Ross was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for the academic year 1966–1967, which he spent studying cell culture at the Strangeways Research Laboratory.

The hypothesis, which has been tested and modified from its original formulation, has had a profound impact on atherosclerosis research and vascular biology.

Instead of a site for passive accumulation of blood lipids, the artery wall is now seen as a living, reactive tissue capable of mounting an inflammatory response.

Russ and his colleagues are credited with many major discoveries, among them the work with Dr. Daniel Bowen-Pope on the identification of platelet-derived growth factor receptors.

More recently Russ's laboratory has done studies on the early diagnosis and evolution of atherosclerotic lesions in humans, primates, and various animal models.