New York, NY (August 2001) -- Jay Edelberg, M.D., Ph.D., a cardiovascular researcher and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, has been named a 2001-2004 Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholar by the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and the Alliance for Aging Research. The prestigious honor includes an award of $450,000 to support his research into finding new approaches to reverse vascular changes in the aging heart.

"We have studied the heart problems of the elderly using molecular and cellular approaches," says Dr. Edelberg, who is also Assistant Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian's Weill Cornell Medical Center. "With this award, we will investigate the transplantation of bone marrow cells -- systemically derived cells -- to restore function in the heart."

Up to 11 Beeson Scholars have been selected each year since 1995. This year's recipients bring the total of scholars to 73, with an investment of $32,850,000 in aging research funds.

"We are extremely pleased to recognize the cutting-edge research that Dr. Edelberg is conducting on the transplantation of bone marrow cells to restore vascular activity in the aging heart," said Dr. William R. Hazzard of the University of Washington School of Medicine, an AFAR board member and chair of the Beeson program committee. "We are hopeful that his research will lead to a better understanding of heart disease in older adults and reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease in the aging population."

Dr. Edelberg, a 1985 graduate of Columbia University, received an M.D. and a Ph.D. from Duke University, and completed his internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was a cardiology fellow at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, and a postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been on the faculty of Weill Cornell since 1999.

Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of death and disability in older individuals. Unfortunately, the older heart has a limited capacity to develop compensatory blood vessels to supply vulnerable cardiac tissue, and this may contribute significantly to cardiovascular disease. Dr. Edelberg's research will offer the first definitive evidence of the potential of transplanted bone marrow cells for the treatment of vascular pathology.

Other universities represented in this year's Beeson Scholars include Columbia, Johns Hopkins, University of Colorado, Vanderbilt, Harvard, University of Chicago, University of Texas, Yale, and University of California at San Francisco.

The American Federation for Aging Research and the Alliance for Aging Research administer the Beeson Scholars program, which is sponsored by The John A. Hartford Foundation, The Commonwealth Fund, the Alliance for Aging Research on behalf of donor friends, and The Starr Foundation.