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Pollin Prize

Pollin Prize Awarded to Dr. John A. Clements for his role in developing a lifesaving treatment for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in infants.

Dr. John A. Clements is the recipient of the 2008 Pollin Prize in recognition of his seminal contributions to our understanding of how lungs hold air, and to the development of a lifesaving treatment for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in infants. Once this country's largest contributor to infant mortality, neonatal RDS now causes very few deaths.

The sixth annual $200,000 Pollin Prize, the largest international award for pediatric research, recognizes outstanding achievement in biomedical or public health research resulting in important improvements to the health of children. Half of the award will be provided by Dr. Clements to support the research of an investigator chosen by him. He has selected Dr. Magda Petryniak of the University of California San Francisco. Her research focuses on a relevant area of neonatology: the development of the brain, its responses to injury and mechanisms for repair in newborn infants.

Dr. Clements is the Emeritus Julius H. Comroe Jr., Professor of Pulmonary Biology, emeritus professor of pediatrics, and retired member of the Graduate Program in Biophysics at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).

The awards ceremony took place on April 4 at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian. Presentations included one by Dr. Clements, and a luncheon and awards ceremony with keynote speaker.

"In the 1950's and earlier, respiratory distress syndrome, sometimes referred to as 'hyaline membrane disease,' was the most common cause of infant death, resulting in 30,000 deaths each year in the United States. Today, this number has been reduced by 97 percent. This amazing improvement is a direct result of research breakthroughs by Dr. John Clements. His insights have helped us to understand the essential role of pulmonary surfactant in normal lung function, a discovery that led to an effective treatment for RDS and the genesis of a new area of pulmonary biology," said Dr. Herbert Pardes, President and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Replacement surfactant is now a standard therapy for premature infants in most countries, and it is also being examined for its applicability to other diseases, such as adult RDS, asthma, cystic fibrosis and pneumonia.

Dr. Rudolph Leibel, chairman of the selection panel that coordinates the administration of the Pollin Prize, said, "It is our intent that the Prize both recognizes outstanding and important biomedical research, and encourages others to pursue research that specifically benefits children." Dr. Leibel is co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, chief of the Division of Molecular Genetics, and professor of pediatrics and medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is also a pediatrician at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian.

Dr. John A. Clements
After graduating in 1947 from Cornell University Medical College (now Weill Cornell Medical College), Dr. Clements joined its Physiology Department as a research fellow and instructor. Two years later, at the United States Army Medical Research Laboratory at Edgewood Arsenal, Md., he developed an interest in pulmonary function and began to elucidate the physical and chemical properties of a previously unknown natural material he named "lung surfactant." His pioneering application of biochemisty to respiratory mechanics paved the way for research, by Dr. Clements and others that described the lipid-protein substance and its role in maintaining the expansion of the lung's airspaces. His findings also led directly to the discovery, in 1959, that surfactant was missing from the lungs of infants who had died with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) — and to later efforts that developed surfactant substitutes.

Since joining the UCSF faculty in 1960, Dr. Clements has worked closely with its neonatologists to incorporate physiological concepts and methods into the care of severely ill newborns; to develop one of the world's first Intensive Care Nurseries; and to train many fellows who have become leaders in academic medical centers around the world. In addition, he has been active throughout his career in editorial duties for scientific journals and in service to professional societies.

He continues to work at the university several days a week, writing, editing, consulting and working with colleagues to complete research on surface tension in the lung's airways — research that may have numerous clinical applications.

Dr. Clements has received dozens of honors, including the Christopher Columbus Discovery Award of the United States Congress; Career Investigatorship of the American Heart Association for 29 years; Research Achievement Award of the American Heart Association; Warren Alpert Foundation Prize at Harvard Medical School; Apgar Award of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Trudeau Medal of the American Lung Association; Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians; Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; Ulf von Euler Memorial Lecture of the Karolinska Institute at the Nobel Foundation; among others.

Dr. Clements has given invited lectures at and received honorary doctorates from universities in North and South America, Asia, United Kingdom and Europe. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal College of Physicians of London, and an honorary life member of several medical societies in North and South America.