CLEVELAND - Nationally renowned researcher Mukesh K. Jain, MD, of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has been elected to serve as vice president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). In the subsequent two years he will serve as president elect and ultimately president, for one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious physician-scientist societies.
The first faculty to represent the university on the ASCI council, Dr. Jain joins an elite group, including past presidents who have gone on to leadership roles at the National Institutes of Health as well as numerous academic medical centers throughout the United States. Previous presidents also include several members of the National Academy of Sciences as well as Lasker and Nobel Prize recipients. Dr. Jain is a professor of medicine, Ellery Sedgwick Jr. Chair, and director, Case Cardiovascular Research Institute at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and the chief research officer, Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute at University Hospitals Case Medical Center.
In the early 2000’s, Dr. Jain made headlines in the medical research community when his laboratory identified a family of factors termed Kruppel-like Factors that regulate critical aspects of cardiovascular biology, innate immunity, and metabolism. Since this initial discovery, these research efforts have spawned novel areas of investigation with therapeutic implications for a broad spectrum of pathologic states including chronic inflammatory disorders, heart failure, metabolic dysregulation, and regenerative medicine.
“This is truly a wonderful achievement and well deserved,” says Pamela B. Davis, MD, PhD, dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs at Case Western Reserve University. “Dr. Jain’s work with Kruppel-like Factors has enormous potential in many disease areas. His enthusiasm for investigative research is contagious.”
In 2012 as vice president of ASCI, Dr. Jain will focus on three main areas. First, in conjunction with leadership of other major societies, he will actively engage policymakers to enhance support for biomedical research. In addition, he will encourage and facilitate trainee involvement and retention in the society at early career stages. Finally, Dr. Jain will consider new pathways to help nurture and sustain the academic careers of physician-scientists.
“I am both humbled and honored to have the opportunity to serve in this capacity for the ASCI. We are in the midst of a very uncertain period for academic medical centers with major changes in healthcare reform that will affect clinical activities and flat NIH funding that adversely impacts investigative activities. The ASCI provides a platform to address these difficult issues at the national level, and I hope to be an actively engaged in such efforts,” says Dr. Jain.
At Case Western Reserve School of Medicine Dr. Jain’s main area of research interest is the basic mechanisms governing cellular development and function. A recipient of numerous awards, Dr. Jain was also elected into the Association of American Physicians, Association of University Cardiologists, and is a fellow of the American Heart Association. He was also the recipient of the Harvard Medical School’s 2005 Mentorship Award and the 2009 Case Western Reserve and University Hospitals Case Medical Center Agre Award.
Founded in 1908, ASCI is one of the oldest and most respected medical honor societies in the United States. It comprises more than 3,000 physician-scientists from all medical specialties, elected to the society based on their outstanding records of scholarly achievement in biomedical research. The ASCI is dedicated to advancing research the understanding and treatment of human diseases. The Society publishes the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and is among the nation's top medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. The School's innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Nine Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the School of Medicine.
Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 800 MD and MD/PhD students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report's "Guide to Graduate Education."
The School of Medicine is affiliated with University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. case.edu/medicine.