Domingo Liotta shortly thereafter. 1962 (May): Prolonged assisted circulation during and after cardiac and aortic surgery. Prolonged partial left ventricular bypass by means of intracorporeal circulation. It was selected as Finalist for the Young Investigators´ Contest Award (Denver) of the American College of Cardiology. 1964: Annual Award, Southwestern Surgical Society, USA. Shared with C. William Hall and Michael E. DeBakey.1968: Golden Eagle Award, Council of International Nontheatrical Events, USA, shared with Denton A. Cooley, Robert Bloodwell, and Grady Hallman. 1969: Award of Merit, American Medical Association shared with Denton A. Cooley, MD. 1969: Decoration of the Institute of Spanish Culture, Madrid, Spain.
Human artificial chromosome resulted in a human artificial chromosome that is mitotically stable. 21HAC was also able to be transferred into cells from a variety of species (mice, chickens, humans). Using 21HAC, researchers were able to insert a herpes simplex virus- thymidine kinase coding gene into tumor cells. This "suicide gene" is required to activate many antiviral medications. These targeted tumor cells were successfully, and selectively, terminated by the antiviral drug ganciclovir in a population including healthy cells. This research opens a variety of opportunities for using HACs in gene therapy. In 2011, researchers formed a human artificial chromosome by truncating chromosome 14.