ACR Distinguished Basic Investigator Award
George Tsokos, MD
Chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston; professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School
Background: Dr. Tsokos came to the U.S. after earning both his medical degree and a doctorate in sciences from the University of Athens. The plan was to complete postdoctoral training here and go home.
That was 1979.
“What has kept me here are the research resources available through government agencies,” he says. “Both [the National Institutes of Health] and [the U.S. Department of Defense] have well-running, trustworthy, competitive funding programs that run almost exclusively on merit.”
For 20 years ending in 2007, Dr. Tsokos was a member of the Uniformed Services/Walter Reed community where he served in various posts, including vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine and chief of the Department of Cell Injury. He joined Beth Israel Deaconess in 2007, where his team’s work has focused on defining the molecular and biochemical abnormalities in T cells and other immune cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The results: The identification of novel therapeutic targets now is in various phases of clinical development.
Q: What was your experience with Walter Reed like?
A: When I was with the Walter Reed system—the hospital and the research institute—things were quite exciting. The healthcare system was outstanding, with great doctors and resources … to provide care of the highest caliber. I have found the young people who joined the medical corps to be of the highest quality this country has to offer. Please note that the DoD [Department of Defense] requires bases—including hospitals—to continuously realign in order to address evolving military needs. If there were any glitches in this process, I am sure they will self correct.
Q: What has motivated your work with SLE? Was it a patient, an experience, a mentor who pushed that direction?
