September 7, 2005

Gary Koretzky, MD, PhD, Appointed Chief of the Division of Rheumatology
at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

(Philadelphia, PA) – Gary Koretzky, MD, PhD, has been appointed Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Koretzky also serves as Professor of Pathology and Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Koretzky has been widely recognized for his pioneering research in immune cell development and activation as well as for his role at Penn as a dedicated and outstanding mentor to his students.

Koretzky is a MD/PhD graduate of Penn’s School of Medicine and completed his Residency in Internal Medicine and a Fellowship in Rheumatology at the University of California, San Francisco. He then joined the faculty of the Department of Medicine at the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1991, rising through the ranks to be named the Kelting Professor of Rheumatology. In 1999, he joined Penn as Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Director of the Signal Transduction Program at Penn’s Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute. In 2004, Koretzky was named Leonard Jarett Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

“Penn has given me amazing opportunities to work in an exceptional and highly collegial atmosphere,” says Koretzky. “I’m very pleased to have this opportunity to give back to the Penn community and to our patients, and will be dedicated to helping the division be among the best in the nation in providing outstanding patient care and conducting groundbreaking research into new therapies.”

Koretzky is internationally recognized for his research contributions to the understanding of the development and mechanisms of activation of T cells, or lymphocytes, which play an important role in combating infection and destroying cancerous tissue. Koretzky’s research aims to understand how certain biochemical events activate T lymphocytes, and has identified several novel proteins that are critical in stimulating the cellular response by developing mice that lacked expression of these proteins. By analyzing the mice, the Koretzky team discovered the contributions of SLP-76 and ADAP (two molecules that facilitate interactions between proteins) to T lymphocyte development. Koretzky's team also discovered that some immune response proteins are critical for other blood cells. His research holds promise for the development of a drug that can alter immune functions.

Among his many national honors, he was President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2000, has been elected to membership in the American Association of Physicians and fellowship in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is on the Science Advisory Board of the Charles E. Culpepper Scholars in Medical Science, on the Advisory Panels of Nature Reviews Immunology and the Journal of Experimental Medicine, and is Editor-in-Chief of Immunological Reviews. Koretzky has served on numerous National Institutes of Health, Veteran’s Administration, and Medical Research Council of Canada scientific grant review groups.

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PENN Medicine is a $2.7 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn’s School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #4 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes: its flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, consistently rated one of the nation’s “Honor Roll” hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home health care and hospice.

This release is available online at http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/sep05/Koretzky.htm