Currently, Professor of Surgery, Radiology, & Cell Biology & Physiology at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, Robert Thompson, MD, was PVRF's first Wylie Scholar.
What was your FAVR funded research?
The research I conducted under support of the Wylie Scholar Award, from 1996 to 1999, was focused on abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). More specifically, I was interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for aneurysm development and progressive expansion, with the idea that better understanding of pathophysiology might lead to new types of treatment. We are developing a medical therapy that could reduce the rate or extent of aneurysm expansion, potentially reducing the need for surgical repair of many AAAs. Plans are now in place to continue testing in patients with small AAAs in a large multi-center randomized trials that, if successful, will represent a novel form of treatment for this common vascular disease. The groundbreaking studies leading to this approach were all done during the period in which my laboratory research was supported in part by the Wylie Scholar Award.
What impact did the Wylie Scholar Award have on your ability to continue research?
I was the first recipient of the Wylie Scholar Award, beginning in July 1996, my fourth year as a member of the surgical faculty at Washington University in St. Louis. Later that year I obtained my first NIH-supported research grant (an R29, or “FIRST” award), which provided 5 years of support. I have since obtained successful refunding of this NIH grant as an R01 (in 2000), and have obtained 3 additional NIH grants (2 separate R01 grants and an R03 grant), as well as an award from the American Heart Association and several industry-sponsored awards for basic research projects. In addition to these individual research grants, I have also served as research mentor for a series of trainees (ranging from medical students to vascular surgery fellows), many of whom have received research awards and their own sources of extramural funding.
The Wylie Scholar Award had an unmistakable impact on my own research career development, both by directly supporting an important research project and by helping me to achieve the skills and experience needed to become an established independent investigator. The generous amount and duration of the award, and the timing of this source of support at a relatively early stage in my career development, were crucial to accomplishing my goals as an academic vascular surgeon-scientist. It is no exaggeration to state that my progress would not have been as rapid or assured had this source of support not been available. As a result of the research success achieved during this stage of my career, I was able to complete and publish several important papers and to acquire additional extramural funding for my laboratory program. This effort has now grown into a major focus of my professional activity and a genuine source of pride in accomplishment. Even after 12 years as an academic vascular surgeon, my interest in continuing to direct an active laboratory and clinical research program has never been stronger. In addition to the importance of the Wylie Scholar award in my own career, I am also gratified to be part of a lineage of vascular surgeon-scientists who are among the brightest in our field. I have enjoyed many interactions with other Wylie Scholar awardees over the past several years. It is my sincere hope that this Award will continue to provide the rich opportunities and have the impact on many more young vascular surgeons as it has had for me, and I remain thoroughly supportive of the program in every way possible.
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