Gary S. Firestein, MD, chair of the UC BRAID consortium that will oversee the new UC Center for Accelerated Innovations, is dean and associate vice chancellor of translational medicine at UC San Diego Health Sciences

He led UC San Diego’s successful effort to win a Clinical and Translational Science Award in 2010 and is the founding director of the UC San Diego Clinical and Translational Research Institute.

Firestein is professor of medicine and former chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology at UC San Diego. He served as division chief from 1998 until he stepped down in 2010 to devote full time to his activities as dean of translational medicine.

In 2011, philanthropists Lisa and Steve Altman made a major gift to the planned Clinical and Translational Research building on the La Jolla campus of UC San Diego Health System. Construction started in early 2013 and the building, named the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute, is scheduled to open in 2016.

More Information:

• Related UC San Diego news stories:
  • Dr. Gary S. Firestein Will Be New Dean for Translational Medicine at UC San Diego – March 20, 2008
  • UC San Diego Receives Major Clinical and Translational Science Award – July 14, 2010
  • UC San Diego Health Sciences Receives Gift for Translational Research Building – March 3, 2011
  • Community Celebrates Groundbreaking of Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute Facility – January 17, 2013
• UC San Diego:
  • Clinical and Translational Research Institute
  • Office of Research Affairs
• Research at the University of California:
  • University of California Research website
  • University of California Research blog
• Additional Resources:
  • Clinical and Translational Science Awards
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences website
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
  • Press release: NIH launches new centers to accelerate lab innovations to improve public health