Drs. Benoist and Mathis Named First Recipients of Young Chair

BOSTON — November, 2000 — Earlier this year, Joslin Trustee William T. Young Jr. established the William T. Young Chair in Diabetes Research at Joslin in Boston in honor of his parents to further the Center’s efforts in type 1 diabetes research. Mr. Young is head of W.T. Young, LLC., a family business involved in warehousing, transportation and thoroughbred horse breeding and racing in the name of Overbrook Farm. He and his wife, Barbara, reside in Lexington, KY. In May 1996, Overbrook’s horse, Grindstone, won the Kentucky Derby.

Christophe O. Benoist, M.D., Ph.D., and Diane J. Mathis, Ph.D., heads of the Section on Immunology and Immunogenetics, were named the first recipients of the Young Chair at a ceremony at Joslin.

"We are truly honored that Mr. Young has chosen to support our work in diabetes research with his generous contribution," Dr. Benoist says. "Beyond the practical aspects, it is highly gratifying for researchers to feel that members of the larger community value and support this work," Dr. Mathis says.

Many of the Benoist/Mathis lab workers speak many languages and come from varied backgrounds, ranging from genetics to botany. The husband-wife team brought at least a dozen of their colleagues with them from France. The lab has 20 fellows and students as well.

A Paris native, Dr. Benoist holds a M.D. degree from the University of Paris and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France. He did his postdoctoral training at Stanford. Dr. Mathis, a native of Atlanta, GA, holds a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Rochester. She did her postdoctoral training at Stanford and in Strasbourg.

Both Drs. Mathis and Benoist have both won numerous honors for their scientific accomplishments, including the Romancon Prize and the Fondation Athena Research Prize. Dr. Benoist recently was elected to the French National Academy of Science.