(May 13, 2009) – University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Department of Biology researcher Andrew Tsin stood among an elite group of eye researchers last week when he was named a Silver Fellow in the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)'s inaugural class of fellows. ARVO's new honor recognizes the professional accomplishments and service of its members as well as their contributions to the association's advancement.
This year, 428 members were inducted into ARVO's inaugural class of fellows, less than 4% of its overall membership of more than 11,500 internationally.
With three decades of experience in vision and related research and nearly two decades as a University of Texas System academic, UTSA's Tsin is a frequent collaborator at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
He oversees the Vision Research Laboratory, which aims to understand the biochemical and cellular/molecular events in the eye related to normal visual functions and to abnormal/disease conditions. Particularly, his team investigates the mechanism of pigment regeneration in the cone visual system and how hyperglycemia and insulin induce vascular endothelial growth factor secretion by retinal cells.
Since 1981, Tsin has directed more than $51.5 million in grant funds, including $3.6 million in federal research grants, $290,500 in private grants awarded for his research and $47.8 million in grants that promote faculty and student training at UTSA.
In addition to his faculty duties, Tsin serves as the associate dean of research in UTSA's College of Sciences, as the director of UTSA's major National Institutes of Health programs and as the director of its Center for Research and Training in the Sciences (CRTS). The CRTS is a $6 million per year center established in 2006 to maximize resource sharing of extramural programs with similar or complimentary goals in scientific research and training.