Dr. Garret FitzGerald has done fundamental research on how anti-inflammatory drugs affect the heart.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Philadelphia (CNN) -- Dr. Garret FitzGerald's career in medicine almost fell through because of a cockroach.

His big zoology exam at University College, Dublin, involved dissecting the mouth of a cockroach under a microscope. To his horror, one of the major components jumped out of his field of vision. "It's over," he thought.

But it wasn't. The exam proctor, whom he remembers looking like Helen of Troy, got down on her hands and knees to help. After about five minutes of searching, she emerged with the mouth part on her thumb.

"If she hadn't found it, I would not be a physician," he said. "It's these quirks of nature that lead you to what you do."

FitzGerald went on to show that low-dose aspirin could prevent cardiovascular disease. He recently shared the Grand Prix Scientifique from the Lefoulon-Delalande Foundation of the Institute of France, a 500,000 ($668,000) award. Last year he won Canada's top cardiovascular research prize, the Louis and Artur Lucian Award.

"Dr FitzGerald for the past 30 years has been one of the leaders in cardiovascular disease research," said Dr. Jacques Genest, Lucian Award chairman and cardiovascular researcher at McGill University Health Center. "He has (been) just like a surfer, perpetually riding the crest of the wave, and he hasn't come down yet."

Now a professor of medicine and pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, FitzGerald's work on the cardiovascular implications of pain medicines has resulted in therapies that save lives and improve the quality of life for millions of patients, said Dr. Sanjay Kaul, cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine.

"He's fearless, he's passionate, he's curious, visionary, very, very, collaborative, and most important, he's very nurturing. In my opinion he's the real deal," Kaul said.

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Doctor is pain medicine 'visionary'