Zhigang He Awarded Reeve-Irvine Research Medal

We’re delighted to announce that Dr. Zhigang He is the recipient of the 20th Reeve-Irvine Research Medal. This award is to recognize Dr. He’s fundamental contributions to our understanding of why injured axons don’t regenerate in the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS), and how their regeneration can be enabled by targeting the intrinsic growth capacity of adult neurons.

The Reeve-Irvine Research Medal was established in 1996 by Joan Irvine Smith, and is continued through the generosity of the Joan Irvine Smith and Athalie R. Clarke Foundation. The award was originally named “Christopher Reeve Research Medal”, but with Christopher’s blessing, became the “Reeve-Irvine Research Medal” when the RIRC was founded.

The Medal, which includes a $50,000 cash award, recognizes an individual or individuals who have made highly meritorious scientific contributions in the area of spinal cord repair, and whose research has stood the test of time and scrutiny. This ongoing award enables us to continue to recognize the work of pioneering investigators whose research brought us closer to cures for afflictions affecting the spinal cord.

Dr. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and was a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne at the University of California, San Francisco.Dr. Tessier-Lavigne was co-recipient of the 11th Reeve-Irvine Research Medal with Dr. Corey Goodman. Dr. He has the honor of being named a Klingenstein Fellow in Neuroscience and John Merck Scholar and McKnight Scholar. He is the director of the Boston Children’s Hospital Viral Core, which aims to provide technological resources to academic investigators interested in the development and use of viral based vectors. Dr. He has published over 190 articles and his research is supported by the NIH and several foundations.