Scientific Leadership
Vera Krymskaya, PhD, MBA, Scientific Director
Professor of Medicine
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Vera Krymskaya was appointed Scientific Director at The LAM Foundation in 2024 after serving as interim since July 2023. She is the first female PhD tenured Professor of Medicine at the Department of Medicine at Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Krymskaya has made groundbreaking advances in basic and translational research that transformed the current understanding of two rare diseases, pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome.
Her major contribution to LAM research is the discovery of the molecular mechanism causing abnormal LAM cell growth in the lung. Dr. Krymskaya’s lab was the first to establish human LAM cell cultures to demonstrate the efficacy of rapamycin, paving the way for clinical trials and FDA approval of rapamycin for the treatment of LAM and TSC-LAM. Importantly, Dr. Krymskaya is devoted to teaching and training the next generation of LAM scientists, working closely with graduate students, postdocs, and research fellows. Click here to learn more about Dr. Vera Krymskaya.
The LAM Foundation Scientific Advisory Board
An outstanding and dedicated LAM Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is the cornerstone of The LAM Foundation’s research program. The SAB advises the Foundation on all scientific matters and determines the focus of LAM research to be supported by The LAM Foundation Board of Directors.
Marina K. Holz, PhD, MPH, DrPH, Chair
Dean of Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences
New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY
James P. Bridges, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine
National Jewish Health, Denver, CO
Gregory P. Downey, MD
Executive Vice President, Academic Affairs
Professor of Medicine
LAM Clinic Director
National Jewish Health, Denver, CO
Charilaos (Harry) Filippakis, PhD, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences
University of New England, Biddeford, ME
David Franz, MD
Director, Tuberous Sclerosis Clinic
Associate Director Clinical Affairs,
Division of Neurology
Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
Stephen Hammes, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Chief, Division of Endocrinology
University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
Elizabeth Petri Henske, MD
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Director, Center for LAM Research & Clinical Care
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Yoshikazu Inoue, MD, PhD
Director, Department of Diffuse Lung Diseases
and Respiratory Failure, Clinical Research Center,
National Hospital Organization
Kinki-Chuo Chest Medical Center, Sakai, Osaka, Japan
Simon Johnson, DM, FRCP
Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences
University of Nottingham
Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, England
Arnold Kristof, BSc., MDCM
Associate Professor
Department of Medicine, Division of Experimental Medicine
LAM Clinic Director
McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
David J. Kwiatkowski, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Brendan D. Manning, PhD
Professor of Molecular Metabolism
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Cormac McCarthy, MB, BCh, BAO, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine
University College Dublin and St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Francis X. McCormack, MD
Emeritus, Scientific Director
Taylor Professor & Division Director
Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine
University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
Joel Moss, MD, PhD
Senior Investigator
Laboratory of Translational Research
NIH/NHLBI, Bethesda, MD
Carmen Priolo, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Division
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Jay H. Ryu, MD
Professor of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
William Stanford, PhD
Senior Scientist
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Ottawa, Canada
Andrew Tee, PhD
Medical Genetics
Institute of Medical Genetics
Wales College of Medicine
Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
Jeffrey A. Whitsett, MD
Chief, Division of Neonatology, Perinatal
and Pulmonary Biology
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
Kathryn Wikenheiser-Brokamp, MD, PhD
Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH
Lisa Young, MD
Chief, Division of Pulmonary Medicine
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Jane Yu, PhD
Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH