Institute of Medicine elects two new members from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Michael Kastan, M.D., Ph.D., and Mary Relling, Pharm.D., of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, have been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a prestigious branch of the National Academy of Sciences.

Kastan, the hospital's Cancer Center director, and Relling, chair of St. Jude Pharmaceutical Sciences, are among 65 new members of the IOM this year. The election of Kastan and Relling brings the number of IOM members from St. Jude to six. St. Jude has one of the highest numbers of IOM members among U.S. children's hospitals.

"To have two additional members of our faculty elected to the Institute of Medicine is a great honor for them and also for St. Jude," said Dr. William E. Evans, St. Jude director and CEO. "As we continue to focus on finding cures for catastrophic diseases, it is accomplished and recognized faculty like Dr. Kastan and Dr. Relling who are leading the way."

Kastan's research focuses on DNA damage and repair, tumor suppressor genes and causes of cancer related to genetic disposition and environmental contributions. Relling's research focuses on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in children and how genome variability influences a child's response to cancer chemotherapy.