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Daniel Kalman Podolsky (born c. 1953) is an American gastroenterologist [1] and member of the National Academy of Medicine. [2] He serves as President of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. [3] and co-chairman of Southwestern Health Resources, a collaboration between UT Southwestern and Texas Health Resources that cares for patients across North Texas and includes more than 30 hospitals, 300 clinics, and 2,600 physicians. [4]
Podolsky was born in Detroit, Michigan, the third of five children of Harold and Ruth Podolsky, first-generation Americans whose parents emigrated from Russia in the early 1900s. His father was a physician who practiced general medicine, performed surgery, and delivered babies. [5]
Podolsky graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1974, receiving the L.J. Henderson Prize [6] for the top thesis in biochemistry by elucidating the role of glycosyltransferases in epithelial differentiation.
In 1978, he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School and received the Leon Reznick Memorial Prize for outstanding research, followed by residency training in internal medicine and a fellowship in gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital. [7]
In 1982, Podolsky joined the academic faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He was named Chief of Gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1989. [8]
In 1991, Podolsky established the Center for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which was funded through the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Digestive Disease Center program. He also established the High-Risk GI Cancer Center, the Liver-Biliary-Pancreas Center, and a liver motility center. He was named the Mallinckrodt Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in 1998. [9]
From 2005 to 2008, Podolsky served as Chief Academic Officer of Partners HealthCare, which was co-founded by Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 1994. [10] As Chief Academic Officer, he led a $1 billion research enterprise as well as graduate medical education at both hospitals. Podolsky also served as Faculty Dean for Academic Programs at Partners and Harvard Medical School. [11]
In 2008, Podolsky became the third President of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, [12] where he is a professor of Internal Medicine and holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science. [13]
He is currently a member of the Association of American Physicians, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, [14] and the American Federation for Medical Research (formerly the American Federation for Clinical Research). He also serves on the Board of Directors of Agilent Technologies. [15]
Podolsky previously served as vice president for Research of the Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition, a member of the Advisory Council of the NIDDK, a member-at-large of the National Scientific Advisory Committee of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, and on the Board of Directors of GlaxoSmithKline. [16]
During his career, Podolsky has trained more than 80 GI fellows on faculties worldwide along with 120 postdoctoral fellows. [17]
A gastroenterologist and translational researcher, Podolsky investigates the delineation of epithelial cell function. His laboratory has identified and characterized the functional actions and molecular mechanisms of trefoil peptides, which are central to sustaining mucosal integrity and facilitating repair after injury has occurred. [18]
Observations about trefoil proteins made by the Podolsky laboratory have served as a stimulus for the study of the trefoil factor family by research groups worldwide. The therapeutic implications on trefoil peptides extend to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced gastropathy, chemotherapy-induced mucositis, alcohol-induced gastropathy, peptic ulcer, infectious diarrhea, and inflammatory bowel disease.
In conjunction with studies defining basic mechanisms regulating epithelial function, Podolsky’s laboratory has provided insights into the role of these processes in intestinal inflammatory diseases. He has been the principal investigator on numerous federal research grants and is the author of more than 300 original research and review articles.
Podolsky is an author of several textbooks, including Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Clinician’s Guide, which was highly commended by the British Medical Association 2018 Medical Book Awards.
Gastroenterology is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, sometimes referred to as the GI tract, which includes the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine as well as the accessory organs of digestion which include the pancreas, gallbladder, and liver. The digestive system functions to move material through the GI tract via peristalsis, break down that material via digestion, absorb nutrients for use throughout the body, and remove waste from the body via defecation. Physicians who specialize in the medical specialty of gastroenterology are called gastroenterologists or sometimes GI doctors. Some of the most common conditions managed by gastroenterologists include gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastrointestinal bleeding, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, peptic ulcer disease, gallbladder and biliary tract disease, hepatitis, pancreatitis, colitis, colon polyps and cancer, nutritional problems, and many more.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 23,000 employees, more than 3,000 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient visits per year, UT Southwestern is the largest medical school in the University of Texas System and the State of Texas.
Pneumoperitoneum is pneumatosis in the peritoneal cavity, a potential space within the abdominal cavity. The most common cause is a perforated abdominal organ, generally from a perforated peptic ulcer, although any part of the bowel may perforate from a benign ulcer, tumor or abdominal trauma. A perforated appendix seldom causes a pneumoperitoneum.
Dermot P. Kelleher FMedSci is the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Vice-President, Health at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Management of Crohn's disease involves first treating the acute symptoms of the disease, then maintaining remission. Since Crohn's disease is an immune system condition, it cannot be cured by medication or surgery. Treatment initially involves the use of medications to eliminate infections and reduce inflammation. Surgery may be required for complications such as obstructions, fistulae, abscesses, or if the disease does not respond to drugs within a reasonable time. However, surgery cannot cure Crohn's disease. It involves removing the diseased part of the intestine and rejoining the healthy ends, but the disease tends to recur after surgery.
Hashem B. El-Serag is a Palestinian-American physician and medical researcher best known for his research in liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the hepatitis C virus. He serves as the Margaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine as well as the Director of the Texas Medical Center Digestive Disease Center. El-Serag previously served as president of the American Gastroenterological Association and Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Blair S. Lewis, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.G., is an American board-certified gastroenterologist and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Lewis is a specialist in the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy and was the primary investigator for the first clinical trial of capsule endoscopy for the small intestine and also the first clinical trial of capsule endoscopy for the colon.
Detlef Schuppan is a German biochemist and physician. He focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of coeliac disease and wheat sensitivity, fibrotic liver diseases and the immunology of chronic diseases and cancer. He is the director of the Institute of Translational Immunology and a professor of internal medicine, gastroenterology, and hepatology at the Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in Germany. He directs the outpatient clinic for coeliac disease and small intestinal diseases. He is also a professor of medicine and a senior visiting scientist at Harvard Medical School.
Alan Frederick Hofmann was a gastrointestinal physiologist, biochemist and clinician who was notable for his extensive basic, translational and clinical research on bile acids and lipid digestion. From 1977, he was a member of the Division of Gastroenterology at University of California, San Diego. He influenced and mentored a large number of researchers with his ideas, knowledge and support.
Helen Haskell Hobbs is an American medical researcher who is professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, who won a 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences and the 2018 Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine. She and Jonathan C. Cohen found that people with hypomorphic PCSK9 mutations had lower LDL-cholesterol levels and were almost immune to heart disease. This finding led to the development of a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs that mimic the effects of the PCSK9 mutations. She and Cohen also identified the first genetic risk factor for fatty liver disease, a burgeoning health problem that can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Their laboratory has shown that mutation in PNPLA3 causes accumulation of PNPLA3 on lipid droplets, which compromises the mobilization of triglycerides from liver cells. She sits on the Board of Directors at Pfizer.
David Hershel Alpers is a gastroenterologist, researcher, professor, and former president of the American Gastroenterological Association (1990–1991).
Juanita L. Merchant is an American gastroenterologist and physiology researcher who has contributed to understanding of gastric response to chronic inflammation. She is currently the chief of the University of Arizona Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Merchant was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2008, and appointed an inaugural member of the NIH Council of Councils.
Kim Elaine Barrett is a research physiologist, specialising in digestive disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease. She was Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Dean of the Graduate Division at University of California, San Diego before moving to her current position as Vice Dean for Research and Distinguished Professor of Physiology and Membrane Biology in the School of Medicine at University of California, Davis in 2021. She was the Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Physiology from 2016–2022, and is a Past-President of the American Physiological Society.
John Satterfield Fordtran is an emeritus professor of gastroenterology and past president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
Henry David Janowitz (1915-2008) was professor emeritus of gastroenterology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is known for his contributions into inflammatory bowel diseases and being a leader in the Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis research.
Max Einhorn was a Polish American gastroenterologist and inventor of surgical instruments.
Satish Sanku Chander Rao is the J.Harold Harrison Distinguished University Chair in Gastroenterology at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University. He served as the former President of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society and as Chair of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute Council, Neurogastroenterology/Motility Section.
Sharmila Anandasabapathy is a Sri Lankan-American physician and researcher in the field of gastrointestinal cancer. She is a professor of medicine in gastroenterology and serves as director of Baylor Global Health and vice president at the Baylor College of Medicine.
Kenneth Frank Binmoeller is a medical doctor and author of multiple scientific contributions and over 300 publications, as well as the inventor of the lumen-apposing metal stent (LAMS) and AXIOS System. These are medical devices used to relieve blockages while creating a direct connection between two bodily structures. He practices in the field of Gastroenterology with a specialty of Advanced Endoscopic Intervention. Binmoeller has been published for his innovations in medical devices and training in the field of Endoscopy.
Richard B. Gaynor is an American physician specializing in hematology-oncology, educator, drug developer, and business executive. He served as an Associate Professor of Medicine at UCLA School of Medicine for nearly a decade, and subsequently as an endowed Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry in 2002. His research on NF-κB, IκB kinase, and other mechanisms regulating viral and cellular gene expression has been covered in leading subject reviews. He has been a top executive at several pharmaceutical companies, with respect to the development and clinical testing of novel anticancer drugs and cell therapies. For over a decade and a half, he worked at Eli Lilly and Company, where he became the Senior Vice President of Oncology Clinical Development and Medical Affairs in 2013. Gaynor was President of R&D at Neon Therapeutics from 2016 to 2020, when he became the President of BioNTech US, both pharmaceutical companies headquartered in Cambridge, MA. His honors include being elected a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians.
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