Diabetes Dateline

Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., Appointed Director of NIDDK

Allen M. Spiegel, M.D.

Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., was appointed director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) on November 15, 1999, by Harold Varmus, M.D., then director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Spiegel, who has served as scientific director of NIDDK since 1990, succeeds Phillip Gorden, M.D., who served as NIDDK director from 1986 to 1999.

Dr. Spiegel is an internationally recognized endocrinologist whose research on signal transduction has helped define the genetic basis of several endocrine diseases. His research has established that inherited disease can be caused by defects in G proteins, which serve as intermediaries between hormone receptors and effectors. Dr. Spiegel and his colleagues at NIH have identified mutations in G proteins that result in defective cell signalling and cause certain inherited disorders.

Dr. Spiegel has also participated in a collaborative effort with colleagues in NIDDK and the National Human Genome Research Institute at NIH to clone the tumor suppressor gene that, when mutated, causes endocrine neoplasia type 1, an inherited disorder, as well as sporadic endocrine and other tumors.

As scientific director of NIDDK, Dr. Spiegel has led one of the largest intramural research programs at NIH. In addition to guiding 21 different laboratories and branches, he recently established a new branch to study the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes and to test new treatments that would allow kidney and pancreatic islet transplantation without the need for immunosuppressive agents.

"Throughout my career, I have tried to forge strong links between fundamental science and clinical medicine. Now, I am enthusiastic about being able to do this on a larger scale," Dr. Spiegel said.

He also said that NIDDK must continue its strong support for basic science because it offers "the best promise for discovering new knowledge relevant to human disease." At the same time, he added, "We must vigorously support efforts to apply this new knowledge so that it reaches patients with the many serious disorders NIDDK studies and measurably improves their lives and those of their families."

After graduating cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1971, Dr. Spiegel completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He joined NIDDK's Endocrinology Research Training Program in 1973, under the mentorship of the late Dr. Gerald Aurbach. Dr. Spiegel became a senior investigator in the Metabolic Diseases Branch and chief of the Molecular Pathophysiology Section 8 years later. In 1988, he was promoted to branch chief.

Dr. Spiegel has received numerous awards in recognition of his accomplishments, most recently the 1998 Edwin B. Astwood Lecture Award from the Endocrine Society and the 1996 Komrower Memorial Lecture Award from the Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism.

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