Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Medical Research Award

The Robert J. And Claire Pasarow Foundation Medical Research Awards were awarded annually for distinguished accomplishment in areas of investigation that included neuropsychiatry, cardiovascular disease, and cancer research. The program ran from 1987 to 2013. Each area of research was allocated US$50,000 to award to its winners.

History of the award
The Pasarow Foundation was created in 1987 by Mr. and Mrs. Pasarow of Beverly Hills, California, to stimulate medical and scientific research. Robert Pasarow was the founder and former president/CEO/chairman of the board of CHB Foods, Inc. The Pasarows established the Claire and Robert J. Pasarow Cancer Laboratory at the Kenneth Norris Jr. Cancer Hospital and Research Institute at the University of Southern California as well as the Pasarow Mass Spectrometry Laboratory at the University of California Los Angeles. Robert J. Pasarow, now deceased, was the founding president and chairman of the foundation and Claire Pasarow, also deceased, was the chief financial officer.

Members of the board of directors
The members of the board of directors were:
 * Michael Pasarow, chairman
 * Anthony Pasarow, co-treasurer
 * Susan A. Pasarow, MSW, co-treasurer
 * Jack Barchas, MD, president
 * Shaun Coughlin, MD, PhD, University of California San Francisco
 * Christopher J. Evans, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
 * Ronald Evans, PhD, The Salk Institute
 * Brian E. Henderson, MD, University of Southern California
 * Alexander Varshavsky, PhD, Caltech

Nomination criteria
The principal criterion for nomination was evidence of extraordinary accomplishment in medical science.

Nominators provided a one-page letter of intent stating the rationale for the nomination and a copy of the nominee's curriculum vitae and bibliography in two-page NIH format. Applications were reviewed by the board of directors in consultation with various medical scholars.