Daniel Kastner, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief
Genetics and Genomics Branch
National Institute of Arthritis
and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland
www.niams.nih.gov

Dr. Kastner obtained his A.B. degree summa cum laude from Princeton University and completed the M.D., Ph.D. program at Baylor College of Medicine. While completing graduate studies with Dr. Robert R. Rich in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dr. Kastner was the first to show cytotoxic T-lymphocytes directed against the MHC-associated Qa-1 molecule. Elected to the AOA, Dr. Kastner completed his M.D. with honor in 1982. He then completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Baylor and became Chief Resident in 1985.

Currently, Dr. Kastner is the Chief of the Genetics and Genomics Branch, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), National Institute of Health.

Dr. Kastner began his career at the NIH as a Rheumatogy Fellow, later shifting his research towards the genetic basis of human rheumatic disease. He was then appointed a Senior Investigator in the Arthritis and Rheumatism Branch of NIAMS and his laboratory work culminated in the identification of the FMF gene as a novel inflammatory regulator expressed in granulocytes. In 1999, his lab discovered that a dominantly inherited periodic fever syndrome similar to FMF is caused by mutations in the p55 TNF-receptor, a result that has led to the successful use of anti-TNF agents in this disorder. More recently, his group played a key role in the identification of mutations in CIAS1 associated with neonatal onset multisystem inflammatory disease (NOMID). In the past decade, Dr. Kastner’s lab has also greatly contributed to understanding the genetic basis of cystinuria, the most common inherited form of kidney stones.

A member of several professional organizations including the American College of Rheumatology and the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Dr. Kastner is a recipient of a number of awards including the Lee C. Howley Prize for Research in Arthritis from the National Arthritis Foundation and the NIAMS Mentoring Award.