GALVESTON, Texas - Dr. Dai H. Chung, professor, chief of pediatric surgery and holder of the James C. Thompson, MD Distinguished Chair in Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, has been honored with the first Werner Creutzfeldt lectureship in recognition of contributions to translational and clinical research related to regulatory peptides.
The International Regulatory Peptide Society promotes scientific meetings and exchanges devoted to all aspects of basic and clinical research on regulatory peptides and related topics. The society was founded in 1974 by the late Dr. James C. Thompson, who was Ashbel Smith Professor Emeritus of Surgery at UTMB.
"Especially given the history of this organization with the late Dr. Thompson, I was honored to be the first recipient of this prestigious award," Chung said.
Chung and his colleagues recently identified a role for the gastrin-releasing peptide in the growth and metastasis of the deadly childhood malignancy neuroblastoma. The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
According to the IRPS, the recipient of the Creutzfeldt award must make substantial contributions in therapeutic or translational research related to the field of regulatory peptides. Chung was honored with a medal and presented a lecture at the 17th Annual International Symposium on Regulatory Peptides held in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Jan. 27.