Three UCLA physicians elected to the Association of American Physicians

Three UCLA faculty members —Dr. Lillian Gelberg, Dr. Roger Lo and Dr. Jeffrey Saver— have been elected to the Association of American Physicians (AAP) in recognition of their exceptional contributions to the advancement of basic or translational biomedical research.

Being elected to the medical society is an honor limited to only 70 physicians per year and signifies not only individual achievement but also a commitment to excellence, collaboration, and the advancement of medical science and patient care.

The addition of Gelberg, Lo and Saver brings the number of AAP members from UCLA Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA to 48.

Dr. Lillian Gelberg is a family physician, health services researcher and professor in the department of family medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the Fielding School of Public Health and the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Her research focuses on community-based research including health promotion intervention clinical trials to improve healthy lifestyles and prevent cancer, substance use disorders, obesity, and other chronic diseases. Her work with diverse, low-income patients and homeless populations, including Veterans and their families, is advancing the national agenda to end homelessness and to promote healthy lifestyle change via integration of prevention into primary care. Gelberg is also a member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and a member of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Roger Lo is a physician-scientist at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, professor of medicine, dermatology and molecular & medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and associate chief of dermatology. Lo seeks to better understand the mechanisms of therapeutic resistance in metastatic melanoma in order to build rationales for clinical trials and to develop novel treatments and combinatorial regimens. His laboratory focuses on current standard-of-care therapies that are highly active but can lose efficacy over time due to different forms of resistance to the drugs. Discoveries from his lab include fundamental insights into cancer development and progression, which served as key rationales for several clinical trials, including the successful development of BRAF and MEK inhibitor combination treatments for cancers with specific mutations. 

Dr. Jeffrey Saver is the director of the UCLA Comprehensive Stroke and Vascular Neurology Program and the senior associate vice chair for clinical research in neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His pioneering work on the use of clot-retrieval devices, combined with timely medical interventions, have helped dramatically reduce mortality and disability from stroke. Saver’s work with advanced clot-removal devices has shown the importance of probing the intersection of medical practice and emerging technology. He is currently investigating the use of wearable sensors to detect conditions that can cause clots to form and treatment to prevent strokes from occurring.

The AAP is an honorific, elected society of America’s leading physician-scientists who exemplify the pinnacle of pioneering and enduring, impactful contributions to improve health. It has about 1,900 active members and 755 emeritus and honorary members. Members of the AAP have included Nobel laureates and members of the National Academy of Sciences including the National Academy of Medicine (Institute of Medicine).