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TRAPP AND MACIEJEWSKI RECEIVE NIH OUTSTANDING INVESTIGATOR AWARD Bruce Trapp, PhD, a specialist in multiple sclerosis (MS) and myelin biology, and Jaroslaw Maciejewski, MD, PhD, an expert in blood and bone diseases, have each received an Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The awards are designed to provide long-term support and flexibility to scientists whose work holds out promise for achieving medical breakthroughs, allowing them to focus on research instead of funding. Dr. Trapp, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the Lerner Research Institute, becomes the first Cleveland Clinic researcher to be named an Outstanding Investigator by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the NIH. He will receive nearly $7 million over the next eight years to examine the biology of MS and to seek treatments that could slow or reverse the disease. With this grant support, Dr. Maciejewski, chair of the Department of Translational Hematology and Oncology Research at Cleveland Clinic, will receive more than $5.5 million over the next seven years from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the NIH. The award will support his work translating scientific advances in bone marrow failure syndromes into improved patient care. LASS RECEIVES CORNEA SOCIETY'S HIGHEST HONOR The Cornea Society has awarded Jonathan Lass, MD, the Castroviejo Medal, its highest honor. Dr. Lass, an ophthalmologist at University Hospitals Eye Institute at UH Cleveland Medical Center and Charles I. Thomas Professor of Ophthalmology at Case Western Reser ve University School of Medicine, receives the award in rec - ognition of his lifetime contributions to research and pio- neering advancements in corneal transplant and surger y. Dr. Lass is a nationally recognized specialist in corneal diseases and corneal transplantation. He directs the UH Cornea Image Analysis Reading Center, one of the top cornea image analysis centers in the countr y. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications, and coordinated many multi-institutional trials to add to the body of knowledge about eye donation and cor - nea viability. He is the former Chair of Ophthalmology at UH Cleveland Medical Center and Case Western Reser ve University School of Medicine. He ser ved as one of the study leads on the National Eye Institute (NEI) sponsored Cornea Donor Study, the first masked, randomized, controlled study to demonstrate that donor age has no impact on the success of the transplant for 80 percent of recipients, eliminating a common bias against corneas from older donors. Currently, he ser ves as the principal investigator on an NEI-sponsored national multi-center, masked, randomized trial to determine the optimal time frame for usage of donated corneas, the Cornea Preser vation Time Study. n in National News Local Docs Local Docs 2 6