Ó³»­´«Ã½

Ó³»­´«Ã½ physician-scientists have been selected for membership in the Association of American Physicians
(AAP) and the American Society for Clinical Investigation
(ASCI).

Four physician-scientists from the Ó³»­´«Ã½ are among the newly elected members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and the Association of American Physicians (AAP). Announced at the annual joint ASCI/AAP meeting April 29 and 30, David Altshuler, Robert Gerszten and Joel Hirschhorn were awarded membership to the ASCI, and Christine Seidman was inducted into the AAP. All four have made significant contributions to their respective disciplines and, in addition, are participating in current efforts at the Ó³»­´«Ã½ to gain a clearer genetic picture of several human diseases, including type 2 diabetes, obesity and various forms of cardiovascular disease.

As new inductees to ASCI, Altshuler, Gerszten and Hirschhorn were recognized for their excellence in biomedical research, advancing both the fundamental knowledge and the treatment of human disease. David Altshuler, the director of the Ó³»­´«Ã½'s Program in Medical and Population Genetics, and an associate professor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, has led comprehensive efforts to catalogue human genetic variation and to use this information to identify the genetic roots of disease, including type 2 diabetes. Robert Gerszten, an associate member of the Ó³»­´«Ã½ and an assistant professor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, has focused on understanding the signaling mechanisms that attract the body's immune cells to sites of inflammation, a key factor in many illnesses, particularly cardiovascular disease. Joel Hirschhorn, an associate member of the Ó³»­´«Ã½ and coordinator of its Metabolic Disease Initiative, and an assistant professor at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, has made advances in dissecting the genetic components of complex, though common, human diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.

In particular, Altshuler, Gerszten and Hirschhorn are acknowledged for achievements made at an early stage in their biomedical careers. To be considered for ASCI membership, individuals must be 45 or younger at the time of election. This youthful focus was a response by ASCI founders in the early 1900's to the exclusion of younger physician-scientists from membership in most scientific societies of the time. Such restrictions precluded participation in society meetings, then a central medium for sharing research findings.

Christine Seidman, who was elected to the ASCI in 1992, now joins the distinguished ranks of the AAP. In addition to her role as an associate member of the Ó³»­´«Ã½, she is also a professor at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her work centers on unraveling the genetic underpinnings of cardiovascular diseases, including the hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies, and congenital heart disease.