Two faculty within the UNC Division of Infectious Diseases were honored during the joint meeting of the Association of American Physicians and the American Society for Clinical Investigation in Chicago.
Jonathan Juliano, MD, MSPH, was inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). Founded in 1908, the ASCI is one of the nation’s oldest and most respected medical honor societies. It seeks to support the scientific efforts, educational needs and clinical aspirations of physician-scientists to improve health.
“ASCI’s mission to support physician-scientists and advance research through the physician-scientist community is essential for the continual improvement of treatments for human diseases,” said Juliano, an associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and co-leader of IDEEL@UNC. “It was an unexpected honor to be nominated and elected by my peers, and I am proud to join the ASCI members at UNC and across the country.”
Membership is based on a nomination process. There were 176 nominations submitted for this year’s induction. The ASCI Council recommended Juliano as one of 80 inductees. His colleague, David Margolis, MD, nominated Juliano for membership.
“The ASCI was founded at the start of the last century to recognize and promote the role of scientific discovery and invention in advancing human health,” said Margolis. “Jon’s dedication and accomplishments as a physician-scientist make him a natural member of the Society.”
Margolis was also honored at the joint meeting. He was inducted into the Association of American Physicians (AAP). Founded in 1885, the AAP is composed of members who are leading senior physician scientists. The goals of its members include the pursuit of medical knowledge, and the advancement, through experimentation and discovery, of basic and clinical science and their application to clinical medicine. Individuals who have attained excellence in achieving these goals are recognized by nomination for membership by the Council of the Association.
Margolis is a Sarah Graham Kenan Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, and Epidemiology at UNC. He leads the UNC HIV Cure Center. He is also the principal investigator of CARE, the Collaboratory of AIDS Researchers for Eradication, which has been funded twice by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“It is an honor and privilege to be elected into the AAP, a group of outstanding clinicians and scientists,” Margolis said. “I am grateful to all of my coworkers and colleagues at UNC, as this is really a recognition of our collective achievements.”
Margolis was nominated by Robert Siliciano, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine, molecular biology and genetics at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
“At a time when no one thought a cure for HIV infection was possible, David Margolis almost single-handedly reinvigorated the search for a cure by convincing investigators in field that this goal was achievable and by developing the ‘shock and kill’ approach to HIV eradication,” Siliciano said.