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A conversation with Alan J. Garber, MD, PhD
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In this issue, Endocrine Today talks with Chief Medical Editor Alan J. Garber, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology at Baylor College of Medicine. He is also a past president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and chancellor of the American College of Endocrinology, and he chaired the task force that produced the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists’ Comprehensive Diabetes Management Algorithm 2013 Consensus Statement. Dedication to health care extends to Garber’s family — his wife is a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, his elder son is a neurosurgeon and his younger son is an endodontic surgeon.
What led you to your field?
Dr. Garber: I became attracted to metabolic research after the course in biochemistry I took my senior year at Temple University with Sidney Weinhouse, who at that time was the director of the Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology. He took a liking to me and actually believed I had some talent, which is tremendously encouraging to a young person — when an outsider believes you have abilities and is willing to mentor you. I had intended to go to medical school from about age 10, but I did a PhD in biochemistry after medical school. My advisor and I both concluded that the only medical specialty that seemed to work reasonably well with my research interests was in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism.
Alan J. Garber
What is the best career advice you’ve received?
Dr. Garber: To get a research degree in biochemistry. It taught me a way of rigorous thinking. If you want to go into medical research, to get your first grant it really helps to be able to prove you know something about research. Having a PhD with publications says that.
Have you ever been fortunate enough to witness or to have been part of medical history in the making?
Dr. Garber: The fundamental trials for metformin were presented to the FDA Advisory Board in 1994, and I was one of the five outside experts who did the bulk of the presentation.
What do you think will have the greatest influence on your field in the next 10 years?
Dr. Garber: For decades we had only insulin and sulfonylureas for the treatment of diabetes. But beginning in the 1990s we had this explosion of new diabetic therapies that really have allowed us to control most, if not all, patients given their cooperation. Those include metformin, the thiazolidinediones, the incretins and now the SGLT2 inhibitors. I know we’ve got more new therapeutic agents on the way.
What are some of your interests outside of medicine?
I’m interested in handmade things. For example, I collect antique French porcelains, woven Oriental rugs and contemporary art. I’ve been able to travel all over the world to find those pieces. My most recent piece is a bust of a French general who was involved in Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign that was deaccessioned from the Musée National de Ceramique de Sèvres, the national porcelain museum in Paris. – by Jill Rollet