Caption: Association of American Physicians inductees Satdarshan Pal (Paul) Singh Monga (left) and Amr H. Sawalha (right.)
Two University of Pittsburgh faculty members are among the 2025 inductees to the Association of American Physicians (AAP).
The University’s honorees, both in the School of Medicine, are Satdarshan Pal (Paul) Singh Monga, SVC Professor of Pathobiology and Therapeutics, professor of pharmacology and of medicine, and Amr H. Sawalha, Vincent Londino Professor of Pediatrics, professor of medicine and of immunology, and division director of pediatric rheumatology.
Monga is also the inaugural director of the Organ Pathobiology and Therapeutics Institute (previously University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute), founding director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases-funded Pittsburgh Liver Research Center, program director of the Cellular Approaches to Tissue Engineering and Regeneration T32 program and the associate dean of research for the School of Medicine.
Monga’s lab is focused on understanding the molecular and cellular basis of normal liver characteristics such as development, regeneration, metabolism and growth as well as liver pathologies such as neoplasms (HCC and hepatoblastoma), fibrosis, cirrhosis, alcoholic liver disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, cholangiopathies and others.
Sawalha directs the UPMC Lupus Center of Excellence. His research program focuses on elucidating genetic and epigenetic contributions to the pathogenesis of systemic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. His team uses state-of-the-art genomic, epigenomic and bioinformatics methodologies, and in vitro and in vivo functional studies to identify and characterize genetic loci and pathways involved in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated diseases.
The 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.
The 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.