March 21, 2006

Jon Epstein, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine,
Wins Prestigious Outstanding Investigator Award From AFMR

(Philadelphia, PA) – Jon Epstein, MD, Professor of Medicine and cardiovascular researcher at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has been selected as this year’s winner of the American Federation for Medical Research’s Outstanding Investigator Award, the organization’s top honor for medical investigation. The award was given out at the Clinical Research 2006 Annual Meeting, held March 16-18, in Washington, DC.

The Outstanding Investigator Award is presented annually to an outstanding investigator age 45 or younger in recognition of excellence in biomedical research.

Epstein’s research interest, along with the Epstein laboratory at PENN, is in molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular development, and the implications of these mechanisms for understanding human disease. His lab works with transgenic and knockout mouse models.

Epstein, who is the first to hold the William Wikoff Smith Chair in Cardiovascular Research and is also a board certified cardiologist, is receiving a $5,000 award from the AFMR, dedicated to fostering medical research and support programs aimed at developing the careers of physician scientists.

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PENN Medicine is a $2.7 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn’s School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #4 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System comprises: its flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, consistently rated one of the nation’s “Honor Roll” hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home health care and hospice.

This release is available online at http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/mar06/EpsteinAFMR.htm