Michael J. Welsh (biologist) explained

Michael J. Welsh
Birth Name:Michael James Welsh
Birth Place:Marshalltown, Iowa[1]
Fields:Pulmonology
Workplaces:University of California, San Francisco
University of Texas
University of Iowa
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Education:University of Iowa (BSc, MD)
Known For:Research of cystic fibrosis
Awards:Warren Alpert Foundation Prize (2018)
George M. Kober Medal (2020)
Shaw Prize in Life Science & Medicine (2022)
Wiley Prize (2023)

Michael James Welsh is an American pulmonologist. He is the current Roy J. Carver Chair in Biomedical Research,[2] the Professor of Internal Medicine in Pulmonary, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine at the Department of Internal Medicine, and the Director of Pappajohn Biomedical Institute, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa.[3] He is also a professor at the Department of Neurosurgery, Department of Neurology, and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics.[3] He received the 2022 Shaw Prize in Life science and Medicine, together with Paul A. Negulescu, for their work that uncovered the etiology of cystic fibrosis and developed effective medications.[4]

Early life and education

Welsh was born and raised in Marshalltown, Iowa, and went to Loras College in Dubuque.[1] He has 3 siblings.[5] He obtained his BSc from the University of Iowa, then his MD from College of Medicine of the same university (now the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine) in 1974.[1] [3] He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics,[3] during which the attending physicians supervising him induced his interest in research.[5]

Career

After his residency, Welsh spent 3 years at the University of California, San Francisco and then University of Texas Medical School at Houston as a research fellow, returning to the University of Iowa in 1981 and becoming an assistant professor at the Department of Internal Medicine, eventually promoted to Professor of Internal Medicine and Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics.[1]

Welsh was the President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation between 1996 and 1997,[6] and has been the President of the Association of American Physicians.[7] Currently, Welsh is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (since 1989)[8] and sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.[7]

Research

Welsh's research centered on cystic fibrosis, specifically the CFTR protein, an ion channel that allows chloride ions to pass through. His studies helped answer questions about why defects in the protein emerge and how these defects affect the protein's function.[9] [10] In 1989, Lap-Chee Tsui, Francis Collins, and their team discovered the gene that encodes the CFTR protein and found that changes in the protein caused cystic fibrosis.[11] Welsh's group discovered in 1991 that the CFTR protein is a chloride channel, meaning it allows chloride ions to pass through cell membrane.[12] The same year, his group reported how the activity of the CFTR protein could be regulated.[13] He later categorized the four classes of CFTR mutations that are still in use today in an expanded format.[14] Crucially, Welsh and his group found that when the CFTR protein contains F508del mutation, the most common mutation in cystic fibrosis patients, it could be transported to the cell surface under low temperature but not at body temperature.[15] His study also showed F508del-mutated CFTR protein can function properly if it reached cell surface,[16] paving the way for cystic fibrosis therapies. In recent years, Welsh has developed animal models of cystic fibrosis, most notably in pigs, allowing for the study of the disease in an in vivo setting.[17]

Personal life

Welsh married twice. He met his first wife, who died in 2006 from cancer, when she was a college student. They had 3 children. Welsh married his second wife in 2013.[5]

Honors and awards

Notes and References

  1. Abboud . François M. . Introduction of Gordon Wilson Medal recipient Dr. Michael Welsh . Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association . 2009 . 120 . 147–148 . 19768172 . 2744533.
  2. Web site: Welsh Lab - Contact Us . . October 23, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221022150049/https://medicine.uiowa.edu/pbi/labs/welsh/contact-us . October 22, 2022.
  3. Web site: Michael J. Welsh, MD . Department of Internal Medicine, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa . October 23, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221022145214/https://medicine.uiowa.edu/internalmedicine/profile/michael-welsh . October 22, 2022.
  4. Press Release . October 12, 2022 . Shaw Prize Foundation . May 24, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221012140007/https://www.shawprize.org/prizes-and-laureates/life-science-and-medicine/2022/press-relesae . October 12, 2022.
  5. Web site: Autobiography of Michael J Welsh . . October 23, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221022144815/https://www.shawprize.org/prizes-and-laureates/life-science-and-medicine/2022/autobiography-of-michael-j-welsh . October 22, 2022.
  6. Web site: Michael J. Welsh, MD . . October 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221025143414/https://the-asci.org/controllers/asci/AsciProfileController.php?pid=152450 . October 25, 2022.
  7. Web site: Michael Welsh, MD . . October 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221023112852/http://www.harringtondiscovery.org/about/scientific-advisory-board/michael-welsh-md . October 23, 2022.
  8. Web site: Michael J. Welsh, MD . . October 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221025143100/https://www.hhmi.org/scientists/michael-j-welsh . October 25, 2022.
  9. Web site: DR. MICHAEL WELSH . Sanford Lorraine Cross Award . October 29, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221029154045/https://www.sanfordlorrainecross.com/nominees/michael-welsh/ . October 29, 2022.
  10. Web site: Essay . Shaw Prize Foundation . October 28, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221028073714/https://www.shawprize.org/prizes-and-laureates/life-science-and-medicine/2022/essay . October 28, 2022.
  11. John R. . Riordan . Johanna M. . Rommens . Bat-Sheva . Kerem . Noa . Alon . Richard . Rozmahel . Zbyszko . Grzelczak . Julian . Zielenski . Si . Lok . Natasa . Plavsic . Jia-Ling . Chou . Mitchell L. . Drumm . Michael C. . Iannuzzi . Francis S. . Collins . Lap-Chee . Tsui . Francis Collins . Lap-Chee Tsui . Identification of the cystic fibrosis gene: cloning and characterization of complementary DNA . . 1989 . 245 . 4922 . 1066–1073 . 10.1126/science.2570460 . 2475911. 86352511 . October 27, 2022.
  12. Matthew P. . Anderson . Richard J. . Gregory . Simon . Thompson . David W. . Souza . Sucharita . Paul . Richard C. . Mulligan . Alan E. . Smith . Michael J. . Welsh . Demonstration that CFTR is a chloride channel by alteration of its anion selectivity . Science . 1991 . 253 . 5016 . 202–205 . 10.1126/science.1712984 . 1712984 . 1991Sci...253..202A . October 27, 2022.
  13. Seng H. . Cheng . Devra P. . Rich . John . Marshall . Richard J. . Gregory . Michael J. . Welsh . Alan E. . Smith . Phosphorylation of the R domain by cAMP-dependent protein kinase regulates the CFTR chloride channel . . 1991 . 66 . 5 . 1027–1036 . 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90446-6 . 1716180 . 25208449 . October 28, 2022.
  14. Welsh . Michael J. . Smith . Alan E. . Molecular mechanisms of CFTR chloride channel dysfunction in cystic fibrosis . Cell . 1993 . 73 . 7 . 1251–1254 . 10.1016/0092-8674(93)90353-r . 7686820 . 36691109 . October 29, 2022 . October 29, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221029160716/https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/0092-8674%2893%2990353-R.pdf.
  15. Gerene M. . Denning . Matthew P. . Anderson . Jane F. . Amara . John . Marshall . Alan E. . Smith . Michael J. . Welsh . Processing of mutant cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator is temperature-sensitive . . 1994 . 358 . 6389 . 761–764 . 10.1038/358761a0 . 1380673 . 4365756 . October 28, 2022.
  16. S. H. . Cheng . S. L. . Fang . J. . Zabner . J. . Marshall . S. . Piraino . S. C. . Schiavi . D. M. . Jefferson . M. J. . Welsh . A. E. . Smith . Functional activation of the cystic fibrosis trafficking mutant delta F508-CFTR by overexpression . . 1995 . 268 . 1 . L615-624 . 10.1152/ajplung.1995.268.4.L615 . 7733303 . October 28, 2022.
  17. Christopher S. . Rogers . David A. . Stoltz . David K. . Meyerholz . Lynda S. . Ostedgaard . Tatiana . Rokhlina . Peter J. . Taft . Mark P. . Rogan . Alejandro A. . Pezzulo . Philip H. . Karp . Omar A. . Itani . Amanda C. . Kabel . Christine L. . Wohlford-Lenane . Greg J. . Davis . Robert A. . Hanfland . Tony L. . Smith . Melissa . Samuel . David . Wax . Clifton N. . Murphy . August . Rieke . Kristin . Whitworth . Aliye . Uc . Timothy D. . Starner . Kim A. . Brogden . Joel . Shilyansky . Paul B. . McCray, Jr. . Joseph . Zabner . Randall S. . Prather . Michael J. . Welsh . Disruption of the CFTR gene produces a model of cystic fibrosis in newborn pigs . 2008 . Science . 321 . 5897 . 1837–1841 . 10.1126/science.1163600 . 18818360 . 2570747 . 2008Sci...321.1837R .
  18. Web site: Amberson Lecturers . . October 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221031040350/https://conference.thoracic.org/about/conference-history/amberson-lecturer.php . October 31, 2022.
  19. Web site: Michael J. Welsh, M.D. . . October 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221031034123/https://nam.edu/member/?member_id=eovj%2B3NHl%2FmHVHKQfHqmJw%3D%3D . October 31, 2022.
  20. Web site: Michael J. Welsh . . October 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221031034254/https://www.amacad.org/person/michael-j-welsh . October 31, 2022.
  21. Web site: Michael J. Welsh . . October 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221022150051/http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/3004989.html . October 22, 2022.
  22. News: APS 2017 Distinguished Lectureship Award Winners to Present Talks at Experimental Biology . . October 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221031040640/https://www.newswise.com/articles/aps-2017-distinguished-lectureship-award-winners-to-present-talks-at-experimental-biology . October 31, 2022 . April 18, 2017.
  23. Web site: Steven C. Beering Award . . October 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221031040903/https://faculty.medicine.iu.edu/advance-your-career/awards/steven-c-beering-award/ . October 31, 2022.
  24. Web site: Michael Welsh . . October 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221031034704/https://warrenalpert.org/prize-recipients/michael-welsh . October 31, 2022.
  25. News: Welsh receives Kober Medal . October 31, 2022 . Department of Internal Medicine, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa . April 15, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221031061347/https://internalmedicineiowa.org/2021/04/15/welsh-receives-kober-medal/ . October 31, 2022.
  26. Web site: George M. Kober Medal and Lectureship . . October 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221031041119/https://aap-online.org/kober/ . October 31, 2022.
  27. Web site: The 2022 Prize in Life Science & Medicine . Shaw Prize Foundation . October 5, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221005032240/https://www.shawprize.org/laureates/life-science-medicine/2022 . October 5, 2022.
  28. http://johnwiley2020news.q4web.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2023/-The-21st-Annual-Wiley-Prize-in-Biomedical-Sciences-Awarded-for-Novel-Cystic-Fibrosis-Treatment/default.aspx Wiley Prize 2023

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