The Davison Prize, established in 1998 by then Department Head Stephen J. Lippard, honors the best PhD thesis in Inorganic Chemistry. The award is named for Professor Alan Davison, FRS, whose pioneering research in basic chemistry led to medical breakthroughs that have saved countless lives.
Working with his graduate student Michael J. Abrams (PhD ’83) and Harvard Medical School colleague Professor Alun Jones, Davison discovered a family of technetium compounds that became the foundation of a widely used diagnostic drug. Today, this compound—known scientifically as Technetium Tc99m-sestamibi and sold commercially as Cardiolite® for heart imaging and Miraluma® for breast cancer detection—is used around the world.
In heart care, this test allows doctors to see how blood flows through the heart and detect blockages in the arteries. The compound works by targeting the energy-producing structures inside cells, called mitochondria. Since mitochondria are also more active in rapidly growing cancer cells, the same test can help identify breast cancer when mammogram results are unclear.
A complete blockage of a heart artery causes a heart attack (called an infarct), while a partial blockage can cause chest pain and reduced blood flow, known as myocardial ischemia. These problems usually develop over time from coronary artery disease (CAD), the leading cause of heart attacks and the number one cause of death worldwide. While the risks are serious, CAD is highly treatable if found early.
Nuclear imaging, like the scan developed from Davison’s discovery, has become a vital tool for detecting CAD and other heart conditions. In fact, cardiovascular disease was the underlying cause of nearly 942,000 deaths in the United States in 2022, and the cost of diagnosing and treating it reached $233 billion between 2020 and 2021. For patients whose CT or MRI scans don’t give clear answers, nuclear heart scans are often considered the gold standard—and remain the preferred test in much of the world.
Unfortunately, about one in three people with CAD are not diagnosed until after a heart attack. But when the disease is caught early, treatments such as medication and surgical procedures to restore blood flow can dramatically lower the risk of serious complications. This makes early detection critical—and highlights the lasting impact of Davison’s groundbreaking work.
Davison Prize Recipients