Four School of Medicine faculty members were inducted into the Association of American Physicians (AAP) during a joint April 6 meeting of the AAP, the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and the American Physician-Scientists Association (APSA). Membership in AAP is a distinction recognizing excellence and outstanding achievement.
Stuart Johnston Knechtle, MD
Dr. Knechtle, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor in the Department of Surgery, is an expert in transplant surgery and immunology. His research focuses on development of improved therapies and better understanding of sensitized patients, or patients who have immune memory due to a previous transplant that makes it difficult to receive another organ transplant. Dr. Knechtle is also a member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute.
Virginia Byers Kraus, MD, PhD
Dr. Kraus, a professor in the Departments of Medicine, Pathology, and Orthopaedic Surgery, researches osteoarthritis, the most prevalent of all forms of arthritis and the second greatest cause of disability worldwide. Her group works to develop novel tools to aid in the diagnosis, prognosis, and effective intervention of the disease. She is a member of the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute and an affiliate of the Regeneration Next Initiative.
Christopher Plowe, MD, MPH
Dr. Plowe is the director of the Duke Global Health Institute and a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. He uses molecular and genetic approaches to track the emergence and spread of drug resistance and to map the “silent reservoir” of malaria parasites responsible for transmission of new infections. He works to accelerate malaria elimination by strengthening local capacities for research and surveillance, and through global health diplomacy that aims to build political will and community support for elimination.
William J. Steinbach, MD
Dr. Steinbach, a professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, researches how to improve the diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of immunocompromised patients, specifically those with invasive fungal infections. He is the chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and a member of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute. His laboratory research focuses on molecular pathogenesis of invasive fungal infections, while his translational and clinical research includes founding and directing the International Pediatric Fungal Network, a 55-site multinational NIH-funded consortium dedicated to the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of pediatric invasive fungal infections.