Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein prize in cardiovascular science: predicting cardiovascular illnesses for the 21(st) century, and the unpredictable...

Changes in our society such as the increasing cost of retirement and age redistribution toward a larger elderly population will require humans to remain highly functional until an advanced age. As a consequence, chronic illnesses that are primarily responsible for reducing functionality and life expectancy will require improved prevention and therapeutic strategies. In a global way, cardiovascular disease and cancer represent the most challenging disorders to maintaining the functional integrity of our fellow humans. A new theory has been derived from recent progress in our understanding of atherosclerosis as a key mechanism for cardiovascular disease and of cancer. Instructively, this theory provides a bridge at the stem cell level, linking most chronic disorders.