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(Philadelphia, PA) - Daniel Rader, MD, a specialist in preventive cardiovascular medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), has been selected to direct a prestigious Freedom to Discover Unrestricted Biomedical Research Grant awarded to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Rader is one of two scientists in the cardiovascular area to be granted this honor in 2006; other grant areas include: cancer, nutrition, neuroscience, infectious disease, metabolic diseases, and synthetic organic chemistry. A total of $6 million is being given to support cutting-edge biomedical research at twelve institutions around the world.

Rader, a physician-scientist, is a leader in the field of preventive cardiovascular medicine, cholesterol metabolism and atherosclerosis. He is recognized for his translational research in applying basic research in pathways of cholesterol metabolism and atherosclerosis to the development of new therapeutic approaches to reduce heart disease risk. He is especially well known for his work in novel approaches to boosting HDL (good cholesterol) levels and function.

At Penn, Rader directs the General Clinical Research Center, is Associate Director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, and is Director of Penn’s Lipid/Atherosclerosis/Cardiovascular Metabolism Research Unit of the Cardiovascular Institute and the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. Clinically, he is Director of Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine at UPHS and recognized as an outstanding clinician.

In commenting on Rader’s selection, Michael Parmacek, MD, Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at Penn, noted, “This honor is well deserved and recognizes the many significant contributions that Dr. Rader has made over the past decade related to the prevention of heart disease. Dr. Rader is a role model for other researchers by demonstrating that it is possible to directly translate basic scientific discoveries into novel therapies for cardiovascular disease.”

The Freedom to Discover Award includes $100,000 per year for five years to use flexibly in support of Dr Rader's research program. "This research money will enable us to try new approaches to targeting HDL for therapeutic purposes, a key step in our goal of preventing and reversing heart disease," said Rader.

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