It is an honor to announce the selection of Dr. Mark C. Udey, M.D., Ph.D., as Co-Director of the Oliver Langenberg Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP) in the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Udey joins Drs. Stuart Kornfeld, the David C. and Betty Farrell Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Deborah Lenschow, Associate Professor of Medicine, who provide outstanding leadership and mentor the exceptional residents, fellows and junior faculty in our PSTP program. Dr. Kornfeld, former Chief of the Division of Hematology, has been the Director of the PSTP since its inception in 2000 and Dr. Lenschow was a member of the initial PSTP class of 2000 and became Co-Director of the PSTP in 2014. The PSTP is funded by a grant from the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation. The PSTP is dedicated to supporting research-oriented careers in academic medicine for MD/PhDs. The PSTP provides mentoring and a focused path of clinical training followed by full time research. The success of the PSTP is remarkable. With 46 graduates and 32 individuals still in training, the PSTP has generated an elite pipeline of physician scientists with 82% of the graduates working as independently funded scientists in academic medicine. Together, they have received $55M in grants, of which $37M are currently active.
Dr. Udey is a graduate of the Washington University School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). He did his PhD training in Cell Biology (Immunology) in the laboratory of Dr. Charles Parker, and his Medicine internship and Dermatology residency training at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He subsequently established an independent laboratory program at Washington University as a junior faculty member prior to being recruited to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 1989.
Dr. Udey served as a tenured Senior Investigator for almost 28 years at the NCI. He is internationally recognized for his work in antigen presentation and Langerhan cell development and function and has published widely in the field. He has served on several editorial boards, including the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Dr. Udey is a past-president of the Society of Investigative Dermatology, a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2015, Dr. Udey received a Research Achievement Award by the American Skin Association for his seminal work in dendritic cell biology and cutaneous immunology. In addition to these academic achievements, he has served in numerous administrative positions. As Chief of NCI’s Dermatology Branch, he was responsible for the Dermatology Branch’s laboratory and clinical research programs, its clinical care effort, and its training programs. Dr. Udey’s accomplishments as a Branch Chief led to his recruitment to become one of several Deputy Directors of the Center for Cancer Research (CCR) – the designation for intramural NCI’s cancer center equivalent. As a CCR Deputy Director, he had oversight responsibilities for radiation oncologists, transplant physicians, surgical and medical urologic oncologists, surgical oncologists, pathologists and infectious diseases physicians and was involved in the entire CCR portfolio – clinical research, patient care and training programs. From 2009-2017, Dr. Udey also directed CCR’s Clinical Investigator Development Program (CIDP), a program similar the Department of Medicine’s PSTP.
In June of 2017, Dr. Udey left the NCI to become Editor of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. He returned to Washington University School of Medicine, bringing the editorship to our institution, and is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Dermatology.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Mark Udey for assuming this important role in our PSTP.
Vicky Fraser, MD
Stuart Kornfeld, MD
Deborah Lenschow, MD, PhD