May 24, 2012
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Following a nationwide search, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has announced the appointment of Richard Siegel, M.D., Ph.D., as the Institute’s Clinical Director. In this role, Siegel will oversee clinical and translational research within the NIAMS Intramural Research Program, and supervise the clinical staff assigned to NIAMS investigators performing clinical and translational research, the NIH Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program, and the NIAMS Community Health Center.

"Dr. Siegel is an internationally recognized clinician-scientist with a unique combination of skills in rheumatology, immunology and genetics," said NIAMS director Dr. Stephen I. Katz. "In addition to his rigorous scientific background, he brings to this position a demonstrated ability to lead and inspire."

Siegel has served as the acting NIAMS Clinical Director since October 2010. In addition, he is the Chief of the NIAMS Autoimmunity Branch, and head of the Immunoregulation Section — positions he will continue to hold in his new role. His current research focuses on the biology of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family of cytokines, and the contributions of these cytokines and their receptors to the pathogenesis of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

"I am delighted that Dr. Siegel has accepted this position," said NIAMS Scientific Director Dr. John J. O’Shea. "Richard is an amazing scientist, a committed clinician and a wonderful NIH citizen. I am looking forward to his leadership."

Siegel obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993, and trained in internal medicine and rheumatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He came to the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) as a post-doctoral fellow in 1996, and to the NIAMS as a tenure-track investigator in 2001. He was tenured by the Institute in 2009.

Until 2011, Siegel administered the NIH M.D./Ph.D. Partnership Training Program, which he co-founded in 2006 with Dr. Michael Lenardo of NIAID. To date, this program has sponsored more than sixty M.D./Ph.D. students to pursue their Ph.D. dissertation research in the NIH Intramural Research Program. This work was recognized with an NIH Director’s Award in 2008.

Siegel was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2007, and was awarded the Young Investigator Award by the International Cytokine Society in 2008. He was recently elected into the Association of American Physicians in recognition of his leadership role in medical research.

The NIAMS Office of the Clinical Director, which Siegel will oversee, implements innovative clinical research programs that relate to the broad field of rheumatologic, musculoskeletal and skin disorders. Through translational research, investigative clinical trials, and training of rheumatology fellows and more advanced scholars in translational research, the office plays an important role in establishing novel therapeutic paradigms and educating the next generation of leaders in the field of rheumatology. Through the Institute’s Community Health Center, located in Silver Spring, Maryland, the NIAMS clinical program reaches out to the community to reduce health care disparities and improve the understanding of rheumatic and related diseases.

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The mission of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health (NIH), is to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases; the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research; and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases. For more information about the NIAMS, call the information clearinghouse at (301) 495-4484 or (877) 22-NIAMS (free call) or visit the NIAMS website at https://www.niams.nih.gov.

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