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A researcher at the University of Kansas Medical Center who has spent over three decades teaching and conducting research there in the field of toxicology will be honored as an University Distinguished Professor during a special recognition ceremony May 10, at 3:30 p.m. in Lied Auditorium.
Curtis Klaassen, PhD, head of the toxicology section in the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, has taught at The University of Kansas Hospital since 1968 when he came here after receiving his doctorate in pharmacology at the University of Iowa. Starting as an instructor, Klaassen was named full professor and head of his section in 1977, positions he has held since that time.
Klaassen becomes only the fourth faculty member to be honored as a University Distinguished Professor. The honor recognizes professors with outstanding contributions in the areas of research, teaching and public service.
As a researcher, Klaassen has studied how living organisms adapt to cadmium, a toxic environmental pollutant. "Cadmium is commonly used in alloys to make them corrosion-resistant. As a result of man's activities, cadmium is spread out around the environment and we try to understand it’s adverse effects," Klaassen said. Much of Klaassen’s research has pointed to metallothionein, a protein that binds cadmium in living organisms, as a natural defense against cadmium’s toxicity.
A major portion of his current research in involved in studying transporters, proteins in cell membranes that help protect us from some chemicals. A number of different transporters can be found in the human body where they carry out a variety of functions. One transporter in the liver works to clean up blood; one in the brain prevents certain chemicals from entering the brain; and another in the gut works to prevent chemicals from being absorbed. Such research holds promise for developing new ways to target drugs to specific areas of the body with pinpoint precision.
For the past 23 years Klaassen has held a National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences teaching grant to train graduate and post-graduate students. During that time he has worked closely with 75 students who have gone on to research position on university campuses and in private corporations throughout the world.
The author of more than 360 articles in peer-reviewed journals, Klaassen also has served in editorial positions on several toxicology journals. Since 1980 he has authored the toxicology section of Goodman’s and Gillman’s Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, one of the field’s standard textbooks.
He has served on a number of national and international committees for such organizations as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization. Among his many awards and honors are the Chancellor’s Club Research Award in 1993 and the Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Toxicology. The Jan. 18, 1993, issue of Current Contents, a professional publication that tracks research citations, as having published 115 peer-reviewed scientific publications on the study of xenobiotics; having the 12 thhighest scientific impact in the world in the study of xenobiotics, with 2,227 references; and having the fourth highest scientific impact in the U.S. in xenobiotics. Earlier this year Klaassen was recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher in pharmacology by the Institute for Scientific Information. Only 108 scholars in the world, of which 43 are from the United States, were giving this designation. Less that one-half of one percent of all researchers earn such a designation.
Originally from Pomeroy, Iowa, Klaassen and his wife live in the Kansas City area. They have two grown daughters and four grandchildren.