Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute Cardiologist P.K. Shah, M.D., To Receive American Heart Association's James B. Herrick Award For Scientific Achievement

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 28 Oct 2008 - 10:00 PST

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Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute cardiologist Prediman K. (P.K.) Shah, M.D., director of the Division of Cardiology, has been selected by the American Heart Association's Council on Clinical Cardiology to receive its highest award, the James B. Herrick Award, for scientific achievements that have contributed profoundly to the advancement and practice of clinical cardiology.

The Herrick Award will be conferred and Shah will present a lecture - "Vaccine for Atherosclerosis: Chasing the Holy Grail" - during the Council on Clinical Cardiology Annual Dinner, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel. The meeting is held each year during the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions, this year taking place at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, La., Nov. 8 through 12.

Also chosen the 2008 Laennec Clinician/Educator Lecturer, Shah has been invited to make a special presentation at 9 a.m. Nov. 11 in Room 267-268 of the Morial Convention Center. His lecture is titled "The Gene from Limone: Is it Golden or Not?"

Abstracts of Shah's lectures will be included in the Scientific Sessions supplement to the American Heart Association's journal Circulation, which will be published in October.

Shah came to Cedars-Sinai in 1976, completing a research fellowship in cardiology the following year. He has served as director of the Division of Cardiology since 1995 and director of the Atherosclerosis Research Center since 1993. He has held the Shapell and Webb Family Endowed Chair in Cardiology since 1990. Among his many accomplishments, Shah:

- Collaborated with William Ganz, M.D., to provide the first clot-dissolving therapy to treat heart attacks in human subjects.

- Is conducting high-level research on basic mechanisms contributing to plaque and clot buildup, and exploring innovative ways to reverse the process. This includes exploring gene therapy and pursuing the development of an immunization strategy for prevention of heart disease.

- Is credited with numerous important scientific contributions in the areas of atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease and acute coronary syndromes.

- Pioneered research related to the mutant gene apo A-I Milano that has protective effects against atherosclerosis, opening a new frontier in cardiovascular research and leading to a treatment that "melts plaque away."

- Developed an international reputation as a researcher and cardiologist. He and his work and expertise have been the subject of two segments of "60 Minutes," a PBS documentary titled "The Cure," Larry King Live and other programs.

- Published more than 550 scientific papers, abstracts, reviews, and book chapters and edited or co-edited four books, including a major cardiology textbook.

- Serves in a variety of capacities with professional cardiology organizations, including the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

- Is a member of editorial boards of numerous peer-reviewed cardiology journals.

- Has made national and international presentations and served as a Fulbright Visiting Professor to Japan, Argentina, Chile and Taiwan.

- Is recognized as a master teacher and clinician.

The Laennec Clinician/Educator Lecture is named in memory of René Laennec, a French physician who invented the stethoscope in 1816. His first stethoscope, consisting of a piece of paper rolled into a cylinder, was followed by a hollow wooden cylinder and even a solid piece of wood that transmitted sounds from the chest. He noted various sounds and correlated them later with anatomical findings at autopsy. He published his findings in 1819. Although the stethoscope may be his most recognizable contribution to medicine, it was only one of many.

The Herrick Award is named in honor of Dr. James Bryan Herrick, a pioneer among cardiologists. His contributions were many, but perhaps most significant was his classic paper on "Clinical Features of Sudden Obstruction of the Coronary Arteries," published in 1912. Besides giving the medical world a definitive description of coronary thrombosis, his studies emphasized the important observation that sudden obstruction of a coronary artery is not necessarily fatal. He served as president of the American Heart Association in 1927-1928, and received its Gold Heart Award in 1951.

The late Jeremy (H.J.C.) Swan, another innovative and compassionate cardiologist who led Cedars-Sinai's Division of Cardiology from 1965 to 1987, received the James B. Herrick Award in 1985.

Cedars Sinai Medical Center

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