UT Southwestern's Dr. Hobbs Wins Top Heart Science Award

A scientist whose genetic discoveries have helped millions of people avoid heart disease just received one of the highest honors in cardiovascular medicine.

Dr. Helen H. Hobbs, a physician-scientist at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, was named the 2026 recipient of the Valentin Fuster Award for Innovation in Science by the American College of Cardiology. The award recognizes her decades of groundbreaking work using human genetics to unlock new ways to prevent and treat heart disease.

Dr. Hobbs is best known for a 2006 discovery that changed how doctors treat stubborn high cholesterol. Working alongside her longtime research partner Jonathan Cohen, she identified how the PCSK9 protein controls levels of LDL cholesterol in our blood.

Here's why that matters: they found that people born with mutations that turn off the PCSK9 gene naturally have much lower bad cholesterol and face significantly less risk of heart disease. That discovery led directly to PCSK9-inhibiting drugs now prescribed to thousands of patients whose cholesterol won't respond to traditional treatments.

But Dr. Hobbs didn't stop there. In 2008, she and Dr. Cohen discovered the first genetic risk factor for fatty liver disease, opening new pathways for understanding and treating liver disorders that affect millions of Americans.

Much of this breakthrough research came from the Dallas Heart Study, which Dr. Hobbs co-founded in 2000. The study collected detailed health data from thousands of Dallas County residents across different ethnic backgrounds, creating a treasure trove of information that has advanced cardiovascular research worldwide.

The Ripple Effect

Dr. Hobbs' approach flips traditional medical research on its head. Instead of studying what makes people sick, she looks for genetic variants that protect against disease. That shift in perspective has opened entirely new avenues for drug development.

The drugs inspired by her PCSK9 research are now saving lives across the globe, giving hope to patients who had run out of options for managing their cholesterol. Her liver disease research is paving the way for treatments that could help the estimated 100 million Americans living with fatty liver disease.

At the award ceremony in New Orleans, Dr. Hobbs credited her success to collaboration, thanking her research partner, her trainees, and UT Southwestern for creating an environment where curiosity-driven research can flourish. She trained under Nobel Prize winners Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein, whose mentorship shaped her career path.

The award joins an impressive collection of honors, including the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences and membership in both the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.

Her work proves that asking different questions can lead to transformative answers that improve countless lives.