Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute is honoring the physician widely known as the leading pioneer in modern mitral heart valve repair, Alain Carpentier, MD, PhD, with the second annual Eliot Corday, MD, International Prize in Heart Research. The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute established the Corday Prize to recognize physicians and scientists conducting groundbreaking research, or individuals who significantly advance the practice of heart medicine.
Carpentier is a leading surgeon, researcher, professor and 2007 recipient of the prestigious Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research. Carpentier is credited with taking valves from pigs and using them in humans, thus reducing or eliminating the need for patients to take blood thinners for the rest of their lives, as required for artificial valve patients.
During the Corday Prize ceremony, Carpentier will deliver a lecture to Cedars-Sinai physicians and researchers about xenotransplantation, the transfer of tissue or cells from one species to another.
Carpentier serves as president of Académie des Sciences at the Institut de France and is an emeritus professor at the University Paris-Descartes and adjunct professor at Mount Sinai Medical School in New York.
“Carpentier’s contributions to cardiology can be felt by patients worldwide,” said Eduardo Marbán, MD, PhD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and Mark S. Siegel Family Professor. “At Cedars-Sinai, where were have performed more minimally invasive heart valve procedures than any other U.S. medical center, we rely on Carpentier’s pioneering work every day. Dr. Carpentier’s legacy and commitment to heart health inspires all of us to continue working toward improving outcomes for patients with highly complex and challenging cardiac conditions.”
The Corday Prize is named for the late Eliot Corday, MD, a distinguished cardiologist who was an attending physician with Cedars-Sinai, a member of its board of directors and chief of Cardiology for 11 years. Corday was an influential scientist, clinician and educator who helped to pioneer invasive cardiology. He collaborated on research that led to modern stress testing and nuclear cardiology. His interests in sudden cardiac death and ischemic – or silent – heart disease contributed to the development of coronary intensive care units. Corday’s leadership had global impact, as he championed increased federal funding for medical research and the sharing of American cardiovascular expertise worldwide. He served as president of the American College of Cardiology and in a consultant capacity at high levels of the United States government.
The Corday Prize is funded by a gift from Brindell Gottlieb and her late husband, Milton. The Gottlieb family has longstanding ties with both Cedars-Sinai and the Corday family.
About the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute
The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute is internationally recognized for outstanding heart care built on decades of innovation and leading-edge research. From cardiac imaging and advanced diagnostics to surgical repair of complex heart problems to the training of the heart specialists of tomorrow and research that is deepening medical knowledge and practice, the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute is known around the world for excellence and innovations.