Message from Hossein Ardehali, the outgoing 2021-2022 President

I have completed my 2021-2022 Presidential term and am grateful for the trust the membership placed in me by electing me to serve in this special capacity. It has been a true and humbling honor for me, having immigrated as a teenager from war-torn Iran to the US, where I was able to pursue the physician-scientist career path. In my Presidential Address at April’s Joint Meeting, I talked about my personal history as an immigrant but more importantly the significance of immigration to science and technology in the US, which I hope will continue to be a symbol of freedom and remain open to the world. (Watch the video.)

I’m pleased that we were able to accomplish the following initiatives during my term:

• We created the ASCI Scientific Sessions, monthly presentations from accomplished investigators, free and open to all, through the academic year. We started in September 2021 with Dr. Bill Kaelin and finished this cycle with Dr. Charles Sawyers. (See the 2021-2022 archive.) The 2022-2023 ASCI Scientific Sessions will start in September 2022.
• We increased programming for early-career physician-scientists, including the ASCI’s Physician-Scientist Pathway Series, a periodic informal discussion between a senior ASCI member and the ASCI’s early-career awardees (more below). Thank you to Drs. Miriam Merad and Sangeeta Bhatia for their participation as we started this Series.
• We strengthened international outreach, notably to the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland, with ongoing discussion regarding tangible collaborations between our respective groups.
• We started a quarterly summary of ASCI activities and information (this email being a continuation of that initiative).

I give my thanks to Drs. Lorraine Ware, Kim Rathmell, and Kieren Marr, who preceded me when I started on the Presidential path and who provided great examples of leadership, and to the many Council members with whom I’ve served since being elected to the Council in 2016. All have contributed significant time and effort to ensure the ASCI’s success. I also want to thank my friend and colleague, John Hawley, and the rest of the ASCI staff for their continuous support and for their hard work in the past year. Dr. Sohail Tavazoie succeeds me as 2022-2023 President. Join me in wishing him the best for his term.

Sincerely,

Hossein Ardehali, MD, PhD @ArdehaliHossein