Commendations & Commencements

Dr. Steven Blair, a former member of the NIDDK Clinical Obesity Research Panel and current professor in the Arnold School of Public Health and faculty affiliate of the Prevention Research Center at the University of South Carolina, received the Population Science and Public Health Award at the International Congress on Obesity. The award recognizes exceptional contributions to the population science and public health areas of obesity.

Dr. William A. Eaton, chief of NIDDK’s intramural Laboratory of Chemical Physics, has been named a recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Graduate Award from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicince. The award honors highly accomplished alumni for their outstanding service to society and to the profession of medicine, and for their notable accomplishments in biomedical research, clinical practice or medical education. Eaton is also a recipient of the 2015 Penn Chemistry Distinguished Alumni Award.

Dr. Jay Hoofnagle, deputy director of NIDDK’s Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition (DDN) and director of DDN’s Liver Disease Research Branch, has been named 2014 Astute Clinician lecturer for the NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series. He was selected by NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins following a recommendation by the Medical Executive Committee. His lecture is tentatively scheduled for November 12.

NIDDK Senior Investigator Dr. Kenneth A. Jacobson received the 2014 Goodman & Gilman Award in Drug Receptor Pharmacology given by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) in a ceremony on April 26. The award recognizes outstanding research in pharmacology of biological receptors that could provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of biological processes and provide the basis for drug development.

Dr. Rudy Leibel, former NIDDK Council member and longtime grantee, received the Wertheimer Award for Basic Research at the International Congress on Obesity. The award recognizes outstanding basic research contributions in obesity. Leibel is the Christopher J. Murphy Professor of Diabetes Research, co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center and director of the Division of Molecular Genetics at Columbia University.

NIDDK Senior Investigator Dr. Robert Tycko is the recipient of the 2014 Christian B. Anfinsen Award from the Protein Society, to be presented at a ceremony in July. The award acknowledges Tycko’s technical achievements in protein science, including his influential studies on amyloid fibrils associated with neurodegeneration and disease.

NIDDK Senior Investigator Dr. Jurgen Wess received the 2014 Pharmacia-ASPET Award for Experimental Therapeutics given by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) in a ceremony on April 26. The award recognizes outstanding research in pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, basic laboratory or clinical research that has had or could have a major impact on the pharmacological treatment of disease.

Dr. Catherine McKeon, NIDDK senior advisor for genetic research, is retiring in May after 33 years at NIH. She administered a variety of research programs on the genetics of multiple disorders—including type 2 diabetes, genetic metabolic diseases and cystic fibrosis—as well as gene therapy. McKeon has also overseen the Cystic Fibrosis Research and Translation Centers. She served as scientific officer for the Type 2 Diabetes Genetic Exploration by Next-Generation Sequencing in Multi-ethnic Samples Consortium and as the NIDDK liaison to the NIH Office of Rare Diseases Research. Among other awards, McKeon was a recipient of the inaugural Distinguished Service Award from The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy.