Prof. David Schwartz University of Colorado, USA

David A. Schwartz, MD, is the Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado, School of Medicine. A Professor of Medicine and Immunology, Schwartz has taken a career path that melds genetics, environmental sciences, and medicine. He has focused on the lungs and the immune system, trying... read moreto understand why environmental agents cause lung disease and infections in some people but not others. Dr. Schwartz has discovered that a variant of the gene TLR4 makes some people more susceptible to adverse effects of bacteria, that epigenetic mechanisms may be important in the development of asthma, and that a variant in mucous producing gene in the lung markedly enhances the risk of developing pulmonary fibrosis. Schwartz received his BA in Biology from the University of Rochester and his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Prior to taking on this new position, Schwartz served as the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, with the National Institutes of Health, and the Director of the Center for Genes, Environment, and Health at National Jewish Health. Among his awards, Schwartz received the American Thoracic Society Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award and is a member of the ASCI and AAP.