Gregg L. Semenza, director of the program in vascular cell engineering in ICE, professor of pediatrics and member of the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, and Ted Dawson, co- director of the neuroregeneration program in ICE and professor of neurology and neuroscience, have been elected to the Association of American Physicians. Semenza's work focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying blood vessel formation and vascular remodeling in cardiovascular disease and cancer. In particular, he has found that the protein called HIF-1, for hypoxia inducible factor 1, controls the production of many growth factors that contribute to vessel growth in response to low oxygen.

Dawson's work focuses on the molecular basis of neurodegeneration and neurodegenerative diseases. Specifically, he studies the mechanisms of nerve cell death, cell death and survival, nitric oxide signaling. He also studies the molecular basis of Parkinson's disease and is testing innovative neuroprotective and neurorestorative strategies in Parkinson's disease patients.

The Association of American Physicians is a nonprofit organization founded in 1885 by seven physicians, including Dr. William Osler, for "the advancement of scientific and practical medicine." Members have included Nobel laureates, and members of the National Academy of Science and the Institute of Medicine. Today, the association continues to serve as a repository of the best medical minds and as a forum to create and disseminate knowledge, and to provide role models for upcoming generations of physicians and medical scientists.

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