Galveston County Daily News (Internet / Print) 02/20/06 http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?WCD=82032 Dr. James C. Thompson was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award of the Society of University Surgeons during the group’s annual Academic Surgery meeting. Thompson, Ashbel Smith Professor Emeritus of Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch, was honored in San Diego on Feb. 9. The award celebrates his long record of achievement in academic surgery and his dedication to surgical research. Thompson earned his medical degree at UTMB in 1951. In 1970, he returned to UTMB as chief of surgery, as professor and as John Woods Harris Chairman of the Department of Surgery from 1970 to 1995. Thompson’s primary research has centered on gastrointestinal endocrinology and physiology, with clinical interests in the Zollinger Ellison Syndrome and effects of aging on gastrointestinal function.