2002 Distinguished Faculty Lectureship in Biomedical Research Award

Christin Carter-Su, Ph.D., professor, Physiology

Dr. Carter-Su, a leading scientist in the area of signal transduction and growth hormone receptor signaling, has made fundamental contributions to furthering biomedical research. Growth hormone (GH) has long been recognized as the primary regulator of body growth and an important regulator of metabolism. Recombinant GH is now used therapeutically to promote growth in children with short-stature, increase the well-being of GH-deficient adults, increase the rate of healing of burn patients, and prevent muscle wasting in AIDS and surgical patients. However, our understanding at the cellular and molecular level of how GH elicits its responses has been rudimentary, until recently. Dr. Carter-Su's laboratory is currently focused on delineating the signal transduction pathways at the cellular level by which GH elicits its diverse effects. She has shown that binding of GH to its cell surface receptor rapidly promotes the binding of the tyrosine kinase JAK2 to the GH receptor and activates JAK2. She has also identified a number of different signaling molecules that bind to GH receptor and/or JAK. This is groundbreaking work.

Dr. Carter-Su has served on many scientific review committees and editorial boards, and is frequently invited to speak at national and international conferences. Her recent awards include the Roy O. Greep Lecture Award sponsored by the Endocrine Society, an NIH-Merit Award and Distinguished Medical Lecturer in Medical Science sponsored by the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Carter-Su is a most worthy recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Lectureship in Biomedical Research.