Harry Genant, Professor Emeritus of the University of California San Francisco, has been named the winner of the International Osteoporosis Foundation's (IOF) first Olof Johnell Science Award.
The Award is granted in recognition of extraordinary and internationally recognized contributions to the field of osteoporosis in a scientific or policy implementation area. It was presented at the European Congress on Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ECCEO13-IOF), being held in Rome, Italy from April 17 to 20, 2013, by IOF General Secretary Professor Bess Dawson Hughes. She stated, "Harry Genant is internationally renowned as a researcher, author and educator. His work in noninvasive and quantitative imaging methods for osteoporosis, arthritis and orthopaedics has been influential around the world, and he has made important contributions to clinical advances and the development of best practice guidelines."
Named in honour of the late Professor Olof Johnell, the Award will be presented annually by IOF. Professor Johnell achieved a wide breadth of knowledge in metabolic bone disease through a career that focused on basic research in the 1970s, clinical trials in the 1980s, epidemiology and health technology assessment in the 1990s, and health economics and guideline development in the later years of his life. Sought out as a colleague or consultant worldwide, he contributed significantly to the scientific policies of the European Union, the International Osteoporosis Foundation, and the World Health Organization.
Harry K. Genant, MD, is Professor Emeritus of the University of California San Francisco, and Member of the Board of Directors of CCBR-SYNARC, Inc. He received his medical degree from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, completed his internship on the Osler Service at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and later became Chief Resident and Assistant Professor in Radiology at the University of Chicago. In 1974 he assumed a faculty position at the University of California, San Francisco, as Chief of Musculoskeletal Radiology. He remained at UCSF for over 30 years, achieving the rank of Professor of Radiology, Medicine, Epidemiology and Orthopaedic Surgery. He founded the Osteoporosis and Arthritis Research Group (OARG) in the Department of Radiology, UCSF, and served as its Executive Director. This group was recognized as a leading source of research on the development and assessment of noninvasive and quantitative imaging methods for osteoporosis, arthritis and orthopaedics. In 1998 he co-founded Synarc, Inc, a global, contract research organization (CRO) specializing in management of quantitative imaging and biomarkers in large, multicenter, multinational, pharmaceutical drug trials. He serves as a Member of the Board of Directors and Senior Consultant for what is now CCBR-SYNARC, Inc.
Dr. Genant has been editor or co-editor of more than 30 books and author or co-author of more than 300 chapters or invited articles, over 600 articles in peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals, and over 1500 abstracts presented at national and international scientific and professional gatherings. He is Associate Editor of Bone and on the editorial boards of Osteoporosis International and the Journal of Clinical Densitometry. He has received numerous awards and honors including honorary lifetime memberships for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and for the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine. He is an honorary member of the Italian Radiolologic Society, the Chinese Osteoporosis Society, the Chilean Society of Osteology, the Hungarian Society of Osteology, and the European Society of Skeletal Radiology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Radiology and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists, United Kingdom. He was named The Outstanding Physician of the Year in 1998 and the recipient of The Paul D. Miller ISCD Service Award in 2013, by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry. He was designated The Annual Orator in 2004, by the Radiologic Society of North America, and The Louis Avioli Annual Lecturer in 2012, by the American Society of Bone and Mineral Disease. He was nominated and elected by the American College of Rheumatology as an ACR Master in 2012.
Dr. Genant has served as President of the Association of University Radiologists, President of the International Skeletal Society, First President and Founder of the International Bone Density Workshop series, Scientific Chair of the First through Sixth International Congresses on Osteoporosis in China, Co-Chair of the Second International Conference on Osteoporosis in Japan, Chair of the WHO Task Force on Osteoporosis, Chair of the International Steering Committee for Artificial Gravity for the joint US, German and Russia Space Programs, Member of the Radiologic Devices Panel of the US Food and Drug Agency, Member of the Board of Directors of the International Osteoporosis Foundation and Co-Director of the IOF Global Initiative on Vertebral Fracture Assessment and the IOF Bone Quality Working Group.
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