SLS 19RS-649 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 43
BY SENATOR WALSWORTH
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Dr. A. Wayne Orr, Director of the Center of Excellence
for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences at LSU Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, for
his extraordinary impact on cardiovascular disease.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Dr. A. Wayne Orr, Director of the Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular
3 Diseases and Sciences at Louisiana State University Health Sciences
4 Center-Shreveport, for his impact on cardiovascular disease.
5 WHEREAS, Dr. A. Wayne Orr has had great success in the securing of extramural
6 grant funding and the development of junior researchers in cardiovascular scientific
7 research; and
8 WHEREAS, LSU Health Sciences Center-Shreveport (LSUHSC-S) continually
9 strives to increase its impact on the gravest health problems; and
10 WHEREAS, Dr. Orr has been acknowledged for his success in the tireless pursuit
11 of significant competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health to address
12 cardiovascular disease; and
13 WHEREAS, Dr. Orr currently serves as the principal investigator for three R01
14 grants totaling over $4 Million funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
15 (NHLBI) and the National Institute of Digestive and Diabetes and Kidney Diseases
16 (NIDDK); and
17 WHEREAS, Dr. Orr is the first faculty member at LSUHSC-S to have three
18 concurrent R01 grants; the R01 grant is the historically oldest grant mechanism utilized by
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SLS 19RS-649 ORIGINAL
1 the National Institutes of Health; and
2 WHEREAS, over the past twenty-one years, Dr Orr's research has sought to
3 understand how local micro environments affect vascular cells during pathological processes
4 such as atherosclerosis, angiogenesis, and ischemia-reperfusion injury; and
5 WHEREAS, findings from his laboratory have resulted in over fifty published
6 manuscripts on the field of vascular cell biology, along with numerous papers published in
7 the area of redox biology and its related pathologies; and
8 WHEREAS, Dr. Orr also serves as a reviewer for more than thirty professional
9 journals and publications; and
10 WHEREAS, with these findings, Dr. Orr has identified the critical role of
11 extracellular matrix in the regulation of endothelial cell function, characterizing novel
12 signaling mechanisms and identifying specific receptors involved in this response; and
13 WHEREAS, Dr. Orr is actively involved with the American Heart Association
14 serving as a national reviewer for its Cell Biology III Study Section, as well as with the
15 Collaborative Science Awards; and
16 WHEREAS, Dr. Orr serves locally as an educator for Board of Directors of the North
17 Louisiana American Heart Association and as a mentor for recipients of the American Heart
18 Association pre-doctoral fellowship; and
19 WHEREAS, Dr. Orr has generously given of his time and knowledge in mentoring
20 over fifty medical and basic science students along with post-degree candidates, many of
21 which are on course for successful careers; and
22 WHEREAS, Dr. Orr serves as a professor in the Departments of Pathology and
23 Translational Pathobiology, Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Cell Biology and
24 Anatomy; he also serves as director of the Division of Research in the Department of
25 Pathology and Translational Pathobiology; and
26 WHEREAS, the outstanding work of Dr. Orr brings national recognition to
27 LSUHSC-S through his active involvement in the North American Vascular Biology
28 Association, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, American
29 Society of Cell Biology, and as a charter member of the National Institutes of Health
30 Vascular Cell and Molecular Biology Study Section and Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and
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SLS 19RS-649 ORIGINAL
1 Vascular Biology with service on its editorial board.
2 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
3 does hereby commend Dr. A. Wayne Orr, for his remarkable intellect and exceptional
4 dedication to the pursuit of treatments for cardiovascular diseases and for the enhancement
5 of the economy of North Louisiana through significant extramural grant funding.
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to Dr.
7 A. Wayne Orr, Director of the Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular Diseases and
8 Sciences at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Suzi Montague.
DIGEST
SR 43 Original 2019 Regular Session Walsworth
Commends Dr. A. Wayne Orr, Director of the Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular
Diseases and Sciences at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport.
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