image: 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
Credit: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
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.
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.
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation’s premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2024-25 academic year, Einstein is home to 712 M.D. students, 226 Ph.D. students, 112 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and approximately 250 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 2,000 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2024, Einstein received more than $192 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in cancer, aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. For more information, please visit einsteinmed.edu, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and view us on YouTube.
About Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center
Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC) is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center and a national leader in cancer research and care located in the racially and ethnically diverse borough of the Bronx, N.Y. MECCC combines the exceptional science of Albert Einstein College of Medicine with the multidisciplinary and team-based approach to cancer clinical care at Montefiore Health System. Founded in 1971 and a NCI-designated cancer center since 1972, MECCC is redefining excellence in cancer research, clinical care, education and training, and community outreach and engagement. Its mission is to reduce the burden of cancer for all, especially people from historically underrepresented groups.