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UCSD PEDIATRICIAN RECEIVES AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS’  LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

William L. Nyhan, M.D., Ph.D., UCSD School of Medicine professor of pediatrics, will be given the 1999 American Academy of Pediatrics Medical Education Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award on Tuesday, Oct. 12 at the AAP’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

The AAP’s Medical Education Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award is given to a physician whose lifetime of contributions to pediatrics has had national and international impact. 

Dr. Nyhan is a pioneer in the study and treatment of metabolic diseases in children, including rare disorders. For example, he first described Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (LNS), a condition is caused by a defective gene on the X chromosome. LNS is characterized by self-mutilating behaviors such as lip and finger biting and/or head banging.  Dr. Nyhan and his colleague, Michael Lesch, M.D., reported the disease in 1964.   He has also helped identify the underlying deficiencies and develop successful nutritional treatments for many other difficult to diagnose disorders.  Because of his stature and expertise in this field, patients travel from around the world to seek care. 

“Bill Nyhan is a consummate pediatrician who combines all of the best aspects of his specialty,” said Stanley Mendoza, M.D., chairman of UCSD School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics. “He has been at the forefront of the study of a variety of inborn errors of metabolism.  He is an outstanding researcher, a gifted teacher and a skilled clinician who has been responsible for significant advancements of the study of children and their diseases.”

“This is just a wonderful honor particularly because it is for the work I have loved doing throughout my lifetime," said Dr. Nyhan.

In addition to his studies and care for children in the field of metabolic diseases, Dr. Nyhan authored the classic textbook, Disorders of Amino Acid.   Beginning in 1969, Dr. Nyhan served as the first chairman for UCSD’s newly formed department of pediatrics. He was chair for 17 years and now serves as the chief of the department’s division of biochemical genetics.