When Andrew Pieper, MD, PhD, set out to study the brain, he was drawn by the difficulty of the challenge—and the possibility of making a meaningful difference for patients facing some of medicine’s most devastating conditions. Now, that commitment to transformative research and patient care has earned him the Case Medal for Excellence in Health Science Innovation, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine’s highest honor.
As a physician-scientist and the inaugural Rebecca E. Barchas, MD, DLFAPA, Eminent Professor in Translational PsychiatryPieper is known for bench-to-bedside research that seeks to alleviate—and even cure—damage caused by neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and brain injury.
Recent studies of his have shown, for the first time in the field, that energy homeostasis in the brain can be pharmacologically preserved and restored to not only prevent neurodegeneration in injury and disease, but also to empower the brain to reverse that damage and fully recover cognitive function in animal models of chronic traumatic brain injury and advanced Alzheimer’s disease. This is a paradigm shift in the field that challenges the long-held dogma that these devastating conditions are irreversible and underscores the promise and ambition of his science. This willingness to question the status quo is precisely why he received the Case Medal for Excellence in Health Science Innovation.
“The selection of Dr. Andrew Pieper for the award this year follows a string of incredible discoveries with CWRU colleagues related to neurodegeneration leading to new advances in potential therapeutics that target deficiencies in brain-emergent metabolism,” said School of Medicine Dean Stanton Gerson, MD. “This suggests a core deficiency and an underlying cause that leads to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as chronic neurodegeneration after traumatic brain injury, with the outlook of new therapeutics in a short period of time.”
For Pieper, Case Western Reserve University has been an ideal environment for that work.
“A place shapes the work that is done inside it,” he said. “Case Western Reserve’s culture of collaboration, mutual respect and support—and of always insisting that discovery be directed toward actual human health—is the reason that I and so many others can do the kind of science here that we do. There is nowhere else I would rather be.”
That admiration for CWRU has also shaped Pieper’s work as a mentor and academic leader. In addition to his research in the lab, he serves as associate director of the School of Medicine’s Medical Scientist Training Programhelping train the next generation of physician-scientists.
As an educator, Pieper loves watching his students grow as they refine their interests and expand their skills, homing in on their professional path. He and his trainees share a common goal: conducting research that improves people’s lives. Pieper always encourages students to take risks in pursuit of big ideas—especially those with the potential for meaningful impact.
The Case Medal for Excellence in Health Science Innovation recognizes the risks Pieper has taken that have led to significant scientific contributions, as well as his dedication to guiding future researchers to do the same.
“I’m grateful for this honor,” Pieper said, “and I’m looking forward to the work ahead—to being part of the effort here at CWRU that I know one day will make a real difference in the lives of patients living with brain conditions for which we currently have little or no treatment.”
Source: case.edu
