Betty Diamond (born 11 May 1948, in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

) is an American physician and researcher. She is director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at

Northwell Health Northwell Health is a nonprofit integrated healthcare network that is New York State's largest healthcare provider and private employer, with more than 105,000 employees. The flagship hospitals of Northwell are North Shore University Hos ...

's Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, NY. She was elected a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 2022.

Education

Betty Diamond received her B.A. in Art History (Magna Cum) from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

in 1969 and her M.D. from

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

in 1973. In 1976 she began her residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY and in 1979 embarked on post-doctoral fellowship in Immunology with Dr. Matthew Scharff at the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a Private university, private medical school in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein is an independent degree-granting institution within the Montefiore Einstein Health System. Einstein hosts Doc ...

, Bronx, NY.

Academic career

Diamond has been on the faculty and chief of rheumatology at both Einstein and Columbia. She is currently head of the Center for Autoimmune and Musculoskeletal Disease at

The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset, New York, United States, on Long Island, is the research home of Northwell Health. Feinstein Institutes is home to 50 research labs, 2,500 clinical research studies, and 5,000 professio ...

and Professor of Molecular Medicine at

Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine The Zucker School of Medicine is the medical school of Hofstra University in the town of Hempstead on Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. The academic institution was established in 2008 by Hofstra University and the North Shore-LIJ Hos ...

. She has been on the board of the

American College of Rheumatology The American College of Rheumatology (ACR; until 1985 called American Rheumatism Association) is an organization of and for physicians, health professionals, and scientists that advances rheumatology through programs of education, research, advocac ...

, is past president of the American Association of Immunology, and is a member of the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

. She is also past chair of the scientific advisory board of the

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) is one of the institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ...

(NIAMS) and has been on their Scientific Council. Diamond helped to establish (and named) the Advancing Women in Science and Medicine group at the Feinstein Institutes in 2010. AWSM (pronounced “awesome”) uses philanthropic support to help advance the careers of women scientists, countering

gender bias Gender bias is the tendency to prefer one gender over another. It is a form of unconscious bias, or implicit bias, which occurs when one individual unconsciously attributes certain attitudes and stereotypes to another person or group of people ...

and increasing

gender equity Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

Research

Diamond's primary interests are in the mechanisms of central and peripheral tolerance of autoreactive

B cells B cells, also known as B lymphocytes, are a type of the lymphocyte subtype. They function in the humoral immunity component of the adaptive immune system. B cells produce antibody molecules which may be either secreted or inserted into the plasm ...

, and the defects in these mechanisms that are present in

autoimmune disease An autoimmune disease is a condition that results from an anomalous response of the adaptive immune system, wherein it mistakenly targets and attacks healthy, functioning parts of the body as if they were foreign organisms. It is estimated tha ...

, as well as the role of

antibodies An antibody (Ab) or immunoglobulin (Ig) is a large, Y-shaped protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily which is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize antigens such as bacteria and viruses, including those that caus ...

in brain disease. Diamond identified the first idiotype marker on anti-DNA antibodies in patients with lupus, and discovered that anti-DNA antibodies in patients and mice shared characteristics with antibodies to pneumococcal polysaccharide. Diamond showed that a single base change in a protective anti-pneumococcal antibody could convert it into a potentially pathogenic anti-DNA antibody. She also found that a peptide that binds to 50% of anti-DNA antibodies in lupus patients and mice represents an

epitope An epitope, also known as antigenic determinant, is the part of an antigen that is recognized by the immune system, specifically by antibodies, B cells, or T cells. The part of an antibody that binds to the epitope is called a paratope. Although e ...

on glutamate receptors of the brain and can destroy neurons. Antibodies against the epitope are present in the cerebrospinal fluid and in brain tissue of patients with neuropsychiatric lupus. Her work provides a mechanism for aspects of neuropsychiatric lupus, and more generally for acquired changes in cognition and behavior. Diamond also studies the role that

hormones A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs or tissues by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones a ...

may play in the development of lupus.

Selected awards and honors

* 2022, Presidential Gold Medal,

(ACR) * 2022, Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences * 2022, Women in Medicine and Science Leadership Award,

Association of American Medical Colleges Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry * Voluntary associati ...

(AAMC) * 2011, Mentor Award, American College of Rheumatology * 2008, Evelyn V. Hess research Award,

Lupus Foundation of America The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), founded in 1977, is a national voluntary health organization based in Washington, D.C., with a network of chapters, offices and support groups located in communities throughout the United States. The Founda ...

, Inc. * 2006, Member,

* 2006, Fellow,

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

(AAAS) * 2005, Klemperer award,

* 2004, Recognition Award, National Association of MD-PhD Programs * 2004, Einstein Honorary Alumni Award,

* 2004, Klemperer Award

New York Academy of Medicine The New York Academy of Medicine (the Academy) is a health policy and advocacy organization founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health r ...

and Arthritis Foundation (NY Chapter) * 2002, Lee Howley Award, Arthritis Foundation * 2001, Outstanding Investigator Award, American College of Rheumatology * 2000, Scientific Leadership Award, SLE Lupus Foundation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, Betty 1948 births Living people American immunologists American rheumatologists Harvard Medical School alumni Radcliffe College alumni Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the National Academy of Medicine