Sohail Husain, MD, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University

Research Description: Dr. Sohail Husain is a Physician-Scientist whose overarching goal is to develop targeted therapies for exocrine pancreatic disorders, particularly pancreatitis. For the last two decades, he has pursued the mechanisms underlying the inflammatory cascade of pancreatitis. He implicated a novel role for pathologic calcium release in pancreatic inflammation through pancreatic acinar cell ryanodine receptors and, thereafter, the downstream calcium-activated phosphatase calcineurin. More recently, systematic approaches have led his group to uncover the protective mechanisms of vitamin A and retinoid signaling on pancreatitis. His lab’s current interests are in three broad areas: (1) Signaling and immune mechanisms that initiate and transduce pancreatitis; (2) Mechanisms of drug-induced pancreatitis; and (3) Factors that mediate pancreatic recovery after injury. Dr. Husain collaborates extensively with many members of the NORC.