Erick Forno, MD, MPH, Receives Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children's Health Research Award
October 17, 2021
Erick Forno, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine and Director of the Pediatric Asthma Center at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, was awarded the 2021 Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children's Health Research.
Awarded by Weill Cornell Medicine, the Drukier Prize honors an early-career pediatrician whose research has made important contributions toward improving the health of children and adolescents. Dr. Forno was recognized for research innovations in the discovery of genomic and epigenomic markers linked to childhood asthma, and the identification of a mismatch between lung volume and airway size in children with asthma and obesity. Both discoveries have strong potential to lead to new asthma treatment approaches and diagnostic tests for children.
“I’m very thankful and humbled to receive this prestigious award,” says Dr. Forno. “It is an important recognition of the work we do, and the great mentorship and support I have received. It also honors the contributions of all of the patients and families that agreed to participate in this research so that we can hopefully one day improve the lives of other children affected by asthma and other respiratory diseases. I would like to thank the Drukier family and Institute, as well as Dr. Juan C. Celedón and Dr. Terry Dermody for their support.”
“Dr. Forno is an outstanding physician-scientist whose work has substantially improved our understanding of pediatric asthma. He is richly deserving of the Drukier Prize, and a true asset to our Division and our Department,” says Dr. Celedón.
More About Dr. Forno
Erick Forno, MD, MPH, ATSF, is an associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine and the newly appointed director of the Pediatric Asthma Center. After obtaining his medical degree from Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Perú, he completed his residency in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Colorado, followed by a fellowship in pulmonary medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. During his time in Boston, he also earned a Master’s of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health while simultaneously completing a research fellowship at the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Forno joined UPMC Children’s Hospital and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2012.
Dr. Forno’s main research interests are the epidemiology and genomics of childhood asthma, and the effects of obesity on asthma severity. His work has been supported by a departmental K12 grant, a K08 award from the National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and an R01 grant from the NHLBI to study the role of adipose tissue in obesity-related asthma. Dr. Forno has authored or co-authored more than 150 publications. In recognition of his work, he has previously received the Robert Mellins Outstanding Achievement Award from the Pediatrics Assembly of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the international Klosterfrau Award for his research in asthma.
