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HF research pioneer granted lifetime achievement award by HFSA
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ORLANDO, Fla. — A researcher who impacted the understanding of ventricular remodeling and treatments for HF received a lifetime achievement award at the Heart Failure Society of America Annual Scientific Assembly.
Marc A. Pfeffer, MD, PhD, FHFSA, the Victor J. Dzau Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and senior physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, was cited by the HFSA board of directors for his “significant and sustained contribution to the field of HF.”
A protégé of Pfeffer’s, Scott D. Solomon, MD, professor of medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, credited Pfeffer with significant discoveries in ventricular remodeling as well as pioneering the use of base inhibitors in the treatment of HF.
“His is one of the most classic bench-to-bedside journeys we will ever see,” Solomon said. “He was always about the truth and the patient, and his particular brand of brilliance was tempered by wisdom and humility. ‘Lifetime achievement’ is an oxymoron for someone who will make countless contributions for many years to come.”
Over his career, Pfeffer played key roles in clinical trials including SAVE, CARE, VALIANT, CHARM, PEACE, ARISE, TREAT, ALTITUDE, RED-HF, TOPCAT and ELIXA.
“Lifetime achievement? There’s a downside to that,” Pfeffer said in his acceptance speech. “I’ve come to the conclusion that this society has chosen that term for mid-career awards.”
Pfeffer’s colleague and HFSA president-elect Mandeep R. Mehra, MD, MB, BS, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and medical director of the Heart and Vascular Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital, paraphrased a quote from Nobel Prize for Literature winner Anatole France to describe Pfeffer.
“We have to have dreamers, but they have to be able to act and then dream again,” Mehra said. “When it comes to lifetime achievement, we have to recognize those who have brought us to where we are today, and Dr. Pfeffer certainly falls into that category.” – by James Clark
References:
Mehra MR.
Pfeffer MA.
Solomon SD. Awards Session. All presented at: Heart Failure Society of America Scientific Assembly; Sept. 17-20, 2016; Orlando, Fla.
Disclosure:
Pfeffer reports consulting for Aastrom, Abbott Vascular, Amgen, Concert, Daiichi Sankyo, Fibrogen, Genzyme, GlaxoSmithKline, Hamilton Health Sciences, Medtronic, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Salix, Sanderling, Sanofi Aventis, Servier, and Teva, and receiving grant support from Amgen, Celladon, Novartis, and SanofiAventis; all of his fees go to charity. Brigham and Women’s Hospital holds patents for the use of inhibitors of the renin-angiotensin system in survivors of MI with Novartis. Mehra reports consulting for Boston Scientific, Medtronic, St Jude Medical, Stealth Biopeptides, and Teva. Solomon reports receiving a research grant from and consulting or serving on an advisory board for Novartis.