UNC researcher Darrel Stafford, whose work has led to breakthroughs in the study of coagulation and its regulation, was among nine individuals presented with the North Carolina Award, the state’s highest civilian honor.

Stafford, who has lived in Carrboro for 20 years, was presented with the Science award in a ceremony in Cary Tuesday night.

He said it was a great honor and enjoyed the ceremony.

“It was a very nice award and very professionally done last night,” he said on Wednesday.

The awards were presented by Gov. Mike Easley, First Lady Mary Easley and Lisbeth C. Evans, secretary of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

This has been a year of awards for Stafford, who works with a handful of postdoctoral students out of a lab at Wilson Hall. In July, he received the Distinguished Career Award at the XXIst Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis in Geneva, Switzerland.

His work has focused on two enzymes of the Vitamin K cycle, and a breakthrough discovery in 2004 made the cover of Nature magazine. According to the citation accompanying his award, “As a consequence of Stafford’s work, doctors can better regulate patients’ treatments, since every patient on blood clotting medications responds differently.”

Despite the recognition, Stafford said he woke up Wednesday morning feeling “about the same.”

Other honorees this year were Dr. Viney P. Aneja, also for Science; Dr. Jerry C. Cashion, former N.C. Chief Justice Henry E. Frye, former N.C. Chief Justice Burley B. Mitchell Jr. and Charlie Rose, all for Public Service; Dr. Jan Davidson and Rosemary Harris Ehle, both for Fine Arts; and Dr. William Leuchtenburg, for Literature.
Stafford has five children and seven grandchildren and is married to Dr. Sheue-Mei Wu. —Staff Reports