Dr. Scott Friedman is a preeminent medical scientist and internationally recognized authority in liver disease research. He currently serves as the founding Dean for Therapeutic Discovery and Chief of the Division of Liver Diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, holding the distinguished position of Fishberg Professor of Medicine. His career has been defined by continuous National Institutes of Health funding since 1985, reflecting the sustained significance of his scientific contributions across decades. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Friedman has established himself as a transformative leader in hepatology through his commitment to advancing both basic science and clinical translation.
Dr. Friedman's most groundbreaking contribution was his pioneering research that isolated and characterized the hepatic stellate cell, identifying it as the key cell type responsible for scar production in liver disease. This seminal work, beginning in 1985, spawned an entirely new field of fibrosis research that has now reached clinical translation with multiple anti-fibrotic therapies entering human trials. His laboratory also made the significant discovery of KLF6, a novel tumor suppressor gene that is inactivated in multiple human cancers including primary liver cancer. These fundamental contributions have revolutionized the understanding of liver fibrosis and cancer pathogenesis, establishing fibrosis as a critical therapeutic target in hepatology.
With over 300 scientific publications to his name, Dr. Friedman has profoundly influenced the field of liver disease research and mentored more than 80 physicians and scientists who have gone on to leadership positions worldwide. He has held numerous prestigious leadership roles including President of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in 2009 and service on the Senior Advisory Council for the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. His exceptional contributions have been recognized with the International Hans Popper Award, the AASLD Distinguished Award, and the American Liver Foundation Distinguished Award. As Dean for Therapeutic Discovery, Dr. Friedman now oversees an expanding ecosystem dedicated to accelerating the translation of scientific discoveries into innovative therapies through education, infrastructure development, and strategic partnerships with institutions like Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
