HMS Professor Brezinski Receives $500,000 Prize

Mark E. Brezinski, a cardiologist and assistant professor in medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS), received a five-year, $500,000 grant last month from the U.S. government for his work in medical imaging technology.

At a ceremony held Feb. 10 at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Brezinski was given the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers who are just beginning their independent research careers.

Afterwards, Brezinski and the other award recipients traveled to the White House where they were honored by President Clinton's Science Advisor Neal F. Lane.

According to Brezinski, all the major institutions in the U.S., including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the military, submitted nominees to the White House, after which 50 researchers were chosen to receive the award.

Brezinski was nominated by the NIH, though he said he was not aware of the nomination.

Brezinski was one of 10 persons in the medical field to receive the award.

Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski (D-Pa.), who represents Brezinski's hometown of Nanticoke, said in a press release Brezinski was extremely worthy of the award.

"Mark absolutely deserves the recognition that President Clinton is bestowing on him. He is a shining symbol of the best and brightest produced by Northeastern Pennsylvania," Kanjorski said. "Mark's research has already improved the quality of our nation's health care,"

The work Brezinski was honored for deals with a new imaging technology termed "optical coherence tomography (OCT)." Brezinski worked in collaboration with James G. Fujimoto, a professor at MIT.

Using infrared light, OCT can produce images at the cellular and even the sub-cellular level. Brezinski believes OCT will make a major impact on medicine, including detection and prevention of heart attacks, early detection of cancer and identification of arthritis in its early stages.

"Angiograms are only able to pick up large plaques which are one cause of heart attacks. However, there's currently no technology available in medicine that can detect small plaques, which cause over 50 percent of heart attacks"Brezinski said. "But early tests have suggested that OCT is able to do this,"

According to Brezinski, OCT also has many advantages over high frequency ultrasound, which is currently the most advanced form of imaging technology.

"OCT is up to 25 times higher resolution than high-frequency ultrasound. Another advantage is that it's fiber optic-based and can be inserted into tiny catheters or endoscopes that can be maneuvered to virtually any place in the body. It's minimally invasive," Brezinski said.

Brezinski said he will use the award money to continue his research in imaging technology.

"In view of the fact that this is such a rapidly developing area with such promising results, we'll try to move ahead as quickly as possible and get this technology into the hands of the clinicians," Brezinski said.

Brezinski has been a member of the HMS faculty for 10 years.