2003

Physicians at Cincinnati Children's Receive High Honor; Elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI)

Monday, May 19, 2003

CINCINNATI -- Chris Baum, MD, professor, and Chris Karp, MD, director of the Division of Molecular Immunology, both of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, were elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), one of the nation's oldest and most respected medical honor societies.

"Election to the ASCI is the highest honor a physician-scientist can attain and is highly competitive," says David Williams, MD, director of the Division of Experimental Hematology and ASCI member.

The ASCI considers the nominations of several hundred physician-scientists from the United States and abroad each year and elects up to 80 new members for their significant research accomplishments in biomedical research.

Because members must be 45 years of age or younger at the time of their election, membership reflects accomplishments by its members relatively early in their careers. Many of its senior members are widely recognized leaders in academic medicine.

To be elected, individuals must be nominated on the basis of support letters from members of the society. Each nomination must be accompanied by a written statement by each of the nominators as to the qualifications of the nominee and a list of the nominee's academic degrees, professional positions and publications.

The society's council investigates the qualifications of the nominees and submits elections of active membership to the society's corporation prior to its annual meeting. The active members, by a majority vote, may elect to membership any nominee submitted.

"Dr. Baum was elected because of his contributions to the development and design of retrovirus vectors for use in gene therapy," says Dr. Williams. "Dr. Karp was elected for his contributions to the understanding of inflammatory cytokines and their importance in human diseases."

Retrovirus vectors are used to transfer artificial genes into long-lived cells so that they may multiply in the body to repair diseased organs. The transfer of artificial genes, a process known as gene therapy, offers great promise and also many potential pitfalls.

The work of Dr. Baum is dedicated to overcoming the limitations and widening the perspectives of gene therapy on the basis of detailed insights into the biology of the vectors and their target cells.

Dr. Karp's lab currently focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for the regulation and dysregulation of immune responses in infectious and autoimmune human diseases.

Inter-related topics currently being explored include molecular mechanisms of IL-12 suppression by measles virus, complement activation products, endotoxin tolerance, and type I interferons; IL-12 regulation in multiple sclerosis, HIV, and chronic hepatitis C; molecular mechanisms of virus-induced immunosuppression; regulation of cell-mediated immunity by the complement system; and dysregulation of inflammatory responses in cystic fibrosis.

The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) was established in 1908. It comprises about 2,600 physician-scientists from all medical specialties.

The ASCI represents active physician-scientists who are at the bedside, at the research bench, and at the blackboard. The organization is dedicated to the advancement of research that extends understanding and improves the treatment of human diseases, and members are committed to mentoring future generations of physician-scientists.