Newswise — Washington, DC—The Endocrine Society today announced it has selected 14 accomplished endocrinologists as winners of the organization’s prestigious 2015 Laureate Awards.
Established in 1944, the awards recognize the highest achievements in the endocrinology field, including groundbreaking research and innovations in clinical care. The Endocrine Society will present $101,000 in awards to the winners at ENDO 2015, the Society’s 97th Annual Meeting & Expo in San Diego, CA from March 5-8, 2015.
The Endocrine Society’s 2015 Laureate Award winners are:
• Andrzej Bartke, MS, PhD – Fred Conrad Koch Lifetime Achievement Award. The Society’s highest honor, this annual award recognizes lifetime achievements and exceptional contributions of an individual to the field of endocrinology. The award includes a $25,000 honorarium. Currently Professor Emeritus and Director of Geriatric Medicine in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Physiology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, IL, Bartke has been contributing to the field for more than five decades. After devoting his early career to the reproductive role of growth hormone and prolactin on testicular physiology, he has become a leader in the field of mammalian aging. His laboratory was the first to show that growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) are major players in the regulation of lifespan in the mammal. He served as President of the American Society of Andrology and the Society for the Study of Reproduction. Bartke has written more than 700 publications and has had continuous National Institutes of Health funding for his research since 1972.
• Shalender Bhasin, MD – Outstanding Clinical Investigator Award. This annual award honors an internationally recognized clinical investigator who has contributed significantly to understanding of the pathogenesis, pathophysiology and therapy of endocrine diseases. Bhasin is an internationally known translational investigator whose pioneering investigations in the field of androgen hormones such as testosterone have been notable for their bold study design, innovation and enduring impact in bringing resolution to controversial issues in reproductive endocrinology. His landmark study demonstrated conclusively that testosterone increases muscle mass and strength in healthy men with normal levels of the hormone and that the hormone’s anabolic effects are augmented by resistance exercise. He is Director of the Research Program in Men’s Health, Aging and Metabolism at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.
• Susan A. Sherman, MD – Outstanding Clinical Practitioner Award. This annual award recognizes extraordinary contributions by a practicing endocrinologist to the endocrine and/or medical community. Dedicated to patient care, Sherman has run a solo and highly respected private practice for more than 35 years and accepted patients from all socio-economic groups. Sherman has organized the highly respected Snowmass Conference in Clinical Diabetes and Endocrinology for the last 20 years, and she has run the Colorado Endocrine Club since 1981. She served as chair of the Society’s Clinical Affairs Core Committee, represented the Physicians-in-Practice on the Society’s Council, and continues to represent the Society at the American Medical Association as its Delegate and Alternate Delegate. She practices at Aurora Medical Associates in Aurora, CO.
• Anne M. Etgen, PhD – Distinguished Educator Award. This annual award recognizes exceptional achievement as an educator in the discipline of endocrinology and metabolism. In three decades, Etgen’s enthusiasm for neuroendocrinology has enticed a generation of high school through postdoctoral trainees into the field of steroid receptor biology and reproductive endocrinology. She has had more than 30 years of National Institutes of Health funding, including 2 NIH MERIT awards, published more than 150 original manuscripts and has trained several dozen MDs, PhDs, and MD/PhDs. Etgen is Professor Emerita and the former Director of Graduate Studies at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
• Diane M. Robins, PhD – Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Service Award. This award recognizes distinguished service in the field of endocrinology. Robins is being honored for her remarkable service to the success and future of the Endocrine Society. Robins became a member of the Society in 1992 and has tirelessly contributed to the organization. She volunteered to serve on more than 12 different committees and editorial boards, and she chaired the Annual Meeting Steering Committee for ENDO 2013, the Society’s 95th annual meeting. Robins is Professor of Human Genetics and Research Scientist for the Reproductive Sciences Program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.
• Robert M. Neer, MD – Gerald D. Aurbach Award for Outstanding Translational Research. This annual award recognizes outstanding contributions to research that accelerate the transition of scientific discoveries into clinical applications. Neer played a critical role in the work that led to the successful introduction of parathyroid hormone therapy for osteoporosis. With his colleagues, he was the first to test synthetic PTH 1-34 in clinical medicine. He also served as a pioneer in the development of standardization and precision criteria for the quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) bone density tests. Neer is the Director of the Bone Density Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA.
• Gökhan S. Hotamisligil, MD, PhD – Roy O. Greep Award for Outstanding Research. This annual award recognizes meritorious contributions to research in endocrinology. Hotamisligil has been a pioneer in research efforts to explain the mechanistic basis of common chronic metabolic diseases, particularly obesity, diabetes and heart disease. His work has led to the emergence of novel concepts that have altered the understanding of disease pathogenesis. He is currently the JS Simmons Professor of Genetics and Metabolism and Chair of the Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases, and the Sabri Ülker Center at Harvard University’s School of Public Health in Boston, MA.
• Bert W. O’Malley, MD – Outstanding Innovation Award. Established in 2013, this new award recognizes endocrinologists who have demonstrated innovation and entrepreneurship to further endocrine research or practice in support of the field of endocrinology, patients, and society at large. O’Malley’s innovative discoveries of the molecular pathways underlying steroid hormone action have had an extraordinary impact on the endocrinology field. His early pioneering discovery that the action of steroid hormones in endocrine tissues is a consequence of their ability to regulate gene selective transcriptional responses within the cell’s nucleus changed the field of steroid hormone action, leading endocrine investigators toward hormonal control of gene transcription, and served as a primary stimulus for creation of the field of molecular endocrinology. O’Malley is Professor and Chairman of the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX.
• Susan R. Davis, MBBS, FRACP, PhD – International Excellence in Endocrinology Award. This award is presented to an endocrinologist who has made exceptional contributions to endocrinology in their own country and/or internationally. Davis is internationally known for advancing the understanding of the role of androgens and estrogens in women, with research encompassing numerous aspects of women’s health including breast cancer, cardiovascular function, obesity, cognitive function, mood, sexual function and musculoskeletal health. Her groundbreaking research has had a significant impact globally on women’s health. She co-established the Jean Hailes Foundation, Australia’s leading women’s health educational organization, and has been recognized for her work with the Australian Aboriginal community. Dr. Davis is a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Principal Research Fellow, Chair of Women’s Health and Director of the Women’s Health Research Program, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, and Head of the Women’s Specialist Health Clinic at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.
• Robert M. Carey, MACP, MD – Outstanding Leadership in Endocrinology Award. This annual award recognizes outstanding leadership in fundamental or clinical endocrinology. As President of the Endocrine Society in 2008-2009, Carey encouraged leadership to develop Scientific Statements that would represent the best science and the most informed opinions on critically relevant topics to endocrinology. This led to the development of Scientific Statements on key issues such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals, vitamin D and hormone replacement therapy for menopausal symptoms. Carey also secured top policymakers and scientists to address the crowds at the Society’s annual meeting. He forged important relationships with policymakers in Congress and the White House. Carey is the David A. Harrison III Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Dean (Emeritus), and University Professor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
• Anne Klibanski, MD – Outstanding Mentor Award. This annual award recognizes a career commitment to mentoring and a significant positive impact on mentees’ education and career. Klibanski has mentored more than 50 trainees, many whom have gone on to leadership roles at Harvard and other top institutions. As the first woman promoted to full Professor of Medicine at Harvard from Massachusetts General Hospital, Klibanski recognized the barriers women face for career advancement. She established and now oversees institutional offices for career development and mentoring for women faculty, researchers and clinicians as the Director of the Center for Faculty Development at Massachusetts General Hospital. Klibanski is the Chief of the Neuroendocrine Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Chief Academic Officer at Partners Healthcare in Boston, MA. She is the Laurie Carrol Guthart Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
• Valeria Guimaraes, FACE, MD, PhD – Outstanding Public Service Award. This award recognizes the individual who best demonstrates dedication to public awareness or public service in support of the field of endocrinology and the patients who suffer from endocrine disorders. Guimaraes has developed, led and contributed to local and national public awareness campaigns tackling topics such as childhood obesity, thyroid disease awareness and early detection of thyroid cancer. Her advocacy campaign lobbied the Brazilian government to adopt the World Health Organization’s Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. She also worked on an amendment to the Brazilian Constitution that paved the way for PET scans to be used nationwide as a tool for diagnosing cancer. Guimaraes is Director and an endocrinologist in clinical practice at Endocrinology and Nephrology Associated Physicians (ENNE) in Brasília, Brazil.
• Douglas S. Ross, MS, MD – Outstanding Scholarly Physician Award. This annual award recognizes outstanding contributions to the practice of clinical endocrinology in academic settings. Ross participated in the initial multicenter trials validating the diagnostic use of human recombinant TSH for the assessment of thyroid cancer. He has been an active participant in the National Thyroid Cancer Treatment Co-operative Study Group and was lead author on their publication regarding micropapillary thyroid cancers. He joined UpToDate in 1995 as Thyroid Editor and personally authored 41 of the topics, which have been viewed by more than 600,000 readers annually. A frequent speaker at the Society’s annual meeting and American Thyroid Association meetings, Ross has served three terms on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism and currently serves on the editorial board of Thyroid. Ross is Co-Director of the Thyroid Associates practice at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he sees up to 60 patients a week. He also is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.
• Ajay Chawla, MD, PhD – Richard E. Weitzman Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award. This annual award recognizes an exceptionally promising young clinical or basic investigator. Chawla's work has established general principles by which innate immunity extends the homeostatic capacity of tissues, which has deepened the understanding of metabolic diseases. Over the last decade, Chawla’s contributions have spanned the areas of physiological, regenerative, and circadian homeostasis. Chawla was first to demonstrate that in response to cold temperature, catecholamine hormones made in the adrenal glands can stimulate the browning of white fat tissue so the tissue burns more energy, a finding that may have value in managing obesity. Chawla is an Associate Professor of Physiology and Medicine at the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the University of California San Francisco. # # #
Founded in 1916, the Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest, largest and most active organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology. Today, the Endocrine Society’s membership consists of over 18,000 scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. Society members represent all basic, applied and clinical interests in endocrinology. The Endocrine Society is based in Washington, DC. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/EndoMedia.
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