Paul Marks

Paul Marks is recognized as a leader in the cancer field and as a world-class scientist, clinician, and administrator. He served as president and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) between 1980 and 1999 after serving as the dean (1970–1973) and vice president for Medical Sciences (1973–1980) of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S). Marks led the discovery, testing, and recent approval of SAHA (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid), the treatment for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. SAHA and other histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are now undergoing trials for a broad array of cancers.

Jean Wilson

Dr. Jean Wilson from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School joins the JCI for its series Conversations with Giants in Medicine. Dr. Wilson was the editor in chief of the JCI between 1972 and 1977. His research centered on cholesterol metabolism and steroid hormone action, laid the groundwork for understanding male/female genital development, and led to the first medical therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Donald Seldin

Donald Seldin from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School joins the JCI for its Conversations with Giants in Medicine. Seldin served as the chairman of medicine at UT Southwestern for nearly four decades and transformed the department and the school from a grouping of ramshackle army barracks to a world-class medical center, host to Nobel Laureates and members of the national academies. He was also a major figure in the emergence of nephrology as a legitimate discipline, and in this role he was one of the founders of the American Society of Nephrology and served as its second president. Among his many attributes, Seldin has been described as one of the most magnetic and charismatic mentors academic medicine has encountered.

Tadataka ‘Tachi’ Yamada

Dr. Tadataka “Tachi” Yamada joins us for our next Conversations with Giants in Medicine. Born in Japan and trained in the United States as a gastroenterologist, he quickly rose to be the chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan. He moved to industry and eventually became the Chairman of Research and Development for GlaxoSmithKline. In the next step in his interesting career, he took on the presidency of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Program. In this capacity, he oversaw over $9,000,000,000 in programs directed at addressing health challenges of the developing world. In 2011, Dr. Yamada moved on to become the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer (CMSO) and Executive Vice President of Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

Lloyd Hollingsworth Smith Jr.

Known to most of his friends as Holly, Dr. Lloyd Hollingsworth Smith Jr. joins Ushma Neill, JCI Editor at Large, for the next in the journal's series Conversations with Giants in Medicine. He talks about leading the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Medicine as its Chairman for 21 years. During his tenure, Dr. Smith transformed the department into the preeminent West Coast medical school with the highest standards in patient care, teaching, and research. He talks about his early days training in Boston, and about his experiences getting the first artificial kidney to work, both in the hospital and in the Korean War.