Judah Folkman facts for kids

Moses Judah Folkman (born February 24, 1933 – died January 14, 2008) was an American medical scientist. He is famous for his research on angiogenesis. This is the process where tumors grow new blood vessels to feed themselves. Dr. Folkman started the whole field of angiogenesis research. His work led to new ways to treat diseases by either stopping or starting new blood vessel growth.

Early Life and Inspiration

Judah Folkman was born in 1933 in Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a rabbi, a religious leader. Young Judah often went with his father to visit sick people in hospitals. By age seven, he knew he wanted to be a doctor. He wanted to offer cures, not just comfort. His father told him he could be a "rabbi-like doctor." This meant helping people with both their bodies and their spirits.

Education and Early Career

Folkman went to Ohio State University and graduated in 1953. He then studied at Harvard Medical School, finishing in 1957. While at Harvard, he worked on an early version of a pacemaker. After medical school, he began his surgery training.

In 1960, he joined the United States Navy. He did research for the Navy until 1962. His work focused on creating artificial blood. During his research, he noticed something important. Tumors in rabbit glands could not grow if they didn't get blood. This observation sparked his interest in angiogenesis. It led to his life's most important work.

After his Navy service, Folkman finished his surgery training. He worked at Boston City Hospital. Then he trained in pediatric surgery. This is surgery for children. In 1967, at just 34 years old, he became the chief surgeon at Children's Hospital Boston. He was also a professor at Harvard Medical School. He was the youngest full professor there ever. He led research labs and a special center for blood vessel problems.

Discovering Angiogenesis in Tumors

In 1971, Dr. Folkman shared his big idea. He reported that solid tumors need angiogenesis to grow. He thought tumors made a special "factor" to get more blood. If this factor could be stopped, tumors might shrink and die. Many experts didn't believe him at first. But Folkman kept going with his research.

He and his team found that fibroblast growth factor was one such factor. They also realized there were other unknown factors. To speed up the work, Folkman teamed up with companies. In 1974, Harvard University and Monsanto started a big research project. It was the largest of its kind at the time. This project helped fund his cancer research.

Later, other scientists, inspired by Folkman, found more factors. These included angiogenin and VEGF. Once these factors were known, scientists could start looking for drugs. Folkman also got funding from other companies like Takeda and Entremed.

Finding Angiogenesis Inhibitors

A scientist in Folkman's lab, Donald Ingber, found something interesting. A fungus made a chemical called fumagillin. This chemical stopped angiogenesis. Takeda worked to improve it, creating a drug called TNP-470. Folkman's team also used interferon alpha. This drug was already approved and also stopped angiogenesis. They used it to treat babies with hemangiomas (a type of birthmark). These were some of the first tests of angiogenesis inhibitors in people.

In 1991, another scientist in Folkman's lab, Michael O'Reilly, made a huge discovery. He found the first natural angiogenesis inhibitor, called angiostatin. Then he found another one, endostatin. Companies began developing these drugs. This led to more interest and investment in angiogenesis research.

In 1993, Folkman suggested that angiogenesis was also important in blood cancers. The next year, he showed that a marker for angiogenesis was high in all cancer patients. It was especially high in people with blood cancers. This showed how important angiogenesis was in these diseases too.

Around that time, a member of his lab, Robert D'Amato, found something amazing. The drug thalidomide could stop angiogenesis. This drug had been used for other things before. A patient with a serious blood cancer called multiple myeloma tried thalidomide. Standard treatments had failed him. Folkman convinced the patient's doctor to try it. This led to a clinical trial. About one-third of the patients improved with thalidomide. The results were published in 1999.

New Treatments and Legacy

In 2004, the first angiogenesis inhibitor drug was approved. It was called bevacizumab (Avastin). It helps treat colon cancer. Another similar drug, Lucentis, was approved for an eye disease. In 2006, thalidomide was approved for treating multiple myeloma.

Dr. Folkman was a member of many important scientific groups. He wrote hundreds of scientific papers. He received many awards for his research. These included the Wolf Prize in Medicine in 1992. He also received the Massry Prize in 1997. In 2006, President Bush appointed him to a national cancer advisory board.

Death

Moses Judah Folkman died on January 14, 2008. He was 74 years old. He had a heart attack in Denver, Colorado. He was on his way to give a speech at a science conference. He left behind his wife, two daughters, and a granddaughter. His groundbreaking work changed how we understand and fight cancer.

See also

In Spanish: Judah Folkman para niños