PHILADELPHIA — Arthur H. Rubenstein, MBBCh, was awarded the highest honor of the Association of American Physicians (AAP) the George M. Kober Medal, this week at the annual joint meeting of the AAP and the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
Arthur H. Rubenstein, MBBCh
Since 1925, the association has bestowed the award for research in scientific medicine that rises to the highest level of achievement. Rubenstein and mentor Donald Steiner developed the first accurate way to measure insulin secretion in diabetic patients being treated with insulin derived from the pancreas of cattle or pigs. This method was key to the commercial production of human insulin for diabetics. Rubenstein and Steiner were also part of a team that discovered the first case of diabetes caused by abnormal insulin.
In the summer of 2011, Rubenstein left his administrative roles at both the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Medicine and stepped down as dean of the Perelman School of Medicine, following more than a decade of accomplishments in research, education, and patient care. He is now professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism.
Dr. Rubenstein also received the Abraham Flexner Award for Distinguished Service to Medical Education, presented by the Association of American Medical Colleges, in 2009. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 1987, immediately becoming chairman of its Committee on Responsible Conduct of Research. After that two-year term, he also served on the Institute's Panel on Scientific Integrity for two years. The topic has long been close to his heart, and in 2002-03, he was called upon by the IOM again to serve as chairman of the National Research Council Committee on Assessing Integrity in the Research Environment.
