Canadian Cardiovascular Society recognizes trailblazing work by U of Alberta heart researcher

EDMONTON - A University of Alberta medical researcher being hailed as a world leader in his field will receive a major national award for his pioneering work in the development of a new class of drugs for the treatment of heart failure.

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society is giving its 2009 Young Investigator Award in the basic science category to Dr. Gavin Y. Oudit (pronounced OO-diht), an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry's Department of Medicine (Division of Cardiology). The prestigious award is to be presented at the society's awards ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 25, during the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress being held in Edmonton.

Millions of people around the world who have high blood pressure and/or heart failure are treated with a class of drugs called ACE inhibitors. Oudit and his collaborators are working on an alternative drug that wouldn't have the negative side effects that often occur with ACE inhibitors while providing a new type of therapeutic benefit. It could also be a potential therapy for kidney, liver and lung diseases as well as cardiovascular conditions.

Oudit, a clinician-scientist trained at the University of Toronto, moved to Edmonton from Toronto in 2008 to continue his groundbreaking research at the University of Alberta and his clinical practice at Alberta Health Services's Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and the University of Alberta Hospital.

The co-chair of the society's award committee said Oudit was their unanimous choice. He has established a "highly innovative and productive research program" that has yielded major discoveries, said Dr. Philippe Pibarot, professor in the Department of Medicine at Laval University.

"The committee has been highly impressed by the translational nature of (Oudit's) program, from fundamental molecular advances in our understanding of ACE2 biology to clinical applications," Pibarot added.

"Dr. Oudit has become a world leader in this exciting new area of research, which is very impressive considering the stage of his career."