Professor Dr. A. Cerami

 

Founder of the Kenneth F. Warren Institute

New York

United States of America

 

Dr. Cerami received his Ph.D. at the Rockefeller University and attended Harvard Medical School. He spent 30 years at the Rockefeller progressing from student to professor and eventually dean.  From 1991 to 1996 he was President of the Picower Institute for Medical Research and from 1996-2000 served as Director of the Kenneth S. Warren Institute, a not-for-profit research institute.   From 2000-present he has been Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Warren Pharmaceuticals Inc., and from 2006-present, Chief Executive Officer of Araim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 

 

Dr. Cerami's career has been dedicated to the translation of science to useful medical advances. For example his laboratory developed the HbA1c or glycohemoglobin test for monitoring glucose levels in diabetic patients.  This test is widely used throughout the world and is the gold standard of the FDA for evaluating new diabetes drugs.  Another major discovery was the identification of the cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) as a major player in the pathophysiology of many diseases.  With Masanobu Kawakami he patented the use of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of diseases with elevated TNF levels.  Anti- TNF therapies are currently approved for Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis and are the second largest selling biotechnology product with sales exceeding billion in 2006.  Dr. Cerami has been a consultant to many pharmaceuticals companies including Merck, DuPont, Chiron, and Roche, and has founded the biotechnology companies Alteon, Cytokine PharmaSciences Inc., Warren Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Araim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

Dr. Cerami is an author of 470 scientific publications and an inventor of over 150 patents.  He has received many awards including the Banting Award for his work in diabetes and the Von Behring Award for his role in the discovery of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) and its role in inflammatory diseases.  Dr. Cerami has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.