Kenneth Kaushansky

Last updated
Kenneth Kaushansky
Born (1953-10-20) October 20, 1953 (age 70)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
CitizenshipFlag of the United States.svg U.S.
Alma mater University of California, Los Angeles
Scientific career
Fields Internal Medicine, Hematology
Institutions University of Washington School of Medicine
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
Stony Brook University School of Medicine

Kenneth Kaushansky, M.D. , Master of the American College of Physicians (MACP) (born October 20, 1953) is an American medical doctor, hematologist, former editor of the medical journal Blood , and served as the dean of the Stony Brook University School of Medicine from 2010 to 2021. Prior to moving to Stony Brook, he was the Helen M. Ranney Professor, and chair of the department of medicine at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Early life and education

Kaushansky was born on October 20, 1953, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His father, who "always wanted to be an American", migrated with the family to the United States when Kaushansky was two years old. Kaushansky graduated from UCLA in 1975, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. in biochemistry. He stayed at UCLA to obtain his medical degree in 1979. It was here that he met his future wife Lauren who was also at the time enrolled as a student at UCLA. As he left to join the University of Washington in Seattle to complete his internship and residency, Lauren enrolled for a master's in education at Antioch University in Seattle. Kaushansky was appointed Chief Resident at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, in 1982. [1] [2] [3] [4] [8] Describing himself as a "biochemist at heart", Kaushansky fell in love with hematology during his second year of residency. Curious about blood diseases and disorders, he chose to focus on the field during his fellowship between 1982 and 1986 at the University of Washington. His decision to pursue hematology was also influenced by the persuasive arguments of Dr. Clement Finch, the then Chief of Hematology at the University of Washington, who said "there is no other discipline in medicine where we know more about the biochemistry of disease than in hematology". In a Q&A session with the American Society of Hematology, Kaushansky recalled:

Following my clinical training in hematology, I entered the laboratory of Dr. John Adamson, who followed Clem as chief of the division. John suggested a project and a pathway: after acquiring the tools of blood cell colony growth, that I should purify a colony-stimulating factor (CSF), a substance that stimulates the proliferation of blood cells in the bone marrow, by joining the laboratory of Dr. Earl Davie, then chair of the department of biochemistry. In that dual mentoring setting, where protected time for junior faculty was the rule, I gained a great deal, and emerged with a purified blood cell growth factor (GM-CSF), skills in both protein purification (separating one type of protein out from components in the blood) and gene cloning, and "technical courage," the term used by the Nobel laureate Dr. Joe Goldstein to depict the capacity to move one's science however it progresses. I also developed a strong appetite for the discovery of new knowledge and a passion to translate that new knowledge into the tools to help patients with hematologic disease. [9]

During his time in Seattle, he was honored with the NIH Physician Scientist Award in 1984, given to promising physician-scientists early in their careers. He was also awarded the junior faculty award by the American Cancer Society and was elected a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. [1] [2] [3] [4] [8]

In 2002, Kaushansky was appointed as Chair and Helen M. Ranney Professor of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. The Helen Ranney Chair in Medicine was the first research chair at the medical school named after a professor, the first endowed chair funded by the faculty, and the first endowed chair at UCSD named in honor of a woman professor. Helen Margaret Ranney was the first female president of Association of American Physicians, and her landmark research established one of the earliest links between genetic factors and sickle cell disease. On her demise in April 2010, Kaushansky (who had known her through his work in medical research) wrote, "Helen's career was marked by her intelligent approach to both clinical and research issues, her ability to achieve and inspire greatness, and her incredible wit". [7] [10]

Between 2003 and 2009, Kaushansky was named on the list of America's Top Doctors and San Diego's Top Doctors in Internal Medicine. In 2004, he was also elected a member to the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [8]

Kaushansky is a past president of the American Society of Hematology (2007-2008), the American Society for Clinical Investigation (2004–2005) and the Western Society for Clinical Investigation (1998–1999). He also served a five-year term as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Blood (1998-2002) and as a major reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and many major scientific periodicals. Kaushansky has been recognized for his scientific and clinical contributions by election as a Master of the American College of Physicians, and to several honor societies and organizations, including the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Work and research

From 2010 to 2021, Kaushansky was the senior vice president for health sciences and the dean of Stony Brook Medicine. He succeeded Dr. Richard N. Fine, who announced his intent to return to practicing pediatric nephrology in 2009. As dean and senior VP, Kaushansky oversaw the education, clinical and research components of the school of medicine and the health sciences, which include the school of dental medicine, school of health technology and management, school of nursing and the school of social welfare. He also had some oversight responsibility for Stony Brook University Medical Center, and oversight for the Long Island State Veterans Home. With 25 academic departments, 21 residency training programs and 27 fellowship training programs at Stony Brook Medicine, and as part of the only academic medical center on Long Island, Kaushansky increased enrollment to help meet a growing need for physicians nationwide and welcomed 124 men and women to the class of 2012 – the largest incoming class ever. Stony Brook Medicine is also home to a $4 million, 6,000 square-feet Clinical Skills Center, a state-of-the art training center where medical students evaluate and diagnose patients through teaching modules that incorporate the use of actor patients and computerized mannequins that simulate characteristic disease conditions. [1] [2] [3] [8]

Kaushansky's appointment at Stony Brook was lauded by several academicians such as Eric W. Kaler the then provost and vice-president of Brookhaven Affairs at Stony Brook University and Dr. Edward J. Benz, the president of the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute and past president of the American Society of Hematology and the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

Kaushansky's lab at Stony Brook focuses on hematopoietic growth factors and the regulation of their gene expression. The lab also runs several projects to understand the physiology of megakaryotic developments and the tools necessary to perform gene therapy for bleeding disorders. Kaushansky has conducted seminal research on the molecular biology of blood cell production. As reported in journals such as Nature and The New England Journal of Medicine , his team has cloned several of the genes important in the growth and differentiation of blood cells, including thrombopoietin, a key regulator of stem cell and platelet production. Thrombopoietin is the powerful hormone that the body uses to direct the bone marrow to produce platelets, the disk-like cells that are necessary for blood to clot.

In June 1994, the New York Times reported that Kaushansky along with a team from ZymoGenetics had found the mouse thrombopoietin gene, cloned it, produced recombinant hormone, demonstrated that it worked as expected in mice and then found the human hormone by looking for a human gene that resembled the mouse gene. In recent years his group has established that thrombopoietin exerts a profound influence on hematopoietic stem cells, affects the expression of a number of transcription factors that influence stem cell fate decisions (HOXB4, HOXA9, c-Myb, HIF1A) and has unraveled the pathobiology of several congenital disorders of thrombopoiesis. [6] [11] [12] [13]

Kaushansky served as the editor-in-chief of the medical journal Blood for five years between 1997 and 2002. Just before assuming this position, he was awarded the William Damashek Prize. William Damashek was the founder of Blood and a renowned hematologist. The Damashek Prize is awarded annually to someone less than 50 years of age, who is deemed to have made "outstanding contributions" to hematology. In 2006 and 2007, Kaushansky was elected as a member the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and honored as a Master of the American College of Physicians. He is also the former president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Society of Hematology.

Personal life

Kaushansky is married to Lauren Elizabeth Kaushansky and together they have two children, Alexis and Joshua Kaushansky. Alexis is a PhD molecular biologist and Joshua is an economist for the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities based in Boston. Kaushansky and his wife reside in Eatons Neck, New York. [14] [15] [16]

Professional societies and organizations

Patents awarded

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

A growth factor is a naturally occurring substance capable of stimulating cell proliferation, wound healing, and occasionally cellular differentiation. Usually it is a secreted protein or a steroid hormone. Growth factors are important for regulating a variety of cellular processes.

Hematology is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the production of blood and its components, such as blood cells, hemoglobin, blood proteins, bone marrow, platelets, blood vessels, spleen, and the mechanism of coagulation. Such diseases might include hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, blood clots (thrombus), other bleeding disorders, and blood cancers such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma. The laboratory analysis of blood is frequently performed by a medical technologist or medical laboratory scientist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blood cell</span> Cell produced by hematopoiesis

A blood cell, also called a hematopoietic cell, hemocyte, or hematocyte, is a cell produced through hematopoiesis and found mainly in the blood. Major types of blood cells include red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes), and platelets (thrombocytes). Together, these three kinds of blood cells add up to a total 45% of the blood tissue by volume, with the remaining 55% of the volume composed of plasma, the liquid component of blood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bone marrow</span> Semi-solid tissue in the spongy portions of bones

Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the spongy portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production. It is composed of hematopoietic cells, marrow adipose tissue, and supportive stromal cells. In adult humans, bone marrow is primarily located in the ribs, vertebrae, sternum, and bones of the pelvis. Bone marrow comprises approximately 5% of total body mass in healthy adult humans, such that a man weighing 73 kg (161 lbs) will have around 3.7 kg (8 lbs) of bone marrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Complete blood count</span> Routine laboratory test of blood cells

A complete blood count (CBC), also known as a full blood count (FBC), is a set of medical laboratory tests that provide information about the cells in a person's blood. The CBC indicates the counts of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets, the concentration of hemoglobin, and the hematocrit. The red blood cell indices, which indicate the average size and hemoglobin content of red blood cells, are also reported, and a white blood cell differential, which counts the different types of white blood cells, may be included.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immune thrombocytopenic purpura</span> Medical condition with rash and bleeding risk

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), also known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura or immune thrombocytopenia, is a type of thrombocytopenic purpura characterized by a low platelet count in the absence of other causes, and accompanied by a red-purple rash called purpura. It leads to an increased risk of bleeding. ITP manifests in two distinct clinical syndromes: an acute form observed in children, and chronic conditions observed in adults. The acute form often follows an infection and typically resolves within two months, while chronic immune thrombocytopenia persists for longer than six months and its specific cause is unknown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrombocytopenia</span> Abnormally low levels of platelets in the blood

In hematology, thrombocytopenia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of platelets in the blood. Low levels of platelets in turn may lead to prolonged or excessive bleeding. It is the most common coagulation disorder among intensive care patients and is seen in a fifth of medical patients and a third of surgical patients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megakaryocyte</span> Type of bone marrow cell

A megakaryocyte is a large bone marrow cell with a lobated nucleus that produces blood platelets (thrombocytes), which are necessary for normal clotting. In humans, megakaryocytes usually account for 1 out of 10,000 bone marrow cells, but can increase in number nearly 10-fold during the course of certain diseases. Owing to variations in combining forms and spelling, synonyms include megalokaryocyte and megacaryocyte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrombopoietin</span> Mammalian protein found in Homo sapiens

Thrombopoietin (THPO) also known as megakaryocyte growth and development factor (MGDF) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the THPO gene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrombocythemia</span> Abnormally high platelet count in the blood

In hematology, thrombocythemia is a condition of high platelet (thrombocyte) count in the blood. Normal count is in the range of 150×109 to 450×109 platelets per liter of blood, but investigation is typically only considered if the upper limit exceeds 750×109/L.

Primary myelofibrosis (PMF) is a rare bone marrow blood cancer. It is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a type of myeloproliferative neoplasm, a group of cancers in which there is activation and growth of mutated cells in the bone marrow. This is most often associated with a somatic mutation in the JAK2, CALR, or MPL genes. In PMF, the bony aspects of bone marrow are remodeled in a process called osteosclerosis; in addition, fibroblast secrete collagen and reticulin proteins that are collectively referred to as (fibrosis). These two pathological processes compromise the normal function of bone marrow resulting in decreased production of blood cells such as erythrocytes, granulocytes and megakaryocytes, the latter cells responsible for the production of platelets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. Donnall Thomas</span> American hematologist

Edward Donnall "Don" Thomas was an American physician, professor emeritus at the University of Washington, and director emeritus of the clinical research division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In 1990 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Joseph E. Murray for the development of cell and organ transplantation. Thomas and his wife and research partner Dottie Thomas developed bone marrow transplantation as a treatment for leukemia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrombopoietin receptor</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

The thrombopoietin receptor also known as the myeloproliferative leukemia protein or CD110 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MPL oncogene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia</span> Medical condition

Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT) is a rare autosomal recessive bone marrow failure syndrome characterized by severe thrombocytopenia, which can progress to aplastic anemia and leukemia. CAMT usually manifests as thrombocytopenia in the initial month of life or in the fetal phase. Typically CAMPT presents with petechiae, cerebral bleeds, recurrent rectal bleeding, or pulmonary hemorrhage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrombopoiesis</span>

Thrombopoiesis is the formation of thrombocytes in the bone marrow. Thrombopoietin is the main regulator of thrombopoiesis. Thrombopoietin affects most aspects of the production of platelets. This includes self-renewal and expansion of hematopoietic stem cells, stimulating the increase of megakaryocyte progenitor cells, and supporting these cells so they mature to become platelet-producing cells. The process of Thrombopoiesis is caused by the breakdown of proplatelets. During the process almost all of the membranes, organelles, granules, and soluble macromolecules in the cytoplasm are being consumed. Apoptosis also plays a role in the final stages of thrombopoiesis by letting proplatelet processes to occur from the cytoskeleton of actin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Ranney</span> American physician

Helen Margaret Ranney was an American doctor and hematologist who made significant contributions to research on sickle-cell anemia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roland Mertelsmann</span>

Roland Mertelsmann is a German hematologist and oncologist. He was a professor at the Freiburg University Medical Center, Department of Internal Medicine I (Oncology/Hematology). Mertelsmann is known for his scientific works in the fields of hematology, oncology, gene therapy and stem cell transplantation.

C. Glenn Begley is a hematologist and oncologist who was the CEO of BioCurate, an Australia-based joint venture between the University of Melbourne and Monash University that was launched in 2016. Previously, he worked at the California-based biotech company Akriveia Therapeutics as their chief scientific officer. His other previous positions include global head of hematology and oncology research at Amgen, senior vice president and chief scientific officer at TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals, and executive director of the Western Australian Institute of Medical Research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Körbling</span> German professor of medicine

Martin Körbling is a German-American internist and hematologist, university professor, medical researcher and pioneer of blood stem cell transplantation.

Barry Spencer Coller is an American physician known for his research in platelet physiology and for inventing the Abciximab. He is the David Rockefeller Professor, Physician-In-Chief, and Vice President for Medical Affairs at Rockefeller University.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kenneth Kaushansky, MD: Dean, School of Medicine and Senior Vice President of Health Sciences". Stony Brook University. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kenneth Kaushansky Appointed School of Medicine Dean". Stony Brook University Happenings. June 9, 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kenneth Kaushansky, M.D., MACP, Elected To Council Of The Association Of American Physicians". Stony Brook Medicine. April 4, 2011. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Kenneth Kaushansky, M.D., Appointed School of Medicine Dean and Senior Vice President of Health Sciences at Stony Brook University". Stony Brook News. June 8, 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  5. 1 2 "The American Society for Clinical Investigation: Member Profile". The American Society for Clinical Investigation. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Institute of Engineering in Medicine: Kenneth Kaushansky, MD". University of California, San Diego. Retrieved 14 August 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. 1 2 Gellene, Denise (April 14, 2010). "Helen Ranney, Pioneer in Sickle Cell Research, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "UCSD Global Health Initiative: Kenneth Kaushansky, M.D., M.A.C.P." University of California, San Diego. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  9. ↑ "Q&A with Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky: A Career in Hematology". American Society of Hematology. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "Changing the Face of Medicine: Helen Margaret Ranney". NIH. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  11. ↑ Kolata, Gina (June 16, 1994). "After Decades, Researchers Find Hormone That Helps Clot Blood". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  12. ↑ Kolata, Gina (June 21, 1994). "Unconventional Methods Lead to Elusive Blood-Cell Hormone". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  13. ↑ Kolata, Gina (21 June 1994). "Unconventional Methods Lead to Elusive Blood-Cell Hormone". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  14. ↑ "Professional Education Program: Lauren Kaushansky". Stony Brook University. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  15. ↑ "Cool Job: Malaria researcher Alexis Kaushansky, Ph.D." The Seattle Times. August 9, 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  16. ↑ "LinkedIn: Joshua Kaushansky". LinkedIn. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
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