Thomas R. Lee Awards

The Thomas R. Lee Award goes to the Career Development Award applicant who receives the highest reviewer score on his/her application in a given fiscal year. The award not only recognizes excellence in diabetes research, but also signifies the ADA's belief that the recipient will continue to be a premier researcher who will have great impact in diabetes treatment, prevention or in the search for a cure.

The Thomas R. Lee Career Development Award is funded in full by the Estate of Mr. Thomas R. Lee of Norfolk, Virginia. For most of his life, Mr. Lee was a successful land owner and property developer in and around his beloved hometown of Norfolk. Known by all for his skilled business sense, dedication to friends and tremendous kindness to others, he generously supported the causes for which he was most passionate. Inspired by his personal battle with diabetes, Mr. Lee made sure that a charitable portion of his estate went to the American Diabetes Association upon his death.

Winners of the Thomas R. Lee Career Development Award:

2007 -- Jianhua Shao, PhD

2006 -- Zheng-Gen Jin, PhD

2005 -- Keyong Du, PhD

2004 -- Raghavendra Mirmira, MD, PhD (Winner of a 2004 Discovery Health Channel Medical Honor)

2003 -- Vincent Poitout, DVM, PhD

2002 -- Louis Ragolia, PhD