May 15 , 2006

Dear Colleagues:

It is with great satisfaction that I announce the appointment of William B. Guggino, Ph.D., who has dedicated more than two decades of his professional life to The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, as the new Director of Physiology.

Bill’s commitment to science and to the School is equaled only by the passion he has for teaching, and for the mentoring of the brilliant students who have been fortunate enough to study and work with him.

Among his many contributions to Hopkins, Bill has served since 1996 as vice chairman of research in the Department of Pediatrics and since 1989 as director of the Cystic Fibrosis Development Program. His own work on CF was recognized last year when he won the prestigious Doris F. Tulcin Cystic Fibrosis Research Award, an honor that marked not only his research achievements, but also his role in the training of a significant number of clinician scientists, dedicated to unraveling CF’s mysteries and bringing new treatments to patients quickly.

In 1992, Bill, along with Peter Agre, M.D., authored a seminal paper published in Science, which detailed the discovery of the very first water channel protein. That line of research, 11 years later, won Agre the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

For 24 years Bill has been the course director in organ systems physiology and histology and has served as the Director of the Curriculum for First Year Medical Students. He is also a former recipient of the Hopkins Excellence in Teaching Award.

Bill will begin his new job on Monday, May 15, 2006, and I want to thank Peter Maloney, Ph.D., who has generously served as Interim Director during the search process.

With his new responsibilities, the Department of Physiology, a cornerstone of our School, can only thrive. I know you join me in congratulating him on a well-earned post, arrived at through years of dedicated service to this institution, his students and to a critical body of scientific knowledge.

Sincerely,

Edward D. Miller, M.D.
Dean/CEO
Johns Hopkins Medicine