AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, MD, issued the following statement on the death of Stephen I. Katz, MD, PhD, director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
“The academic medicine community is deeply saddened by the death of Dr. Stephen Katz. Under his more than 20 years of leadership, NIAMS launched many groundbreaking projects, including the recent NIH Back Pain Research Consortium (BACPAC) as a component of the NIH HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative that is working to advance research to develop treatments to manage pain and curb substance use disorders. He was also a prolific investigator, conducting research that demonstrated that skin is an important component of the immune system and studying often-serious blistering diseases. Dr. Katz was a champion for physicians-scientists, having trained numerous immunodermatologists.
Dr. Katz was dedicated to improving the lives of patients by conducting groundbreaking research and training the next generation of the biomedical workforce. Having personally worked with him over the past two decades, he represents the best in science and in humanity. The AAMC joins the broader scientific community in mourning his loss and honoring his life and legacy.”
The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association dedicated to transforming health care through innovative medical education, cutting-edge patient care, and groundbreaking medical research. Its members are all 154 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 80 academic societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC serves the leaders of America’s medical schools and teaching hospitals and their more than 173,000 full-time faculty members, 89,000 medical students, 129,000 resident physicians, and more than 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences.