Lifetime Achievement Award
John C. Whitin, PhD
Photo from 2024 Staff and Faculty Awards
John Whitin, PhD came to Stanford University in 1993 from the University of Rochester as a scientist in Dr. Harvey Cohen’s lab when Harvey was recruited as the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics. John worked in the Hematology/Oncology division, doing hypothesis-driven studies in biochemistry and cell biology and discovery-driven work in proteomics and systems biology. He engaged in proteomic investigations to identify differences in protein expression that may be biomarkers of diseases in children for which an unequivocal diagnostic test is unavailable. John also took full advantage of the greater Stanford community collaborating with researchers across campus – he did work up at SLAC, specifically an NIH-funded study on the Spectroscopic Speciation of Sulfur in Whole Cells, for which John was the PI. I looked up John’s publications, and counted 79 publications, continuing through this past year. I’m not even sure that’s a complete list.
Contributions to the Department
And then there's what John has done for the Department more broadly and what he continues to do. When Dr. Harvey Cohen decided to wind down his lab, the Department benefitted greatly from John's newfound availability to focus full-time on Department matters. He had a strong desire to continue to be directly involved in the scientific community and the research strategy more broadly for the Department. In the last few years, John helped set up 37 different labs in the Department - on the historic campus and Stanford Research Park. Most of the labs are for new faculty recently recruited or developed in the Department.
I’ve known John for a long time, but not as long as others in the audience today. In Dr. Harvey’ Cohen's words: "John Whitin has been an incredible asset to the Department and the University. I have worked with him for over 45 years, and his contributions to children's health research have been astounding. I know I could not have accomplished much without him. His decision to join our Department not only ensured that my lab would function well, but also that by being a laboratory resource to the Department, he has optimized what we have done over the years. Stanford Pediatrics owes John a great debt, and I, among others, want that acknowledged."
Please join me in congratulating John and thanking him for everything that he’s contributed to Stanford, to the Department of Pediatrics, and to science – as we present to John the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Michael Propst, MBA
Associate Chair and Director of Finance and Administration