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OHSU Researcher Receives American Stroke Association's Highest Honor

   Portland, Ore.

Traystman honored for more than 30 years of cutting-edge stroke research

Richard Traystman, Ph.D., associate vice president for research planning and development at Oregon Health and Science University and professor of anesthesiology and peri-operative medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine, is the recipient of the American Stroke Association's highest honor -- the Thomas Willis Award -- for 2004. The award recognizes a senior investigator who has made outstanding contributions to the understanding of stroke over a sustained period.

"Dr. Traystman's work exemplifies the kind of excellence OHSU strives for in all of its missions," said OHSU President Peter O. Kohler, M.D. "His contributions to the field of stroke research are outstanding and he is highly deserving of this recognition."

Traystman received the award and delivered the Thomas Willis lecture at the 29th International Stroke Conference. He lectured on: "Cardiac Arrest and Brain: A Tale of Thumpers, Drugs, Sex and Genes."

Traystman has spent more than 30 years studying the mechanisms of cerebrovascular regulation in the fetus, newborn and adult; neuroprotection during stroke and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and the mechanisms of brain injury following focal and global cerebral stroke. He has several grants from the National Institutes of Health supporting these endeavors.

Traystman received his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in 1971 and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Bowman Gray School of Medicine. He returned to the Johns Hopkins Medical Center in 1972.

Traystman was the endowed senior vice chairman for research in anesthesiology and critical medicine at Johns Hopkins and director of the Eugene and Mary B. Meyer Center for Advanced Transfusion Practices for Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions until joining OHSU in 2003.

Thomas Willis, M.D., (1621-1675), for whom the award is named, is credited with providing the first detailed description of the brain stem, cerebellum and ventricles along with extensive hypotheses about their functions.

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