By Amy Hamaker

Thomas A. Buchanan, MD, received the Mayo H. Soley Award for his dedication to research in diabetes and endocrinology.

Thomas A. Buchanan, MD, vice dean for research and professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, has recently been named as the recipient of the Mayo H. Soley Award by the Western Society for Clinical Investigation (WSCI).

The award, given to recognize outstanding research, is named after Mayo H. Soley, a co-founder of WSCI who was recognized by his peers as a distinguished clinical scientist and also as a generous mentor to aspiring colleagues. The annual award honors the lifetime achievement of outstanding medical researchers who are devoted to training junior investigators.

“Just being able to spend most of my professional life working on interesting problems with colleagues I really like is ample reward for the long hours and hard work that a research career demands,” said Buchanan, who is also chief of the division of endocrinology and diabetes. “Receiving the recognition of my peers for the contributions my group has made to research is icing on the cake, and I truly appreciate it.”

The Western Society for Clinical Investigation was founded to cultivate and enrich medical research in the western United States and western Canada. Its goal is to enhance the culture of academic medical research by encouraging promising young researchers and scientists to pursue careers in academic medicine.