The 2017 Louis and Artur Lucian award for research in circulatory disease, established by a bequest to McGill University in 1965, has been awarded to John J.J.V. McMurray, MD, of the University of Glasgow. McMurray has dedicated much of his career to heart failure, with more than 900 publications ranging from basic research and epidemiology to the design and completion of numerous clinical trials that have altered our understanding of the condition and its treatment and prognosis.

“He’s done a tremendous amount that is clinically relevant and has resulted in new medications for heart failure. He was head and shoulders above the other applicants this year, with an incredible track record and extensive publications,” says James Martin, MD, chair of the McGill University department of medicine and chair of the Lucian Committee.

As McMurray was completing medical school, American and European investigators were beginning to understand the disease mechanisms of heart failure and to identify targets for treatment other than digoxin and diuretics. At that time, there was no way to directly influence the weakness in cardiac contraction underlying heart failure, but inappropriate and sustained activation of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) helped explain why the function of blood vessels, kidneys, and heart muscle deteriorated over time. Shortly after the introduction of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor captopril, McMurray witnessed the Lazarus-like recovery and discharge from the hospital of an extremely ill woman with heart failure after she was given the new drug—spurring a career-long interest in heart failure.

After 2 years of residency training, McMurray obtained a cardiovascular research fellowship in Dundee, Scotland, where physician scientist Allan Struthers was studying cardiac natriuretic peptides, newly described hormones produced by the heart, which helped that organ protect itself and the whole body from volume and pressure overload by, among other things, …

1965年由麦吉尔大学（McGill University）遗赠而设立的2017年路易斯和阿图尔·卢西安（Louis and Artur Lucian）进行循环系统疾病研究奖，已授予格拉斯哥大学的约翰·JV·麦克默里医学博士。McMurray的大部分职业生涯都致力于心力衰竭，从基础研究和流行病学到许多临床试验的设计和完成，共有900多种出版物，这些改变了我们对病情及其治疗和预后的理解。

“他做了很多与临床相关的事情，并开发了用于治疗心力衰竭的新药。麦吉尔大学医学系主任兼卢西安委员会主席詹姆士·马丁博士说：“今年以来，他在其他申请者中居于首位，并拥有令人难以置信的往绩和广泛的出版物。”

当麦克默里完成医学院的学习时，美国和欧洲的研究人员开始了解心力衰竭的发病机制，并确定除地高辛和利尿剂以外的治疗目标。当时，尚无直接影响心力衰竭的心脏收缩无力的方法，但肾素-血管紧张素-醛固酮系统（RAAS）的不适当且持续的激活有助于解释为什么血管，肾脏和心肌的功能随着时间的推移恶化。引入血管紧张素转换酶（ACE）抑制剂卡托普利后不久，麦克默里目睹了一名患有心力衰竭的病重妇女在接受新药治疗后像拉撒路那样的康复和出院，这激发了他整个职业生涯的兴趣。在心力衰竭。

经过2年的住院医师培训，McMurray在苏格兰邓迪获得了一项心血管研究奖学金，医师科学家Allan Struthers在这里研究心脏利钠肽，新描述的由心脏产生的激素，从而帮助该器官保护自己和整个身体免受体积和脂肪的侵害。除其他因素外，压力过载...