VDC and P.A.D. Coalition present annual research awards at VDF's eighth annual meeting

The Venous Disease Coalition (VDC) and Peripheral Arterial Disease Coalition presented their annual research awards at the Vascular Disease Foundation's eighth annual meeting in Washington. The awards recognize the important research relevant to the understanding and/or treatment of venous diseases and peripheral arterial disease.

Venous Disease Awards:

The awards for studies published in 2010 in peer-reviewed medical literature are made in three distinct categories, including Basic Science, Clinical Outcomes and Quality Improvement and Implementation of Best Practices. The winning studies must provide important or novel insights for each category. The winners and their work are as follows:

The Basic Science Research Award was presented to Tobias Fuchs, Ph.D
Fuchs TA. Brill A. Duerschmied D. Schatzberg D. Monestier M. Myers DD Jr. Wrobleski SK. Wakefield TW. Hartwig JH. Wagner DD. Extracellular DNA traps promote thrombosis. (Proc Nat Acad Sci. 2010;107(36):15880-5.

The Clinical Outcomes Research Award was presented to Susan Kahn, MD
Kahn SR, Shrier I, Shapiro S, et al. Six-month exercise training program to treat post-thrombotic syndrome: a randomized controlled two-centre trial. (Canadian Medical Association Journal 2011;183:37)

The Research Related to Implementation of Quality Improvement, or Public Awareness of the Impact of Venous Disease Research Award was presented to James Douketis, MD
Douketis J, Tosetto A, Marcucci M, et al. Risk of recurrence after venous thromboembolism in men and women: patient level meta-analysis. (British Medical Journal 2011;342:d813.) and
Douketis J, Tosetto A, Marcucci M, et al. Patient-level meta-analysis: effect of measurement timing, threshold, and patient age on ability of D-dimer testing to assess recurrence risk after unprovoked venous thromboembolism. (Annals of Internal Medicine. 2010;153(8):523-531.)

Peripheral Arterial Disease Awards:

The awards for studies published in 2010 in peer-reviewed medical literature are made in three distinct categories, including Epidemiology/Preventive Medicine, Vascular Medicine and Vascular Interventions.

The winning studies must provide novel insight into the mechanism of lower extremity atherosclerosis; mechanisms of progression; detection of P.A.D. in populations; the impact of P.A.D. on limb symptoms or quality of life; psychosocial effects of the disease; economic or health services impact; or impact of this disease on systemic rates of myocardial infarction, stroke, or amputation for each category. The winners and their work are as follows:

Epidemiology/Preventative Medicine was presented to Cynthia St. Hilaire, PhD.
Cynthia St. Hilaire, Ph.D., Shira G. Ziegler, B.A., Thomas C. Markello, M.D., Ph.D., Alfredo Brusco, Ph.D., Catherine Groden, M.S., Fred Gill, M.D., Hannah Carlson-Donohoe, B.A., Robert J. Lederman, M.D., Marcus Y. Chen, M.D., Dan Yang, M.D., Ph.D., Michael P. Siegenthaler, M.D., Carlo Arduino, M.D., Cecilia Mancini, M.Sc., Bernard Freudenthal, M.D., Horia C. Stanescu, M.D., Anselm A. Zdebik, M.D., Ph.D., R. Krishna Chaganti, M.D., Robert L. Nussbaum, M.D., Robert Kleta, M.D., Ph.D., William A. Gahl, M.D., Ph.D., and Manfred Boehm, M.D. NT5E Mutations and Arterial Calcifications (New England Journal of Medicine. 2011;364:432-42.)

Vascular Medicine was presented to Michael C. Langham, PhD.
Michael C. Langham, PHD, Thomas F. Floyd, MD, Emile R. Mohler III, MD, Jeremy F. Magland, PHD, Felix W. Wehrli, PHD Evaluation of Cuff-Induced Ischemia in the Lower Extremity by Magnetic Resonance Oximetry. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, February 9, 2010; 55: 598 - 606)

Vascular Interventions was presented to Jill J.F. Belch, MD.
Jill J.F. Belch, MD, FRCP,a John Dormandy, MD, FRCS,b and the CASPAR Writing Committee Results of the randomized, placebo-controlled clopidogrel and acetylsalicylic acid in bypass surgery for peripheral arterial disease (CASPAR) trial (Journal of Vascular Surgery. 2010 Oct;52(4):825-33, 833.e1-2.)

All research winners received a plaque and $1,000 at the Vascular Disease Foundation's annual meeting in Washington.

Also awarded were the Stay in Circulation Community Service Awards for both national and local campaigns to increase public and health care provider awareness of P.A.D. and its association with other cardiovascular diseases.

Stay in Circulation Community Service Award for a Local Campaign was presented to John Martin, MD for Dare to C.A.R.E.
Dare to CARE (DTC) is a program started by Annapolis vascular surgeon Dr. John Martin. He has screened - for free - more than 30,000 people since 2000, half of whom were found to have some vascular disease. Many attendees have had life-saving procedures as a result of disease detected at DTC events. Through the efforts of volunteers and the use of lectures, educational materials, free ultrasound testing and meetings with cardiovascular specialists, DTC brings the important message to the public that complications of cardiovascular disease can be prevented.

Stay in Circulation Community Service Award for a National Campaign was presented to BioMedix and ev3.
Partnering with the P.A.D. Coalition, ev3 and BioMedix provided funding for a pilot P.A.D. screening event in four markets. In addition to the personnel and equipment resources needed for the screening program, the partnership allowed for the creation of a screening toolkit, which included materials that assisted any interested facility to use in creating their own screening events.