Attending the recent awards ceremony and holiday luncheon were (from l) scientific achievement award recipient Dr. Paul Liu of NHGRI; APAO 2007 President Prahlad Mathur of OD; NIH director Dr. Elias Zerhouni; Dr. Hameed Khan of NICHD; OEODM Director Lawrence Self; management achievement award recipient Dr. Simon Liu of NLM; and new APAO President Lucie Chen of NLM.

APAO Honors Employee Achievement

The NIH Asian and Pacific Islander American Organization (APAO) recently honored two NIH employees with its Outstanding Achievement Award at its annual award ceremony and holiday luncheon. Award categories recognize APA NIH employees for significant scientific accomplishments in advancing biomedical research and management achievements for advancing NIH/IC EEO goals.

Awardees include Dr. Paul Liu for outstanding contributions to cancer research, signal transduction and developmental biology at NHGRI and Dr. Simon Liu at NLM for excellence in promoting diversity and providing support to APAO.

APAO also installed new officers for 2008: Lucie Chen of NLM, president; Dr. Dar-Ning Kung of NLM, vice president; Donna Wells of NEI, treasurer; JoAnne Wong of NIMH, executive secretary; and Ihsia Hu of NLM, co-executive secretary.

APAO conducts monthly meetings and encourages attendance by those interested in furthering its mission to support the efforts and programs of NIH that promote equality and fairness in the workplace. For more information about APAO, visit www.recgov.org/r&w/apao/index.htm or contact one of its officers.

NIDDK’s Rodgers Honored By Hematology Society

NIDDK director Dr. Griffin Rodgers (r) accepts award from ASH president Dr. Andrew Schafer.

Dr. Griffin Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, recently received the American Society of Hematology’s Outstanding Service Award at the group’s annual meeting in Atlanta. An estimated 20,000 physicians and scientists attended the meeting.

The award recognizes Rodgers’ significant contributions to hematology, particularly in the areas of genetic diseases, molecular genetics of human blood cells (hemoglobins) and human blood cell development (hematopoiesis), according to the society. He is also being honored for efforts to increase the number of minority scholars focusing on hematology and for becoming the first hematologist to direct NIDDK, established in 1950.

“Griff Rodgers is an outstanding physician-scientist and molecular hematologist. He’s internationally recognized for contributions to the development of effective therapy for sickle cell anemia and other genetic diseases of hemoglobin, and he is also an accomplished scientific leader and mentor,” said NIH director Dr. Elias Zerhouni.

“It is an honor to recognize Dr. Rodgers for his strong dedication to improving the understanding and treatment of blood disorders,” said ASH president Dr. Andrew Schafer of New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center.