Commendations & Commencements

Dr. Shavon Artis Dickerson joined NIDDK as a program director in the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases to manage a portfolio focused on health equity and implementation science for type 2 diabetes. Prior to joining NIDDK, Artis Dickerson served as the senior advisor for health equity research and analysis in the Office of Health Equity at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Dr. Raquel Greer joined NIDDK as a program director for kidney health equity research in the Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases. Greer was previously an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, where she conducted research focused on improving healthcare quality and promoting health equity for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and CKD risk factors.

Dr. Albert Hwa joined NIDDK as a program director overseeing a grant portfolio that focuses on the development and regeneration of the pancreatic endocrine compartment, as well as on stem cell differentiation and regenerative medicine in the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases. Prior to joining NIDDK, Hwa was the operations director for the Center for Cell-Based Therapy for Diabetes at Joslin Diabetes Center and a lecturer in medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Maureen Monaghan Center joined NIDDK as a program director for diabetes behavioral science in the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases. Monaghan Center is a behavioral scientist, clinical psychologist, and a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. Prior to joining NIDDK, Monaghan Center was a tenured associate professor in the Division of Psychology and Behavioral Health at the Children's National Hospital and the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC.

Dawn P. Edwards, co-chairperson in the National Forum of End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Networks’ Patient Advisory Council, wellness ambassador in the Rogosin Institute in New York City, CEO of New York State Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Champions, and a 30-year dialysis patient and home dialysis advocate, joined the Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases subcommittee.

Dr. Keith Norris, executive vice chair of the Department of Medicine for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research at the University of California, Los Angeles, joined the Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases subcommittee.

Dr. Debra Haire-Joshu, a health behavior scientist in obesity and diabetes prevention at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where she is the Joyce and Chauncy Buchheit Professor in Public Health with a joint appointment at the School of Medicine, joined the Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases subcommittee.

Dr. Philipp Scherer, director and professor at the Touchstone Diabetes Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, joined the Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases subcommittee.

Ms. Ricky Safer, founder and CEO of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) Partners Seeking a Cure, a non-profit which provides education and support to patients with PSC and their families as well as research support, joined the Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition subcommittee.

Dr. Sheryl Sato, program director for NIDDK’s basic science research programs in developmental biology, islet and stem cell biology, and the regeneration of endocrine tissues and organs, retired from NIDDK in March after serving 35 years at NIH. Sato coordinated research in the Human Islet Research Network, a basic science research effort that is developing innovative strategies for the treatment, prevention, and monitoring of type 1 diabetes. Sato also founded and served as a program director for the Beta Cell Biology Consortium, which advanced the understanding of pancreatic islet cell development and function. She also served as the project scientist for the Microphysiological Systems-Modeling Diabetes program and the Consortium on Human Islet Biomimetics, which have both led to the development of human tissue chips to model diabetes.

Dr. Rebecca Brown, Lasker Tenure Track Investigator and an acting section chief in NIDDK’s Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). Brown has made important contributions to advancing research on rare disorders of extreme insulin resistance, such as lipodystrophy, and on the hormone leptin to treat these disorders. The newly elected ASCI members were announced in February.

Dr. Nicolas Guydosh, Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator and acting section chief in NIDDK’s Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics, was awarded the 2022 RNA Society Early-Career Research Award for making several key advances in RNA research. Guydosh will be honored at the 2022 RNA Society Annual Meeting this summer.

Dr. Frank Hamilton, program director in the Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, was featured in the Spring issue of the American College of Gastroenterology Magazine celebrating his career in medicine and public service.

Dr. John Hanover, chief of NIDDK’s Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology and director of NIDDK’s Genomics Core, received the Society for Glycobiology’s 2021 Karl Meyer Lectureship Award for his significant contributions to the field of glycobiology. Hanover’s advocacy of glycobiology and research on O-GlcNAc modified nucleoporins has led to significant impact on multiple fields including diabetes, aging, and neurodegeneration.

Editors’ note: NIDDK Director Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers was named a 2021 Healthcare Hero along with NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci by the JDRF Mid-Atlantic Chapter. Rodgers was honored at JDRF’s virtual Hope Gala in December 2021.

Dr. Hal E. Broxmeyer, distinguished hematologist and longtime NIDDK grantee, died on December 8. Dr. Broxmeyer’s scientific research was instrumental in pioneering the field of umbilical cord blood transplantation. His contributions to the NIDDK hematology research portfolio include spearheading the Indiana University hematology institutional training grant for 32 years and running the Cooperative Centers of Excellence in Hematology for more than 20 years. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the City of Paris for leading the research that led to the first cord blood transplantation. He was also awarded the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize from the American Society of Hematology, the Donald Metcalf Award from the International Society of Hematology and Stem Cell Research, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cord Blood Association, and he was President of the American Society of Hematology in 2010.