The Section of Endocrinology has been part of the Department of Medicine since 1972. The section has had notable section chiefs throughout the decades. See highlights from each chief's tenure below.
Dr. Peter Kohler - 1972
- Dr. Kohler hired young physicians who came to lead prestigious careers, including Drs. Glenn Cunningham, John Comstock, Larry Chan, Alan Garber, Chris Boyd and Larry Mallette.
- Upon leaving Baylor, Dr. Kohler was subsequently inducted into the National Academy of Sciences in 1994.
Dr. Jim Field
- Dr. Field was an accomplished expert on diabetes who was awarded the Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award from the American Diabetes Association.
- He served as the editor in chief of the Journal Metabolism from the 1950s until 2010.
Dr. Chris Boyd - 1987
- As chief of Endocrinology at Baylor, he was involved in the initial work that later led to the cloning of the sulfonylurea receptor by Drs. Joe and Lydia Bryan.
- Dr. Boyd left to become chief of Endocrinology at Tufts University in 1991 and was replaced by Dr. Glenn Cunningham.
Dr. Glenn Cunningham - 1973
- Dr. Cunningham became the president of the American Andrology Association.
- He was involved in research of diseases of the urogenital tract, including BPH and prostate cancer, and in drugs with novel mechanisms of action that were emerging at the time, such as 5a reductase and aromatase inhibitors.
- He was involved in several clinical studies related to testosterone replacement and pharmacokinetics and was a principal investigator of the Testosterone Trials study, which was published in 2016.
- Dr. Cunningham and Dr. Bob Gagel created a joint Baylor/MDACC fellowship program which allows fellows to experience rotations at seven Texas Medical Center institutions.
Dr. Arun Rajan - 1999
- Dr. Rajan was a basic scientist with strong administrative skills and had a strong interest in diabetes and glucagon.
- He went on to become the chief administrator of the Department of Medicine, and currently works as an executive in the Baylor Global Health Group.
Dr. Larry Chan - 2002
- Dr. Chan is a world-renowned scientist who contributed immensely to the fields of lipid metabolism, molecular medicine and diabetes.
- During his tenure, the section was awarded an NIH-P30 Diabetes Research and Education Grant and moved to its current location in the Alkek Building for Biomedical Research.
- He was the recipient of several NIH grants and was awarded the DeBakey Excellence in Research award, the highest research honor awarded by BCM.