ARRIGO RECORDATI INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AWARDED TO LINDSEY ALLAN
The Prize was awarded to the scientist for her contribution in innovation and advances in Prenatal Congenital Heart Disease.
The theme of the 2013 (seventh) Edition of the Arrigo Recordati Prize will be:
“The pivotal role of microcirculation in systemic and organ diseases”.
Newcastle, October 14, 2011
Today the sixth edition of the Arrigo Recordati International Prize for Scientific Research came to its conclusion with 100,000 Euros being awarded to Dr. Lindsey Allan, consultant at King's College, London, UK. The ceremony took place during the 52nd ESPR (European Society for Paediatric Research) Annual Meeting in Newcastle, UK.
The Arrigo Recordati International Prize for Scientific Research was established in 2000, in memory of the Italian pharmaceutical entrepreneur Arrigo Recordati, who led the homonymous company through a period of intense growth and development for 48 years until his premature death in February 1999. The Prize recognizes the seminal work of an individual who has demonstrated, through dedication to research, the values recognized by Arrigo Recordati, by granting every two years a prize of 100,000 Euros to a distinguished scientist, of any nationality, working in an institutional setting and not affiliated with pharmaceutical or medical device companies, for his/her commitment and accomplishments in the field of cardiovascular disease. Each edition of the Prize is devoted to a specific theme in this field.
For the 2011 edition of the Prize, relevant international societies and organizations were invited to nominate candidates that they felt deserved the Prize for their achievements in prenatal congenital heart disease. Self-nominations were not considered.
The Jury panel of the 2011 edition of the Prize, who announced the final decision, is composed of experts who have provided leadership throughout their long careers in the field of paediatric cardiology. The jury is chaired by André Bozio, Professor of Cardiology, Claude Bernard University Lyon-1, Head of Paediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Disease Department, Cardiology Hospital Louis Pradel, Hospices Civils de Lyon, France.
Members of the Jury are Klaus G. Schmidt, Professor of Paediatrics, Director of the Division of Paediatric Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center, Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf, Germany; and Gurleen Sharland Consultant/Reader Foetal Cardiology, Foetal Cardiology Unit, Evelina Children's Hospital, Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Professor Bozio, on behalf of the Jury, officially awarded the winner with the following motivation: “The Recordati Prize recognizes Dr. Lindsey Allan for her outstanding contributions in innovation and advances in Prenatal Congenital Heart Disease”.
The winner of the Arrigo Recordati Prize, after expressing her satisfaction for the important award, gave a brief lecture summarizing her research efforts and results in the field of prenatal congenital heart disease.
Dr. Lindsey Allan was recognized as a pioneer in the field of foetal cardiology in the early '80s, and became a leading and worldwide respected expert in foetal cardiology throughout the past three decades.
Finally, Giovanni Recordati, Arrigo Recordati's son and current Chairman and CEO of the Recordati pharmaceutical company, renewed the Compan's strong commitment to research and officially announced that the theme chosen for the (seventh) 2013 edition of the Arrigo Recordati Prize is: “The pivotal role of microcirculation in systemic and organ diseases”.
The term “microcirculation” describes the network of small vessels which are embedded within the organs and are responsible for the distribution of blood and the fluid exchanges within the tissues. The microcirculation is a complex system: it also plays an important role in the hemodynamics of the body, by regulating blood pressure and venous return to the heart. In addition, microcirculation interacts extensively with the immune system and the body's defense mechanisms. Therefore, the pivotal role of microcirculation in many disease conditions is well established. Indeed, microcirculation abnormalities often occur in subjects with high blood pressure. Also, metabolic diseases such as dislipidemia and type-2 diabetes induce destructive changes in the microvascular system that feeds the heart, the retina and the kidneys. As a consequence, early symptoms affecting patients, often the first signs of an underlying and more serious disease, can be due to a disturbance of microcirculation. With the constant improvement of diagnostic tools, scientists and physicians have realized that many problems affecting patients may occur in the microcirculatory system. Thus, microcirculation is an essential factor, albeit often poorly recognized, in the pathogenesis of many disease conditions.
The Arrigo Recordati Prize in its next edition of 2013 will seek to identify a leading contributor in this highly relevant area of medical research.
About Recordati
Recordati, established in 1926, is a European pharmaceutical group, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, with a total staff of over 2,800, dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals. It has headquarters in Milan, Italy, operations in the main European countries, and a growing presence in the new markets of Central and Eastern Europe. A European field force of around 1,400 medical representatives promotes a wide range of innovative pharmaceuticals, both proprietary and under license, in a number of therapeutic areas including a specialized business dedicated to treatments for rare diseases. Recordati's current and growing coverage of the European pharmaceutical market makes it a partner of choice for new product licenses from companies which do not have European marketing organizations. Recordati is committed to the research and development of new drug entities within the cardiovascular and urogenital therapeutic areas and of treatments for rare diseases.
For more information on the International Prize Arrigo Recordati, please contact the Organizing Secretariat: AIM Group International (Ms Dafne Sfoggia) Tel. +39 02 56601.1, Fax +39 02 56609045 - E-mail: recordatiprize2011@aimgroup.eu or visit www.recordati.com/prize.