New York Physician Glenn Fishman received the American Heart Association's (AHA) 2015 Basic Research Prize for his work in molecular defects related to heart rhythm disorders and other cardiovascular diseases on Sunday.
The AHA honored Fishman, who works at the New York University School of Medicine, for his achievements in basic cardiovascular disease science.
“Dr. Fishman has gained an enviable international reputation for groundbreaking research into the molecular pathogenesis of diseases afflicting the heart, especially those causing cardiac rhythm disorders, both inherited and acquired," AHA President Mark Creager said. "His groundbreaking studies have yielded invaluable fundamental information and have the potential to point medical science toward clinically useful answers to sources of disease, especially those causing arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.”
Fishman created cardiovascular disease models using genetically engineered animals.
“These models enable the scientist and his colleagues to explore the abnormalities producing heartbeat irregularities and experiment with exotic techniques to overcome them,” Creager said. “Progress toward attaining the worthy goals of medical research almost invariably begins at the basic scientist’s workbench. Few such incubators of enlightenment have been more productive in the fight against cardiovascular disease than the fertile laboratory of Dr. Glenn Fishman."
