DRI Scientific Director Dr. Camillo Ricordi, together with three other physicians from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, was inducted into the prestigious Association of American Physicians (AAP), founded in 1885 for “the advancement of scientific and practical medicine.” Induction is considered a great honor as members have included Nobel laureates and members of the National Academy of Science and the Institute of Medicine.
The esteemed group was inducted during the organization’s annual meeting in Chicago on April 24.
“It is an incredible accomplishment to have four faculty members from the same institution inducted into the AAP at the same time,” said Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Miller School and CEO of the University of Miami Health System. “All four inductees are stellar physician-scientists who have contributed greatly to the advancement of science in their chosen fields.”
“It is an honor to become a member of such a prestigious society. As the only surgeon accepted this year and one of the few ever inducted, I am extremly grateful to the AAP selection committee for the consideration and recognition,” said Dr. Ricordi. “I accept this great honor on behalf of all of the outstanding scientists and staff of the Diabetes Research Institute who have made our work and progress toward a cure possible.”
Dr. Ricordi is considered one of the world’s leading scientists in cell transplantation and is well-known for developing the automated method for islet cell isolation called the “Ricordi method.” The procedure makes it possible to isolate large numbers of pancreatic islets and is now used by laboratories worldwide performing clinical islet transplants in patients with type 1 diabetes. Dr. Ricordi led the team that performed the first series of successful clinical islet transplants in 1990.
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