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Ceremony Recognizes Michael W. Konstan, MD, as the Gertrude Lee Chandler Tucker Professor of Pediatrics
Posted: February 14th, 2012
Michael W. Konstan, MD
On February 8, 2012, Dr. Michael W. Konstan, MD, joined a prestigious legacy of pediatric chairs to hold the Gertrude Lee Chandler Tucker Professorship in Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Dr. Konstan is professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. He is regarded as a national and international expert in the lung disease of cystic fibrosis (CF), and his academic career has focused on developing new therapies for CF, with a special interest in anti-inflammatory therapies and clinical trial design.
School of Medicine Dean, Pamela B. Davis, MD, PhD, a CF expert herself, served as Dr. Konstan's research mentor and has collaborated with him for the past 25 years. "Michael's tremendous talent and commitment as a clinician and scientist has made him a tour de force in clinical trials, and he has made a profound impact on the lives of patients with cystic fibrosis," said Davis. "We are deeply proud of his accomplishments and grateful to have his leadership."
Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease affecting approximately 30,000 patients in the United States and 70,000 worldwide. Since the 1970s, research and therapeutics have tripled the life expectancy of patients with CF, with many patients living into their late 30s and beyond.
One of Dr. Konstan's major contributions to the field has been devising successful strategies to treat the lung disease of cystic fibrosis with anti-inflammatory agents. His 1995 publication in the New England Journal of Medicine documented the efficacy of high-dose ibuprofen. Follow-up studies confirmed these findings, and high-dose ibuprofen remains the only recommended anti-inflammatory for patients with CF. More recent breakthroughs by Dr. Konstan are his studies that led to an FDA-approved drug, Kalydeco. The drug targets the faulty protein, CFTR, which is produced by the CF gene itself. It helps restore the salt/water balance in the airways of patients with a specific type of CF, with dramatic improvement in their lung health.
Dr. Konstan received his BA and MD degrees from Case Western Reserve University. After completing his internship and residency in pediatrics at The Children's Hospital of Buffalo, he returned to CWRU and Rainbow for fellowship training in Pediatric Pulmonology. He currently serves as the director of the Cystic Fibrosis Translational Therapeutics Development Center and the Cystic Fibrosis Research Development Program at CWRU. Dr. Konstan is also the director of The LeRoy W. Matthews Cystic Fibrosis Center at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, where he holds the Austin Ricci Chair in Pediatric Pulmonary Care and Research. Prior to becoming Chairman, Dr. Konstan served as chief of the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy/Immunology for the Department of Pediatrics.
Dr. Konstan's research has been supported by grants from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration. He has led numerous national and international clinical trials of potentially new therapies for CF, and is regarded as an expert in this disease worldwide. Dr. Konstan has published extensively, with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. He serves on multiple advisory boards and committees related to advancing the treatment of CF and continues to care for a devoted cadre of patients with CF.
Dr. Konstan has received several national awards for his accomplishments, including the Richard C. Talamo Distinguished Clinical Achievement Award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the "All Stars Among Us" award for community service from Major League Baseball and PEOPLE magazine. He is regularly named in "Best Doctors in America."
