Chironian Magazine 2020

CHIRONIAN 2020

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Joseph D. Mark, Chair Joseph Schwartz, M.D., Vice Chair Alan Kadish, M.D. Robert Alter, M.D. Gary Barnett Howard Baruch, M.D. Ben Chouake, M.D. Dee DelBello Rabbi Menachem Genack Gary Gettenberg, M.D. ’83 Munr Kazmir, M.D. Moshe Lichtenstein

Stephen Nicholas, M.D. ’86 Martin Oliner, Esq. Eliot Peyser Ronald F. Poe Joseph Popack Avi Retter, M.D. Stephen Rosenberg Alan B. Rosenthal, D.M.D. Henry Saphier, M.D. ’61 Kenneth R. Theobalds

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF GOVERNORS Joseph L. Giamelli, M.D. ’02 President

Jerry A. Rubano, M.D. ’09 Secretary

John M. Cosgrove, M.D. ’83 President-Elect

Damon A. DelBello, M.D. ‘88 Treasurer

Jay D. Tartell, M.D. ’82 Vice President and Archivist

Charles W. Episalla, M.D. ’88, M.S. ’87 Immediate Past President

Michael A. Antonelle, M.D. ’62 Peter E. Bentivegna, M.D. ‘85 Eileen M. Dieck, M.D. ’86 Joseph F. Dursi, M.D. ’59 Robert J. Furey, M.D. ’62

Jay Y. Lee, M.D. ‘86 Adelaide G. Nardone, M.D. ‘83 Christopher F. X. Riegler, M.D. ’88 Henry I. Saphier, M.D. ’61 Alyssa M. Simeone M.D. ’16

BOARD OF ADVISORS Martin Katzenstein, M.D. ’78, Chair Nirmala Akkapeddi, M.D. Sabra Brock, Ph.D. William J. Camera, C.P.A. Edward Chew, M.D. ’03 Steven H. Cho, D.D.S. Eric I. Choe, M.D. ’88 Raymond A. Conta, J.D. Noreen Ferrante, M.D. ’86 Kathleen Case Finzel, M.D. ’87 Moshe E. Hirth, M.D. ’88 Moira T. Imperial Howard Jonas Norman L. Maron, M.D. ’70 Beth McErlean-Pierce Ruben Medina

Monica Y. Michell, M.D. ’82 Leonard J. Newman, M.D. ’70 Rebecca B. Newman, M.D. ’05 Stuart A. Paris Lawrence Rein Anne Negrin Reis, M.D. ’02 Bruce Schanzer William Smith Susan Tierman, M.D. ’79 Steven Topfer, D.O. Rajesh Verma, M.D. ’93 Anthony Viceroy Vincent J. Vigorita, M.D. ’76 Patricia White, M.D. John M. Zimmerman, M.D. ’78

SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND PRACTICE ALUMNI LEADERSHIP COUNCIL Christina Damo, M.S. ’10, Chair Karel Amaranth, M.P.H. ’10 Jillian Annunziata, M.P.H. ’15 Linda Assante, M.P.H. ’12 Ellen Bloom, M.P.H. ’00 Tiffany Channer, M.P.H. ’13 Sheila Conklin, M.P.H. ’00 Carolyn DeGoria, D.P.T. ’13 Nina Luppino, M.P.H. ’09 46

C H I R O N I A N 2020

Zachary R. Messer, M.P.H. ’15 Fnu Namrata BDS, M.P.H. ’18 Jaclyn (Offitto) Rance, M.S. ’10 Jesse S. Rosenblatt, M.P.H. ’07 Denise Serrano-Eanelli, Dr.Ph. ’19, M.P.H, M.S., R.D. Julia Telfer, M.P.H. ’15 Jason Tenzer, M.P.H. ’04

ALUMNI PROFILE Anton Bennett, Ph.D. ’93 Unlocking the Power of PTPs to Regulate Cell Behavior

BY KRISTIN BAIRD RATTINI

H

ow do protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) regulate cell signaling pathways and lead to the development of disease? Those questions drive the work of Anton Bennett, Ph.D. ’93, the Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Pharmacology and Professor of Comparative Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine.

Throughout his tenure at Yale, Dr. Bennett has unlocked just how crucial of a role that PTPs play in cell function.

“PTPs are a very highly regulated family of enzymes involved in modifying proteins,” he explains. “Those modifications allow enzymes in our body to be either switched off or switched on, and so PTPs control the ability of a cell to work properly. Understanding how PTPs are involved in switching enzymes on and off can lead us to knowledge about basic cellular functions, but it has also led us to uncover pathways in which these enzymes when dysfunctional can cause human disease. And what we’ve been able to do is connect those altered PTP functions to a variety of different human diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

For example, he discovered that a particular PTP known as MAPK phosphatase 1 is overexpressed in individuals with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Using genetic knockout models in mice, Dr. Bennett eliminated the expression of MAPK phosphatase 1 and then fed the mice a high-fat diet. The mice no longer gained weight and their ability to respond to insulin improved significantly. “We’re now researching how we can target MAPK phosphatase 1 pharmacologically to come up with new therapeutic strategies for obesity and/or type 2 diabetes.”

He also discovered that mutations in a PTP known as SHP-2 lead to the activation of pathways in the heart that cause a congenital heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or enlargement of the heart. “By identifying targets that SHP-2 interacts with, we can work out how to disable SHP-2 aberrant activity during development,” Dr. Bennett says.

During his decade as co-director of the Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism Program at Yale, he has assembled a team of 12 faculty investigators from varied backgrounds to work toward a common goal: to understand the underpinnings of metabolism in health and disease. “We’re able to answer questions in