The American Heart Association awarded its Clinical Research Prize for 2010 to Boston investigator Gordon H. Williams, M.D., "for his direction of studies creating invaluable new knowledge of hormones' role in hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases."

Williams, who is professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, director of the Center for Clinical Investigation and chief of the Cardiovascular Endocrinology Section at Brigham and Women's Hospital, received the award during the opening of the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2010 at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. Association President Ralph Sacco, M.D., presented the $5,000 prize, awarded annually to recognize excellence in clinical research.

"In an impressive career, Dr. Williams has focused on underlying causes of hypertension, and on support for, and education of, the patient-oriented investigator," Sacco said. "Brilliant work by Dr. Williams and his trainees has revolutionized our approach to both of these areas of research."

A seminal article by Williams and his group "substantially changed the direction of hypertension research for the next 15 years," Sacco said. That report showed that about 25 percent of mild-to-moderate hypertensive individuals had a defect in sodium-mediated responses to angiotensin II, and that they responded to treatment with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors - "a real breakthrough for managing a large number of hypertensives," Sacco said.

More recently, Williams and his colleagues identified specific genes linked to the development of hypertension, "another finding of high significance," Sacco said. And in new investigations he has further clarified aldosterone's critical role in disease including hypertension.

"Dr. Williams has been a leader of translational clinical research during a highly meritorious career dedicated to understanding the causes and treatment of hypertension," Sacco said.

The Boston scientist, a graduate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, has been a member of Harvard's medical faculty since 1967.