Philipp E. Scherer, PhD, honored with Naomi Berrie Award for diabetes research

Columbia University Medical Center has awarded Philipp E. Scherer, PhD, the Naomi Berrie Award for his research into the role of fat in diabetes and other metabolic diseases, according to a press release.

Scherer is best known for his discovery of adiponectin, its impact as an endocrine “organ” and its potential anti-diabetes effects, including blocking glucose production in the liver and improving insulin sensitivity in the muscle.

More recently, Scherer has conducted research that has established that obesity itself is not the direct cause of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome and is instead initially protective. According to the release, his work on the physiology of adipocytes has been reported in more than 280 publications.

“Dr. Scherer’s work in diabetes research has always ranked among the most creative in the field,” Rudolph L. Leibel, MD, the Christopher J. Murphy Professor of diabetes research, co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Medical Center and chair of the selection committee, said in the release. “His comprehensive analysis of fat tissue physiology has helped to elucidate the molecular basis for the relationship of obesity to insulin resistance, diabetes and metabolic syndrome; it helped to launch studies of the role of fat in inflammation and cancer.”

Scherer is currently professor of internal medicine, Gifford O. Touchstone Jr. and Randolph G. Touchstone Distinguished Chair in Diabetes Research and director of the Touchstone Center Diabetes Research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.