Daniel Greif, MD, a tenured associate professor of medicine and genetics, has been appointed as the vice chair (2021-2022) and chairman-elect (2022-2023) of the Scientific Committee for Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Foundation.
As the incoming vice chair, Greif will support the Sarnoff Foundation’s growing scientific programs, including the Sarnoff Fellowship Program and the Scholar Research Award.
The Sarnoff Fellowship Program provides U.S. medical students with the opportunity to conduct biomedical research. Greif, a former Sarnoff fellow, participated in the program in 1995. “This experience ignited my interest in basic investigation that continues to this day,” he said in an interview with the Sarnoff Foundation. “In addition, the Sarnoff Fellowship year was the foundation for obtaining further research experiences, training awards and contacts in cardiovascular biology.”
The Greif laboratory has been widely recognized for key discoveries to combat cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases such as atherosclerosis and pulmonary hypertension. A recent study published in JCI Insight demonstrates that a lung macrophage-derived protein promotes the deleterious expansion of smooth muscle cells during pulmonary hypertension.
Macrophages are integral cells of the immune system and are known to modulate immune reactions through the release of cytokines. In the immune system, these cells have the dual responsibility of responding to invading pathogens and contributing to the repair of damaged tissue. Greif’s latest work provides potential strategies for preventing and reversing the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Although additional research is needed, the researchers said the study could have “profound implications” for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
The Sarnoff Foundation’s 41st Annual Scientific Meeting will be held in Boston, MA on November 10-12, 2021.