September 22, 2021
NEW YORK (Sept. 22, 2021) — Dr. Erick Forno, a physician-scientist who investigates the risk factors and genomic mechanisms underlying childhood asthma, has been awarded the sixth annual Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research, Weill Cornell Medicine announced today.The Drukier Prize honors an early-career pediatrician whose research has made important contributions toward improving the health of children and adolescents. Dr. Forno, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a pediatric pulmonologist at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, is being recognized for two research innovations: his discovery of genomic markers associated with severe pediatric asthma; and identifying a mismatch between airway size and lung volume in children with asthma and obesity that may explain disease severity. These discoveries have the potential to lead to new diagnostic testing and customized treatment approaches for children with asthma. Dr. Forno received his award and gave a presentation on his work at a ceremony on Sept. 22, where Nobel laureate Dr. Gregg Semenza also delivered the Gale and Ira Drukier Lecture in Children’s Health, which highlights research and discoveries that have contributed to exceptional advances in the field of children’s health.“Dr. Forno is a distinguished physician-scientist whose dedication to pediatric research and care exemplifies why the Drukiers established this award, and we are grate