Yale Bulletin and Calendar

April 25, 2008|Volume 36, Number 27

Dr. Gerald Shulman lauded for his
pioneering work on insulin resistance

Dr. Gerald I. Shulman, professor of internal medicine and of cellular and molecular physiology at the Yale School of Medicine, is the 2008 recipient of the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award for his outstanding contributions to the understanding of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

The American Society for Clinical Investigation presented the award in recognition of Shulman’s pioneering studies using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to describe the cellular mechanisms of insulin resistance in humans.

The award acknowledges Shulman as a world leader in understanding the molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance in muscle and liver that gives rise to type 2 diabetes. Research in his lab using MRS revealed that problems in insulin-stimulated muscle glycogen synthesis caused insulin resistance in diabetics. His group also discovered how the build up of fat inside muscle and liver cells causes insulin resistance in these organs. These breakthroughs led to the identification of several potential new treatments for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Noting that he was honored to receive the award, Shulman said, “This would not have been possible without the help of outstanding collaborators; Dr. Douglas Rothman (professor of diagnostic radiology and bioengineering), Dr. Gary Cline (associate professor of internal medicine) and Dr. Kitt Petersen (associate professor of internal medicine).”

Shulman is associate director of the Yale Diabetes-Endocrinology Research Center and director of the Yale Medical Scientist Training Program. He is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

He has received numerous awards, including the Outstanding Investigator Award from the American Federation for Clinical Research, the Novartis Award in Diabetes, the Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award and the Distinguished Clinical Investigator Award from the American Diabetes Association, the Diabetes Care Research Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Intl. and the Naomi Berrie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Diabetes Research from Columbia University.

Shulman serves on many scientific review committees and editorial boards and has published more than 270 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Endocrinology and the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. He also has been elected to a number of honorary societies, including the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.

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IN MEMORIAM

Dr. Steven Hebert: Discoveries illuminated kidney processes

G.K. Hunter: Was a scholar of Renaissance literature