George King

What are you most proud of about your work at HMS/HSDM?
My laboratory was part of the effort that discovered vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as a cause of severe diabetic retinopathy, which is a major cause of blindness in people with diabetes. This discovery led to the development of an effective treatment for this most feared complication of diabetes. It is estimated that VEGF treatment prevents blindness in approximately 250,000 people annually.

We also contribute significantly to the national effort to increase awareness and understanding about diabetes in Asian Americans who develop diabetes at low or normal body weight (body mass index --BMI). The risk of diabetes in Asian Americans largely goes undetected by medical practitioners who often look for overweight or obesity as risk factors for the disease. Joslin's Asian American Diabetes Initiative (AADI) provides clinical services and community outreach to the Asian American community locally and nationally.

What unique skills and/or talents do you bring to your job?
Our research has also used discoveries from many fields to increase understanding and find new treatments for diabetic patients such as the advance in Vascular Biology and nutrition to discover new treatments for diabetic complications. Second, my interest in the differences of clinical signs of diabetes in multiple ethnic groups emphasized the need to understand the pathogenesis of diabetes be disaggregated by population in order to find the optimal method for its prevention and treatments.

What is the significance of the object you brought with you to the photo shoot?
The doctor bag I am holding was a gift from my parents upon my graduation. It is a powerful reminder that medical discoveries originate from interactions with patients and they are only successful when proven in people.