Press release
National Psoriasis Foundation honors leaders in psoriasis research and patient care
Drs. Gerald Krueger and Alan Menter recognized with Lifetime Achievement award
PORTLAND, Ore. (February 15, 2011)—To recognize their leadership and innovation in advancing research and treatment options for psoriasis—a chronic disease of the immune system that appears on the skin—and their commitment to patient care, Gerald Krueger, M.D., and Alan Menter, M.D., were honored by the National Psoriasis Foundation at a meeting of the country's top dermatologists.
The Psoriasis Foundation paid a "Lifetime Achievement" tribute to Krueger and Menter in honor of their decades of service to people with psoriasis—the most common autoimmune disease in the country, affecting as many as 7.5 million Americans—and for their status as thought leaders in the fields of psoriasis research and patient care.
"Both Drs. Krueger and Menter have dedicated their entire distinguished careers to serving people with psoriasis,"said Psoriasis Foundation president and CEO Randy Beranek. "We are pleased to honor them for their significant contributions to the psoriasis community."
Dr. Krueger, a dermatology professor at the University of Utah Medical School in Salt Lake City with more than 30 years of dermatology experience, is the chairman emeritus of the National Psoriasis Foundation Medical Board. He has collaborated on numerous studies that have identified many genes associated with psoriasis and has led clinical trials related to new treatments.
Krueger is the co-director of the Utah Psoriasis Initiative, a study that aims to create a registry of psoriasis patients. Since 2008, nearly 1,000 participants with psoriasis have been enrolled in this study, which collects information to identify risk factors in psoriasis. Krueger and his colleagues also hope to investigate the prevalence of other medical conditions such as cancer and cardiovascular disease in people with psoriasis.
Dr. Menter, chair of the dermatology department at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, has served the psoriasis community for more than three decades. Among his many accomplishments, Menter was co-author of the first gene discovery study for psoriasis in 1994, and has been involved in extensive research on treatments for the disease.
In addition, Menter was instrumental in the creation of the Psoriasis Foundation Tissue Bank—now the National Psoriasis Victor Henschel BioBank—which is a collection of biological samples and clinical information used by scientists to further the field of psoriasis genetics. He served as its clinical director for seven years until 2002.
Besides their work in research, both Krueger and Menter have improved understanding of the seriousness of psoriasis and encouraged the next generation of dermatologists to study psoriatic disease.
"As mentors, each of these doctors has helped develop the careers of countless young clinician scientists who have gone on to have successful careers," Beranek said. "The future of psoriasis care is much more promising due to the efforts of Drs. Krueger and Menter."
The National Psoriasis Foundation presented the awards to Drs. Krueger and Menter at the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting Feb. 4 in New Orleans.
About the National Psoriasis Foundation
National Psoriasis Foundation is the world's largest nonprofit organization serving people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Our mission is to find a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and to eliminate their devastating effects through research, advocacy and education. For more information, call the Psoriasis Foundation, headquartered in Portland, Ore., at 800.723.9166, or visit www.psoriasis.org. Follow the Psoriasis Foundation on Facebook and Twitter.