Jennifer S. Lawton, M.D., FAHA, will receive the American Heart Association’s 2026 Basic Research Prize at the Association’s Scientific Sessions 2026, scheduled for Nov. 6–9 in Chicago. The award presentation is planned for the Presidential Session on Sunday, Nov. 8. The AHA’s Scientific Sessions is described in the source as a premier global forum for the latest scientific advances, cardiovascular research and evidence‑based clinical practice updates.
Dr. Lawton currently is faculty at the University of Maryland. She formerly held the Richard B. Darnall Professorship of Surgery and served as chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. Previously, she spent 15 years on the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis before joining Johns Hopkins in 2016. Her past administrative roles at Johns Hopkins included vice chair for faculty development and cardiac surgeon‑in‑charge.
Dr. Lawton is internationally recognized for translational research focused on myocardial protection and neuroprotection during cardiac surgery. A central scientific contribution from her laboratory has been defining mechanisms by which activation of adenosine triphosphate–sensitive potassium (KATP) channels protects the heart from ischemic injury. Her work on the cardioprotective effects of diazoxide advanced mechanistic understanding of how to reduce myocardial injury during ischemia and reperfusion.
The source highlights that Dr. Lawton’s decades of translational research include the first FDA‑regulated, first‑in‑human Phase I Safety and Feasibility Trial of Cardioplegia with Diazoxide (CPG‑DZX). Her laboratory findings on KATP channels and diazoxide helped motivate translational efforts intended to decrease cardiac injury associated with surgical ischemia and reperfusion.
In addition to myocardial studies, Dr. Lawton’s research program has investigated neurologic injury associated with circulatory arrest and contributed to understanding protective strategies used to reduce neurologic injury during cardiac surgery. More recently, her work has expanded into brain protection during hypothermic circulatory arrest, continuing efforts to develop and refine approaches to limit brain injury during complex cardiac operations that require circulatory arrest.
Her laboratory has received sustained support from major funders cited in the source, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the American Heart Association and the Thoracic Surgery Foundation. These funding streams have supported investigations of myocardial protection, neuroprotection during circulatory arrest and novel methods to reduce cardiac injury in the perioperative setting.
Dr. Lawton has a substantial record of mentoring surgeon‑scientists: she has trained dozens of medical students, residents, fellows and postdoctoral researchers, many of whom now occupy roles as academic leaders, cardiac surgeons and physician‑scientists globally. She is the author of more than 250 scientific manuscripts. Her editorial service has included deputy editor for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery and membership on the editorial boards of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, JAMA Cardiology and the European Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery. She also serves as a guest reviewer for multiple journals and has participated in grant review for organizations such as the AHA, the NIH and the Leducq Foundation.
Beyond her research and clinical responsibilities, Dr. Lawton has been active in volunteer leadership for the American Heart Association. She served as vice chair of the AHA Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia from 2015 to 2017 and as chair from 2017 to 2019. She chaired the AHA/ACC/SCAI Guideline Writing Committee for Coronary Artery Revascularization from 2019 to 2021. Within the AHA’s peer‑review infrastructure, she chaired the Basic Science Surgery Study Section from 2013 to 2015 after serving as co‑chair in 2013.
Dr. Lawton earned a bachelor’s degree from Allegheny College and her medical degree from Hahnemann University. She completed a general surgery residency and a cardiovascular research fellowship at the Medical College of Virginia, followed by a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Her faculty appointments include 15 years at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and later positions at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of Maryland.
The AHA release noted that multimedia related to this announcement is available via the source link. For expanded coverage of Scientific Sessions 2026, the source directs readers to follow AHA news channels and Scientific Sessions reporting. Contact information and media inquiry details were provided by the American Heart Association in the original release.