Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of cell biology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and deputy director at the National Cancer Institute-designated Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been elected a member of the Association of American Physicians (AAP), a prestigious 140-year-old honorary society dedicated to advancing medical knowledge through basic and clinical science.

Ulrich G. Steidl, M.D., Ph.D.

Faculty Profile

The AAP announced its newest members on April 26. According to the association, membership selection “is an indication of the pre-eminence and the highest caliber of physician-led science accomplishments and scientific leadership.”

“Dr. Steidl is an immensely talented physician-scientist whose discoveries and achievements demonstrate the value of pursuing rigorous basic and translational research as the foundation of new treatments that improve health,” said Yaron Tomer, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean at Einstein and chief academic officer at Montefiore Einstein. “This is a well-deserved and special honor for Dr. Steidl, and we congratulate him as he joins this elite community.”

Dr. Steidl studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms that lead to two related blood diseases, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). His NIH and privately funded basic and translational research seeks to define the characteristics of pre-leukemic stem cells, understand their progression to leukemic stems cells, and develop drugs to interrupt that progression. He was among the first researchers to demonstrate that MDS, a common precursor of AML, arises from defective blood-forming stem cells. As a result of his work, several experimental drugs targeting abnormal stem cells in patients with MDS and AML are in clinical trials. In 2021, Dr. Steidl received a prestigious Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and a seven-year, $7 million grant for his research. He has authored more than 150 research papers.

“I am deeply honored to join this group of respected physicians—past and present—whose research has led to improved medical care and treatment,” said Dr. Steidl, who is also the Edward P. Evans Endowed Professor for Myelodysplastic Syndromes and interim director of the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine. “I am grateful for the support of my Einstein friends and colleagues, inspired by our patients and my trainees, and thankful for this recognition by the AAP.”

Twenty other Einstein faculty members were previously elected into the AAP, including the following current active faculty members:  Richard Kitsis, M.D.; Liise-anne Pirofski, M.D.; David Rosenstreich, M.D.; Jayanta Roy-Chowdhury, M.B.B.S.; Victor Schuster, M.D., and Allan Wolkoff, M.D.