Daniel L. Kastner (born 1951) is an American physician and researcher specialising in the genetics of

autoinflammatory Periodic fever syndromes are a set of disorders characterized by recurrent episodes of systemic and organ-specific inflammation. Unlike autoimmune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus, in which the disease is caused by abnormalities of ...

disorders. He is a Distinguished Investigator at the National Institutes of Health and was the scientific director of the

National Human Genome Research Institute The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is an institute of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland. NHGRI began as the Office of Human Genome Research in The Office of the Director in 1988. This Office transi ...

between 2010 and 2021. He was awarded the 2021 Crafoord Prize for Polyarthritis for his pioneering work on

autoinflammatory disease Periodic fever syndromes are a set of disorders characterized by recurrent episodes of systemic and organ-specific inflammation. Unlike autoimmune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus, in which the disease is caused by abnormalities o ...

Early life and education

Kastner was born in Lockport, New York, in 1951. Kastner earned a BA in philosophy from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1973. and an MD and PhD from

Baylor College of Medicine The Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a private medical school in Houston, Texas, United States. Originally as the Baylor University College of Medicine from 1903 to 1969, the college became independent with the current name and has been se ...

Career

Kastner joined the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

in 1985 and is scientific director of the Division of Intramural Research of the National Human Genome Research Institute. His research there "has focused on using genetic and genomic strategies to understand inherited disorders of inflammation". His work has led to the recognition and treatment of a range of autoinflammatory disorders. In 1987 his was one of two teams which simultaneously discovered and published the genetic mutation which causes FMF, and since then he has worked on disorders including TRAPS and DADA2. In 2020 he was one of the authors of the paper which first described the

VEXAS syndrome VEXAS syndrome is an adult-onset autoinflammatory disease primarily affecting males, caused by a somatic mutation of the '' UBA1'' gene in hematopoietic progenitor cells. The name VEXAS is an acronym deriving from the core features of disease: : V ...

. he is working on

Behçet's disease Behçet's disease (BD) is a type of inflammatory disorder which affects multiple parts of the body. The most common symptoms include painful sores on the mucous membranes of the mouth and other parts of the body, inflammation of parts of the ...

. Kastner has said that he plans to leave his post of scientific director at NHGRI "in the next few months". He will continue to work with the 3,000 patients in his clinic, and "find yet more disease genes, understand how they work, and develop new treatments." The chair of the Crafoord Prize committee, , said in 2021:

Dan Kastner is often called the father of autoinflammatory diseases, a title that he thoroughly deserves. His discoveries have taught us a great deal about the immune system and its functions, contributing to effective treatments that reduce the symptoms of diseases from which patients previously suffered enormously, sometimes leading to premature death

Honors and recognition

Kastner was elected to 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 2010 and to the

National Academy 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 ...

in 2012. In 2018 Kastner was named "Federal Employee of the Year" in the

Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals The Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, also known as "the Sammies", honor members of the federal government workforce, highlighting the work of employees making significant contributions to the governance of the United States. The awards ...

("the Sammies"). and in 2019 he won the Ross Prize for Molecular Medicine. He was awarded the 2021 Crafoord Prize in Polyarthritis, with the citation "for establishing the concept of autoinflammatory diseases".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kastner, Dan 1951 births Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Princeton University alumni Baylor College of Medicine alumni National Institutes of Health people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the National Academy of Medicine People from Lockport, New York American medical researchers American geneticists