Dr. Garret FitzGerald is a distinguished scientist and pharmacologist. His work with circulating prostaglandin and other arachadonic acid metabolites in the 1980s has provided fundamental understanding about the role in inflammation in atherosclerosis. He and others worked out the effects of aspirin on platelet function with respect to pathway selective inhibition of prostacyclins vs thromboxanes, and that is the scientific basis for low dose aspirin for the secondary (and probably primary) prevention of coronary thrombosis. More recently he has been working on the tissue selectivity of the cyclooxygenase isoforms COX-1 and COX-2 and has developed hypotheses of why COX-2 inhibitors may not afford the clinical cardioprotection that would be expected. The fundamental importance of this last area is not yet clear (work done in the past 2 years). The fundamental importance of the first 2 areas is proven and has changed how we practice medicine and develop drugs.

Dr. FitzGerald received a 1983 Faculty Development Award in Clinical Pharmacology from the PhRMA Foundation.