May 4, 2023

Dear UH Community,

It is my pleasure to announce that Stuart Dryer, John and Rebecca Moores Professor in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry, is the 2023 recipient of the Esther Farfel Award. 

This award was established in 1979 and is the highest distinction for University of Houston faculty. Teaching, research and service are at the heart of the Farfel Award (named for the wife of former regent Aaron Farfel), and Dr. Dryer has certainly been exemplary in these areas. 

Since Dr. Dryer’s arrival on campus in 1997, he has made substantial contributions to our institution and to the worlds of science and medicine.  

For nearly nine years, he led the Department of Biology and Biochemistry as chair. Under his guidance, the department expanded its faculty and helped establish the Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling. 

As a researcher, he has contributed to discoveries in neurobiology, circadian rhythms and the physiology of kidney disorders. He also has 110 refereed papers to his name with more than 6,000 citations. 

He’s a past recipient of UH’s Research Excellence Award and Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Dryer is also an elected fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science and the American Society of Nephrology. 

He has collaborated extensively with researchers in the Texas Medical Center and played a role in helping launch UH’s Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine.  

I’d like to thank him for his tireless service to UH and again, congratulate him on his latest honor. 

Please join me in recognizing Dr. Stuart Dryer’s contributions to the University and his latest accolade, the 2023 Esther Farfel Award. 

Sincerely, 

Diane Z. Chase 
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, UH