Full Name
Michael Welsh, MD
Job Title
Professor of Internal Medicine, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Company
University of Iowa
Speaker Bio
Dr. Michael Welsh is the Carver Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Iowa. From 1989-2024, he was an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He directs the Pappajohn Biomedical Institute and the Cystic Fibrosis Research Center.
Dr. Welsh obtained an MD and completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Iowa. He then trained in pulmonary medicine and research at the University of California, San Francisco and physiology at the University of Texas, Houston.
Dr. Welsh and his colleagues discovered that the protein affected in cystic fibrosis is an anion channel, elucidated its functional mechanisms, discovered ways that mutations disrupt function, and showed that mutations can be rescued. This work led directly to development of medicines that target CFTR and are highly effective for most cystic fibrosis patients. To understand disease pathogenesis, he and his collaborators developed cystic fibrosis pigs, the first mammal, other than mice, in which a gene was targeted to generate a disease model.
His clinical activities focused on pulmonary diseases. He has trained many physicians and scientists and received the Distinguished Mentor Award, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.
Dr. Welsh served as president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and of the Association of American Physicians. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences. Recent honors include Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (2025), Yergin-New International Prize for Biomedical Research (2025), The Canada Gairdner International Award (2025), The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences (2023), The Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine (2022), and the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize (2018).
Dr. Welsh obtained an MD and completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Iowa. He then trained in pulmonary medicine and research at the University of California, San Francisco and physiology at the University of Texas, Houston.
Dr. Welsh and his colleagues discovered that the protein affected in cystic fibrosis is an anion channel, elucidated its functional mechanisms, discovered ways that mutations disrupt function, and showed that mutations can be rescued. This work led directly to development of medicines that target CFTR and are highly effective for most cystic fibrosis patients. To understand disease pathogenesis, he and his collaborators developed cystic fibrosis pigs, the first mammal, other than mice, in which a gene was targeted to generate a disease model.
His clinical activities focused on pulmonary diseases. He has trained many physicians and scientists and received the Distinguished Mentor Award, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.
Dr. Welsh served as president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and of the Association of American Physicians. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences. Recent honors include Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (2025), Yergin-New International Prize for Biomedical Research (2025), The Canada Gairdner International Award (2025), The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences (2023), The Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine (2022), and the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize (2018).
Speaking At
