Award Winning VAMC Memphis Dr. Andrew H. Kang Retires

  A retirement ceremony was held on December 8, 2009 to honor Andrew H. Kang, M.D., physician, noted research investigator, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) William S. Middleton Award Laureate.

  Dr. Kang's work is recognized nationally and internationally, with has been pivotal in understanding the disease process of autoimmune diseases.  He pioneered the basic knowledge of different collagen molecules, especially type II collagen.  Collagen is an essential "building block" in tissue structure.  Dr. Kang's work on the collagen induced arthritis model resulted in the development of several immunotherapies.  Considered a world authority in collagen biochemistry research, his work is best exemplified by over 23,000 literature citations in scientific and clinical journals.

  Dr. Kang's contributions over his 40 years of service are evident in the patients he has treated, physicians and scientists he has trained, and discoveries he has made that will continue to have a significant impact long into the future. 

  Dr. Kang's work has been recognized with appointments to organizations such as the American Society of Clinical Investigators, the Association of American Physicians, and the American College of Rheumatology where he was elected Master in 1999.  Awards that Dr. Kang has received include the Russell L. Cecil Award from the Arthritis Foundation in 1971, the Ho Am Award in Medicine in 2001 by the Ho Am Foundation of South Korea (South Korea's highest honor in research); and the William S. Middleton Award by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

  Dr. Kang graduated from Harvard Medical School magna cum laude in 1962, and served on the Harvard faculty for several years. In 1970, Dr. Kang accepted a professorship at the University of Tennessee (UT), College of Medicine and a position as Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development at the Memphis VA Medical Center. He was selected as the Chairman of the Department of Medicine at UT College of the Chair of Medicine. He received the Goodman Endowed Professorship of Excellence in Medicine in 1989.  Dr. Kang leaves us as the Emeritus Goodman Chair of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center (UTHSC); Director of the Center of Excellence for Diseases of Connective Tissues, UTHSC; and a Physician / Research Scientist with the Memphis VA Medical Center.