Roger H. Unger
Roger Harold Unger (born March 7, 1924 in New York City , New York ) is an American endocrinologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center . He is best known for his work on the effects of glucagon .
Live and act
Roger Unger was the son of a doctor who developed a set for direct blood transfusion and founded the first blood bank in New York City and established a blood bank for French troops in World War II . Roger Unger studied at the Yale University (degree in 1944) and a grant from the US Army at the Columbia University Medical (completion 1947).
From 1951, Unger headed a program for the early detection of diabetes mellitus in the Dallas public health service . After briefly working in medical practice in New York, Unger returned to Dallas to work at a hospital for veterans . In 1959 Unger received his first professorship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center . From 1986 to 2007 he headed the Touchstone Center for Diabetes Research there . As of 2019, he still holds a professorship for internal medicine and diabetes research.
Unger initially worked scientifically on the effects of insulin , sulfonylureas and diabetes tests. With the help of Solomon Berson , who later received a Nobel Prize in Medicine for the development of radioimmunoassays (RIA) , Unger developed an RIA for glucagon in 1959 . He was able to show that glucagon is produced in the A cells of the islets of Langerhans and acts as a hormone and as an antagonist of insulin. Further studies dealt with the formation of ketone bodies during fasting and their influence on the release of insulin and growth hormones , as well as the ratio of glucagon, insulin and somatostatin in the liver and other tissues. Unger was also able to contribute to the elucidation of the function of leptin in healthy people and in diabetics and to prove the existence of an entero-insular regulatory axis (i.e. hormonal regulation between the intestine and islet cells). Unger's late work dealt with the development of heart failure in obesity as a form of lipotoxicity , a harmful effect of fat outside of adipose tissue .
Unger married in 1946, and the marriage had three children. His second wife (married in 1984) brought a child into the marriage.
Awards (selection)
- 1975 Banting Medal of the American Diabetes Association
- 1976 Honorary Doctorate from the University of Geneva
- 1980 Honorary doctorate from the University of Liège
- 1983 Fred Conrad Koch Award from the Endocrine Society
- 1986 member of the National Academy of Sciences
- 1989 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
- 1995 member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 2014 Rolf Luft Award from the Karolinska Institutet
Web links
- Roger Unger, MD at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (utsouthwestern.edu)
- Roger Harold Unger at prabook.com
- Roger H. Unger, MD. Interview conducted by Adolph Friedman, MD. May 22, 2001 (PDF; 95 kB; endocrine.org).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement Award ( Memento from November 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Fred Conrad Koch Lifetime Achievement Award. In: endocrine.org. Endocrine Society, accessed March 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Roger H. Unger. In: nasonline.org. National Academy of Sciences , accessed March 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter U. (PDF; 58 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved March 9, 2019 .
- ^ Rolf Luft Award. In: ki.se. Karolinska Institutet , accessed March 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Dr. Roger Unger wins international Luft Award for endocrinology and diabetes research. In: eurekalert.org. American Association for the Advancement of Science , March 17, 2014, accessed March 9, 2019 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Unger, Roger H. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Unger, Roger; Unger, Roger Harold |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American endocrinologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 7, 1924 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City , New York |