GEORGE MERRIAM, MD
University of Washington School of Medicine
Seattle, WA, USA
Biography
George R. Merriam is Professor of Medicine and adjunct Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Washington, and Deputy Director of Research at the American Lake Division of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, also in Washington. Dr Merriam received his AB degree in Chemistry and Physics at Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a BA and MA in Natural Sciences at Trinity College in Cambridge, England. Dr Merriam obtained his MD at Harvard Medical School in 1976. After residency at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, he completed fellowship training in Endocrinology at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, in 1981, and remained on staff there for several years before moving to the University of Washington.
Dr. Merriam has extensive research, teaching, and clinical experience in the area of neuroendocrinology, and is principal Investigator of several research projects in this area. Recent studies have focused on the effects of trophic factors, particularly growth hormone and GH secretagogues such as GHRH and ghrelin mimetics, in GH deficiency and in normal aging. Dr. Merriam has published over 150 original articles, review, and books, and holds national responsibilities in endocrinology. He is an officer of the American Neuroendocrine Society, associate editor of Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, and an organizer of the annual Neuroendocrine Workshops. Dr Merriam is also a member of professional organizations including the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Western Association of Physicians, the Endocrine Society, the Growth Hormone Research Society, the Society for Neuroscience, and the American College of Physicians.
FELICE STROLLO, MD
I.N.R.C.A.
Roma, Italy
Biography
Professor Strollo is the Director of the Unit of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases in the Italian National Research Centers on Aging (INRCA), in Rome, where is has been employed since 1977. Professor Strollo also holds teaching positions in 'Pathophysiology of Man in Space' at the Postgraduate School of Aerospace Medicine at the University La Sapienza in Rome, and in 'Chronobiology' at the Postgraduate School of Esthetic Medicine in Rome.
Professor Strollo graduated with a degree in Medicine from the University La Sapienza in Rome in 1974, with a score of 110/110 'cum laude'. He went on to complete three postgraduate degrees in Endocrinology (at the University of Florence), Aerospace Medicine, and Nuclear Medicine (both at the University La Sapienza in Rome), all with scores of 70/70 'cum laude'.
Professor Strollo has published more than 200 papers in national and international journals with special reference to psychoneuroendocrinology, and to leptin secretion with respect to stress and ageing. He is also an author of five published books. Professor Strollo is involved in a variety of aerospace-related activities at a consultant level, and he led the Italian experiment involving the impact of stress on reproduction on board the Spacelab. Between 1997 and 1998, Professor Strollo was also Vice-president of PROMEDUS, an international scientific association devoted to the promotion of medical applications of space research and has been recently elected as the Vice-president of the European Low Gravity Research
Association (ELGRA). Professor Strollo is a member of several scientific associations including the Endocrine Society, the International Society of Neuroendocrinology, and the American Physiology Society.
RICHARD WALKER
Paradox Regulatory and Scientific Services, Inc.
Indian Rocks Beach, FL, USA
Biography
Dr Walker is currently a consultant in Medical Physiology (Endocrinology) at Paradox Regulatory and Scientific Services, Inc. in Florida. Prior to this, Dr Walker was the Director of Compliance Services and also of the Division of Pharmaceutical Studies at the University of Florida until 1999, and has held a Professorial position in the Division of Endocrinology at this University since 1991. Dr Walker obtained his BSc in Pharmacy from Rutgers University, and his MSc in Biochemistry from New Mexico State University. Dr Walker was awarded his postgraduate degree in Physiology/Endocrinology from Rutgers University, and subsequently completed two post-doctoral fellowships in Neuropharmacology and in Neuroendocrinology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Duke University Medical Center.
Throughout his research career - which has largely focused on the role of the brain and endocrine system in aging - Dr Walker has secured a very impressive total of 19 research grants for both preclinical and clinical work. These grants, which were awarded for both personal and collaborative research, were a result of local and national competition. In addition to his research, Dr Walker has extensive teaching experience at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, the University of California, and Clemson University in South Carolina. Dr Walker has published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals, has published books, and has chaired 11 Symposia at International Congresses. Dr Walker is a member of a variety of societies, including the Society for Toxicology, the Endocrine Society, the American Association of Anatomists, the International Society for Neuroendocrinology, and the Society of Sigma XI.
