Erwin Goldberg Receives Distinguished Service Award

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Erwin Goldberg, professor of biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, has received the 2009 Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Andrology (ASA). The presentation was made earlier this month at the Annual ASA Meeting in Philadelphia.

The Distinguished Service Award is bestowed annually to recognize an individual who has provided distinguished service to the American Society of Andrology. The ASA, a partnership of 775 scientists and clinicians from all over the world, fosters a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of the male reproductive system.

Goldberg has been a member of the American Society of Andrology since it was founded in 1975. He has since served on multiple committees, strengthened its membership base and acted as program chair for the 2002 ASA Annual Meeting. He currently serves as treasurer of ASA and member of the Journal of Andrology editorial board.

A reproductive biologist, Goldberg has sought to extend basic observations from the laboratory to the bedside throughout his career. His landmark observation that there is a unique enzyme (LDH-C4, lactate dehydrogenase) in the testis is a foundation for understanding how sperm are produced and became the basis for many later studies on testis gene expression. Goldberg's research group is part of a worldwide effort to uncover the nature of the mechanisms that regulate time and cell-specific processes in the testes and the molecular aspects of LDH-C4.

Recently, Goldberg and his students cloned and sequenced the LDH-C gene, successfully targeting the disruption of the gene resulting in male infertility. This finding is integral for understanding mechanisms of sperm function important to diagnosis of infertility and to development of a male contraceptive.

Goldberg received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 2007. He has served on National Institutes of Health (NIH) study sections, including a chair appointment to the NIH Biological and Physiological Sciences Special Emphasis Panel. Goldberg has been a reviewer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Research Initiative and was appointed to the International Executive Committee at both the 10th and 11th International Congress on Genes, Gene Families and Isozymes.

Goldberg joined Northwestern in 1963 as assistant professor of biological sciences. During his tenure, Goldberg has supervised 20 doctoral candidates. Goldberg's research is supported by the National Institutes of Health.

(Lauren Hock, a senior in the School of Education and Social Policy, contributed to this story.)