2008 Weinstein Cardiovascular Development Conference
Keynote Presentation
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Lessons from the Heart: Molecules, Mechanisms and More
Professor and Chair
Department of Molecular Biology
Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair
Annie and Willie Nelson Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Speaker Bio:
Eric Olson has dedicated his career to deciphering the mechanisms that control muscle gene regulation and development. His most recent work has focused on the genetic pathways responsible for congenital and acquired cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Olson grew up in North Carolina where he attended Wake Forest University and received a B.A. in Chemistry and Biology in 1977, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1981 and an honorary doctorate in 2003. After postdoctoral training with Luis Glaser at Washington University School of Medicine, he joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1984 and became Professor and Chairman in 1991. In 1995, he founded the Department of Molecular Biology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. He holds the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair.
Dr. Olson’s honors include the Basic Research Prize and Founding Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Heart Association, the Pasarow Medical Research Award in Cardiovascular Disease, the Gill Heart Institute Award, the Lucian Award for Research in Cardiovascular Disease, the Outstanding Investigator Award from the International Society for Heart Research, the Pollin Prize for Lifetime Contributions to Pediatric Research, and the Health Care Hero-Innovator Award by the Dallas Business Journal. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and its Institute of Medicine. He has documented his research in over 450 publications and he has trained over 50 Ph.D. students in his laboratory. Dr. Olson served as Editor-in-Chief of Developmental Biology from 1995 to 2005, belongs to the Scientific Review Board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and is a member of numerous editorial boards. He was a scientific co-founder and advisor of Myogen, Inc., a biotechnology company focusing on therapies for heart muscle disease, which was acquired by Gilead Pharmaceuticals in 2006. In 2007, he co-founded Miragen Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focusing on microRNAs as therapeutics for cardiovascular disease.
In his spare time, Eric Olson plays guitar in a rock band called The Transactivators. He is the Annie and Willie Nelson Professor of Stem Cell Research at UT Southwestern.