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Mayo Clinic Alumni Association announces 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients
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Rochester, Minn. — Ten outstanding Mayo Clinic alumni have been honored with this year's Mayo Clinic Distinguished Alumni Awards. The recipients have made remarkable contributions to medical practice and research, including vital work in the areas of stroke prevention and treatment, magnetic resonance imaging, pancreatic and molecular biology, healthcare reform, and more.
The Distinguished Alumni Award was established in 1981 by the Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees to acknowledge and show appreciation for the exceptional contributions of Mayo Clinic alumni to the field of medicine, including medical practice, research, education and administration. Alumni receiving this award are recognized nationally — and often internationally — in their fields.
This year's recipients were honored at the Mayo Foundation House in Rochester in October.
The 2025 recipients:
- Thomas Brott, M.D.
Dr. Brott is a professor of neurology and consultant in the Department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic in Florida, as well as the emeritus Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Professor of Neurosciences. Dr. Brott led the charge to treat stroke as a neurologic emergency and materially improved the management of carotid artery disease, affecting the care of millions of patients around the world. He also played a major role in the approval of alteplase, the first drug deemed safe and effective for acute ischemic stroke treatment. - Richard Ehman, M.D.
Dr. Ehman is a consultant in the , a professor of radiology and the Blanche R. and Richard J. Erlanger Professor of Medical Research at . Dr. Ehman is a pioneer in groundbreaking clinical applications of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). He helped shape modern imaging science and led the Mayo Clinic body MRI practice to become one of the largest in the world. - Herbert Gaisano, M.D.
Dr. Gaisano is a professor of medicine and physiology at the University of Toronto, a staff physician in the Division of Gastroenterology in the University Health Network, and a senior scientist at Toronto General Research Institute in Canada. He is recognized worldwide as one of the top investigators in the pancreatic exocrine and islet function fields, and he leads a premier pancreatic cell biology research laboratory. His research has illuminated the pathogenesis of common diseases such as diabetes and pancreatitis. - Raymond Gibbons, M.D.
Dr. Gibbons is an emeritus professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and a retired consultant in the at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Dr. Gibbons is an expert in coronary artery disease, the founder and former co-director of the Mayo Clinic Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory, a past president of the American Heart Association and a noted leader in healthcare reform. - Allan Jaffe, M.D.
Dr. Jaffe is a consultant in the Division of Ischemic Heart Disease and Critical Care and the Wayne and Kathryn Preisel Professor of Cardiovascular Disease Research at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, as well as professor of medicine and professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Dr. Jaffe is a researcher and leading authority on myocardial disease biomarkers, and he helped develop and validate the first cardiac troponin I assay, the blood test of choice for the diagnosis of heart attacks. - Peter Layer, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Layer is former medical director and physician-in-chief of the Israelitic Hospital and an emeritus professor of medicine at the University of Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany. He played a crucial role in developing the hospital into one of the leading clinical and academic institutions for gastrointestinal disease in Germany. His research has illuminated the diagnosis and therapy of gastrointestinal diseases such as acute and chronic pancreatitis. - David Lee, M.D.
Dr. Lee is a professor of ophthalmology and the Susan and Richard Anderson Distinguished Chair in Ophthalmology at McGovern Medical School, in the University of Texas Health Science Center, in Houston, Texas. Dr. Lee is a highly sought-after specialist known for his ability to handle the most complex and challenging diabetes and glaucoma cases, and his academic contributions have advanced the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma worldwide. - Eric Matteson, M.D.
Dr. Matteson is an emeritus professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and a retired consultant in the Division of Rheumatology at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. As an internationally renowned clinician-scientist, Dr. Matteson conducted extensive epidemiological, mechanistic and clinical studies that have significantly advanced the understanding of rheumatic diseases. He was a pioneer in the use of biologics for the treatment of rheumatic disease, which have improved the quality of life for countless patients. - Vladimir Parpura, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Parpura is a distinguished professor and director of the International Translational Neuroscience Research Institute at Zhejiang Chinese Medical University in Hangzhou, China. He discovered that astrocytes — non-neuronal cells of the central nervous system — could release chemicals/transmitters, much like neurons, and communicate with neurons. His discovery of this process, known as gliotransmission, and his subsequent research has had a remarkable impact on the fields of neuroscience and cell biology. - Vicente Torres, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Torres is a consultant in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. He is also a professor of medicine and the Robert M. and Billie J. Pirnie Professor of Kidney Disease Research in Honor of Michael J. Krowka, M.D. Dr. Torres is an international leader in nephrology and a founding figure in the research of polycystic kidney disease (PDK). He led clinical trials that resulted in the clinical development of tolvaptan, the first and only specific treatment for autosomal dominant PDK (ADPKD).
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About the Mayo Clinic Alumni Association
The Mayo Clinic Alumni Association was incorporated in 1915 with a mission to connect our alumni and bring Mayo Clinic values to the world. The association serves more than 32,800 alumni who live and work in over 80 countries.
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.
Media contact:
- Lisa Speckhard-Pasque, Mayo Clinic Alumni Relations, newsbureau@mayo.edu
