Merle S. Olson

Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient

Medical School and College of Biological Sciences, May 7, 2004

Merle S. Olson received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1966. Currently, he is the dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He has had an internationally recognized career investigating regulatory mechanisms of amino acid and lipid metabolism. His best-known work has focused on the metabolic regulator Platelet Activating Factor (PAF), an endogenous regulator of multiple metabolic processes as well as inflammatory responses in several tissues including the liver, pancreas, and bone. He has published over 180 manuscripts and 20 symposia chapters and/or books. And, as an educator, he has trained over fifty graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. He has been nationally recognized by leadership positions on National Institutes of Heath study sections and in many scientific and professional societies.

Biographies are as-of time of award presentation.