The UB will award honorary doctorates to Harry C. Dietz and Bart L. Loeys, experts on Marfan and Loeys-Dietz syndromes
PRESS RELEASE
The researchers Harry C. Dietz and Bart L. Loeys, leading experts in the study of Marfan syndrome and Loeys-Dietz syndrome, will be awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Barcelona on Monday 17 February, in a ceremony open to the general public, which will take place in the Paranymph Hall of the Historic Building at 12 noon. The honorary doctorate — the highest distinction awarded by the UB — thus recognizes two prestigious specialists in the study of hereditary vascular pathologies, who have identified Loeys-Dietz syndrome, a rare connective tissue disease with serious cardiovascular involvement that puts patients’ lives at risk. With the UB’s award, the experts will receive joint recognition of their scientific careers for the first time.
The researchers Harry C. Dietz and Bart L. Loeys, leading experts in the study of Marfan syndrome and Loeys-Dietz syndrome, will be awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Barcelona on Monday 17 February, in a ceremony open to the general public, which will take place in the Paranymph Hall of the Historic Building at 12 noon. The honorary doctorate — the highest distinction awarded by the UB — thus recognizes two prestigious specialists in the study of hereditary vascular pathologies, who have identified Loeys-Dietz syndrome, a rare connective tissue disease with serious cardiovascular involvement that puts patients’ lives at risk. With the UB’s award, the experts will receive joint recognition of their scientific careers for the first time.
Dietz and Loeys will receive their degrees in a solemn ceremony presided over by Joan Guàrdia, rector of the UB. The sponsor of the ceremony is Professor Gustavo Egea, from the Department of Biomedicine of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and member of the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS). The event can be followed online on UBtv.
Minority diseases affecting millions of people
Overall, about 5% of the world’s population, i.e. about 350 million people, suffer from a rare disease. In this context, the clinical and translational research of Professors Dietz and Loeys has led to the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of human genetic diseases that impact the blood vessels and cause aortic damage (hereditary aortopathies).
Dietz, among other scientific contributions, identified the mutated fibrillin-1 (FBN1) gene that gives rise to the mutated protein that predisposes to the onset of Marfan syndrome (MFS).
In addition, Dietz and Loeys’ research has generated mouse models that mimic the clinical course of the disease. These discoveries have provided new therapeutic options for patients, such as the introduction of the drug losartan into current SFM pharmacology.
Harry C. Dietz is a professor at the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins University (United States). He leads a laboratory that has been studying, for the past thirty years, hereditary connective tissue disorders affecting both the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems, such as Marfan syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, vascular-type Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and Shprintzen-Goldberg syndrome.
His scientific activity includes clinical care, the identification of disease genes, mechanistic studies in animal models and the testing of new treatments in patients. These lines of research, preferably focused on the study of the cardiovascular system, have also boosted the study of pathologies related to the transforming growth factor (TGFβ) in the field of autoimmune diseases and fibrotic disorders.
Harry C. Dietz has presided the American Society of Human Genetics, and has been honoured with the Antoine Marfan Award (Marfan Foundation, 1994); the Curt Stern Award (American Society of Human Genetics, 2006); the Art of Listening Award (Genetic Alliance, 2010); the Taubman Prize for Excellence in Translational Medical Science (2012); the Pasarow Award in Cardiovascular Research (2013), as well as the American Heart Association Award (2015), among other awards.
Bart L. Loeys leads a research group at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) that has advanced the understanding of the molecular basis and clinical course of connective tissue-associated aortopathies. In his PhD thesis, Loeys already defined an association between genotype and phenotype in certain connective tissue disorders — such as Marfan syndrome (MSF) — and discovered a new gene — FBLN5 — as the cause of lax skin disorder, a rare disease affecting connective tissue.
Professor Loeys also leads an international expert group that has redefined the existing nosology of SCD and related disorders worldwide. Among other scientific milestones, his lab discovered that specific genetic variants in a certain domain in the protein fibrillin-1 — encoded by the FBN1 gene — cause the occurrence of a rare congenital form of scleroderma, stiff skin syndrome or cutis laxus. His research also includes the discovery of another aortic aneurysm syndrome known as Meester-Loeys syndrome, as well as the identification of eight new genes associated with aneurysmal disorders.
In 2020, Bart L. Loeys received the Francqui-Collen Prize for clinical research from King Philippe of Belgium, as well as the Swerts Prize in Biomedical Sciences (Royal Academy of Medicine, 2019); the SIMA Niccolo Paganini Award (Association of People Affected by Marfan Syndrome, 2010), and the Antoine Marfan Award (Marfan Foundation, 2008), among others.
During the institutional ceremony, the extraordinary degree awards for the 2022-2023 academic year will also be presented.
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