University news

Professor Rhian Touyz MBBCh, PhD, FAHA, FMedSci, Director of the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow, is to receive the 2019 award of research excellence by the American Heart Association (AHA) Council on Hypertension.

This honour is the AHA Council’s most prestigious award and recognises research excellence and outstanding contributions in the field of hypertension.

Professor Touyz will receive the award for her world-leading work on molecular mechanisms and vascular biology of hypertension, which is the major cause of disability and premature death worldwide. The award will be given at the AHA’s Council on Hypertension Scientific Sessions to be held in September 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The purpose of the Excellence Award for Hypertension Research is to honor a scientist for outstanding achievements in the field of hypertension.

Professor Touyz said: “I am delighted and truly humbled to be receiving this important award from the American Heart Association’s Council on Hypertension. This is amongst the most significant events in my professional career.

“I work with outstanding fellows and collaborators and I am incredibly honoured to lead all the excellent scientists at the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow. The hypertension research taking place here is world-leading and I am proud to be a part of it.”  

As part of her award Professor Touyz will deliver a lecture during the Awards Session at the AHA Council’s Meeting.

Professor Touyz is the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Director of the BHF Centre of Research Excellence in Vascular Science and Medicine at the university. She is a clinician-scientist focusing on hypertension research, and is an honorary consultant at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

She was the past Chair of the AHA Council on Hypertension and past President of the International Society of Hypertension (ISH). She is the founder of the Women in Hypertension Research Programme of ISH. Professor Touyz is the current President of the European Council for Cardiovascular Research.

Professor Touyz has received numerous awards, including The Irvine Page Award from the American Society of Hypertension, the Robert M Berne Distinguished Award from the American Physiological Society, the Joan Mott award from the Physiological Society, the Dahl Award from the AHA Council on Hypertension and the Harriet Dustan award from the AHA Council on Hypertension. She is Editor-In-Chief of Clinical Science, Deputy Editor of Hypertension and Associate Editor of Pharmacological Reviews. Her research spans molecular biology to clinical studies with a focus on advancing knowledge on mechanisms and therapeutic targets of hypertension.

 

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Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk orelizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk / 0141 330 6557 or 0141 330 4831

First published: 6 September 2019