The club The Chancellors Club, established in 1977 by the KU Endowment Association, is KU's major-donor organization. The KU Endowment Association is an independent, non-profit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management foundation for the University of Kansas. Founded in 1891, it is the oldest foundation of its type at a public university in the United States and one of the largest. Related articles Chancellors Club names 2000-01 scholars KU math prof nets teaching award Subscribe now to receive KU News by email

Contact: John Scarffe, KU Endowment Association, (785) 832-7336.

Chancellors Club honors scientist

LAWRENCE -- Glen K. Andrews, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Kansas Medical Center and a pioneer in the area of gene research, has been selected to receive the 2000 KU Chancellors Club Research Award.

The Chancellors Club, established in 1977 by the Kansas University Endowment Association, is KU's major-donor organization. The $5,000 annual Chancellors Club Research Award honors a KU Medical Center researcher whose work has led to significant scientific discoveries. Andrews will receive the award tonight at the 23rd annual meeting of the Chancellors Club at the Lawrence Holiday Inn Holidome.

Andrews said he was grateful for both the financial support the award provides for his work and the personal honor. "It means a lot to receive the recognition of your peers and know they appreciate your research," he said.

Candidates for the award are nominated by colleagues, students and alumni. In letters of support, Andrews' peers said he was internationally known for pioneering studies on gene regulation, metal toxicology, and the functions of the zinc-binding protein metallothionein.

Gene regulation involves the way a cell senses its environment and changes its composition to compensate. Andrews' research has numerous health implications related to metal deficiency and toxicology; two examples are his studies of zinc and cadmium. Zinc deficiency affects immune function and reproductive success; it is a health issue for many societies, including some populations in the United States. His research also deals with cadmium exposure, focusing on its toxicity and longevity in the body. Cigarette smoke and batteries are two major sources of cadmium exposure.

Andrews' research and publications have "made seminal contributions to our understanding of metal-responsive gene expression, metal deficiency, and toxicity during embryonic development," wrote David Eide, associate professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Missouri, in nominating Andrews for the award. Eide noted that over the past twenty years, Andrews has published 104 papers in journals including the Journal of Biological Chemistry; Molecular and Cellular Biology; and the American Journal of Physiology. Andrews also presents his studies as an invited speaker at medical schools and conferences around the world.

Andrews has maintained a long and consistent history of federal grant support. His research has been continuously funded since 1986 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is currently funded by three NIH grants. This record, explained Eide, is evidence of the high quality of his research and the respect he commands among his peers.

Andrews recently received KU's Dolph Simons Sr. Research Award in Biomedical Sciences in recognition of his research. He has been a recipient of the Developing Investigator Award at KU Medical Center and has been honored as a distinguished alumnus by Emporia State University. Nationally, he has served on editorial boards and NIH study sections, and is currently on a review panel for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Andrews' peers also praised him for his collegiality. Billy Hudson, chair of KU's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, said Andrews was "an excellent teacher and mentor and has high rapport with his colleagues and students." Andrews has served as mentor to 23 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, and has provided pivotal leadership in the establishment of a combined graduate program in basic sciences at the Medical Center.

Andrews joined KU's faculty in 1984, coming from a research position with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in North Carolina. He earned a Ph.D. in cell biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary. A native of Emporia, he earned his first two degrees at Emporia State University: a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in zoology.

The Chancellors Club Research Award is financed by the KU Endowment Association, an independent, non-profit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management foundation for the University of Kansas. Founded in 1891, it is the oldest foundation of its type at a public university and one of the largest.