Dr. Joseph Hill named 2019 recipient of the Louis and Artur Lucian Award
The recipient of the 2019 Louis and Artur Lucian Award is Dr. Joseph Hill from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The award, established through a bequest to McGill University by the late Olga Leibovici to honour her two brothers, was designed to honour outstanding research in the field of circulatory diseases by a scientific investigator or group of investigators whose contribution to knowledge in this field is deemed worthy of special recognition.
“The Lucian Award at McGill University is a testimony to the generosity of a donor who bequeathed a gift more than 50 years ago,” explains Dr. Jacques Genest, a cardiologist and Professor in the Department of Medicine at McGill and a member of the award’s selection committee. “This enduring legacy provides McGill the opportunity to invite a world-class researcher in cardiovascular disease to interact with students and staff. The Lucian Award has been given continuously since 1978.”
“Dr. Hill received the award this year for his seminal work on the molecular mechanisms responsible for pathological changes in the heart that occur during the development of cardiovascular disease and heart failure,” notes Dr. Terry Hébert, Assistant Dean, Biomedical Science Education at McGill and also a member of the award selection committee. “His lab has generated a number of innovative lines of investigation for therapeutic intervention in these diseases targeting the electrical, structural and genetic remodeling of the heart. The breadth of his work is impressive and represents a state-of-the-art combination of basic and clinical research focused on translating mechanistic insights into new treatment for the leading cause of death in North America.”
Recipients of the award receive both a $70,000 monetary prize and an invitation to spend time at McGill to give a formal Lucian Lecture, to have interchanges with members of the McGill community, and possibly to undertake a research collaboration with McGill investigators in the field of circulatory diseases. Dr. Hill is expected to visit McGill May 19-22, 2020.
“I am thrilled and honoured to receive this prestigious award,” says Dr. Hill. “I accept it as recognition of the efforts of our team of investigators to address the global scourge of cardiovascular disease. I look forward to my visit to McGill!”
An MD, PhD graduate of Duke University, Dr. Hill pursued postdoctoral scientific training at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, followed by clinical training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hill served on the faculty of the University of Iowa for five years before moving in 2002 to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to assume the role of Chief of Cardiology and Director of the Harry S. Moss Heart Center. Dr. Hill serves on numerous committees, boards, and study sections, and he lectures widely.
In addition, he serves on several editorial boards, including Circulation Research: Senior Consulting Editor, American Journal of Physiology, Heart and Circulatory Physiology, and American Journal of Cardiology. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the textbook Muscle: Fundamental Biology and Mechanisms of Disease as well as Editor-in-Chief of Circulation. He has received numerous recognitions and awards, including election to the Association of American Professors. He recently served as President of the Association of University Cardiologists and chair of the Academic Council of the American College of Cardiology. He received the 2018 Research Achievement Award from the International Society for Heart Research. Dr. Hill maintains an active clinical practice focusing on general cardiology, heart failure, and hypertension.
Congratulations Dr. Hill!
For more information on the Louis and Artur Lucian Award, visit: https://www.mcgill.ca/lucianaward/