Three UCSF faculty scientists are among the 65 new members elected to the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute announced today.
The new UCSF members are:
The election brings to 72 the number of UCSF faculty who are members of the prestigious Institute. Election to the Institute recognizes those who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health. It is considered one of the highest honors in these fields.
Kathleen Giacomini, PhD, professor and chair of biopharmaceutical sciences, is an expert on membrane transporters, proteins that control the movement of drugs and natural compounds into and out of cells. Her research focuses on the role of transporters in drug disposition. Giacomini is a leader in the new field of pharmacogenetics, which seeks to identify the genetic basis of response to drugs. She is the principal investigator of a multi-disciplinary project funded by the National Institutes of Health to determine if variations in the genes of people's membrane transporters affects their sensitivity or resistance to drugs used to treat a variety of diseases, including cancer and depression. The aim is improved drug design, drug selection for patients and more effective treatment, with quicker drug response and fewer side effects.
James D. Marks, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesia and pharmaceutical chemistry at UCSF and chief of anesthesia at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center, is a world-re
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Contact: Jennifer O'Brien
jobrien@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco
9-Oct-2006