Our Pillars

Since its founding in 1974, PRIM&R has been infused with the wisdom, devotion, and vision of a number of highly respected and uncommonly committed directors of the board, members, and volunteers. In recognition of these contributions, in 2007, PRIM&R established the Pillars of PRIM&R Memorial Fund to recognize those who hold the same values, principles, and commitment to research protections.

Our Pillars
This Fund was created in honor of:

Louis Lasagna, MD
Louis Lasagna, MD, (1923-2003) the "Father of Clinical Pharmacology," was a vital member of the PRIM&R board of directors for nearly twenty years.  He first became involved with the organization when he spoke at one of our conferences in 1980.  Thereafter, he consistently contributed time, wisdom, spirit, warmth, humor, principled leadership, and endless hard work to every PRIM&R project he undertook.  When Dr. Lasagna first became involved with PRIM&R, he was already a giant and a hero, not only in the field of pharmacology, but also in the emerging area of the responsible and ethical conduct of research.  Everything he did was informed by his humanity, as well as by his concern that science, and life in general, must be a search for "logic, wisdom, truth, meaning, and justice."

 Herman Wigodsky, MD, PhD
Herman Wigodsky, MD, PHD, (1915-2005) was actively involved in promoting research ethics throughout his over 60 year career.  "Wig" served in the United States Air Force (USAF) during World War II as the director of research at the USAF School of Aviation Medicine from 1944 to 1947.  He worked for the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission and then for the National Academy of Sciences prior to moving to the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio in 1950.  Wig loved PRIM&R, and he was, in turn, loved by all those who met him over the course of his association with the organization.  Wig was a broken mold, and when he gave a talk or facilitated a breakout session at one of our meetings, his comments were always strong, spicy, and usually right on target.

Sanford Chodosh, MD
Sanford Chodosh, MD, (1928-2010) was a co-founder of PRIM&R and served as president of PRIM&R’s Board of Directors from 1979 to 2001. Dr. Chodosh, a clinical investigator for more than 40 years, retired from the Boston University School of Medicine where he was an Associate Professor and from the VA Outpatient Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was Chief of Staff for 14 years and Chief of Pulmonary. Dr. Chodosh authored or coauthored more than 73 articles, 38 abstracts, and 40 chapters in books and monographs. He was involved in a number of hospital and organization activities and received numerous awards and honors. Dr. Chodosh served as the IRB chair at the Boston City Hospital from 1971 to 1984. Through the time of his passing, he continued to be deeply involved with the protection of human and animal subjects in research as a founder of PRIM&R and as a member of the Board of Directors. In 2005, he received PRIM&R’s Founders’ Award in recognition of his long service to the organization.

Pillars of PRIM&R Award 

The Pillars of PRIM&R Memorial Fund provides awards to qualified applicants whose scholarship in the field of research ethics reflects PRIM&R's mission and core values. It is our hope, through this initiative, the unique spirit and principles of those designated as Pillars will inspire the next generation of leaders in the field.

Past recipients of the Pillars of PRIM&R Award include: