOGY PRESENTED BY NAVBO

The Judah Folkman Award is a mid-career award. At the time of the Award, nominees will be between 3 and 15 years of their first faculty appointment (Assistant Professor or in non-academia, Staff Scientist or equivalent).  Therefore, a nominee's initial faculty appointment must be between 2007 and 2019 for the 2022 award.

In recognition of the breadth of Dr. Folkman's interests and his many contributions to vascular biology, the award will not be limited to the field of angiogenesis per se, but will encompass the full range of original research in vascular biology. Awardee will have made a significant impact on the field through his/her original research accomplishments.

Past Recipients include:

 

Dr. Asrar Malik2024 Recipient of the Earl P. Benditt Award

The NAVBO Meritorious Awards Committee and NAVBO Council are pleased to announce the selection of Asrar B. Malik, Ph.D., as the 2024 recipient of the Earl P. Benditt Award, in recognition of his numerous contributions to our understanding of pulmonary vascular barrier function and dysfunction and receptor-mediated activation of signaling pathways in the endothelium.  Dr. Malik is currently the Schweppe Family Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology & Regenerative Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. Dr. Malik will present the Benditt Lecture, titled “The Ins and Outs of the Endothelial Barrier” and receive the award, one of NAVBO's highest honors, at Vascular Biology 2024 in Pacific Grove, California in October.

Following undergraduate studies in the Departments of Anatomy & Cell Biology and Physiology at Western University in London, Ontario, Dr. Malik earned his PhD in Physiology at the University of Toronto in 1971. He pursued post-doctoral research in Physiology at the Washington University-St Louis School of Medicine and joined the Physiology faculty at Albany Medical College in 1974, rising to full Professor in 1980. He relocated to Chicago in 1993 as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology at Rush Medical College, then to his current institution as Professor and Head of Pharmacology & Regenerative Medicine in 1996. While at UI-Chicago he has held leadership posts in the Center for Lung and Vascular Biology and the Center for the Development of Stem Cell Therapies for Human Disease. Dr. Malik was honored as Distinguished Professor in 2001 and assumed the Schweppe Family Professorship in 2011.

Over the decades, work in Dr. Malik’s laboratory has helped delineate the molecular mechanisms that govern vascular permeability in a variety of normal homeostatic contexts (such as hemostasis and adaptive angiogenesis) and pathologies (sepsis, thrombosis, tumor angiogenesis). His 1990 Journal of Clinical Investigation paper titled “Increased endothelial albumin permeability mediated by protein kinase C activation” described the involvement of protein kinases as key signaling elements regulating the behavior of adherens junctions. This work proved pivotal as it opened investigation into the pharmacologic manipulation of pathways that can disrupt vascular integrity, resulting in plasma protein leakage and dysregulated inflammatory cell escape – hallmarks of inflammation – and led to the development of novel anti-inflammatory strategies. Subsequent contributions have included identifying the roles of small GTPases and the heterotrimeric G protein family in formation of the endothelial barrier and controlling endothelial polarity and proliferation. Seminal work on neutrophil migration identified novel regulatory pathways amenable to targeted therapies and tissue repair in inflammatory diseases. More recent work investigating transient receptor potential (trp) cationic channels in endothelial cells using nanoparticles has invigorated the search for anti-inflammatory nanomedicines. His laboratory has been strongly and consistently supported by the NIH over many years. He and his collaborators have published well over 400 peer-reviewed papers, 60+ reviews, and 30+ books or book chapters.

Letters in support of Dr. Malik’s nomination for the Benditt Award note, in addition to his specific contributions to our understanding of vascular permeability, that Dr. Malik has served important leadership roles as Program Director of an NIH T32 Training Program in Lung Biology and Pathobiology for 28 years, as Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Physiology- Lung (2000-2005), and as a member of study sections for the NIH and Veterans Administration. Further, he has fostered international scientific cooperation, organizing the first NIH- sponsored meetings in Mumbai, India and creating exchange programs for international scholars from Europe, China, India and Japan. Another letter of support noted that “Dr. Malik has trained an entire generation of new vascular biologists with expertise across the spectrum of vascular biology and vascular disease over a period that, remarkably, spans 40+ years. Dr. Malik’s trainees presently run labs across the world. The creation of the next generation of scientists is arguably the most important contribution a senior scientist can make, and Dr. Malik’s progeny speak to a long-lasting legacy for both himself and the field of vascular biology that is in the true spirit of the Benditt award.”

Please join us at VB2024 at Asilomar this October to honor Dr. Malik as he receives this well-deserved award.

APRIL 15, 1916–MAY 27, 1996
EARL P. BENDITT AWARD PRESENTED BY NAVBO

This award recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding discovery or developed a concept that has been seminal to our understanding of vascular biology or pathology.

The recipient will receive a crystal plaque and a monetary award and will be asked to give a lecture at the Vascular Biology Meeting.

Recipients of the Earl P. Benditt Award include:

Luisa Iruela-Arispe - 2023 Recipient of the Stephen Schwartz Award
Supported by Vascular Pharmacology

NAVBO’s Meritorious Awards Committee is pleased to name Luisa Iruela-Arispe, M.S., Ph.D., as the 2023 recipient of the Stephen Schwartz Award. Named in honor of Dr. Stephen Schwartz, a revered and beloved member of NAVBO and co-founder of the society, the award recognizes a mentor who has contributed significantly to the successful career of scientists who have trained in their laboratory, as well as served as an exemplary mentor to graduate students and postdocs, and who has contributed to fostering an environment that facilitates both professional and personal growth. The award will be presented in October 2003, at VB2022 in Newport, RI.

Dr. Iruela-Arispe is currently the Stephen Walter Ranson Professor of Cell Biology and Chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Northwestern University. She earned an undergraduate degree in Biology at the Universidade Gama Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, an M.S. in Histology & Embryology at the Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro, and completed her PhD in Cell & Molecular Biology between Universidade de São Paulo and the University of Washington (1989). Following post-doctoral study at the University of Washington, she held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School and the University of California-Los Angeles, becoming full Professor at UCLA in 2003. She served in a series of leadership positions at UCLA before relocating to Northwestern as Professor and Chair in 2019.

Dr. Iruela-Arispe’s research, which seeks to better understand signaling events that control vascular development and (dys)function, has been extraordinarily productive, evidenced by continuous grant support and well over 200 peer-reviewed publications. As a leading biomedical researcher, since 1994 she has guided 19 students to doctoral degrees in her laboratory and mentored 22 postdoctoral fellows, all of whom have found gainful employment in academia, publishing, or industry.

Her commitment to diversifying the research environment is evident: of her 41 doctoral or post-doctoral trainees, 75% are women; 41% are from underrepresented groups, and 53% are first-generation in pursuing higher education. She was recognized with a prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award for excellence in teaching at UCLA in 2009 and in 2013 received the UCLA Gold Shield Faculty Prize. In 2002 she led the creation of a graduate training program in Vascular Biology that has enjoyed continuous NIH T32 award support ever since. From 2011-2019, Dr. Iruela-Arispe served as Director of UCLA’s Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Program, an experience she credits with increasing both her understanding of mentorship and her sense of responsibility for guiding the next generation of scientists. Not least among her accomplishments, Luisa received NAVBO’s inaugural Judah Folkman Award in 2009 for excellence in research and service to the vascular biology community.

While the research productivity and recognition by peers are indirect reflections of Dr. Iruela-Arispe’s devotion to mentorship, the observations of those who have benefitted from her guidance are compelling indeed, revealing her fostering development of both technical expertise and transferrable professional skills. A trainee writing in support of the nomination considers themselves “…extremely blessed to have such a fiercely dedicated mentor in my corner. She is a role model for all young scientists as both an innovative scientist and dedicated educator who fosters excellence on a personal and institutional level.” “Dr. Arispe is consistently striving to promote inclusivity and an atmosphere that engenders collaborations and interactions by recruiting a group of highly diverse (expertise, level of training and ethnicity) and sociable trainees.” Another writes: “Luisa’s mentoring philosophy is built on the foundation of strong communication and respect for the individual. She goes above and beyond for her trainees and truly makes an effort for them to feel seen and heard. Additionally, the graduate students in my program also viewed her as their second mentor, which was very endearing.”

Please join us in Newport this October to honor 2023 Schwartz Award recipient, Dr. Luisa Iruela-Arispe.

This award is fully
Supported by Vascular Pharmacology

 

 

JANUARY 1, 1942–MARCH 17, 2020
STEPHEN SCHWARTZ AWARD PRESENTED BY NAVBO FOR OUTSTANDING MENTORSHIP

This award recognizes a mentor that has contributed significantly to the successful career of scientists who have trained in their lab; who has served as an exemplary mentor to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and contributed to fostering an environment which facilitates both professional and personal growth.

Recipients:

Naomi Chesler to Receive 2023
Florence R. Sabin AwardRegeneron
Supported by Regeneron

NAVBO’s Meritorious Awards and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committees are pleased to name Naomi Chesler, M.Sc., Ph.D., as the 2023 recipient of the Florence R. Sabin Award. The Sabin Award recognizes a unique individual who embodies the spirit of Dr. Florence Sabin (1871-1953), who broke scientific and social barriers with her research and community engagement. Sabin was known as a brilliant scientist, a trailblazer and role model for women in the medical profession and a steadfast believer in equal opportunities for women. The award is open to members of cardio/vascular biology communities who have worked as scientists, physicians, or physician/scientists. Candidates must have distinguished themselves in at least one of the following areas: promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in social issues which benefit underrepresented groups, public health, or public service to the broader community, in addition to their scientific/clinical accomplishments. This year’s award will be presented to Dr. Chesler at VB2023 in Newport, RI.

 

Dr. Chesler presently serves as Chancellor’s Inclusive Excellence Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, and Director of the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation Cardiovascular Innovation and Research Center. She earned a B.Sc. in General Engineering at Swarthmore College, an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering at MIT, and her Ph.D. in the Harvard-MIT Medical Engineering and Medical Physics program (1996). Following post-doctoral studies in Vascular Biomechanics at Georgia Tech, she held faculty positions at the University of Vermont (where she earned an NSF CAREER Award) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, rising to the rank of Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the latter institution in 2014. She assumed her current post at UC-Irvine in 2020.

Dr. Chesler’s well-funded research has focused on the biomechanics and energetics of pulmonary vascular function and right ventricular failure, resulting in over 130 publications. Alongside these laboratory research accomplishments, Dr. Chesler and colleagues have made significant contributions to the scholarship of teaching and mentorship. Their development of “engineering virtual internships,” which provide meaningful engineering experiences to early learners, has the great potential to encourage women and members of other groups underrepresented or marginalized in the physical sciences to pursue engineering degrees. This work, together with her crafting of sociology-informed programs to overcome gender-related barriers to successful mentoring, has been recognized by a Diversity Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society (2014), the McDonald Mentoring Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2019), and the Professional Impact Award for Mentoring from the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2021). Her work through her professional organizations, such has establishment of an LGBTQ social event that is now a regular social event on the annual BMES conference schedule, has far-reaching impact. Closer to home, Dr. Chesler has just began serving on the NAVBO DEI committee, so we can look forward to the benefit of her energy and commitment.

Those writing in support of Dr. Chesler’s nomination were united in their admiration for her commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and her embodiment of the spirit of the Sabin Award. “DEI is a constant thread through everything Dr. Chesler does. She incorporates healthcare disparities into her teaching, pointing out how some populations are at higher risk for some diseases, how many tools are designed and marketed without regard for the diversity of the patient population they will be serving, and how subtleties of language use in the classroom and the clinic can offend and harm.” At Irvine, she is active in the BME Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the UCI End Racism Initiative and has initiated a peer-mentoring network of women faculty in the School of Engineering. Dr. Chesler’s selfless desire to see her junior colleagues flourish was evident: “Naomi has been an outstanding mentor to me, consistently providing advice and actions that advanced my career when I needed it most. She did all this with no ulterior motive, as my success has no impact on her own career. I have also seen firsthand how Naomi’s mentoring has affected so many others in the biomechanics community.”

Please join us in Newport this October to honor Dr. Chesler as NAVBO’s 2023 Florence R. Sabin Award recipient.

Florence Sabin

Photo courtesy of Smith College

The Florence R. Sabin Award recognizes a unique individual who embodies the spirit of Dr. Florence Sabin (1871-1953) who broke scientific barriers with her research and contributions in the field of Vascular and Lymphatic Biology, as well as various social barriers. In addition to her contributions to science, Florence Sabin's later work as a public health administrator left a permanent imprint upon the communities in which she served. Sabin’s accomplishments include becoming the first woman faculty member at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and its first female full professor, the first woman to be elected President of the American Association of Anatomists, and the first woman elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences. One of her most passionate causes was the advancement of equal rights for women in education, employment, and society in general. Sabin was known as a brilliant scientist, a trailblazer and role model for women in the medical profession and a steadfast believer in equal opportunities for women, a teacher, a colleague, and a friend. Click here to learn more about Florence Sabin.

This annual award is open to active or retired members of the national or international vascular or cardiovascular biology communities who work or have worked as scientists, physicians, or physician/scientists. Candidates must have distinguished themselves in at least one of the following areas: promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in social issues which benefit underrepresented groups, public health, or public service to the broader community, in addition to their scientific/clinical accomplishments.

To nominate a colleague for this award, please see additional information under Nominations on this web site

This award is co-sponsored by the Meritorious Awards and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committees

Recipients:

2023 SPRINGER JUNIOR INVESTIGATOR AWARD - NAVBO'S AWARD FOR JUNIOR FACULTY

Amber Stratman, Ph.D.
Washington University in St. Louis

Dr. Stratman will present her talk, "Hemodynamic regulated genes that alter vascular development," at Vascular Biology 2023 on October 18.

This award recognizes a Junior Faculty, who is within five years of their first independent investigator position or within five years of an independent research position in academia, government, or industry.  An applicant must be submitting and presenting an abstract at the upcoming annual meeting.  The award recipient will present their abstract in a 20-minute presentation usually within the Award Lecture session.

For the 2022 award, the first appointment needs to be January 1, 2017 or later.

Please note: A first independent investigator is defined as an Assistant Professor or in non-academia, Staff Scientist or equivalent.

THE SPRINGER JUNIOR INVESTIGATOR AWARD IS MADE POSSIBLE BY SUPPORT FROM ANGIOGENESIS

Past Recipients include: