American Diabetes Association Honors UC Researcher With Scientific Achievement Award

CINCINNATI—Matthias Tschöp, MD, University of Cincinnati (UC) professor of endocrinology, has been given the Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

The award recognizes outstanding scientific achievement in the field of diabetes, "taking into consideration independence of thought and originality,” and is being presented this week at the ADA’s 71st Annual Scientific Sessions in San Diego. The award winner is selected from diabetes researchers worldwide under the age of 50.

Tschöp, Arthur Russell Morgan Chair of Internal Medicine and research director for the Cincinnati Diabetes and Obesity Center, is the second researcher from UC to receive this honor in just three years. In 2009, the award was given to Randy Seeley, PhD, Donald C. Harrison Endowed Chair in Medicine and director of the Cincinnati Diabetes and Obesity Center.

Tschöp, part of UC’s endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism division, leads a laboratory at UC’s Metabolic Diseases Institute. He is internationally recognized for his work on how gut hormones regulate metabolism.

Early in his career, Tschöp discovered that a stomach-secreted molecule named ghrelin is regulated by glucose and increases food intake and fat mass. Today, ghrelin is a key part of the model for how body weight and glucose are controlled.

More recently, Tschöp reported that novel gut hormone co-agonists targeting GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors reduce body weight and improve glucose tolerance. These studies broke new ground and pointed to clinical approaches for the treatment of diabetes and obesity.
 
"The ADA’s Scientific Achievement Award is the highest scientific honor that exists in the field of diabetes and metabolism,” said David D’Alessio, MD, director of the endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism division at UC. "To have two recipients in three years’ time from a single institution is unprecedented and speaks to the depth and strength of the research enterprise in our division.”

In 2010, Tschöp received the Andre Mayer Award from the International Association for the Study of Obesity, as well as the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) 60th Anniversary Scholar Award.