Biography

Dr. Folkman graduated from Harvard Medical School, magna cum laude in 1957. He began his surgical residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital and served as chief resident in surgery from 1964-1965. As a student of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Folkman co-authored papers describing a new method of hepatectomy for liver cancer and developed the first atrio-ventricular implantable pacemaker for which he received the Boylston Medical Prize, Soma Weiss Award and Borden Undergraduate Award in Medicine. In 1971 Dr. Folkman published a seminal paper in the New England Journal of Medicine, proposed the hypothesis that all tumor growth is angiogenesis-dependent which founded the field of angiogenesis research. and opened a field of investigation now pursued by scientists in many fields worldwide. His laboratory purified the first angiogenic protein from a tumor, discovered the first angiogenesis inhibitors and initiated clinical trials of antiangiogenic therapy. Today, angiogenesis inhibitors have received FDA approval in the U.S. for cancer and for the treatment of macular degeneration. and are also approved in 27 other countries. Largely because of Folkman's research, the possibility of antiangiogenic therapy is now on a firm scientific foundation, not only in the treatment of cancer, but of many non-neoplastic diseases as well. Dr. Folkman is the author of 391 original peer-reviewed papers and 106 book chapters and monographs. He also holds honorary degrees from 15 universities and is the recipient of numerous national and international awards. He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition to his distinguished accomplishments in research, he has served as a surgeon and teacher. He began his career as an instructor in surgery for Harvard's Surgical Service at Boston City Hospital, Boston, was promoted to Professor of Surgery, at Harvard Medical School, and became the Julia Dyckman Andrus Professor of Pediatric Surgery in 1968. From 1967 he served as Surgeon-in-Chief at the Children's Hospital Boston for 14 years. Dr. Folkman is also a Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School and is currently Director of the Vascular Biology Program at Children's Hospital Boston.

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