The International Aspirin Foundation (IAF)’s Science Award for the Emerging Aspirin Investigator recognises scientists in the early stages of their research career. The award aims to acknowledge and stimulate their contribution to our understanding of aspirin in both experimental and clinical medicine. The IAF Scientific Advisory Board’s 2023 call for nominations led to several outstanding submissions from across the globe within the field of preeclampsia.
The 2023 Awardee, Dr Manel Mendoza (Spain) is the principal investigator of the StopPRE trial which was the first trial specifically designed to investigate the appropriate duration of aspirin treatment to prevent preeclampsia during pregnancy among women at high risk of preterm preeclampsia. The trial demonstrated that aspirin could be discontinued in a large subset of women at 24 to 28 weeks of gestation rather than continued until delivery and still be effective in preventing preeclampsia.
Professor Andrew Chan, Chair of the IAF Scientific Advisory Board presented the award and commended Dr Mendoza’s work stating “These results are important because it shows that among many high-risk women aspirin can be discontinued several weeks before delivery, thereby maximizing the benefit of preventing preeclampsia while minimizing the risk of bleeding complications. This illustrates how appropriate use of a low-cost intervention such as aspirin can have an important impact on a major public health problem”
Dr Mendoza said “I am delighted to receive this award in recognition of my work.”