Robert S. Sherwin, MD, C.N.H. Long Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology) and associate dean for clinical and translational research, is retiring effective December 31, 2018, after 44 years at the School of Medicine. He will assume emeritus status.
Sherwin has served as director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)-funded Diabetes Research Center since 1993 and as chief of endocrinology in the Department of Internal Medicine since 2010. Early in his career, during a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), he pioneered the glucose clamp technique to measure insulin sensitivity. He went on to play a key role in the development of the insulin pump, which was a major step forward in treating diabetes. His research also laid the groundwork for the landmark NIH-funded Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), which demonstrated the long-term complications associated with diabetes.
In addition to clinical research, Sherwin has conducted basic science research leading to discoveries on glucose counterregulation and the immune mechanisms leading to type 1 diabetes. He also has conducted research on type 2 diabetes, showing that the brain processes fructose and glucose differently, which suggests that fructose may promote overeating. He has received more than 40 years of continuous NIH R01 support for his research, including two 10-year Merit awards, and has authored more 400 peer-reviewed papers.
During his long career, Sherwin has been passionate about guiding the next generation of clinician scientists, mentoring nearly 100 postdoctoral fellows and students, many of whom are now at the forefront of diabetes research. As founding director of the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI), he was instrumental in establishing the YCCI Scholars Program, which has provided research and salary support to 137 junior faculty members to date. Its Scholars, 99 percent of whom remain engaged in research, have gone on to successfully compete for more than 700 grants worth more than $400 million, and have published more than 4,000 papers.
Honors that Sherwin has received include the Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the Novartis Award for Long-standing Achievement in Diabetes, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, ADA’s Albert Renold Award for Mentoring in Diabetes Research, the Edward H. Ahrens Jr. Award for Patient Oriented Research from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science, and the Naomi Berrie Award, Columbia University’s top honor for excellence in diabetes research. He has served as president of the ADA and chair of the JDRF Medical Science Advisory Board. Under his stewardship YCCI, supported by an NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award since 2006, has grown substantially, providing research support and training to an ever-growing number of clinical and translational investigators.