Edward is best known for his contributions to lipid (fat) research. He was tapped to be the director of the LIPID MAPS consortium grants from the NIH, allocated to the development of a comprehensive classification for lipids. And he's a past recipient of the prestigious Avanti Award for research in lipid enzymology from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He also received the 2007 European Lipid Science Award from the European Federation for the Science and Technology of Lipidsrecognition for "his outstanding discoveries in the fields of phospholipases and eicosanoids, and in appreciation of his world-wide engagement and collaborative efforts in the area of lipidomics."

He has an impressive pedigree in academia—a doctorate in chemistry from Harvard University and postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School, where he's also served as a visiting biochemistry professor. And he currently serves as an adjunct professor at The Scripps Research Institute in addition to his academic role at UC San Diego, where he received the Merck Faculty Development Award early in his career.

This prolific researcher can be found an incredible number of times on PubMed—having authored over 270 original research publications in scientific journals. He's the current editor in chief of the Journal of Lipid Research and has served on editorial boards for publications that include the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry and the Journal of Biological Chemistry. He's also the editor of 13 books and holds 6 patents (with several pending).