Meet the 2022 Winner: Sadis Matalon, Ph.D.

Sadis Matalon, Ph.D., a Distinguished Professor and Alice McNeal Endowed Chair, and Vice chair of Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, has been elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Athens, one of the oldest research institutions in Greece. The Academy of Athens is the National Academy of Greece and was established in 1926 as an Academy of Sciences, humanities and Fine Arts.  

 Dr. Matalon was recruited to the University of Alabama at Birmingham as Professor of Anesthesiology, Physiology and Biophysics on August of 1987.  He was named the Alice McNeal Endowed Chair of Anesthesiology in 1999, appointed the Associate Dean for Postdoctoral Education in 2001, Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Assistant Provost of Research in 2002, Acting Associate Provost for Research in December of 2002, and the first Acting Vice President for Research of UAB in July 2003. In 2008, he was named the Founding Director of the Pulmonary Injury and Repair Center, and in 2012 he was appointed Distinguished Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the highest honor for a UAB faculty member.  Currently he serves as the Vice Chair for Research and Director of the Translational and Molecular Biomedicine Division of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, and as the Director of the Pulmonary Injury and Repair Center, School of Medicine.

Dr. Matalon has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1978 and received a Career Investigator Award by the American Lung Association (1987–1992), a NIH MERIT Award (1997–2007), a Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishment by the American Thoracic Society (2002), two Hororis Causa degrees, from the University of Thessaly and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.  He was the Distinguished Julius H. Comroe, Jr.  Lecturer of the Respiration Section of the American Physiological Society, and of the George Kotzias, M.D. award from the Hellenic Physiological Society. Most recently he received the University of Alabama School of Medicine Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research (2021).  He served as the Editor-In-Chief, American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology (2012-2018) and Deputy Editor, American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.  Currently he is Editor-In-Chief of Physiological Reviews, the most cited physiology journal in the world. He is an elected fellow of the American Physiological Society.

Dr. Matalon has a long history of involvement with the American Thoracic Society.  He was a Career Investigator Awardee of the American Lung Association (1987-1992) and received the Recognition for Scientific Accomplishment by the American Thoracic Society (2002).  In addition he served as Member, Experimental ALI Workshop (2020-2021), Member, Awards Committee (2016–2017), Member, Program and Budget Committee (2007 – 2008), Member, Strategic Planning Committee (2006 – 2007), Member, ALA Research Grant Review Committee (2006 – 2008), Member, Long Range Planning Committee (2004 – 2006),        Member, Awards Committee (2002–2003), Member, Program Committee;  Assembly on Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology (2006 – 2007), Chair Elect and Chairman of the Assembly on Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology (2001 – 2004), Chair Elect and Chairman, Program Committee Assembly on Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology (1998 – 2000) and      Chair, Long Range Planning Committee Assembly on Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology (1993 – 1995).

Dr. Matalon is considered a leading investigator in the field of acute lung injury.  As of February 2022, he has published 292 articles listed in PubMed, 36 book chapters and has edited four books.  He has an h-index=74; 17,507 citations; i10-index=246).  He has served as a Member of the Scientific Advisors, The Francis Family Foundation, National Board of Medical Examiners, Lung Biology and Pathology Study Section of the National Institutes of Health, DoD Congressional Mandate Research Committees, as well as serving on various other committees. In 1997 and 2000, Dr. Matalon organized two Advanced Study Institutes on acute lung injury (sponsored by the Scientific Affairs Division of NATO) in Corfu, Greece. He also served as Co-Director (along with Dr. Lester Kobzik, Harvard School of Public Health) of two workshops on Environmental Lung Disease: Environmental Chemical Threats and Lung Injury (Limassol, Cyprus, 2009–2010).  In addition, he has organized and chaired numerous scientific symposia. 

Dr. Matalon has received various awards for teaching from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, including the Joint Health Sciences Presidential Teaching Award (1997), Argus Society Award for Instructional Excellence (Best Instructor, First Year Medical Class; 1997, 1998, 2001), and the Caduceus Award for Best Basic Science Professor by the 2004 School of Medicine Class. He has mentored a large number of postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, clinical fellows and junior faculty who have become independent investigators. 

 Recently, Dr. Matalon has concentrated his scientific efforts on identifying the mechanisms by which halogens (such as chlorine) damage the cardiorespiratory system of animals and developing countermeasures, which when administered post exposure, decrease the onset of acute and chronic lung injury. He worked diligently to get other investigators interested in this area of research and has established a vibrant research group. He has published papers in high impact journals showing that extracellular heme and low molecular weight hyaluronan are important mediators of acute and chronic lung injury (PMID:25747964 PMID: 26376667 PMID: 30385726 PMID: 30385726) and developed effective countermeasures for which he has received two patents.

Description:

The award will be given to an individual who has made outstanding scientific and scholarly contributions to areas related to the TID mission. Awardees will be presented with a framed certificate at the ATS International Conference. Nominations of diverse candidates (by gender, race/ethnicity, country, area of focus and primary occupation) are highly encouraged.

Eligibility:

• Associate or full professor (5 or more years from reaching the associate professor level) or equivalent
• Outstanding contributions to research, education and/or training in areas broadly related to TID
• Nominees must be a TID member at the time of award (may join upon nomination)
• Nominations must include a cover letter (<2 pages) from an ATS member describing the candidate’s qualification and accomplishments and why the award is appropriate. Letters can be co-signed by more than one nominator. Self-nominations are allowable.
• Nominee's curriculum vitae must be included in the submission.
• Previous awardees are not eligible for the same award
• Applications will be reviewed by the TID Executive Committee with exclusion, as appropriate, of members who may have a conflict of interest.

Scoring Criteria:

Applications will be reviewed and scored based on the following criteria. Domains of excellence in research/teaching/mentoring and overall impact will receive greatest weight. Applications (cover letter and CV) should highlight the following domains:

• Excellence in research, teaching, or/and mentoring.
• Scholarly Contributions to Inhalational Disaster studies
• Leadership service (academia, industry, professional societies [both ATS and outside ATS])
• Participation in the TID Section (Administrative, Committees, Workshops, etc.)
• Overall impact/impression of dossier submitted for award application.

Note: Award nominations will be carried over for 3 years.