Dr. Gary Koretzky to Drive New Scientific Discoveries as Head of Weill Cornell's Research Enterprise
NEW YORK (Sept. 13, 2013) — One of the world's leading immunologists, Dr. Gary Koretzky, has been named dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and senior associate dean for research at Weill Cornell Medical College, effective Oct. 1.
Dr. Koretzky will enhance the already-distinguished reputation of the graduate school, which offers more than a dozen doctoral and graduate programs with partnering institution the Sloan-Kettering Institute. He will also expand and oversee Weill Cornell's robust biomedical research enterprise, which is in the midst of unprecedented growth as the 480,000-square-foot Belfer Research Building nears completion.
Dr. Koretzky has been the Francis C. Wood Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where he has also served as vice chair for research and chief scientific officer in the Department of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Koretzky has been associate director of UPenn's Combined Degree M.D.-Ph.D. program and served on the executive committees for the Graduate Program in Immunology and the Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology. He also has been the co-leader of the immunology program at the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center.
"Dr. Koretzky is a distinguished researcher and leader, and I am thrilled that he will join us as dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and as senior associate dean for research at Weill Cornell," says Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College. "Dr. Koretzky will enhance our already outstanding graduate program, providing the very best education to our next generation of physicians and scientists while anchoring us at the vanguard of biomedical research. He will enable us to translate scientific discoveries into the most advanced care for our patients."
"I am thrilled that Gary has been selected as new dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences," says Memorial Sloan-Kettering President and CEO Craig Thompson. "Gary's stunning level of accomplishment will be a tremendous asset to both the Weill Cornell and Memorial Sloan-Kettering communities. He brings a strong commitment to scientific excellence and I am confident that his many successes will carry over into his role within Weill Cornell."
"The academic medical community across the country is aware that there are great changes at Weill Cornell," Dr. Koretzky says. "Even in a time of fiscal restraint when most institutions are retrenching, Weill Cornell is investing in new clinical and biomedical research programs with the goal of taking an outstanding institution to the next level of eminence. While visiting Weill Cornell, it was impossible not to be captivated by the excitement for the future, and being a part of the leadership here is an opportunity of a lifetime and one I could not pass up."
Dr. Koretzky says his dual roles are perfectly entwined to augment new research programs for faculty and enhance the training of students who will be scientific leaders in the future.
As senior associate dean for research, Dr. Koretzky will play a pivotal role in enhancing the biomedical research enterprise at Weill Cornell by implementing the medical college's strategic plan of developing interdisciplinary research centers and recruiting the very best scientific minds to enhance investigative work on campus.
With the landmark opening of the Belfer Research Building in January, Weill Cornell will bring cross-disciplinary expertise and cutting-edge technology to bear on the world's most formidable health challenges. Dr. Koretzky will lead Weill Cornell's groundbreaking, interdisciplinary biomedical research efforts that strive to accelerate the translation of medical discoveries into new treatments and therapies, offering patients immediate access to the latest advanced care.
"We are living in an era where the gulf between basic-scientist investigation and how new discoveries are translated to clinical practice has become smaller and smaller," Dr. Koretzky says. "I am particularly excited about helping to build bridges at Weill Cornell between the basic scientists and physician-scientists as we develop new programs and enhance outstanding ongoing programs."
Dr. Koretzky's goal is to recruit the world's best students, who will become the next generation of exemplary scientists to advance medical discoveries, enrich therapies and enhance human health. He will build a stronger bridge between the graduate school and medical school to enhance research opportunities, and will continue to foster student involvement in academic affairs.
Additionally, Dr. Koretzky will work to enhance Weill Cornell's partnerships with research institutions in New York City and with Cornell University in Ithaca.
"I also hope to capitalize on the rich scientific environment at the New York City campus to develop programs with the surrounding institutions that will result in truly unique resources for faculty and students," Dr. Koretzky adds. "Partnering in this way, as well as cementing ties with Cornell's Ithaca campus, will provide a wealth of novel opportunities for the Weill Cornell scientific community in this period of growth."
Background Information on Dr. Gary Koretzky
Dr. Koretzky is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. A Cornell alumnus, Dr. Koretzky is an internationally renowned expert in immunology whose pioneering research contributions have improved the understanding of the development and function of immune system cells.
Dr. Koretzky specializes in T cells, or lymphocytes, which are a subset of white blood cells that play a critical role in combating infection and destroying cancerous tissue. Dr. Koretzky studies how certain biochemical events activate T lymphocytes, and he has identified several proteins that are critical in stimulating the cellular response by developing mice that lacked expression of these proteins. By analyzing the mice, Dr. Koretzky discovered the contributions of SLP-76 and ADAP (two molecules that facilitate interactions between proteins) to T lymphocyte development. Dr. Koretzky also discovered that certain immune response proteins are critical for other blood cells. His research holds promise for the development of drugs that could alter immune functions and has broad implications for cancer, autoimmune diseases or other medical conditions characterized by overactive immune responses.
Dr. Koretzky is a past president of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a councilor of the American Association of Physicians. He has served on a dozen journal editorial boards, and is presently the editor in chief of Immunological Reviews.
Dr. Koretzky's numerous awards include the Lee C. Howley Sr. Prize for Arthritis Research (2007), the National Institutes of Health MERIT Award (2006) and the American Association of Immunologists-PharMingen Investigator Award (2000).
He has authored more than 200 articles, reviews, book chapters and editorials, including studies that have been published in leading journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Immunity and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Dr. Koretzky received his A.B. degree in 1978 from Cornell University and an M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984. He completed a residency in internal medicine, a fellowship in rheumatology and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco before earning a position on the University of Iowa College of Medicine faculty in 1991. After spending eight years at the University of Iowa, Dr. Koretzky returned to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1999 as professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and director of the Signal Transduction Program at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, where he was also chair of its executive committee. He also was a past chief of the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine.
Weill Cornell Medical College and the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences
Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. The Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences was founded on the premise that the convergence of two great institutions, Weill Cornell Medical College and the Sloan-Kettering Institute, could offer exceptional training for future generations of biomedical researchers. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances, including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the United States, the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep-brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious, brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with Houston Methodist Hospital. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu and weill.cornell.edu/gradschool/.