The Endocrine Society Laureate Awards

In 1957 a substantial legacy was bequeathed to the Society by the late Elizabeth Koch for the purpose of establishing the Fred Conrad Koch Memorial Fund in memory of her late husband, Distinguished Service Professor of Physiological Chemistry at the University of Chicago, and pioneer in the isolation of the androgens. This is the highest honor of the Society and is presented with the Koch Medal of The Endocrine Society, as well as a $25,000 honorarium. The award is given annually for exceptional contributions to endocrinology.

The recipients of this award for the past ten years were: Anthony R. Means, 1998; Ronald M. Evans and Michael G. Rosenfeld, 1999; C. Ronald Kahn, 2000; Robert J. Lefkowitz, 2001; Jan-Åke Gustafsson, 2002; Maria I. New, 2003; Patricia K. Donahoe, 2004; William F. Crowley, Jr., 2005; Gerald M. Reaven, 2006; and John D. Baxter, 2007.

The Ernst Oppenheimer Memorial Award was first presented by The Endocrine Society in 1944 and is the premier award to a young investigator in recognition of meritorious accomplishments in the field of basic or clinical endocrinology. The recipient must not have reached age 45 by July 1 of the year in which the award is presented. The award includes a $3,000 honorarium. The recipients of this award for the past five years were: Donald P. McDonnell, 2003; Ursula B. Kaiser, 2004; Steven A. Kliewer, 2005; Charis Eng, 2006; and Rohit N. Kulkarni, 2007.

The Robert H. Williams Distinguished Leadership Award was established by Dr. Robert H. Williams in 1970. The award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding leadership in endocrinology as exemplified by the recipient’s contributions and those of his/her trainees and associates to teaching, research, and administration. Distinguished leadership in endocrinology and metabolism may be manifest in a variety of ways and activities (international, national, and local). This award includes a $5,000 honorarium. The recipients of this award for the past five years were: Armen H. Tashjian, 2003; David M. de Kretser, 2004; Gordon H. Williams, 2005; Richard J. Santen, 2006; and Lewis E. Braverman, 2007.

The Edwin B. Astwood Award Lecture is awarded for outstanding research in endocrinology. The recipient presents a plenary lecture at the annual meeting to honor the late Dr. Edwin B. Astwood of Boston. The award includes a $2,000 honorarium. The recipients of this award for the past five years were: Jeffrey S. Flier, 2003; Paolo Sassone-Corsi, 2004; Willa A. Hsueh, 2005; Mitchell A. Lazar, 2006; and Lawrence C. Chan, 2007.

The Clinical Investigator Award Lecture is presented to an internationally recognized clinical investigator who has made major contributions to clinical research related to the pathogenesis, pathophysiology, and therapy of endocrine disease. The recipient presents a plenary lecture at the annual meeting and receives a $3,500 honorarium. The recipients of this award for the past five years were: Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, 2003; Shlomo Melmed, 2004; Paul M. Stewart, 2005; Walter L. Miller, 2006; and Stephen O’Rahilly, 2007.

This award was first presented in 1993 in honor of the late Dr. Gerald D. Aurbach, who served as president of The Endocrine Society from 1989–1990. This award is presented for outstanding contributions to research in endocrinology. Dr. Aurbach received his B.A. and M.D. from the University of Virginia. After his training in endocrinology at Tufts University School of Medicine, he joined the Public Health Service and the National Institutes of Health in 1959 and had served as chief of the Metabolic Disease Branch, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases since 1973. He was the first to isolate PTH and played a key role in discovering the hormone’s biochemical mechanism of action in bone disease and calcium metabolism. The recipient presents a plenary lecture at the annual meeting and receives an honorarium of $1,000. The recipients of this award for the past five years were: Gilbert Vassart, 2003; David J. Mangelsdorf, 2004; David R. Clemmons, 2005; Paul A. Kelly, 2006; and Eve Van Cauter, 2007.

The Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Service Award is named in honor of the 65th President of The Endocrine Society and presented in recognition of distinguished service in the field of endocrinology. The award includes a $2,000 honorarium. The recipients of this award for the past five years were: Robert B. Jaffe, 2003; Margaret A. Shupnik, 2004; P. Michael Conn, 2005; Robert D. Utiger, 2006; and Robert A. Vigersky, 2007.

This award was first presented in 1999 in memory of Dr. Roy O. Greep, President of The Endocrine Society in 1965–1966, Editor-in-Chief of Endocrinology, and President of the Laurentian Hormone Conference. He retired in 1974 as director emeritus of the Laboratory of Human Reproductive Biology at Harvard’s Medical School and as the John Rock Professor Emeritus of Population Studies at Harvard’s School of Public Health. Dr. Greep received international recognition as a pioneer in the field of endocrinology, receiving the Society’s highest honor, the Fred Conrad Koch Award, in 1971. Dr. Greep will be remembered by his colleagues as a remarkable investigator, a loyal friend, and a patient and devoted teacher. The recipient of this award presents a plenary lecture at the annual meeting and receives a $1,000 honorarium. The recipients of this award for the past five years were: Richard P. Lifton, 2003; Phyllis M. Wise, 2004; Evan R. Simpson, 2005; Benita S. Katzenellenbogen and John Katzenellenbogen, 2006; and Sally A. Camper, 2007.

This award was established by the Society in 1998 to recognize exceptional achievement of educators in the field of endocrinology and metabolism. The award includes an honorarium of $3,000. The recipients of this award for the past five years were: Leslie J. DeGroot, 2003; E. Brad Thompson, 2004; Ernest L. Mazzaferri, 2005; Gilbert H. Daniels, 2006; and Kenneth L. Becker, 2007.

The Distinguished Physician Award was established by the Society in 1998 to honor physicians who have made outstanding contributions to the practice of endocrinology. The award includes an honorarium of $3,000. The recipients of this award for the past five years were: Arlan L. Rosenbloom, 2003; Edward S. Horton, 2004; Robert M. Carey, 2005; Glenn D. Braunstein, 2006; and Bernardo L. Wajchenberg, 2007.

This award was established in 1982 to honor outstanding research achievements in the field of endocrinology and metabolism by a young investigator. The award was established in memory of the late Dr. Richard E. Weitzman. Born in 1943, Dr. Weitzman was educated at Cornell University and the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center (Syracuse). He received training in endocrinology at the University of Virginia and the Harbor-UCLA School of Medicine, rising to the rank of Associate Professor, and began a productive career studying neurohypophyseal hormone and cardiovascular-endocrine physiology.

In honor of Dr. Weitzman, an anonymous donor has provided funds for an annual award of $1,000 to be given to an exceptionally promising young investigator who has not reached the age of 40 before July 1 of the year in which the award is presented.

The award is based on the contributions and achievements of the nominee’s independent scholarship performed after completion of training and shall be based on the entire body of these contributions, rather than a single work. The recipients of this award for the past five years were: Ana Claudia Latronico, 2003; Tso-Pang Yao, 2004; Peter Tontonoz, 2005; Fabio Broglio, 2006; and W. Lee Kraus, 2007.

In 1998, “The Endocrine Society and Pfizer, Inc. International Award for Excellence in Published Clinical Research in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCE&M)” was established to encourage, recognize, and reward excellence in clinical research published in JCE&M. There are no restrictions with respect to professional affiliation or geographic location.

Each year, a jury selects the four best clinical research papers published in JCE&M in a volume year. Each finalist paper receives a $10,000 award. In addition to the monetary prize, the award includes coach airline travel, meeting registration, hotel for one night, and one day’s per diem for one author on each paper to attend the Society’s annual meeting in June.

The announcement of the winners is made in April each year with the awards presented at The Endocrine Society annual meeting in June. Papers accepted for publication but not yet published are not eligible until the year that they are actually published.