Judah Folkman

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Dr. Moses Judah Folkman (February 24 1933 – 14 January 2008) was an American medical scientist best known for his research on angiogenesis and vasculogenesis, that is to say, he discovered that tumours generate tiny blood vessels to nourish themselves. His work founded a branch of cancer research called 'anti-angiogenesis therapy'. Q

Early life

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Folkman graduated Ohio State University in 1953, and then Harvard Medical School in 1957. While still a student at Harvard Medical School, he developed one of the first pacemakers. After his graduation, he did his surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he rose to the rank of chief resident in surgery. During this time, Folkman worked on liver cancer and atrio-pacemakers.

Between 1960 and 1962, Folkman served in the United States Navy, as a Lieutenant, where he studied blood vessel growth. He worked at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. During his service in the U.S. Navy, Folkman created an implantable device for timed drug-release, and donated it patent-free to the World Population Council. It is now known as Norplant.

Work on angiogenesis

In 1971, he published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, stating that all cancer tumors were angiogenesis-dependent. He postulated that if a tumour could be stopped from growing its own blood supply, it would wither and die. Though his hypothesis was disregarded by most experts in the field at first, Folkman continued his research.

After more than a decade, his theory became widely accepted. He was considered the leading expert and founder of the angiogenesis field, which now offers many potentials in medicine. He trained numerous leaders in medicine and biomedical engineering, including Donald Ingber and Robert Langer.

Dr. Folkman pioneered the use of interferon in cancer therapy, healing hemangiomas, growths that often threaten the life of infants. His research has led to the development of progressively more potent compounds, such as angiostatin, endostatin and vasculostatin, which have successfully halted the growth of tumors in laboratory mice.

In 2000, a pharmaceutical company has sued Dr. Folkman, contending that he and Children's Hospital in Boston stole the credit for developing a promising drug that cuts off the blood supply to tumors, and he countersued to defend his reputation.

Dr. Folkman died in Denver. At the time of his death, Dr. Folkman was Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School and was also director of the Vascular Biology Program at Children's Hospital Boston.

Awards

His work at Massachusetts General Hospital, earned him the Boylston Medical Prize, Soma Weiss Award and the Borden Undergraduate Award in Medicine.

2006 Jacobson Innovation Award from the American College of Surgeons in honor of living surgeons who have been innovators of a new development or technique in any field of surgery.[1] In 2005, Dr. Folkman was invited to be the main speaker at the "Presidential Science Symposium" at the "ASCO Annual Meeting 2005". The "ASCO Annual Meetings" are the most influential clinical oncology meetings worldwide. In 2003, "The Angiogenesis Foundation" awarded Dr. Folkman a "Distinguished Achievement Award".

References

• Catherine Arnst (June 2005). "Inside Judah Folkman's Lab". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
• Cooke, Robert. Dr. Folkman's War: Angiogenesis and the Struggle to Defeat Cancer. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0375502446. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Judah Folkman (2001). Cancer Warrior (.MP3) (Video). PBS NOVA. Retrieved 2007-08-25.