Congratulations to William Grizzle, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Anatomic Pathology, who was recognized recently by the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) with the 2019 Founder's Award. Dr. Grizzle will be presented with this award at the organization's annual meeting in Shanghai, China, May 7-10. ISBER is a global biobanking organization.
"Dr. Grizzle has been a leading individual with great foresight to recognize biobanking as an important and emerging field in science," says David Lewandowski, ISBER President 2018-19. "Since helping to establish ISBER in 1999, he has worked tirelessly to provide the evidence-base to support best practices in biobanking. He is highly regarded by his peers as a reviewer and trainer for start-up biobanks domestically and internationally. We look forward to presenting him with the Prestigious ISBER Founder’s Award in Shanghai at ISBER’s 20th anniversary May 7-10.”
Dr. Grizzle has an AB honors degree (Chemistry and Physics) from Harvard University and Ph.D. (Biophysics) and M.D. degrees from Johns Hopkins University. He is board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. He served as Head of the Autopsy Section at the UAB and VA hospitals in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1990-2000 and has been head of the program in Translational Research in Neoplasia of the Department of Pathology since 2000. His current research interests include fatty acids in cancer; validation of molecular biomarkers; exosomes and post-transcriptional regulation; molecular imaging, especially multispectral optoacoustic tomography; and biorepository sciences.
Since 1983 Grizzle has served as Director of UAB's Tissue Collection and Banking Facility, and was principle investigator of the Southern Division of the Cooperative Human Tissue Network (CHTN) from 1987-2019, and Director, Biorepository of the Pulmonary Hypertension Breakthrough Initiative (PBHI) from 2006-2019.
Grizzle frequently consults for national and international biorepositories and governmental agencies. He presents workshops on factors accreting and limiting the use of human tissues in research, and histochemical and immunohistochemical staining. He and colleague Katherine Sexton present national and international workshops on the design and operations of biorepositories.
Dr. Grizzle is a founding member of ISBER, and a former council member and President of the organization. In 2015 he received the ISBER Award for Outstanding Achievement in Biobanking. He was a trustee of the Biological Statin Commission (BSC) from 1992-2017, serving as President (2000-2004) and Vice-President (1996-2000). In 2017 Grizzle became a trustee emeritus of the organization.
Grizzle served as a Senior Editor of Clinical Cancer Research from 2010 to 2017, and has served on the editorial boards of numerous other journals. He is currently on the board of Biopreservation and Biobanking; Biotechnic & Histochemistry, and Clinical Cancer Research, and is an associate editor of Cancer Biomarkers. He has published more than 500 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters.
William Grizzle, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Anatomic Pathology, UAB Department of Pathology
"We are thrilled for Dr. Grizzle at this esteemed recognition from the ISBER on his behalf," says George Netto, M.D., Chair of the Department of Pathology. "His work and expertise in biobanking and biorepositories span several decades, making him one of the field's most respected experts. We thank the ISBER for extending Dr. Grizzle this honor."
A description of this year's awardees can be found here. Credit for Grizzle's bio details to the ISBER website.
The award is sponsored by Chart MVE Biomedical, manufacturer of vacuum-insulated products and cryogenic freezer systems for life sciences markets worldwide.