Left to right, Mrs. Jo Ely (Pilkis), Howard Morgan, Charles Park, Leonard Jefferson, Joel Hardman, Robert Post, and Tetsuro Kono. (photo by Ken Grimes)
Founding members honored at ceremony
A special recognition ceremony was held in Light Hall on May 23 to induct the founding members of the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Circle of Distinguished Alumni. The select individuals, all past members of the department previously known as the department of Physiology, were honored for their outstanding contributions to the advancement of scientific investigation, for their leadership, and for their scholarship.
“It is important to recognize and show appreciation for the rich and distinguished scientific heritage in our department — and at Vanderbilt as a whole — because of those who have come before,” said Alan D. Cherrington, Ph.D., Charles H. Best Professor of Diabetes Research and chair of the department. “We thank and honor these extraordinary people.”
The founding members of the MPB Circle include:
• Joel G. Hardman, Ph.D., instructor, assistant, associate, and full professor, department of Physiology, 1964-1975. In addition, Hardman was also professor and chairman of the department of Pharmacology from 1975 to 1990 and associate vice chancellor for Health Affairs at Vanderbilt from 1990 until his retirement in 1997.
• Leonard S. “Jim” Jefferson, Ph.D., graduate student and post-doctoral fellow, department of Physiology, 1961-1967, under Dr. Charles R. Park. Jefferson has been professor of Physiology/Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Penn State since 1975 and chairman of that department since 1988. He served as president of the American Physiological Society in 1995-1996.
• Tetsuro Kono, Ph.D., assistant, associate, and full professor, department of Physiology/Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, 1963-1992. As an emeritus professor, Kono remains active in the laboratory and regularly attends departmental seminars.
• Dr. Howard E. Morgan, medical fellow, assistant, associate, and full professor, department of Physiology, 1954-1967. Morgan was chairman of the department of Physiology at Penn State from 1973 to 1987. He served as president of the American Physiological Society (1985-86) and the American Heart Association (1987-88), and was elected to the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences in 1987.
• Dr. Charles R. “Rollo” Park, professor and chairman of Physiology, 1952-1984. Park received the Banting Award of the American Diabetes Association in 1979 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1980. An emeritus professor, he regularly attends departmental seminars, contributing thought-provoking and insightful questions.
• Dr. Simon J. Pilkis, assistant, associate, and full professor, department of Physiology/Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, 1972-1986. Pilkis became professor and chairman of Physiology and Biophysics at The State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1986. He died in 1995.
• Dr. Robert L. Post, instructor, assistant, associate, and full professor, department of Physiology/Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, 1948-1991. Post, an emeritus professor, received the 1983 Cole Award from the Biophysical Society.
• Dr. Earl W. Sutherland Jr., professor, department of Physiology, 1963-1973. Sutherland was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1971. He died in 1974.
As part of the ceremony, each inductee was presented a Vanderbilt Medal and framed certificate. In addition, a brass wall plaque will be placed outside the lab where each man worked, and a picture and biography of each researcher will be hung in the departmental conference room.
After the recognition ceremony, Dr. Daryl K. Granner, Joe C. Davis Professor of Biomedical Science, professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and director of the Vanderbilt Diabetes Center, gave the keynote address. An outdoor reception capped off the event.