Sally Wenzel

Sally Ellen Wenzel–Morganroth is an American pulmonologist. She is a professor and Rachel Carson Chair of Environmental Health at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Wenzel was formally the Co-Director of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Clinical Research Unit at National Jewish Medical and Research Center.

Sally Wenzel
Born
Inverness, Florida, US
Spouse(s)Dana Morganroth
Academic background
EducationBS, 1978, MD, 1981, University of Florida
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Pittsburgh
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

In 2012, Wenzel and Samuel Yousem were the first to identify asthmatic granulomatosis.

Early life and education

Wenzel was born to father Fred Wenzel in Inverness, Florida and attended Citrus High School.[1] In her senior year, she won the National Merit scholarship, Florida Regents Merit Certificate, Readers Digest Award, and the Bausch & Lomb Science Award.[2] She was also the recipient of Citrus High School's Outstanding Student Award after recording a perfect score in the college placement tests.[1] Upon graduating high school, Wenzel attended the University of Florida for her undergraduate and medical degrees and completed her residency in internal medicine at Wake Forest University.[3]

Career

Upon completing her fellowship, Wenzel accepted a position at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and with the American Thoracic Society (ATS). As a result of her academic research, she was elected a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology.[4] In 2010, her research project "Asthma Phenotypes: A Prelude to Mechanistic Insights on Disease Pathogenesis" earned her the ATS Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishments.[5]

Wenzel eventually left the University of Colorado to accept a professorship position at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. While there, Wenzel and Samuel Yousem were the first to identify asthmatic granulomatosis which is a subset of severe asthma "with small-airway changes consistent with asthma but also with interstitial nonnecrotizing granulomas."[6] In 2016, she was the first woman honored with the Breathing for Life Award from the American Thoracic Society for her "advocacy for women in science and mentoring of young scientists."[7] The following year, she was the recipient of the European Respiratory Society's Presidential Award which "recognizes outstanding contributions to the strengthening of respiratory medicine worldwide."[8]

Wenzel continued her research into the possible pathway leading to asthma exacerbation, which accumulated in a 2017 study published in the journal Cell. Alongside Valerian Kagan and Hulya Bayir, Wenzel described, for the first time, a cell-death pathway that can destroy healthy cells, resulting in tissue and organ damage. They found that the protein PEBP1 "serves as the pathway warden in controlling whether a certain enzyme (15LO) ends up making a fat molecule or lipid (OOH-PEs) in such volumes that they signal the activation of the cell-death process."[9] In 2018, Wenzel was appointed the Chair of Environmental and Occupational Health in the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.[10] She was also the recipient of the Ladies Hospital Aid Society Trailblazer award for her "studies of severe asthma, and asthma phenotypes."[11] While serving in the role as Chair of Environmental and Occupational Health, Wenzel became an investigator in the clinical trial for the new biologic drug dupilumab.[12]

Selected publications
  • The pathobiology of asthma: implications for treatment
  • Wenzel, Sally E.; Chipps, Bradley E.; Rasouliyan, Lawrence; Borish, Larry; Haselkorn, Tmirah; Lee, June H. (2007-12-01). "Risk Factors Associated With Persistent Airflow Limitation in Severe or Difficult-to-Treat Asthma: Insights From the TENOR Study". Chest. 132 (6): 1882–1889. doi:10.1378/chest.07-0713. ISSN 0012-3692. PMID 18079222.

References
  1. Twity, Jim (January 22, 1974). "Sally Wenzel". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved November 14, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  2. "200 attend Citrus High award fete". Tampa Bay Times. June 3, 1974. Retrieved November 14, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  3. "Sally E. Wenzel, MD". profiles.dom.pitt.edu. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  4. "Sally E. Wenzel, M.D." atopicderm.org. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  5. "RECOGNITION AWARDEES FOR SCIENTIFIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS". conference.thoracic.org. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  6. Rothenberg, Mark E.; Bousquet, Jean (October 1, 2012). "News Beyond Our Pages". The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 130 (4): 827–828. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2012.08.026. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  7. Synett, Lawrence (May 16, 2016). "Sally Wenzel Honored with Philanthropy Award From American Thoracic Society". inside.upmc.com. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  8. "Sally Wenzel Receives European Respiratory Society Presidential Award". pittwire.pitt.edu. September 27, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  9. Templeton, David (October 19, 2017). "Pitt researchers unlock clues to cell death, which could lead to preventive treatments". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  10. "Dr. Wenzel appointed new Chair of Environmental and Occupational Health". asthmainstitute.pitt.edu. May 2, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  11. "Dr. Wenzel Honored with 2018 LHAS Trailblazer Award". asthmainstitute.pitt.edu. September 10, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  12. Daly, Jill (April 8, 2019). "Severe asthma patients get new drugs, new understanding for 'invisible disease'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2020.

Sally Wenzel publications indexed by Google Scholar

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