Barry M. Forman, M.D., Ph.D., serves as director of the
Division of Gene Regulation and Drug Discovery as well as a professor with City of Hope's
Department of Molecular Medicine and
Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, & Metabolism. In this role, Dr. Forman performs novel research into the molecular and cellular processes involved in diabetes and diseases of the heart and liver.
Beginning with his work as a graduate student, Dr. Forman has made significant contributions to scientific understanding of human disease. As a postdoctoral candidate, Dr. Forman identified new hormones and signaling mechanisms involved in diabetes and cholesterol metabolism. In one such investigation, Dr. Forman identified signaling molecules that promote fat cell formation and affect insulin resistance in patients with Type II diabetes. Therapies based on this work are now used to treat millions of people with diabetes, and virtually all major drug companies use Dr. Forman's work in the formulation of new anti-diabetes agents.
Dr. Forman has made many other important discoveries in the field of nuclear receptors, uncovering several molecular communication mechanisms that control cellular processes, many of which had been scientific mysteries for decades. By understanding and manipulating these communication mechanisms, scientists can devise new therapies for blocking and preventing disease. Dr. Forman also discovered several new hormones and ligands involved in diabetes and atherosclerosis, and discovered the first new steroid hormone to be identified in years.
Dr. Forman received his medical and doctorate degrees at the New York University School of Medicine, working in the National Institutes of Health Medical Scientist (M.D.-Ph.D.) Training Program. Prior to joining City of Hope in 1997, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
Dr. Forman has received several awards and honors for his work, including the ASBMB-Amgen award and the Ares-Serono Endocrinology Under 35 Award. He is the first author on one of the top-50 most frequently cited articles in PNAS. He also holds 13 patents for molecular technologies, and has six patents pending. He has published more than 60 articles and book chapters in leading peer-reviewed publications, and has delivered lectures at scientific conferences around the world. He is the first scientist to hold the Ruth B. and Robert K. Lanman Chair in Gene Regulation and Drug Discovery Research at City of Hope, established in 2005.