Naomi Berrie Award For Outstanding Achievement In Diabetes Research To Be Awarded To Graeme Bell

New York, NY - November 10, 2000 - The Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University has chosen Dr. Graeme Bell, Louis Block Professor in the departments of biochemistry & molecular biology, medicine, and human genetics at the University of Chicago, to receive the first Naomi Berrie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Diabetes Research. The award will be presented at the Second Annual Frontiers in Diabetes Research Symposium to be held on Saturday, Nov. 18. “Graeme Bell has made significant contributions to our understanding of the genetic basis of diabetes,” says Dr. Robin Goland, associate professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons (P&S) and co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center. “We are thrilled to present him with our very first award and look forward to collaborating with him and a young investigator in his laboratory.” The award provides Dr. Bell with $100,000 to support a young investigator with a two-year research fellowship in his laboratory. A matching award will be provided through the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center to a promising young investigator at Columbia University who will also be appointed for a two-year period. Dr. Rudolph Leibel, professor of medicine and pediatrics at P&S and center co-director, will oversee the allocation of the matching award. “Our goal is to create a distinguished national award in diabetes research that honors significant achievement while encouraging young investigators to pursue careers in this field,” says Dr. Leibel. The two young investigators will serve as Berrie Fellows, and each year two new Berrie Fellows will be appointed. After the first year of the program, four Berrie Fellows will be active in any given year. “The Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center has made significant advances in the field of diabetes research,” says Russ Berrie, founder, chairman, and CEO of Russ Berrie and Company Inc., the $300 million gift company, and founder of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center named after his mother, who, like her son, suffered from diabetes. “This new program will foster collaboration with other medical institutions, expand public awareness of diabetes research, and ultimately provide better patient care.” Nominations for the Naomi Berrie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Diabetes Research were reviewed by a selection committee composed of distinguished scientists who have made significant contributions to biomedical research in diabetes. The Second Annual Frontiers in Diabetes Research Symposium will take place from 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion, 1150 St. Nicholas Avenue, New York City. The symposium is designed for investigators, students, and clinicians with an interest in diabetes and will provide an overview of the recent developments in diabetes research with emphasis on molecular genetics and molecular physiology. The symposium is designated a continuing medical education activity, and a maximum of 5.5 hours in category 1 credit may be earned.

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Berrie Fellows, Columbia University, Graeme Bell, Naomi Berrie Award