October 3, 2024 — The 2025 recipient of the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) Cotran Early Career Investigator Award is Dr. Onur Kanisicak, an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (Columbus, OH).
The ASIP Cotran Early Career Investigator Award recognizes early career investigators who direct meritorious and impactful independent experimental pathology research programs that are focused on improvement of the understanding of the conceptual basis of disease. The award is named in honor of Dr. Ramzi Cotran, who was a distinguished educator, mentor, scientist, and leader in the field of experimental pathology.
Dr. Kanisicak graduated from Istanbul University (Istanbul, Turkey) with a BS in biomedical sciences in 2003, and then completed an MS in genetics from The University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT) in 2005. Dr. Kanisicak continued at the University of Connecticut and completed his PhD in genetics and genomics in 2011. After several years of postdoctoral training (2011-2018) in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, HHMI (Cincinnati, OH), Dr. Kanisicak was appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Cincinnati.
In his short career to-date, Dr. Kanisicak has published 40 peer-reviewed papers and 18 peer-reviewed abstracts. His noteworthy achievements include publishing his research centered on cardiac biology, with a primary goal of identifying novel therapeutic targets to prevent fibrosis and facilitate wound healing in esteemed journals such as Nature and Nature Communications. Dr. Kanisicak’s recent work on cellular crosstalk between muscle cells and interstitial cells, regulating wound healing and regeneration, has garnered significant interest in the cardiovascular field. Concurrent studies exploring the function and necessity of tissue-resident fibroblasts using innovative mouse models contribute substantially to the understanding of tissue fibrosis, particularly in the context of pulmonary fibrosis following pathogenic infections. Dr. Kanisicak serves on the Editorial Boards for Frontiers in Physiology – Striated Muscle Physiology and Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.
In his nomination, Dr. David Askew (Professor in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Cincinnati) commented that “…Dr. Kanisicak directs a state-of-the-art research program that uses innovative mouse models to gain insight into fibroblast biology and its impact on tissue regeneration and disease pathogenesis. He has been a consistently productive investigator in this field, uncovering important research findings that have resulted in an outstanding track record of publications in high impact journals.” In addition, Dr. Kanisicak “…is the consummate academic and is also committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists…” and “…it is particularly remarkable that Dr. Kanisicak was twice voted ‘Teacher of the Year’ by graduate students in the Pathobiology & Molecular Medicine Graduate Program…”
Dr. Kanisicak has received numerous awards, listing 17 awards of various sorts on his CV including Teacher of the Year and University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Sigma Xi Young Investigator Award in 2023, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Rising Star Award in 2022, and Fred Sanfilippo-ASIP Inaugural Lectureship Award 2020. He also received a Career Development Award from American Heart Association in 2018, Heart Institute Research Retreat Best Fellow Poster Presentation in 2017, and a Postdoctoral fellowship American Heart Association in 2015, among others.
Dr. Xander Wehrens (Director of Cardiovascular Research Institute at Baylor College of Medicine) wrote in his letter of nomination, “…I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Kanisicak during his highly successful Fred Sanfilippo-ASIP Visiting Lectureship at our institution, where he delivered two insightful research lectures and a mentorship lecture to our trainees…” Dr. Kanisicak is heavily involved in several scientific societies and has demonstrated leadership abilities related to his Society committee work. He became a member of the ASIP in 2020. Since that time, Dr. Kanisicak has served as a member of the Committee for Career Development, and has contributed to development of career development sessions for the ASIP Annual Meeting. Dr. Kanisicak’s achievements extend to successful grant acquisition, with three NIH R01 grants and recognition from the American Heart Association (AHA), including pre-, post-doc, and career development award grants.
Dr. Kanisicak will receive the 2025 ASIP Cotran Early Career Investigator Award during the 2025 Annual Meeting of the ASIP in Portland, OR (April 2025).
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About ASIP
The American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) is comprised of biomedical scientists who investigate mechanisms of disease. Investigative pathology is an integrative discipline that links the presentation of disease in the whole organism to its fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms. It uses a variety of structural, functional, and genetic techniques and ultimately applies research findings to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. ASIP advocates for the practice of investigative pathology and fosters the professional career development and education of its members.
