Michael J. Caplan, M.D. ’87, Ph.D. ’87, FW ’89, Mark Hochstrasser, Ph.D., David J. Leffell, M.D., David A. McCormick, Ph.D., Scott A. Strobel, Ph.D.

Several faculty members have been named to endowed chairs in recent months. Michael J. Caplan, M.D. ’87, Ph.D. ’87, FW ’89, known for his research on the sorting and function of ion proteins in polarized epithelial cells, was named the C.N.H. Long Professor of Physiology. His laboratory focuses on identifying the proteins that interact with ion transporters to determine their localization and trafficking properties. He is currently the interim chair of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology. Mark Hochstrasser, Ph.D., was named the Eugene Higgins Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. Hochstrasser’s research, which lies at the intersection of biochemistry and genetics, attempts to understand protein turnover at the molecular level—particularly the ways in which specific proteins are rapidly degraded within eukaryotic cells, even while most proteins are spared. David J. Leffell, M.D., newly designated the David Paige Smith Professor of Dermatology, specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma and other skin cancers using the Mohs micrographic technique. Leffell, who is also chief executive officer of Yale Medical Group, has served as deputy dean for clinical affairs at the School of Medicine since 2005. David A. McCormick, Ph.D., was named the Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Neurobiology. McCormick studies the cellular and network mechanisms of the brain’s cortical function in relation to attention, working memory, sleep-related activity and visual perception. Scott A. Strobel, Ph.D., was named the Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. His laboratory employs such technologies as organic synthesis and X-ray crystallography to study reactions catalyzed by RNA.