COLUMBUS, Ohio – Before leaving office, President Joe Biden awarded a surgeon-scientist and a researcher at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). It is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government to outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers.
Sylvester Black, MD, PhD, professor with tenure in the Department of Surgery, and Kymberly Gowdy, PhD, associate professor with tenure in the Department of Internal Medicine, are among nearly 400 scientists and engineers nationwide who recently received the award. This year's awardees are employed or funded by 14 U.S. agencies. The National Institutes of Health nominated Black and Gowdy.
The award recognizes innovative and far-reaching developments in science and technology, expands awareness of careers in science and engineering, recognizes the scientific missions of participating agencies and enhances connections between research and its impact on society.
"Dr. Black's and Dr. Gowdy's ability to apply their innovative research bridges the gaps between the lab bench and the patient's bedside. This prestigious honor recognizes that when we support the work of early career physician-scientists and researchers, scientific advances and breakthroughs can happen and lives will be improved," said Carol R. Bradford, MD, dean of the College of Medicine.
Sylvester Black, MD, PhD
Black's work is transforming transplant medicine — offering hope to patients and setting new standards in organ preservation and transplantation.
His research in organ transplantation involves developing first-in-class tissue repair drugs and therapeutics that significantly reduce tissue injury and improve donor organ viability. His leadership as Ohio State's site principal investigator for the multi-institutional Transmedics Liver PROTECT Trial was instrumental in the FDA approving the Organ Care System liver perfusion device. This cutting-edge technology uses normothermic machine perfusion to assess and preserve donor organs, improving transplant outcomes.
Black is a recipient of prestigious honors such as the American Society of Transplant Surgeons Rising Star Award and continuous recognition as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor. He serves as chair of the NIH Hepatobiliary Pathophysiology Study Section (HBPP), vice chair of the Surgeon-Scientist National Committee for the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and associate editor for the American Journal of Transplantation.
"It's an incredible honor to be recognized by peers in academia. There are few surgeon-scientists and bringing new therapies from bench to bedside is exciting and profoundly meaningful," he said.
Kymberly Gowdy, PhD
Gowdy is part of Ohio State's Davis Heart & Lung Research Institute and leads a research program studying how the inhalation of air pollutants can lead to respiratory infections and heart problems. Her research has resulted in more than 50 research publications. Having a better understanding of how air pollution alters lipids and proteins in the lungs will help scientists developing new interventions and treatments for patients. Her team is also looking at the impact of nutrition in the body's response to air pollution.
"As ambient concentrations of air pollutants continue to rise, so will the incidence and exacerbation of chronic lung and cardiovascular diseases," Gowdy said. "We are making great efforts to clean up air outside, but indoor air quality is now gaining more attention."
Gowdy is past president of the Society of Toxicology's Inhalation and Respiratory Specialty Section. She is an ad-hoc reviewer for multiple study sections, including the American Thoracic Society and American Heart Association. In January, Gowdy was elected associate editor of Environmental Health Perspectives and is associate editor for Toxicological Sciences. Last year the American Thoracic Society honored her with its Mid-Career Achievement Award. Other honors include the Society of Toxicology's Outstanding Young Investigator Award, Center for Human Health and the Environment's Career Development Award and Heath Effects Institute's Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award.
Gowdy is passionate about mentoring and career development. She is an active member of Ohio State's Women in Medicine and Science and has helped establish the Mid-Ohio and Eastern North Carolina chapters of Graduate Women in Science. She is also an associate director for the Ohio State Medical Scientist Training Program.
"I'm extremely honored and humbled to receive the PECASE award, which includes remarkable past recipients like Joseph Wu, former president of the American Heart Association, and Sven-Eric Jordt who helped get menthol cigarettes off the market," she said.
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