Five University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine faculty members have been elected to the Association of American Physicians (AAP).
The University’s honorees are, from left, Alejandro Hoberman, Daniel Kaplan, Matthew D. Neal, Victor Villemagne and Gerard Vockley.
Hoberman is Distinguished Service Professor of Pediatrics and holds the CHP-Jack L. Paradise Chair in Pediatric Research. His research focuses on enhancing prevention, diagnosis and treatment of frequently occurring pediatric conditions, such as acute otitis media (AOM) and urinary tract infections. He published a series of studies in the NEJM sponsored by the National Institutes of Health evaluating the efficacy and adequate duration of antimicrobial therapy in young children with AOM, and evaluating the efficacy of tympanostomy tubes in children with recurrent AOM, for which he received the Clinical Research Forum Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Award for 2022.
Kaplan, professor of dermatology, focuses on understanding intracellular communication mechanisms between different types of cutaneous sensory neurons and local immune cells. His lab has successfully developed novel therapeutics to treat skin disease based on their findings.
Neal is the Watson Family Professor of Surgery. His research interests include trauma-induced coagulopathy, mechanisms of thrombosis, and hemostasis following trauma and hemorrhagic shock. In addition, he has led numerous clinical trials and the design of therapeutics to optimize bleeding control and limit thrombotic complications.
Villemagne is the Levidow-Pittsburgh Foundation Professor of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Disorders and professor of psychiatry. With an h-index of 93, he has authored or coauthored several book chapters and requested reviews on molecular imaging, and more than 500 original research publications, mainly focused on the exploration, applications and implications of molecular imaging biomarkers in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Since 2016, he has been recognized as one of the World's Most Influential Scientific Minds based on his citations being in the top 1% in the field of neuroscience.
Vockley, the Cleveland Family Professor of Pediatric Research and professor of pediatrics, has clinical and research interests in inborn errors of metabolism, including organic acidemias, phenylketonuria, maple syrup urine disease, fatty acid oxidation disorders, and mitochondrial respiratory chain deficiencies. He is a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and currently serves on its board of directors, and is past president of the Society for Inherited Metabolic Diseases. He also founded the North American Metabolic Academy and the International Network for Fatty Acid Oxidation Research and Management.
AAP, established in 1885, is an honorific, elected society of America’s leading physician-scientists who exemplify the pinnacle of pioneering and enduring, impactful contributions to improve health.
AAP seeks to inspire the full breadth of physician-led research across all fields of science related to medicine and health, and to build a community of physician-scientists in support of the principle that objective science and evidence are essential foundations for improving patient care and the health of Americans.