Eugene Goldwasser to receive the 2005 Prince Mahidol Award

Eugene Goldwasser to receive the 2005 Prince Mahidol Award

December 1, 2005

Eugene Goldwasser, Ph.D. '50, the Alice Hogge and Arthur A. Baer professor emeritus of biochemistry at the University of Chicago, has been selected to receive the Prince Mahidol Award 2005, given for "outstanding performance and/or research in the field of medicine for the benefit of mankind." The award ceremony will be held on January 26, 2006, at the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall in Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand.

Established in 1992 in honor of His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla, known as "Father of Modern Medicine of Thailand," the award recognizes the Prince's exemplary contributions to the fields of medicine, public health, and social services. Award recipients are selected by the Prince Mahidol Foundation's board of trustees from those recommended by an international award committee. Winners receive a medal, a certificate, and a $50,000 prize.

Goldwasser was selected for his central role in the isolation and characterization of the hormone erythropoietin, which stimulates the production of red blood cells--a discovery that has "prevented tens of thousands of deaths from tainted blood transfusions, and enabled millions of cancer and dialysis patients to live longer and more productive lives," according to a recent book about the pharmaceutical industry.

Previous award winners include this year's recipient of the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology, Barry Marshall, M.D., who won the Mahidol Award in 2001; vaccine pioneer microbiologist Maurice Hilleman, Ph.D. '44; and transplant pioneers Thomas Starzl, M.D., and Sir Roy Calne, M.D.