LOS ANGELES — Daniel J. Rader, MD, professor of Medicine and chief, Division of Translational Medicine and Human Genetics, at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been awarded the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Clinical Research Prize for developing new methods to identify factors regulating the metabolism of fat particles in the bloodstream and testing their impact on the development of atherosclerosis. Dr. Rader received the award today during the opening ceremony of the AHA Scientific Sessions in Los Angeles, CA.
Dr. Rader has spent the last two decades working in the field of lipoprotein biology and atherosclerosis, and is a widely recognized international leader in this field. His basic research laboratory focuses on genetic and pharmacologic regulation of lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis, and he directs a translational research program focusing on new pathways involved in lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis discovered through human genetics studies and novel approaches to treatment of dyslipidemia and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Rader has a particular interest in the metabolism of HDL (the “good cholesterol”) and its relationship to atherosclerosis. In recent research, he has illuminated pathways of HDL-mediated ‘reverse cholesterol transport’ and has shown that the functional ability of HDL to extract cholesterol from cells is a better predictor of coronary disease than HDL cholesterol blood levels. In addition, Rader and his team have helped to understand how new genes associated with dyslipidemia and coronary artery disease work to influence these conditions. Finally, Rader and his team demonstrated the potential usefulness of a drug that works through a new pathway to lower LDL (the “bad cholesterol”) in patients with a severe form of inherited high cholesterol.
He is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Atherosclerosis Society, a member of the Board of External Experts of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and a member of the Institute of Medicine.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.