2009 Award Winners
Julius Friedenwald Medal
Daniel K. Podolsky, MD, AGAF
University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
The AGA awards the 2009 Julius Friedenwald Medal, AGA’s highest honor, to Daniel K. Podolsky, MD, AGAF. This award, presented annually since 1941, recognizes a physician for lifelong contributions to the field of gastroenterology. Dr. Podolsky has contributed significantly to the AGA throughout his career. In 2003, as president of the AGA, he oversaw the development of a strategic plan and mission that respected and embodied the diversity of the association in embracing the values of both academic and community gastroenterology.
William Beaumont Prize in Gastroenterology
Warren Strober, MD
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
The 2009 AGA William Beaumont Prize in Gastroenterology is presented to Warren Strober, MD, chief, Section on Mucosal Immunity, Laboratory of Host Defenses, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH. This award recognizes an individual who has made a major contribution (a single accomplishment or series of accomplishments) that has significantly advanced gastroenterological basic or clinical research. Dr. Strober is recognized as one of the most productive, innovative and insightful scientists in the field of mucosal immunology.
Distinguished Clinician Awards
Damian Augustyn, MD, AGAF
California Pacific Medical Center
San Francisco, CA
Damian Augustyn, MD, AGAF, receives the AGA Distinguished Clinician Award for his commitment and excellence in patient care. Dr. Augustyn has distinguished himself as a leader in his community, the AGA and as a clinician in private practice. He is as respected for the compassion, sensitivity and dedication he shows to patients as he is for his knowledge, clinical skills and expertise.
Lin Chang, MD, AGAF
David Geffen School of Medicine
University of California, Los Angeles, CA
The AGA presents Lin Chang, MD, AGAF, with the Distinguished Clinician Award in recognition of her achievements as a clinical academician. Dr. Chang is known worldwide for her clinical research in the area of gender-related differences in IBS, functional MRI, and the inter-relations between IBS and fibromyalgia.
Robert Craig, MD
The Feinberg School of Medicine
Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Robert Craig, MD, is awarded the AGA Distinguished Clinician Award for demonstrating the characteristics of a distinguished clinical leader in gastroenterology. He is devoted to meaningful research, which resulted in a private foundation grant from the Broad Foundation to support clinical research on the role of stem cell transplant in intractable Crohn’s disease.
Stephen E. Goldfinger, MD
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Massachusetts General Hospital
The AGA honors Stephen E. Goldfinger, MD, for his more than 40 years of contributions in direct patient care and his impact on the field of gastroenterology, with the Distinguished Clinician Award. Dr. Goldfinger is celebrated for his diagnostic acumen and clinical judgment in the management of patients.
Distinguished Educator Award
William F. Balistreri, MD
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
The AGA honors William F. Balistreri, MD, for his achievement as an outstanding educator over a lifelong career. Dr. Balistreri’s efforts at the levels of medical school, residency programs, fellowship programs and CME activities reflect a breadth and depth of commitment to education that is unique.
Distinguished Mentor Award
Jerry S. Trier, MD, AGAF
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
The AGA presents the Distinguished Mentor Award to Jerry S. Trier, MD, AGAF. This award recognizes an individual for his or her achievements as an outstanding mentor over a lifelong career. Dr. Trier has devoted more than 40 years of his life to teaching and mentoring medical students, residents and fellows.
Research Service Award
Judith Podskalny, PhD
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
The AGA presents Judith M. Podskalny, PhD, with the 2009 Research Service Award. The award was established in 2006 to recognize an individual who has significantly advanced gastroenterological science and research. Dr. Podskalny is an experienced basic scientist who began her career at NIH. By advocating on behalf of the young investigators who will eventually succeed their mentors to open and pursue new frontiers in the field, Dr. Podskalny’s work is integral to gastroenterology inquiry.
