By Duke Medicine News and Communications

DURHAM, N.C. -- The Association of American Physicians (AAP) has elected three researchers from the Duke University School of Medicine to the organization's membership. Joseph Heitman, M.D., Ph.D., Nelson Chao, M.D., M.B.A., and Howard Rockman, M.D., received the honor April 29, 2006, at a joint meeting of the AAP and the American Society for Clinical Investigation in Chicago.

Heitman is a James B. Duke Professor in the departments of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, and Medicine. He also directs the Duke University Program in Genetics and Genomics, as well as the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis. His research explores how cells sense their environment and communicate with other cells through chemical message pathways known as signal transduction cascades.

Chao is a professor of Medicine and Immunology and chief of the Division of Cellular Therapy. Chao's research explores clinical and laboratory hematopoietic stem cell and cord blood transplantation. In particular, he studies graft-versus-host disease, in which the donor's immune cells in the transplanted marrow attack the patient's vital organs. He is also the principal investigator of a biodefense center grant focused on medical countermeasures against radiation.

Rockman is a professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Cell Biology, and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. His research interests focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms of heart failure and the abnormal enlargement of the heart, known as hypertrophy. He pioneered physiological approaches in the mouse that have led to the identification of new molecular targets for the treatment of human cardiac disease.

With the election of Heitman, Chao, and Rockman, 32 Duke faculty members are members of AAP.