Stow Professor Receives National Award

A university professor from Stow received a National award from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. It's an award that less than 5 percent of investigators are given.

John Young-Ling Chiang, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular pathology at Northeast Ohio Medical University, received the highly selective Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award.

Chiang’s research focuses on studying mechanism and regulation of bile acid and cholesterol metabolism in diabetes, obesity and liver diseases.

"An imbalance of cholesterol and bile acids in the body can cause gallstones, a fatty liver and liver injury and can also contribute to heart disease," he said. "Bile acids also play critical roles in glucose and energy metabolism in the body to prevent diabetes and obesity."

“MERIT Awards are among the most selective research grants given by the NIH, and this is one of the highest honors that an NIH-funded investigator can receive,” said Jeffrey L. Susman, M.D., dean for the College of Medicine at the university. “We are extraordinarily proud of Dr. Chiang and his accomplishments. He and his research team have brought exceptional recognition to our university and continue to inspire institutional support for these and other research efforts.”

Initiated in 1987, the MERIT Award enables the NIH to recognize researchers who have demonstrated superior competence and outstanding productivity in their research endeavors, acknowledging consistent and excellent contributions to scientific knowledge. It provides long-term support to investigators with impressive records of scientific achievement in research areas of special importance or promise.

“This MERIT Award will extend Dr. Chiang’s project, which has been funded for 23 years, by an additional 10 years with a total funding of about $3.5 million,” said Walter Horton, Ph.D., vice president of research and dean for the College of Graduate Studies at the university. “This long-term research support lessens the administrative burdens associated with preparation and submission of competing grant applications, allowing Dr. Chiang to concentrate his efforts on advancing the research."