Father of Angiogenesis Inhibitors, Judah Folkman, MD, to Address Academy

SAN FRANCISCO – The American Academy of Ophthalmology today announced that renowned medical researcher Judah Folkman, MD, will be the keynote speaker at the opening session of the 2007 Annual Meeting, to be held November 10 to 13 in New Orleans.

“It is an honor to have such a distinguished and accomplished researcher kick off our Annual Meeting,” said H. Dunbar Hoskins, MD, executive vice president of the Academy. “Dr. Folkman’s work has paved the way for numerous advances in cancer research and is helping those with age-related macular degeneration have a chance to save and possibly regain some of their eyesight.”

In 1971, Dr. Folkman hypothesized in the New England Journal of Medicine that all tumor growth is dependent upon angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels. His hypothesis opened a new field of investigation that was pursued by scientists worldwide and led to new methods for treating cancer and other diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Under Dr. Folkman’s direction, his laboratory purified the first angiogenic protein from a tumor, discovered the first angiogenesis inhibitors and initiated clinical trials of antiangiogenic therapy.

Today, angiogenesis inhibitors have received FDA approval in the United States (and 27 other countries) for cancer treatment and have led to the development of anti-angiogenesis drugs, including Genentech’s Lucentis® and Pfizer’s Macugen® for AMD.

A Lifetime of Service to the Health of the World

Dr. Folkman was born in Cleveland in 1933 and graduated cum laude from Ohio State University in 1953. He continued his education at Harvard Medical School, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1957.

Dr. Folkman began his surgical residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital and served as chief resident of surgery from 1964 to1965.

As a student, he co-authored papers on liver cancer and developed the first atrio-ventricular implantable pacemaker for which he received the Boylston Medical Prize, Soma Weiss Award and Borden Undergraduate Award in Medicine.

While serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy from 1960-1962, Dr. Folkman and a colleague at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda first reported the use of silicone rubber implantable polymers for the sustained release of drugs. At the same time, Dr. Folkman began growing tumors in isolated perfused organs, which led to the idea that tumors are angiogenesis-dependent.

Dr. Folkman has authored 389 original peer-reviewed papers and 106 book chapters and monographs. He holds honorary degrees from 15 universities and is the recipient of numerous national and international awards.

He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

In addition to his distinguished accomplishments in research, Dr. Folkman has served as a surgeon and teacher.

For more information, please visit www.aao.org.

###

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
AAO is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons—Eye M.D.s—with more than 27,000 members worldwide.  Eye health care is provided by the three “O’s” – opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery. To find an Eye M.D. in your area, visit the Academy's Web site at www.aao.org.