Faculty News
Welcome to the Department of Medicine Faculty News page. Here, we announce our faculty members' recent individual honors and awards (below).
In addition, we congratulate those faculty members who are receiving their first major research funding (R01) awards (at right).
Announcements are arranged alphabetically by faculty members' names.
Honors and Awards
Dr. Kim E. Barrett is named among
the Outstanding Women in Science 2008
Kim E. Barrett, Ph.D., AGAF, Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and UC San Diego Dean of Graduate Studies, has won a national honor for her outstanding contributions in the field of digestive health.
The Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has named Dr. Barrett one of the Outstanding Women in Science for 2008.
Dr. Barrett will receive her award in a ceremony during the Digestive Disease Week 2008 (DDW® 2008) conference to be held in San Diego May 17-22.
Dr. Kristin Bell wins the
AMA Young Physician Award for 2007
Kristin Bell, M.D., Assistant Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine, has won the American Medical Association (AMA) Dr. William Beaumont Award for 2007.
Dr. Bell is an internal medicine specialist practicing in the Veterans Administration San Diego Healthcare System.
She received the AMA award for her outstanding efforts in helping veterans manage chronic pain conditions.
Each year, the AMA grants the Dr. William Beaumont Award to one distinguished young physician in the U.S. for his or her contributions to medical science.
Dr. David H. Broide is elected
to the Association of American Physicians
David H. Broide, Ch.B., M.B., has been elected to the Association of American Physicians (AAP).
Dr. Broide is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Research Training Program in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology.
Dr. Broide was formally inducted at the annual meeting of the AAP and the American Society for Clinical Investigation in Chicago, April 25-27.
Read the full story from University Communications
Dr. John M. Carethers is elected
to American Society for Clinical Investigation
John M. Carethers, M.D., has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, an honorific organization of the nation’s most outstanding young physician-scientists.
Dr. Carethers is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology. He has received numerous awards for his research in colon cancer and his dedication to medical teaching.
Dr. Carethers was introduced as a new member at the ASCI Annual Dinner held at the joint meeting of the ASCI and the Association of American Physicians in Chicago, April 25-27.
Read the full story from University Communications
Dr. Webster K. Cavenee is elected
to the Institute of Medicine
Webster K. Cavenee, Ph.D., Professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
Read the full story from University Communications
Dr. Anthony N. DeMaria receives Einthoven Medal
Anthony N. DeMaria, M.D., has received the prestigious Einthoven Medal and delivered the 28th annual Einthoven Lecture in Leiden, The Netherlands, in January.
The lectureship and medal honored Dr. DeMaria for his contributions in cardiac imaging. They were presented during the 4th Leiden Cardiology Course at the Leiden University Medical Center.
Dr. DeMaria is Professor of Medicine, Judith and Jack White Chair in Cardiology and Head of the Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center at UC San Diego Medical Center.
Read the Einthoven Foundation's news story
Dr. Gary S. Firestein will be new Dean
for Translational Medicine at UC San Diego
Gary S. Firestein, M.D., Professor and Chief in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology, has accepted the position of Dean for Translational Medicine at UC San Diego.
Dr. Firestein is founding Director of the UC San Diego Health Sciences Clinical Investigation Institute (CII).
His appointment as Dean for Translational Medicine is effective May 1, 2008, when Gordon Gill, M.D., Professor Emeritus in the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism, steps down.Â
Dr. Mark Fuster is awarded "Joan's Legacy" grant
for his lung cancer research
Mark Fuster, M.D., Assistant Professor in the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, has received a $100,000 grant for his study of bronchioalveolar carcinoma, a rare form of lung cancer, and the mechanisms of lung cancer metastisis.
The grant was awarded by the private foundation “Joan’s Legacy”: The Joan Scarangello Foundation to Conquer Lung Cancer.
Read the abstract from Dr. Fuster's grant
Drs. Richard D. Kolodner and Samuel I. Rapaport
are new Fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Two Department of Medicine faculty members have been honored with election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAAS). Drs. Richard D. Kolodner and Samuel I. Rapaport, both from the Division of Hematology/Oncology, are among seven from UC San Diego who will be welcomed into the AAAS at an induction ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in October.
The AAAS is one of the nation’s oldest and most esteemed honorific societies. Membership is granted to a select group of leaders in science, the arts and humanities, and civic and corporate life each year.
Dr. Kolodner is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Leader of the Cancer Genetics Program at the Moores UC San Diego Cancer Center, and a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. He has gained international recognition for his studies of the connection between DNA mismatch genes and the development of cancer.
He became a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 1998 and a member of the National Academy of Sciences USA in 2000. Among his many distinguished research awards are the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation Mott Prize (1996) and the Kirk A. Landon-AACR Prize for Basic Cancer Research (2007).
Dr. Rapaport is Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Pathology and former Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology. During his distinguished career at UC San Diego, he has served as Chief of Hematology/Oncology and Director of the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Laboratory.
He has performed groundbreaking investigations of the mechanisms of blood coagulation in health and disease. One of the key figures in the history of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), Dr. Rapaport was its president in 1977. Current president of ASH is Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, Professor and Helen M. Ranney Chair of the Department of Medicine.
Read the AAAS Press Release
Read the full story from University Communications
Dr. Nora Laiken receives teaching awards
from medical students and pharmacy students
Nora Laiken, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Educational Support Services in the School of Medicine and Lecturer in the Department of Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, has been honored with two teaching awards.
Dr. Laiken is the recipient of the Kaiser Excellence in Teaching Award from the first-year students in the School of Medicine and the Excellence in Teaching Award from the second-year students in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UC San Diego.
Dr. William Christopher Mathews is honored
as a Diversity Champion for 2007
Owen Clinic Director William Christopher Mathews, M.D., a UC San Diego pioneer in HIV/AIDS patient care and research, has been named a Diversity Champion for 2007.
Dr. Mathews is Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Owen Clinic, an internationally-recognized center for HIV patient care and education.
Read the full story in our News Blog
Dr. Barbara A. Parker is named Medical Director
of UC San Diego Oncology Services
Barbara A. Parker, M.D., is the new Medical Director of Oncology Services at Moores Cancer Center and UC San Diego Medical Center.
A longtime UCSD physician, researcher, and administrator, Dr. Parker was pleased to be asked to step into this challenging and influential role.
Read our profile of Dr. Parker
Read the full story from University Communications
Dr. Wulf Palinski is elected
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
Wulf Palinski, M.D., Adjunct Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, has been elected Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in the United Kingdom. This honor recognizes his outstanding contributions to medical science.
In his research at UC San Diego, Dr. Palinski seeks to identify new therapeutic targets for preventing in utero programming of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and aging.
He was recently awarded a new R01 research grant from the National Institutes of Health to pursue developmental programming of postnatal immune responses and its effects on disease manifestation, and an Ellison Foundation Senior Scholar Award.
Dr. Palinski will be received as a new Fellow of the RCP at a ceremony in London this summer.
Dr. Thomas J. Savides is named
Physician of the Year for 2008
The Medical Staff Executive Committee has honored Thomas J. Savides, M.D., with the Physician of the Year Award for 2008.
Dr. Savides is Professor of Medicine, Clinical Services Chief, and Director of the Fellowship Training Program in the Division of Gastroenterology. A leader in the field of endoscopic ultrasound and a respected expert in interventional gastrointestinal endoscopy, he is founder and director of the Endoscopic Ultrasound Program at UC San Diego Medical Center.
Read the full story from University Communications
Dr. Linda Wasserman retires from Cancer Center
Linda Wasserman, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Genetics, has retired from her position at UC San Diego.
Dr. Wasserman served the Moores UCSD Cancer Center in medical genetics for many years, most recently as leader of the DNA Sequencing Shared Resource.
Dennis Carson, M.D., Director of the Cancer Center, and colleagues gathered at the Cancer Center on March 26 to honor Dr. Wasserman for her contributions.
Dr. Jason Yuan is awarded
2008 Guggenheim Fellowship
UC San Diego researcher Jason X.–J. Yuan, M.D., Ph.D., has been awarded a 2008 Guggenheim fellowship.The award will allow him to establish a new research project on the role of ion channels in stem cell proliferation and differentiation.
Dr. Yuan is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine.
In his studies in pulmonary physiology and pathophysiology, Dr. Yuan works to identify the causes and find new treatments for lung diseases such as pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Read the full story in our News Blog
Read the Guggenheim Foundation Press Release
Read the press release from University Communications
To submit information for a Faculty News item, please contact the site administrator.
Funding News
Announcing Our Faculty Members' First Major Research Grants
Januario E. Castro, M.D., has received a 3-year R01 grant from the Food and Drug Administration to investigate a new immunogene therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Dr. Castro is Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of Hematology/Oncology and Blood & Bone Marrow Transplantation.
Dr. Castro’s project is "Gene therapy of chronic lymphocytic leukemia using intranodal injection of Ad-ISF35."
Its goal is to evaluate the clinical and pre-clinical activity of Ad-ISF35, a replication-defective adenovirus vector that encodes a chimeric (human-mouse) CD154 molecule.
The Ad-ISF35 is employed to transduce cancer cells and induce anti-tumor responses.
Dr. Castro and his coworkers have conducted a promising preliminary Phase 1 clinical study of Ad-ISF35 in six patients. Recently, they reported some of their findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The funding comes from the FDA’s Office of Orphan Products Development and is expected to start in May or June of this year.
The grant will allow Dr. Castro and his team to continue the Phase 1 trial as well as to begin an extension protocol and continue correlative studies to develop this new therapeutic strategy.
The project’s co-principal investigator is Dr. Castro’s mentor, Thomas Kipps, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology.
Davey M. Smith, M.D., M.A.S., has received a 5-year, $3.7 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health for his study of HIV and the brain.
Dr. Smith is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases.
Click here to read our news story about Dr. Smith's project.
