May 6, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Sadis Matalon, Ph.D., Alice McNeal Professor and vice chair for research in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Anesthesiology, has received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Thessaly, in Larissa, Greece.

The degree was presented May 6 at the Hippocrates Auditorium by the rector of the University of Thessaly, Kostas Gourgoulianis, M.D, Ph.D., and Kostas Malizos, M.D., Ph.D., president of the medical school at the University of Thessaly.

Matalon, a native of Greece, was honored for his lifetime contributions to science and medicine. He also presented a lecture to the school's faculty, "The Search for Influenza's Achilles Heel."

Matalon, who is also the director of UAB's Pulmonary Injury and Repair Center, joined the UAB faculty in 1987. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota in 1975.

Matalon is an internationally respected researcher in pulmonary function and lung injury.

He has taken a lead role in studying ways to mitigate lung damage caused by exposure to chlorine gas. He is also a leading figure in studying how viruses affect the lung, particularly influenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

About the UAB Department of Anesthesiology

The UAB Department of Anesthesiology is recognized as a national leader in the fields of clinical anesthesia, graduate and postgraduate education, and scientific inquiry through basic and translational research.