WASHINGTON — A new award named in memory of groundbreaking diabetes researcher Jesse Roth, M.D., will recognize a physician-scientist's outstanding research in hormone action, diabetes or metabolism, the Endocrine Society announced today.
The inaugural Jesse Roth Award and Lecture winner—C. Ronald Kahn, M.D., of Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass.—will deliver a lecture at ENDO 2027, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, as part of the prize. Kahn and future winners of the prize will receive an honorarium and a travel grant to the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting.
The award also will provide ENDO travel support for two early career scientists presenting abstracts on hormone action, diabetes or metabolism.
“Jesse Roth exemplified the scientific excellence, curiosity and commitment to mentorship that drive our field forward,” said Endocrine Society President Nanette Santoro, M.D. “We are proud to honor his contributions to diabetes research through an award that recognizes exceptional research and supports the next generation of endocrine scientists. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Roth’s colleagues and mentees who proposed this award and raised the funds to make it a reality.”
The award honors Roth’s contributions to diabetes research. His work revolutionized our understanding of diabetes by providing the first direct evidence that cells carry a specific receptor for insulin. His research showed that diabetes can occur when those cells have faulty receptors or too few receptors.
Roth spent nearly three decades at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., where he served as Scientific Director of the National Institute of Digestive and Diabetes and Kidney Diseases. He later worked at Johns Hopkins University in Bethesda, Md., and the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y.
Roth served on the Endocrine Society’s Board of Directors from 1993 to 1996, and he received the Society’s Fred Conrad Koch Award, the Robert H. Williams Distinguished Leadership Award and the Ernst Oppenheimer Memorial Award. Roth died in March 2026 at the age of 91.
Roth was a valued mentor to many in the endocrine community, including Nobel Prize winner Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D., and Kahn, the prize’s inaugural winner. Lefkowitz; Kahn; Jeffrey S. Flier, M.D.; Dominic Accili, M.D.; Simeon Taylor, M.D.; and Alan Shuldiner, M.D., envisioned the award and raised the funds to create it. Kahn intends to donate the honorarium to support future award winners.
An expert in diabetes and obesity research, Kahn studies insulin signal transduction and mechanisms of altered signaling in diabetes and metabolic disease. He is head of the Section on Physiology and Metabolism and the Chief Academic Officer of Joslin Diabetes Center, where he previously served as president and research director. In addition, he is the Mary K. Iacocca Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
“Jesse Roth transformed our understanding of insulin action and inspired generations of scientists through his extraordinary mentorship,” Kahn said. “His mentorship helped guide and shape my own career path. It is deeply meaningful to be selected as the inaugural recipient of an award bearing his name, particularly one that will help early-career researchers pursue the kinds of ambitious questions that defined Jesse’s career.”
To add your support to the Roth Award and Lecture, the associated travel grants for fellows and junior faculty, or any of the Society’s other programs, visit the Society’s donation website .
Visit the Society’s site for more information on its diabetes resources and advocacy.
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Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, including diabetes, obesity, infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the largest global organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.
With more than 18,000 members in 133 countries, the Society serves as the voice of the endocrine field. Through its renowned journals and ENDO, the world's largest endocrine meeting, the Society accelerates hormone research, advances clinical excellence in endocrinology, and advocates for evidence-based policies on behalf of the global endocrine community. To learn more, visit our online newsroom .