For more information contact: Michelle Williams, (919) 843-5365
May 13, 2005
FOR RELEASE AT WILL
NCSU Biologist Receives UNC Board of Governors’ Highest Faculty Honor
CHAPEL HILL – Kenneth B. Adler, professor in the department of molecular biomedical sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at NC State University, received the O. Max Gardner Award today (Friday, May 13) from the Board of Governors of the 16-campus University of North Carolina. Adler was honored for his contributions to biomedical research, including discoveries that are likely to translate into effective therapeutics for important pulmonary diseases, and graduate student training.
The Gardner Award, given annually since 1949, was established by the will of North Carolina Gov. Oliver Max Gardner to recognize faculty who have "made the greatest contributions to the welfare of the human race." It is the only award for which all faculty members of the 16 UNC campuses are eligible. Recipients are nominated by their chancellors and selected by the Board of Governors. The 2005 award carries a $20,000 cash prize and was presented by UNC Board of Governors Chairman J. Bradley Wilson, UNC President Molly Corbett Broad, and Gardner Award Committee Chair Gladys Ashe Robinson of Greensboro.
A native of New York, Adler received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Queens College in Flushing, NY, and a master’s degree in the field from Adelphi University in Gardner City, NY. He earned a doctoral degree in cell biology from the University of Vermont, where he then taught in the department of pathology for eight years. Adler joined the faculty of the veterinary school at NC State as an associate professor in 1987 and was promoted to professor in 1990.
One of Adler’s most significant contributions to biomedical research is the development of a process whereby lung cells from humans and other animals can be maintained in the laboratory under conditions that allow these cells to be identical to the structure and function normally found in the body. This important advance has allowed him to make discoveries that are likely to lead to medications and therapies that will revolutionize the treatment of debilitating lung diseases such as asthma and cystic fibrosis. Adler’s studies are now moving forward to clinical trials in humans that could benefit millions of people worldwide.
Adler also is actively involved in training the next generation of environmental scientists He developed and serves as program manager of a collaboration between NC State and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Health Effects Research Laboratory in Research Triangle Park. This training agreement allows NCSU graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to conduct research in EPA laboratories and work on joint projects between NCSU faculty and EPA researchers. More than a dozen trainees have been involved in the program to date.
In 2004, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recognized Adler’s contributions to medical research with a MERIT Award, which provides 10 years of uninterrupted research funding – approximately $4 million in Adler’s case. Only two to 5% of the nation’s top medical researchers receive this prestigious award. NC State recognized Adler’s career accomplishments last year with its highest award, the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence. He also has received the NCSU Alumni Association Award for Research Excellence and was the Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor from 1998 to 2000.
Adler is a prominent figure on national scientific review panels, serving as a member and chair of the NIH Lung Biology and Pathology Study Section and other NIH special study sections. Other agencies that call upon Adler’s scientific expertise include the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Adler serves on the editorial boards of the two major pulmonary research journals in the country – the American Journal of Respiratory Molecular and Cellular Biology and the American Journal of Physiology: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology – and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for dozens of other journals.
###
Dr. Adler may be reached at (919) 513-1348.
