Dr. Ian Phillips honored for innovations in gene therapy for treatment of high blood pressure and heart disease
The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation has awarded University of Florida medical researcher Ian Phillips, M.D., D.Sc., a $50,000 Frank Annunzio Award in the science/technology field for his three decades of research on cardiovascular disease.
The award was presented to Phillips Oct. 14 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. following the 90th annual celebration in honor of Christopher Columbus. The award is named for the late Honorable Frank Annunzio, former U.S. representative from Illinois and founder of the Columbus Fellowship Foundation.
Phillips, who is UF’s associate vice president for research and graduate studies and director of the UF Hypertension Center, has gained international recognition for his invention of potential new therapies for chronic disease using gene-targeting approaches.
Phillips, also a professor of physiology and functional genomics at UF’s College of Medicine, has developed new ways to treat high blood pressure with gene therapy. His team developed a gene “switch” that “turns on” protective genes when a heart attack begins in response to oxygen deprivation. This type of gene-activator is referred to as a “vigilant vector” because it is designed to wait in specific body organs until it is switched on when health conditions deteriorate.
When turned on, these vectors provide protective genes to reduce heart cell damage that results from repeated attacks.
Phillips believes this technique could be applied to other chronic diseases such as diabetes, stroke and lung disease.
“Innovative research in gene therapy has the potential to provide great benefits to society,” said Rosalyn Queen Alonso, chair of the foundation. “Dr. Phillips’ work reflects the level of discovery we look for in all of the foundation’s Columbus Scholars.”
The foundation is an independent federal agency established by the U.S. Congress in 1992 to encourage and support research and labor designed to produce discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind.