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In This Issue:
BWH’s Michael J. Davidson, MD, of Cardiac Surgery, is among the first four recipients of the CIMIT-Johnson & Johnson Young Clinician Researcher Awards, and Yolonda Colson, MD, PhD, of Thoracic Surgery, received a special study award for an outstanding physician.
“With this award, we were looking to attract young, innovative clinicians in the Boston area who are passionate about patient care and willing to dedicate time to translational research,” John A. Parrish, MD, director of CIMIT, said. “It is our mission to accelerate the work of physicians who stay awake at night thinking about how to solve complex medical problems using minimally invasive technology.”
CIMIT, a Boston-based research consortium of major teaching hospitals and engineering schools dedicated to advancing patient care through collaboration and development of novel technologies, offers annual multidisciplinary team awards. The new CIMIT-Johnson & Johnson awards are funded through Johnson & Johnson’s Corporate Office of Science and Technology.
Davidson is working on techniques for heart valve repair, a procedure that most often requires open-heart surgery. For some patients who are elderly or have other health problems, open-heart procedures carry serious risk. Davidson’s work to develop percutaneous (catheter-based), less-invasive approaches for valve disease will offer an alternative. “The availability of viable techniques for catheter-based heart valve repair and replacement will allow more patients to choose a less invasive option,” Davidson said.
Colson was recognized for her innovative research on lung cancer. In particular, Colson will study tumor recurrence at the site of prior surgical resection, which often calls for removal of a large amount of the normal lung. She will assess local delivery of drugs that could minimize surgical resection of “the good lung” to prevent spread and recurrence. “I am honored to have the opportunity to pursue a course of treatment that has the potential to reduce the risk of local tumor recurrence in our patients,” Colson said.
Colson, Davidson and awardees from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Children’s Hospital Boston and MGH will be honored at a special reception.