The School of Medicine Alumni Association (SMAA) honored a number of outstanding alumni, faculty, volunteer faculty and students at its annual awards banquet May 5. Andrew Duncan, PhD, Post-doctoral fellow in Pediatrics at the Oregon Stem Cell Center, received the Post-Doctoral Paper of the Year Award. Reid S. Connell Jr., PhD ’67, Emeritus Professor, Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, presented the award to Dr. Duncan.

Dr. Duncan's paper, “The ploidy conveyor of mature hepatocytes as a source of genetic variation,” was published online in Nature last fall; the research was conducted in the lab of Markus Grompe, MD, Director, Oregon Stem Cell Center. Their work, detailed in this OHSU media release, discovered that multipolar mitosis – a form of cell division typically associated with cancer – can yield diverse, viable cells capable of protecting the liver from injury and poisonous substances.

Dr. Duncan’s paper was one of three chosen from a field of 18 highly-qualified submissions that were reviewed by senior scientists at OHSU, and he was awarded the prize as a result of his presentation – without visual aids – to the School of Medicine Alumni Council.

Read the related SoM News article for details on the other awards presented by the SMAA this year.


Pictured: Reid S. Connell Jr., PhD ‘67, Emeritus Professor, Cell & Developmental Biology, presents Best Resident and Best Post-Doctoral Paper Awards to Brintha Enestvedt, MD and Andrew Duncan, PhD