Judah Folkman
Encyclopedia
Moses Judah Folkman was an American
medical
scientist
best known for his research on tumor angiogenesis
, the process by which a tumor attracts blood vessels to nourish itself and sustain its existence. He founded the field of angiogenesis research, which has led to the discovery of a number of therapies based on inhibiting or stimulating neovascularization.
, on visits to hospital patients. By age seven, he knew he wanted to be a doctor rather than follow in his father's footsteps, so he could offer cures in addition to comfort. His father replied, "In that case, you can be a rabbi-like doctor," words his son took to heart.
Folkman graduated from The Ohio State University in 1953, and then Harvard Medical School
in 1957. While still a student at Harvard Medical School, he developed one of the first pacemakers. After his graduation, he did his surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital
, where he rose to the rank of Chief Resident in Surgery. During this time, Folkman worked on liver cancer and atrio-pacemakers.
Between 1960 and 1962, Folkman served in the United States Navy
as a lieutenant, where he studied blood vessel growth at the National Naval Medical Center
in Bethesda, Maryland
. During his service in the U.S. Navy, Folkman invented an implantable device for timed drug release and donated it patent-free to the World Population Council. It contributed to what is now known as Norplant
.
that all cancer
tumor
s are angiogenesis
-dependent. If a tumor could be stopped from growing its own blood supply, he surmised, it would wither and die. Though his hypothesis was initially disregarded by most experts in the field, Folkman persisted with his research.
After more than a decade, his theory became widely accepted and is now being exploited in the treatment of a growing number of diseases, including blindness caused by macular degeneration
.
Folkman pioneered the use of interferon
to heal hemangiomas, growths that often threaten the lives of infants. His research has led to the development of progressively more potent compounds, such as angiostatin, endostatin, vasculostatin, caplostatin and lodamin, that have successfully halted the growth of tumors in laboratory mice. Two angiogenesis inhibitors based on Dr. Folkman’s hypothesis and developed by Genentech, Lucentis and Avastin, are now FDA-approved for use in age-related macular degeneration and some metastatic cancers respectively.
Over 50 angiogenesis inhibitor
s — including endostatin, angiostatin, 2ME2 (Panzem), and a thrombospondin analogue — are in clinical trials today for cancer treatment, including a number with unanticipated anti-angiogenic effects. These include the anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib (Celebrex); rosiglitazone (Avandia), a drug commonly used to treat Type 2 diabetes; doxycycline, a common antibiotic; and some cancer drugs that also have other mechanisms of action, including Erbitux, Herceptin, Velcade and Tarceva. Even some conventional chemotherapy drugs have demonstrated anti-angiogenic effects when given frequently in smaller doses (see Anti-Angiogenic Chemotherapy below). Folkman envisioned that someday, angiogenesis inhibitors would be used together or in combination with conventional anticancer therapies such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, or vaccine therapy.
Folkman was a member of the National Academy of Sciences
, the Institute of Medicine
, the National Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society
, among others. He was the author of some 400 papers and more than 100 book chapters and monographs and received scores of United States awards and honors for his research as well as numerous international awards, including Canada's Gairdner Foundation International Award, Israel's Wolf Foundation Prize in Medicine, Germany's Ernst Schering Prize, the Italian Association of Cancer Research in Rome's Gold Medal, the United Kingdom Society for Endocrinology's Dale Medal,Prince of Austurius Award and Switzerland's Dr. Josef Steiner Cancer Research Award. In 2006, Folkman was one of seven people appointed by President Bush to the National Cancer Advisory Board of the National Institutes of Health.
Folkman's scientific accomplishments included founding a new field of biology and devising a novel approach to understanding and treating many diseases, including cancer. He mentored an entire generation of world-class scientists and clinicians throughout the world. This accomplishment, along with his generous collaborative spirit, has resulted in the continued study of angiogenesis in hundreds of laboratories worldwide.
He is survived by his wife, Paula, two daughters, and a granddaughter.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
medical
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
best known for his research on tumor angiogenesis
Angiogenesis
Angiogenesis is the physiological process involving the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels. Though there has been some debate over terminology, vasculogenesis is the term used for spontaneous blood-vessel formation, and intussusception is the term for the formation of new blood...
, the process by which a tumor attracts blood vessels to nourish itself and sustain its existence. He founded the field of angiogenesis research, which has led to the discovery of a number of therapies based on inhibiting or stimulating neovascularization.
Early life
Born in 1933 in Cleveland, Ohio, Judah Folkman accompanied his father, a rabbiRabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, on visits to hospital patients. By age seven, he knew he wanted to be a doctor rather than follow in his father's footsteps, so he could offer cures in addition to comfort. His father replied, "In that case, you can be a rabbi-like doctor," words his son took to heart.
Folkman graduated from The Ohio State University in 1953, and then Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
in 1957. While still a student at Harvard Medical School, he developed one of the first pacemakers. After his graduation, he did his surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
, where he rose to the rank of Chief Resident in Surgery. During this time, Folkman worked on liver cancer and atrio-pacemakers.
Between 1960 and 1962, Folkman served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as a lieutenant, where he studied blood vessel growth at the National Naval Medical Center
National Naval Medical Center
The National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, USA — commonly known as the Bethesda Naval Hospital — was for decades the flagship of the United States Navy's system of medical centers. A federal institution, it conducted medical and dental research as well as providing health care for...
in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
. During his service in the U.S. Navy, Folkman invented an implantable device for timed drug release and donated it patent-free to the World Population Council. It contributed to what is now known as Norplant
Norplant
Norplant is a form of birth control developed by the Population Council that was first approved in 1983 in Finland, where it was manufactured by Leiras Oy Pharmaceuticals...
.
Work on angiogenesis
In 1971, he reported in the New England Journal of MedicineNew England Journal of Medicine
The New England Journal of Medicine is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It describes itself as the oldest continuously published medical journal in the world.-History:...
that all cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
tumor
Tumor
A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...
s are angiogenesis
Angiogenesis
Angiogenesis is the physiological process involving the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels. Though there has been some debate over terminology, vasculogenesis is the term used for spontaneous blood-vessel formation, and intussusception is the term for the formation of new blood...
-dependent. If a tumor could be stopped from growing its own blood supply, he surmised, it would wither and die. Though his hypothesis was initially disregarded by most experts in the field, Folkman persisted with his research.
After more than a decade, his theory became widely accepted and is now being exploited in the treatment of a growing number of diseases, including blindness caused by macular degeneration
Macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration is a medical condition which usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of damage to the retina. It occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. It is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in older adults...
.
Folkman pioneered the use of interferon
Interferon
Interferons are proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of pathogens—such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites—or tumor cells. They allow communication between cells to trigger the protective defenses of the immune system that eradicate pathogens or tumors.IFNs belong to...
to heal hemangiomas, growths that often threaten the lives of infants. His research has led to the development of progressively more potent compounds, such as angiostatin, endostatin, vasculostatin, caplostatin and lodamin, that have successfully halted the growth of tumors in laboratory mice. Two angiogenesis inhibitors based on Dr. Folkman’s hypothesis and developed by Genentech, Lucentis and Avastin, are now FDA-approved for use in age-related macular degeneration and some metastatic cancers respectively.
Over 50 angiogenesis inhibitor
Angiogenesis inhibitor
An angiogenesis inhibitor is a substance that inhibits the growth of new blood vessels . Some angiogenesis inhibitors are a normal part of the body's control, some are administered as drugs, and some come from diet....
s — including endostatin, angiostatin, 2ME2 (Panzem), and a thrombospondin analogue — are in clinical trials today for cancer treatment, including a number with unanticipated anti-angiogenic effects. These include the anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib (Celebrex); rosiglitazone (Avandia), a drug commonly used to treat Type 2 diabetes; doxycycline, a common antibiotic; and some cancer drugs that also have other mechanisms of action, including Erbitux, Herceptin, Velcade and Tarceva. Even some conventional chemotherapy drugs have demonstrated anti-angiogenic effects when given frequently in smaller doses (see Anti-Angiogenic Chemotherapy below). Folkman envisioned that someday, angiogenesis inhibitors would be used together or in combination with conventional anticancer therapies such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, or vaccine therapy.
Scientific legacy
Folkman was appointed the Julia Dyckman Andrus Professor of Pediatric Surgery at Harvard Medical School in 1968, where he was also Professor of Cell Biology. He was the youngest full Professor at Harvard Medical School in history. In addition to directing the Children's Hospital Boston Surgical Research Laboratories, which grew to become the Vascular Biology Program, for nearly four decades, he was the Scientific Director of the hospital's Vascular Anomalies Center. A revered figure at the hospital and throughout the world, Folkman's insights informed many active research efforts outside the field of vascular biology. He constantly initiated new collaborations to study a number of varied disorders, including hydrocephalus and hemorrhages in the brains and eyes of premature infants. His presentations consistently drew standing-room-only audiences.Folkman was a member of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, the Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
, the National Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
, among others. He was the author of some 400 papers and more than 100 book chapters and monographs and received scores of United States awards and honors for his research as well as numerous international awards, including Canada's Gairdner Foundation International Award, Israel's Wolf Foundation Prize in Medicine, Germany's Ernst Schering Prize, the Italian Association of Cancer Research in Rome's Gold Medal, the United Kingdom Society for Endocrinology's Dale Medal,Prince of Austurius Award and Switzerland's Dr. Josef Steiner Cancer Research Award. In 2006, Folkman was one of seven people appointed by President Bush to the National Cancer Advisory Board of the National Institutes of Health.
Folkman's scientific accomplishments included founding a new field of biology and devising a novel approach to understanding and treating many diseases, including cancer. He mentored an entire generation of world-class scientists and clinicians throughout the world. This accomplishment, along with his generous collaborative spirit, has resulted in the continued study of angiogenesis in hundreds of laboratories worldwide.
Death
Folkman died in Denver on January 14, 2008 en route to deliver the 2008 Keynote Address at the Keystone Symposium (Molecular Mechanisms of Angiogenesis in Development and Disease) in Vancouver, British Columbia, one of the hundreds of lectures that he delivered at conferences and meetings around the world.He is survived by his wife, Paula, two daughters, and a granddaughter.