2019 Lifetime Achievement Award

Aaron I. Vinik, MD, PhD, FCP, MACP, Eastern Virginia Medical School
Director of Research and Neuroendocrine Unit, Murray Waitzer Endowed Chair for Diabetes Research at the EVMS Strelitz Diabetes Center

Dr. Vinik has contributed greatly to the field of NET research throughout his career, with one of the leading labs for assaying biomarkers for diagnosis and follow-up of patients with NETs, and an early adopter of new tests showing promise. He has had a great scholarly output on NETs. In 2014, he first reported the results of a multi-institutional phase 3 study of efficacy and safety of lanreotide autogel/depot (LAN) treatment for carcinoid syndrome in patients with neuroendocrine tumors (ELECT trial), which ultimately led to FDA approval of Lanreotide for U.S. carcinoid patients.

Through years of dedication and perseverance into islet regenerative medicine, Dr. Vinik led the discovery of a gene that stimulates the growth of pancreatic islet cells, which could prove to have profound impact on diabetes patients. The islet neogenesis associated protein (INGAP) gene codes for the INGAP protein, which is a major factor in inducing regeneration of insulin producing β-cells. It is now the focus of a multicenter clinical trial that is being conducted in Montreal, Canada and Rochester, MN. Dr. Vinik holds three patents, with six more applications currently under review.

He has authored more than 450 scientific papers in highly reputable journals, eight books and numerous book chapters. In addition, he serves as editor of several scientific journals, including Diabetes Care, International Journal of Endocrinology, World Journal of Gastroenterology, Diabetologia, Reviews in Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Dr. Vinik has received numerous accolades throughout his career from the American College of Physicians, American Diabetes Association, Southern Medical Association, Royal College of Physicians, Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition, and the International Diabetes Federation. Additionally, he is the recipient of the Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award from the Virginia Marine Science Museum and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Diabetes Neuropathy Study Group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

In addition to his impressive medical achievements, Dr. Vinik was instrumental in NANETS’ growth and he was a frequent contributor, moderator and lecturer for NANETS’ medical education.

2019 Outstanding Service Award

Vay Liang W. Go, MD, is a Distinguished Professor of Medicine and former Executive Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is also Director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine-funded UCLA Center for Excellence in Pancreatic Diseases.
Dr. Go was a founding member of NANETS, and helped to shepherd the first group of NANETS guidelines into publication. He is past president of the American Pancreatic Association and is the founding and current Editor-in-Chief of the journal Pancreas. He has received numerous honors and recognition awards including: Research Achievement Award, American Institute for Cancer Research (2001); Lifetime Achievement Award, American Pancreatic Association (2001); Mayo Foundation Distinguished Alumnus Award (2002); American Gastroenterological Association/ Miles & Shirley Fiterman Foundation Hugh R. Butt Award for Distinguished Achievement in Clinical Research in Nutrition (2003); Géza Hetényi Memorial Medal, Hungarian Society of Gastroenterology (2006); and American Gastroenterological Association Foundation’s Mentors Research Scholar
Award Honoree (2007).

NANETS is celebrating 10 years of research grant support. A total of 22 grant recipients, NANETS has funded $1.5 million to young investigators and early career professionals who have committed themselves to the pursuit of clinical research in this field.

NANETS congratulates Sarbajit Mukherjee, MD, MS of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, as the NANETS 2019 Clinical Investigator Scholarship (NCIS) Award recipient; and Po Hien Ear, PhD, of the University of Iowa, as the NANETS 2019 Basic/Translational Science Investigator (BTSI) Award recipient.

To learn more about this year’s grant recipients and all past recipients, please click here.

Hear from experts in the field of NET disease. Don't miss our next Regional NET Education Conference in Albuquerque, NM (November 2), and San Francisco, CA (November 16). Learn more and register here and hear from experts in the field of NET disease. It is through convening professionals in the areas of oncology, gastroenterology, pulmonology, surgery, radiology and allied fields that the awareness and understanding of NET diseases will expand, resulting in better treatment for NET patients. 

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