Six Baylor College of Medicine faculty were honored this year with the Michael E. DeBakey M.D. Award for Excellence in Research for their outstanding published scientific contributions to clinical and basic science research over a three-year period.
The 2025 recipients of the DeBakey Research Awards were Dr. Alastair Thompson, Dr. Anna Mandalakas, Dr. Anthony Maresso, Dr. Hongjie Li, Dr. Lilei Zhang and Dr. Na Li. They were recognized and presented their work at an award ceremony on June 24.
The awards, named in honor of pioneering heart surgeon Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, the first president of Baylor College of Medicine, and sponsored by the DeBakey Medical Foundation, include a commemorative medallion and funds to support further research.
"This is a special and fun day at Baylor College of Medicine, where we can celebrate the people that are leading science at the institution. We are proud of their work, and we appreciate the support of the DeBakey Medical Foundation that allows this to happen," said Dr. Paul Klotman, Baylor president, CEO and executive dean.
Dr. Carolyn Smith, senior vice president and dean of research, introduced the outstanding awardees before they were presented their medal, followed by brief presentations by each.
Alastair Thompson, B.Sc. (Hons), MBChB, M.D., FRCS (Ed)
Professor and Chief, Section of Breast Surgery
Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery
Thompson's research has significantly advanced the field of breast cancer treatment. His research has been instrumental in understanding the molecular mechanisms of breast cancer, leading to the development of targeted interventions. He also has led practice-changing clinical trials that have refined oncological treatment for early breast cancer, including through de-escalation or omission of chemotherapy or surgery. He currently leads an investigation on a high-resolution imaging device that combines tissue imaging with artificial intelligence algorithms to help surgeons assess if they have achieved successful removal of the entire tumor.
Anna Mandalakas, M.D., Ph.D., FAAP
Professor and Chief, Division of Global Health
Director, Global Tuberculosis Program
Department of Pediatrics
Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital
For nearly three decades, Mandalakas' translational research has focused on identification of the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and Tuberculosis (TB) disease in children who suffer from a pediatric TB detection gap and shoulder a disproportionate burden of global TB morbidity and mortality. In the past three years, Mandalakas ranks among the highest cited researchers in the field of pediatric tuberculosis with landmark clinical and scientific publications. These include more than 40 peer-reviewed and PubMed-indexed manuscripts, among them 10 in Lancet journals.
Anthony William Maresso, Ph.D.
Melnick Endowed Chair and Professor
Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology
Maresso has significantly advanced the field of virology but also transformed public health with the development of an innovative monitoring program that tracks disease-causing viruses in wastewater. This approach has been adopted by national and state-wide programs to detect outbreaks before they occur.
Hongjie Li, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor and CPRIT Scholar
Huffington Center on Aging
Department of Molecular and Human Genetics
Li's research focuses on developing and applying single cell sequencing and multi-omics approaches to study aging. As a postdoctoral associate, he developed the first single-cell RNA-sequencing technique for Drosophila (fruit fly). Building on this platform, Hongjie co-led an international collaboration involving 42 fly labs and 158 investigators and established a single-cell transcriptomic map of the entire adult Drosophila. This Fly Cell Atlas (FCA) is considered a phenotypic companion to the fly genome project.
Lilei Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Integrative Physiology and Internal Medicine
Zhang's research has focused on circadian regulation in the heart. Her work focuses on the peripheral circadian network in the heart and bridges the gap between basic research discovery to clinical translation. Additionally, she leadsstudies on rare inherited cardiac diseases.
Na Li, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Research
Li is an internationally recognized leader in cardiac electrophysiology. Her research on inflammatory and molecular signaling pathways in the heart has led to better understanding of atrial fibrillation and other cardiac arrhythmias.
