Awards

CU Boulder Pandemic Scientific Steering Committee and Science Team Wins the 2021 Robert L. Stearns Alumni Award

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

CU Boulder Pandemic Scientific Steering Committee and Science Team Wins the 2021 Robert L. Stearns Alumni Award Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/04/2021 - 00:00

BioFrontiers

Most people will forever remember where they were in March 2020 as the world began to shut down. For many at CU Boulder, an incredible haul of work instantly followed. Like the COVID-19 virus, their tasks were new, momentous and immediate.

“I can think of no more difficult year than the one that began on March 13, 2020, and was dominated by COVID-19, its impact on our students, faculty and staff and our institutional response,” said CU Boulder provost Russ Moore.

One group of faculty and staff — the CU Boulder Pandemic Scientific Steering Committee and Science Team, or “The Team” — was set on determining how the university could remain operational during a pandemic.

“Without being asked, and in the true spirit of public service, the members of the Scientific Steering Committee and Science Team dropped what they were doing in order to develop the science and many of the associated operations that allowed our campus to successfully open and operate,” said Moore.

The Team consisted of Kristen Bjorkman, Gloria Brisson, Jose Jimenez, Mark Kavanaugh, Daniel Larremore, Leslie Leinwand, Cresten Mansfeldt, Jennifer McDuffie, Matt McQueen, Shelly Miller, Roy Parker and Melanie Parra. Their priority was the safety of the CU Boulder community and beyond.

Their work was evident in every aspect of campus life.

They developed saliva- and wastewater-based SARS-CoV-2 screening tests to find both individual infections and larger outbreaks on campus. They created a contact tracing program that involved eager students and became one of the most responsive in the state. They helped design the HVAC systems that were installed throughout campus to reduce airborne disease transmission. They guided physical distancing and masking protocols. Most importantly, their solutions were grounded in science.

Their ideas and implementations were constant — sometimes happening from the hours of 2 to 4 a.m. or on weekends. The work is not done. Much of The Team’s scientific work will be studied, reviewed and published to help future crisis response practices.

In the words of the provost, speaking on behalf of thousands positively impacted by their work, “The Team’s dedication serves as an inspiration to us all.”

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Leslie Leinwand receives the American Heart Association’s 2021 Eugene Braunwald Academic Mentorship Award

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Leslie Leinwand receives the American Heart Association’s 2021 Eugene Braunwald Academic Mentorship Award Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/03/2021 - 00:00

BioFrontiers

The American Heart Association ("AHA"), a nonprofit organization that funds cardiovascular medical research, presented its 2021 Eugene Braunwald Academic Mentorship Award to Leslie Leinwand, Ph.D. Dr. Leinwand is the chief scientific officer of the BioFrontiers Institute and a Distinguished Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at the �ֲ��ý Boulder, Professor of Cardiology at the �ֲ��ý School of Medicine and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor. Her research lab focuses on the genetics and molecular physiology of inherited diseases of the heart, as well as how biological sex and diet affect the heart. Dr. Leinwand's research has significantly contributed to the deeper understanding of heart failure.

AHA selected Dr. Leinwand to receive the 2021 Eugene Braunwald Academic Mentorship Award because of her outstanding dedication to the mentorship of young cardiovascular scientists and physician-scientists. She has mentored nearly 200 cardiovascular and physician-scientists during the past 40 years, and many of her mentees are now cardiovascular leaders. “Dr. Leslie Leinwand has an impressive career history of shaping young scientists into outstanding leaders in health care and cardiovascular medicine, while continuing to advance our knowledge and understanding of the roles that gender and diet play in heart health,” said Association President Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, M.D., Sc.M., FAHA. “Her longstanding commitment to supporting the future of cardiovascular science is exemplary, and she has been an outstanding role model and inspiration for generations of scientists.”

Dr. Leinwand said, “It is such an honor to receive this award in the name of Eugene Braunwald and to follow all of the previous outstanding awardees. Mentoring is one of the most important things that we do as scientists, and I am tremendously proud of all of my trainees who have gone onto such distinguished careers and become great mentors themselves.”

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American Heart Association recognizes distinguished professor’s work

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Nov 2017 07:00:00 +0000

American Heart Association recognizes distinguished professor’s work Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/10/2017 - 00:00

Cay Leytham-Powell

Leslie Leinwand has won the American Heart Association's 2017 Distinguished Scientist award for outstanding contributions to the field of heart health

The usage of fats from python hearts on mammals and the cardiovascular differences between females and males are at the core of research by a �ֲ��ý Boulder professor being recognized for her significant contributions to the field of heart health.

Leslie Leinwand, a distinguished professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the chief scientific officer of the BioFrontiers Institute, is CU Boulder's first ever recipient of the American Heart Association's annual Distinguished Scientist award.

This prestigious award, which will be conferred at the American Heart Association’s annual Scientific Sessions on Nov. 12, recognizes significant, original and sustained scientific contributions to the field of heart research.

"I'm quite happy with where I am in my career," Leinwand commented. "But being honored by your colleagues — your peers — is always the best."

Most of Leinwand's career has focused on personalizing cardiovascular care through two major research themes: the role of one's sex on heart health, and the search for new solutions to treat heart disease in humans (in this case, by studying Burmese pythons).

For both areas of research, Leinwand looked beyond the common assumptions and found new solutions to old problems, including finding three new types of lipids (or fats) in the bloodstreams of Burmese pythons that could theoretically be applied to human medicine after further testing.

These fats not only allow the hearts of snakes who had large, sudden intakes of food to work more efficiently (like well-exercised hearts in human athletes), but they also keep fats from building up in the heart and causing heart disease. This buildup of "bad fats" is what happens in mammals who have large amounts of fat in their blood after big or particularly fatty meals.

These breakthroughs led Leinwand and other scientists to form three biotechnology companies — Myogen Inc., which has since been sold to Gilead Pharmaceuticals; Hiberna Inc., which uses pythons and ground squirrels to develop cutting-edge therapeutics for cardiovascular disease; and MyoKardia Inc., which has the goal of better care for inherited heart disease.

Leinwand is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a National Academy of Inventors fellow, and helped found the intercampus �ֲ��ý Cardiovascular Institute (which integrates cardiovascular research, treatment and discovery across the Anschutz Medical and Boulder campuses).

"Leslie has made a career of fearlessly and creatively approaching challenges, like heart disease, by searching for answers beyond her field and beyond what we think could be possible," said Tom Cech, the director of the BioFrontiers Institute, a Nobel laureate and a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry. "This unique view of science also gives the students in her lab and in her classroom the tools and perspectives they will need to solve the biomedical challenges of the future."

Leinwand attributes much of her success to the interdisciplinary focus at CU Boulder, and at the BioFrontiers Institute in particular.

"There aren't that many places that provide the intellectual environment to encourage people to go out on the edge," Leinwand said. "BioFrontiers has just been fantastic."

Last year's recipients of the American Heart Association's Distinguished Scientist award include a clinical cardiologist who studies the role of oxygen in heart health, a pioneer of MRI development, a scientist who has spent his career trying to understand the causes of cardiovascular disease and chronic disease prevention, and a scientist aiming to improve nursing care and a scientist known for his work with white-blood cells.

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