Jeffrey Curtis, M.D., MS, MSPH, Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, and William Geisler, M.D., Division of Infectious DiseasesTwo prominent faculty members from the UAB Department of Medicine have been elected to become members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). Jeffrey Curtis, M.D., MS, MPH, is Professor in the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology. William Geisler, M.D., is Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases.The ASCI is one of the nation’s oldest and most respected medical honor societies. It is dedicated to applying research to the treatment of human diseases, and members are committed to mentoring future generations of physician-scientists. Each year, the ASCI considers several hundred nominations and elects up to 80 new members. Because members must be 50 years of age or younger at the time of their election, membership reflects accomplishments by its members relatively early in their careers.
Curtis currently leads an NIH-funded multi-site randomized controlled trial, evaluating the effectiveness and safety of the live zoster vaccine in arthritis patients using biologics. Additionally, he has been a major contributor to the “Big Data” movement in building a national-scale arthritis/rheumatology registry. “It’s an honor to join the esteemed ranks of the physician scientist members of the ASCI, and I am very grateful for the support of my tremendous colleagues at UAB,” he comments.
Geisler’s research focuses on understanding how our bodies fight chlamydia, the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the world, with an ultimate goal of developing a vaccine. One of his findings was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. “It means a lot to have your accomplishments recognized by such a prestigious society. Being inducted into the ASCI is one of the pinnacles of clinical research. Moving forward, now you want to train future researchers to have this honor as well,” Geisler states.
Curtis and Geisler will be formally inducted into the ASCI on April 15, 2016 during the annual ASCI Dinner and New Member Induction Ceremony.