Two School of Medicine faculty members have been elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine. They are Richard H. Gelberman, M.D., the Fred C. Reynolds Professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery; and Timothy J. Ley, M.D., the Alan and Edith Wolff Professor of Medicine.
As a component of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine advances and disseminates scientific knowledge to improve human health. Election to the institute is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health care.
Gelberman and Ley are among 65 new members recently announced by the National Academy of Sciences.
Members are chosen for their professional achievement and commitment to service. With election, members devote time on committees engaged in a broad range of studies on health policy issues.
Gelberman joined the medical school in 1995 as the first head of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He also is chief of hand and wrist surgery and director of the medical school’s hand and upper extremity fellowship training program.
Additionally, Gelberman is the orthopaedic surgeon-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish and Children’s hospitals.
Gelberman is a leader in hand and wrist microsurgery. He studies dense regular connective tissue — the ligaments, tendons and muscles that allow us to move. He also investigates radius fractures, carpal instability and nerve injuries.
Gelberman has received numerous honors for his research, including the Kappa Delta, Nicolas Andry, Emmanuel Kaplan, Sumner Koch and Marshall Urist awards.
He is a former president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and has served on numerous executive committees for several national and international academic orthopaedic associations.
Ley joined the University faculty in 1986. He directs the Division of Oncology’s stem cell biology section and serves as the associate director of basic research for the Siteman Cancer Center.
Ley, who also is a professor of genetics, is renowned for advances in understanding the biology and genetics of acute myeloid leukemia.
He has identified the mechanisms that cytotoxic lymphocytes (a type of immune cell) use to kill tumor and virus-infected cells and has shown that the same mechanisms cause severe tissue damage after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.
Additionally, he is known for his work to preserve the physician-scientist career track and encouraging physicians to pursue careers that involve both research and patient care.
Among his many honors, Ley was named Teacher of the Year in the Department of Medicine at Jewish Hospital in 1994 and received the Alumni/Faculty Award from the University Medical Center Alumni Association in 1998.
Ley is a past president of the prestigious American Society of Clinical Investigation.