Gregg L. Semenza, MD, PhD, C. Michael Armstrong Professor of Medicine with appointments in pediatrics, oncology, radiation oncology, biological chemistry, and genetic medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will be the next speaker in the 2012 Senior Vice Chancellor’s Laureate Lecture Series, a yearlong program highlighting some of the top biomedical researchers in their fields.  Dr. Semenza’s lecture, “Regulation of Oxygen Homeostasis by Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1,” will take place at noon on Thursday, November 15, in Scaife Hall, Lecture Room 6.

Dr. Semenza received his MD and PhD degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.  He completed his pediatrics residency training at Duke University Medical Center and postdoctoral training in medical genetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he has spent his entire career. Since 2003 he has served as founding director of the Vascular Biology Program in the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering.

In 1995, Dr. Semenza’s laboratory identified hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), a protein that allows metazoan cells to respond to changes in oxygen availability. This opened the field of oxygen biology to molecular analysis and has revealed major roles for HIF-1 in many evolutionary, developmental, physiological, and pathological processes. Dr. Semenza is investigating the role of HIF-1 in the pathophysiology of cancer, cerebral and myocardial ischemia, chronic lung disease, and diabetes, which are the most common causes of mortality in the U.S. population.

Dr. Semenza is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research, American Society for Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. He is a recipient of the 2012 Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award of the American Society for Clinical Investigation; 2010 Canada Gairdner International Award;  E. Mead Johnson Award for Research in Pediatrics; Jean and Nicholas Leone Award, Children's Brain Tumor Foundation; Established Investigator Award, American Heart Association; and Lucille P. Markey Scholar Award in Biomedical Science. Dr. Semenza has over 300 publications, which have been cited more than 40,000 times.