Schwartz was co-author of two articles on a common genetic variation found in people with pul-monary fibrosis, a chronic progressive lung disease. The median survival time of those diagnosed with the disease is three years. The articles were published to coincide with the conference.
One article, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, determines that the genetic variant is significantly more common in people diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. The other article, published online by the Journal of the American Medical Association, finds that the genetic variation helps predict survival and represents the first genetic test that can be used to predict the disease.
James J. Waring, MD, who was the first full-time chair of the School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine, was the first person to receive the Amberson Lecture honor in 1956.