by Dr. Chris Williams, Vanderbilt MSTP Director
Our MSTP community lost a cherished leader and friend this spring. Daryl K. Granner, MD, died on April 17 in Iowa City, Iowa, at the age of 89. Daryl came to Vanderbilt in 1984 to chair what was then the Department of Physiology, now Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and in 1986 he became our program’s second dedicated director, a post he held until 1993. The MSTP grew under his leadership, and although he was a giant in diabetes research who went on to lead the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center, he never stopped caring about the trainees themselves. He helped put this program, along with Vanderbilt’s diabetes research, on the national stage. I had the privilege of spending time with Daryl when he returned to campus in 2022. He sought me out specifically to talk about physician-scientist training, which told me how much this work still meant to him after all those years. With real pride, he described how he had expanded the program in the late 1980s by sitting down with each of the affiliated departments and persuading them, one by one, to contribute financially, building the shared investment that gave the MSTP room to grow. He spoke of his years as director with genuine warmth, and we are grateful for everything he built. He will be missed. Read more about Dr. Granner and his contributions here.