The award is given on behalf of the American Cardiology Association
Professor Lior Gepstein from the Rappaport Faculty and Institute of Medicine and the Department of Cardiology at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, won the Douglas P. Zipes Award on behalf of the American College of Cardiology, which has tens of thousands of members. The award was given to Professor Gepstein As part of the association's annual convention held in Atlanta, with the participation of 35 thousand cardiologists. Dr. Gepstein is the first winner of this prestigious award that was announced for the first time this year. The purpose of the award is to honor the scientific work of a young researcher who made an extraordinary contribution to cardiovascular research while presenting impressive academic achievements .
In its reasoning for awarding the prize to Professor Gepstein, the prize committee said: "Dr. Gepstein is an example of an excellent physician-researcher. His scientific achievements in the fields of the electrical and mechanical mapping of the heart and in the developing research fields of stem cells, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine meet the high standards of the award."
In an emotional personal letter to Professor Raphael Biar, from the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion and director of Rambam, Professor Zeifs wrote that "it was wonderful to see that the first winner of the award bearing my name is a young Israeli scientist." He added that the win shows a lot about the quality of science and medicine in Israel. Professor Gepstein was chosen from among 35 candidates who reached the final stage and met the criteria of exceptional excellence.
Dr. Douglas Peter Zeips, vice president of the American College of Cardiology, is a world-renowned researcher in the field of cardiac arrhythmias and electrophysiology. Zeips, who has thirty years of cardiology research behind him, specializes in electrophysiology - a field that deals with the electronic mechanism that activates the heart, and is a world-renowned expert in the field of heart disorders.
In addition to receiving the award at the association's official ceremony, Dr. Gepstein was also chosen to give the Zipes lecture on the subject: "Cell transplantation as a treatment for arrhythmias".
