Three distinguished Weill Cornell Medicine physician-scientists, Dr. Matthew Greenblatt, Dr. Lishomwa Ndhlovu and Dr. Sallie Permar, have been elected to the prestigious Association of American Physicians (AAP).
Regarded as one of the top honors in the field of health and medicine, election to the AAP recognizes physician-scientists who exhibit excellence in the pursuit of medical knowledge and the advancement of basic or translational science through experimentation and discovery and its application to clinical medicine.
Dr. Matthew Greenblatt, the Rohr Family Research Scholar and an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, was recognized for his pioneering work discovering new stem cells that govern vertebral physiology and breast and prostate cancer metastasis.
Dr. Matthew Greenblatt
“It has been known for hundreds of years that breast and prostate cancer metastasizes to the spine at a higher rate than other parts of the skeleton,” Dr. Greenblatt said. “We have found a new vertebral stem cell that secretes factors into the blood that drive tumor cells into the spine.” The goal of his research is to identify the specific stem cells in different regions of the skeleton, link them to diseases affecting those sites and identify treatment targets to prevent spine metastasis.
“Our work identifying these new cell types is a new concept,” Dr. Greenblatt said. “Being elected to the AAP is encouraging because it recognizes that other people feel the work we’re doing has merit.” Additionally, he is exploring research that studies how bone cells may influence Alzheimer’s disease progression—investigating whether low bone mass speeds brain decline and dementia progression.
Dr. Greenblatt also noted that this honor is significant as he helps to develop the next generation of investigators. “This is personally rewarding because, as a pathology department, we’re in the process of developing pathways to make Weill Cornell Medicine a center of excellence for physician-scientists-in-training at the resident and post-resident levels,” he said.
Dr. Lishomwa Ndhlovu, the Herbert J. and Ann L. Siegel Distinguished Professor of Medicine and a professor of immunology in medicine and in neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medicine, was recognized for his pioneering contributions to translational clinical research confronting challenges of the intersection of HIV and aging. His multidisciplinary program integrates immunology, virology, epigenetic and machine learning methods exploring the molecular underpinnings of HIV pathogenesis and persistence. His innovative work has yielded novel disease predictor biomarker models through pre-clinical and clinical investigations, offering insight into long-term health challenges faced by individuals aging with HIV.
Dr. Lishomwa Ndhlovu
“The AAP recognition of my contribution to translational clinical work has come at a critical time in our program,” said Dr. Ndhlovu, noting that while the importance and clinical effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy cannot be overstated, people living with HIV may continue experiencing injury across multiple organ systems, including the brain, bone and kidneys.
“We are developing state-of-the-art tools to better understand the mechanisms that drive HIV pathology and persistence and specific strategies to prevent, mitigate or reverse complications associated with HIV and mitigate some of the age-related complications,” he said.
Dr. Ndhlovu is also co-leader of a $26.5 million NIH grant, working with a multidisciplinary group of researchers from institutions worldwide creating precision interventions towards a global HIV cure. Their approach, which aims to both permanently silence and remove or inactivate HIV from the body, takes advantage of knowledge about how other viruses have become naturally inactivated over time.
“It is a bold and ambitious initiative and a tremendous honor, not just for me personally but my entire team and collaborators who are committed to transforming the future of HIV care, to be recognized by the AAP for our work in this area,” he said.
Dr. Sallie Permar, chair of the Department of Pediatrics and the Nancy C. Paduano Professor in Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and pediatrician-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital of Children’s Hospital of New York, was recognized for her contributions to the treatment and prevention of perinatal viral infections through vaccines for better health of pregnant women and infants.
Dr. Sallie Permar
Dr. Permar’s research focuses on investigating the uniqueness of the early-life immune system to develop a vaccine that will elicit protective antibodies for newborns at risk of acquiring HIV and other viral infections. She is also a leader in research on cytomegalovirus (CMV), seeking to develop a vaccine to prevent infection and its complications. CMV is the most common congenital infection worldwide that carries the risk of lifelong health complications such as hearing loss, developmental delays and neurological impairment. This work includes a recent NIH program project grant renewal, for up to $20.4 million for five years, which funds vaccine research to prevent CMV transmission from mother to baby during pregnancy.
“A CMV vaccine has been a priority of the field of pediatrics for over 50 years, and is inspired by the rubella vaccine, which came out in the late 1960s and eliminated congenital rubella syndrome from every country where it was administered,” Dr. Permar said. “That’s what a CMV vaccine could achieve.”
“Being recognized by the AAP, by peer physician-scientists of the highest caliber who have made it through the challenges of this career path and have the resolve, persistence and passion to lead research in improving their patients’ health is quite an honor and inspiring,” she said.
Founded in 1885, the AAP includes approximately 1,200 active members and 700 emeritus and honorary members from the United States, Canada and other countries. The newest members were inducted during a ceremony at the organization’s annual meeting on April 26 in Chicago, where they joined others in sharing their scientific discoveries and contributions.