Medical association honors faculty members

Ridgway

Haugen

The University of Colorado School of Medicine’s E. Chester “Chip” Ridgway, M.D., was honored with the Lewis E. Braverman Lectureship Award during the 81st annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) on Oct. 29 in Indian Wells, Calif.

At the same meeting, Bryan R. Haugen, M.D., a professor of medicine and pathology at the University of Colorado Denver and chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, was selected as president-elect of the association.

The lectureship award recognizes a member of the ATA who has demonstrated excellence and passion for mentoring fellows, students, and junior faculty and has a long history of productive thyroid research. Ridgway holds several positions, including executive vice chair medicine; the Frederic Hamilton Professor of Medicine; senior associate dean for academic affairs; and vice chair, Department of Medicine. He came to CU in 1985 to become head of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes, and he served in that capacity until 2007. Previously, he was head of the Thyroid Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

His research centers on thyroid stimulating hormone and its regulation of the thyroid gland, focusing specifically on the development and regulatory factors that control the alpha and beta subunits of thyroid stimulating hormone. He has also extensively studied the role of thyroid hormones in altered cardiac, brain, pulmonary, skeletal muscle, hepatic, and adipocyte function associated with disorders of the thyroid gland and the identification of therapeutic strategies.

Haugen’s clinical interests include thyroid nodules and cancer, thyroid dysfunction, and other endocrine neoplasms. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from St. Olaf College and completed his medical degree at the Mayo Medical School. He pursued an internal medicine residency and endocrinology clinical/research fellowship at CU under the mentorship of Ridgway.

He has served the ATA in many capacities, including on the program committee, clinical affairs committee, and nominating committee, as well as a member of the local organizing committee for the 1998 annual meeting. In 2003, he was co-chair of the Annual Meeting Scientific Program Committee, and he served on the ATA's Board of Directors from 2003-2007. He has been an associate editor of Thyroid since 2008 and a member of the journal's editorial board since 1998. In addition, he is currently a scientific editor for Endocrine-Related Cancer.

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is the leading worldwide organization dedicated to the advancement, understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders and thyroid cancer.