Jerry W. Shay PhD

Jerry W. Shay is the Vice Chairman of the Department of Cell Biology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, an Associate Director of the Harold Simmon's Comprehensive Cancer Center, and holds the Southland Corporation Distinguished Chair in Geriatrics Research. He is also the Program Director of the Cancer Biology Graduate Program at UT Southwestern. Dr Shay holds the title of Distinguish Teaching Professor, is a member of the Southwestern Academy of Teachers, and a member of the University of Texas System Kenneth Shine Academy of Health Science Educators. In 2012 was awarded a University of Texas Regent’s Outstanding Teaching Award, and in 2013 the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation Professor Award.

Throughout his career, Dr. Shay has been interested in the relationships between aging and cancer. His seminal work on the relationships of telomerase to aging and cancer has received much international recognition. He received the AlliedSignal Award for Research on Aging, the Ted Nash Foundation Award, and the American Association of Aging Hayflick Award together with his long term collaborator, Dr. Woodring E. Wright. Dr. Shay was also named an Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar in Aging Research. Dr. Shay was placed in the Institute for Scientific Investigations as one of the most highly cited scientists in the field of "Molecular Biology and Genetics". Science Watch placed Dr. Shay into the Doctors of the Decade list and he was ranked as one the most cited authors in the area of General Biomedicine (Science Watch 17:1 2-3, 2006). He was also included in a list of highly influential biomedical researchers 1996-2011 (Boyack, KW et al., Eur. J. Clin. Inves. 43(12):1339-65, 2013). The citation of his work by other scientists attests to the impact of Dr. Shay’s research (h index = 102). In addition to 20 issued patents, Dr. Shay has published over 400 scientific articles, written 80 book chapters and edited 10 books.