Jeffrey M. Friedman

Jeffrey Friedman, MD, PhD, (born July 20, 1954) is a molecular geneticist at New York City's Rockefeller University. His discovery of the hormone leptin and its role in regulating body weight has had a major role in the area of human obesity.

Biography

Friedman was born in Orlando, Florida in 1954, and grew up in North Woodmere, New York, graduating from Hewlett High School in the Class of 1971. [Kerr, Kathleen. he now has 2 wonder ful kids named alex and nathalie friedman [http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-century_of_science_dissons,0,7662594.story "They Began Here: Around the country, leading thinkers in health and science can trace their roots to Long Island"] , "Newsday", July 16, 2008. Accessed September 17, 2008. "And Dr. Jeffrey Friedman is another respected scientist who hails from Long Island -- he grew up in North Woodmere."] He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and, in 1977, received his medical degree from Albany Medical College of Union University in Albany, NY (through a combined six year program). [ [http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/obesity/friedman.html BioInteractive - Jeffery M. Friedman, M.D., Ph. D.] ] His postgraduate life includes completing two residencies at Albany Medical Center Hospital, a postgraduate fellowship at Rockefeller as well as one at Cornell University Medical College. In 1986, he received a Ph.D. and became an assistant investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). [http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/22784.php "Jeffrey Friedman, discoverer of leptin, receives Gairdner, Passano awards"] , "Medical News Today", April 14, 2005. Accessed September 17, 2008.]

Awards

His work in the area of obesity led to him receiving two prestigious awards in 2005: the Gairdner Foundation International Award and the Passano Foundation Award. His work on leptin garnered him much television time, including an appearance on the PBS show "Scientific American Frontiers" in a long interview with host Alan Alda. In July 1997 he was awarded the Danone International Prize for Nutrition. [ [http://newswire.rockefeller.edu/?page=engine&id=641 Rockefeller University: "Obesity researcher awarded Danone nutrition prize"] ]

References