Commendations & Commencements

Drs. Gary Felsenfeld and Martin Gellert, NIDDK intramural investigators, were honored by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a symposium in Washington, D.C., in November. The event focused on their distinguished research careers and service to the NIH, as well as in celebration of their 90th birthdays. In attendance were many NIH colleagues, former trainees, and other esteemed guests. Colleagues reflected on the scientific impact, exceptional mentorship, and generosity of Felsenfeld and Gellert and their extraordinary contributions in their research fields and beyond.

Former NIDDK grantee Dr. Gregg L. Semenza shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for “discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to changes in oxygen availability,” a process essential for survival. Semenza is a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Editor’s Note: For more on this award, go to the News Around NIDDK section.

Dr. Paul Kimmel, NIDDK program director for the acute kidney injury program and kidney HIV/AIDS program, was elected as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, a prestigious accolade held by some of the most innovative and exceptional physicians in the world.

Dr. Anne Sumner, chief of the Section on Ethnicity and Health in NIDDK’s Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, received the NIH Champion of the Disability Community Award from the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). Sumner has made significant contributions towards cultivating inclusivity and removing workplace barriers. Her advocacy has led to accessibility improvements — from seating to parking to handrails — in spaces across NIH. The award was presented at the first annual EDI Cultivating Inclusion: Honoring NIH Champions and Allies of Disability awards ceremony on October 24. Editor’s Note: For more on Sumner, read our May 2019 interview with her.

Dr. Melena Bellin, associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, received the award for childhood diabetes research and for advancing treatment of children and adults who are disabled by chronic pancreatitis, an inflammatory condition of the pancreas. Bellin has pioneered and led a consortium to study the long-term outcomes, patient selection, timing, and cost-effectiveness of potential life-transforming procedures.

Dr. Zachary Knight, associate professor at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, received his award for an innovative approach to explaining the underlying nervous system mechanisms that control and regulate energy expenditure, hunger, thirst, and thermoregulation to enhance understanding of the biologic origins of obesity and the development of obesity treatment therapies.

Dr. Sandeep Mallipattu, associate professor at Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, received his award for advancing diabetic kidney disease research by explaining the role of Krüpel-like factor 6 (KLF6), a zinc finger domain transcription factor, in regulating mitochondrial function, reducing disease progression, and advancing understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial injury in people with diabetes.

Dr. Katherine McJunkin, Stadtman Tenure Track Investigator in the Laboratory of Cellular and Developmental Biology within NIDDK’s Division of Intramural Research, received her award for advancing the understanding of microRNA regulation in normal physiology by elucidating the mechanisms underlying microRNA turnover, and for providing insights into novel therapeutic approaches for treating diseases resulting from microRNA dysregulation.

Dr. Jason Wertheim, vice chair for research in surgery as well as an associate professor in the Feinberg School of Medicine and the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University, received his award for his work on how injured tissues and organs heal, regenerate, and repair, with a focus on bioengineering approaches tailored to treat liver and kidney damage and disease. This research could help to develop new tissues and regenerative approaches as future treatments for chronic organ failure.

Dr. Matthew Portnoy joined NIDDK as deputy director of NIDDK’s Division of Extramural Activities. Portnoy was previously the director of the Division of Special Programs in the NIH Office of Extramural Research. He managed the SBIR/STTR programs at NIH, provided program management and oversight for conference grants, and oversaw NIH’s Academic Research Enhancement Award R15 program and the Extramural Staff Training Office.

Tracey Brown, chief executive officer of the American Diabetes Association, joined as a public member representative to serve on the Council’s Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases subcommittee.

Dr. Ian Drummond, an associate professor in medicine and genetics at Harvard Medical School, joined the Council’s Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases subcommittee.

Dr. Penny Gordon-Larsen, professor of nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and past president of the Obesity Society, joined the Digestive Diseases and Nutrition subcommittee.

Dr. Gary Wu, Ferdinand G. Weisbrod Professor of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and co-director of the Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Disease, joined the Digestive Diseases and Nutrition subcommittee.

Dr. Aaron Pawlyk served as a program director and senior advisor in the NIDDK Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases, where he directed the Type 1 Diabetes-Rapid Access to Intervention Development program, managed cooperative agreement components of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® program for Type 2 Diabetes and initiated and directed a trans-NIDDK program on therapeutics translation. Pawlyk became chief the Obstetric and Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics Branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and continues to serve as a coordinator of Illuminating the Druggable Genome, an NIH Common Fund program.

Dr. Luke Stoeckel served as a program director of the Clinical Neuroscience of Obesity and Diabetes program in the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases. His portfolio focused on neuroscience and cognitive aspects of diabetes and on translating basic neuroscience discoveries into novel, brain-based interventions for obesity and diabetes in people. Stoeckel became program director of mechanistic and translational decision science at the National Institute on Aging.

Dr. William B. “Bill” Jakoby, former chief of NIDDK’s Laboratory of Biochemistry and Metabolism has died. He had a long and successful NIH research career, primarily in what is now the NIDDK, and was a seminal figure in enzymology. Dr. Jakoby also played a significant role in developing the NIH Intramural Research Program and its tenure-track system. Dr. Jakoby became chief of the Section on Enzymes and Cellular Biochemistry in the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Metabolism in 1967 and continued in that role until 1985, when he became chief of the NIDDK Laboratory of Biochemistry and Metabolism. He held that position until 1999, when he retired and became a scientist emeritus in NIDDK. He is perhaps best known as editor of the influential "Methods in Enzymology" series for Academic Press. Dr. Jakoby also helped pioneer the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) art program, and the many paintings procured by FAES now spread across the NIH campus bear witness to those efforts.