Established in memory of the late Professor Nick Hales, DOHaD bestows this award to a new and emerging researcher who has already made an outstanding contribution to the DOHaD field. In order to be eligible for this award, early career researchers must be DOHaD Society Members and within <10 years of their first academic/ professional appointment.. Past “rising stars” include:
- Mark Vickers (Auckland, New Zealand) and Karen Lillycrop (Southampton, UK); 2007
- Robert Waterland (Houston, USA); 2009
- Rebecca Reynolds (Edinburgh, UK); 2011
- Sue Ozanne (University of Cambridge); 2013
- Deborah Sloboda (McMaster University); 2015
- Dino Giussani (Cambridge Univerrsity); 2017
- Gabriella Conti (UCL); 2019
- Emilio Herrera (Universidad de Chile); 2022
Awards are handed out at the Society World Congress, where the medal winner delivers a plenary lecture.
2022 WINNER: Emilio Herrera, Universidad de Chile
Emilio A. Herrera is a Chilean veterinarian, with a PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Chile and a PostDoc at University of Cambridge. In 2011, after his PostDoc, he returned to Chile and is a Professor in the Pathophysiology Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile. He is also part of a selected team of researchers of the International Center for Andean Studies (INCAS) at the University of Chile, being the current director of this Research Center.
Emilio has developed several animal models to resolve reproductive, developmental and DOHaD related questions, particularly associated with the effects of hypoxia and oxidative stress in perinatal life. Dr. Herrera’s programs of research have been carried out in large animals including sheep, llama and horse, and small animal models such as the rat, guinea pig, mouse and chick embryo. His Lab adopts an integrative approach at the whole animal, isolated organ, cellular and molecular levels to ask focused questions on the role of fetal oxygenation in growth, development and the associated increased cardiovascular risk at adulthood. The experimental science is compared with epidemiological data from human populations residing at high altitudes, such as the South American Andes. Combined, Herrera’s research transcends components of basic, clinical, anthropological and translational science, with direct relevance to the significant advancement of knowledge on early origins of health and disease.
Dr. Herrera understands that animal welfare is key to the success of the research. Hence, he has a high awareness of animal welfare and bioethics, and therefore has defined and developed norms and regulations regarding animal research at the University of Chile, the Chilean National Research Agency (ANID), the Ministry of Science and Technology of Chile and local legislation. Herrera´s is the first President of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Chile.
