Lee to lead Pulmonary and Critical Care Division | Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Janet S. Lee, MD, a highly regarded physician-scientist in pulmonary and critical care medicine, has been selected to direct the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine at St. Louis. His appointment takes effect on January 3.

Lee comes to the University of Washington from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where she is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and Chair of Acute Lung Injury at the Medical Center from the University of Pittsburgh.

Also director of the Center of Excellence in Acute Lung Injury and the Center for Translational Pulmonary Research at the University of Pittsburgh, Lee cares for patients requiring intensive care as well as those with advanced lung disease, including heart failure. acute and chronic respiratory. His research focuses on the host response to severe lower respiratory tract infections and the molecular basis of distinct host-pathogen interactions triggering lung injury.

“Dr. Lee is uniquely qualified to take on this new role,” said Victoria J. Fraser, MD, Adolphus Busch Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. in basic and translational discovery research through long-standing funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).We welcome her to the University of Washington and look forward to working with her to continue and grow the status of premier map of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

Lee is a Principal Investigator on NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) grants, including a grant focused on host protection against pathogen-encoded proteases in acute lung injury and another on host control mechanisms in pulmonary infections. She also leads a patient-oriented research grant on acute lung injury and another on complement components and activity in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. She directs a residency training grant and is a project leader on a program project grant to study immunosuppression in acute lung injury.

Lee is also a teacher and mentor and has trained over 22 predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows in her lab. She has held leadership positions with the American Thoracic Society, most recently serving as Chair of the Membership Committee. She is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.

She received her bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. She completed her residency at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and her fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care at the University of Washington, Seattle. She joined the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh Medical School in 2004.

Michael J. Holtzman, MD, who has led the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine since 1992, is stepping down from his leadership role but will continue his research program. Holtzman, Selma and Herman Seldin Professor of Medicine, has focused on understanding antiviral immune responses as pathways to worsening chronic lung disease and as targets for new drug discovery in respiratory disease. His research includes the development of small molecule drug compounds and biologics for airway diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and related postviral lung disease.

“The division has flourished under the longtime leadership of Dr. Holtzman,” Fraser said. “Under his visionary leadership, the division has experienced remarkable growth in the scope and depth of its clinical programs, research and teaching activities. He is nationally recognized for basic research in acute and chronic lung disease, clinical care and education in several key areas. And throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty members and staff across the division have provided exceptional clinical care and important research under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. We are grateful to Dr. Holtzman for his outstanding leadership and vision, and we are fortunate that he continues his fruitful research here at the University of Washington.