NEW YORK CITY, Jan. 31– Helen H. Hobbs, MD, an Investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, was awarded the nineteenth annual Glorney-Raisbeck Award in Cardiology last night at The New York Academy of Medicine.

Hobb’s work focuses on defining the genetic determinants of cholesterol levels and cardiovascular risk. Her recent study, which she presented at the awards lecture, was focused on coronary heart disease.

“Heart disease is difficult because it is so complex. Fifty percent is environmental factors, and the other half is genetic,” explained Hobbs. Since environmental factors are random from individual to individual, her study compared people with a sequence variation in the genome that has an effect on the levels of cholesterol to people who have no sequence variation. Hobb’s research found that a protein called protein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9, or PCSK9, which provides instructions for making a protein that helps regulate the amount of cholesterol in the bloodstream, has shown a lot of potential in reducing the rate of heart disease.

The Glorney-Raisbeck Lecture and Award in Cardiology was established at The New York Academy of Medicine in 1988 by the Corlette Glorney Foundation, and is presented annually in recognition of scientific achievement and outstanding contributions by an individual to basic science or clinical medicine, especially as those contributions relate to cardiology.

The first Glorney-Raisbeck Award was presented posthumously to Milton J. Raisbeck, an exceptional cardiologist involved in the advancement if medical education and research. Since then this level of achievement has been reflected in an outstanding serious of Glorney-Raisbeck awardees.

About The New York Academy of Medicine
Founded in 1847, The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. Our research, education, community engagement, and evidence-based advocacy seek to improve the health of people living in cities, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. The impact of these initiatives reaches into neighborhoods in New York City, across the country, and around the world. We work with community based organizations, academic institutions, corporations, the media, and government to catalyze and contribute to changes that promote health. Visit us online at www.nyam.org.

-by Sarah Rathsam

Posted on 02/04/2008

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