Fred S. Gorelick MD

Dr. Gorelick is a physician scientist who oversees a research laboratory that studies the earliest events in acute pancreatitis with the primary goal of identifying disease mechanisms that might provide attractive therapeutic targets. To provide clinically relevant information, his laboratory performs in vivo studies in murine models of mild and severe disease. Cellular models of acute pancreatitis, using isolated pancreatic acinar cells, are also used to examine early cellular events in acute pancreatitis. Dr. Gorelick first demonstrated that pancreatic proteases could undergo regulated processing to their active form in the pancreatic acinar and has pursued the mechanism of zymogen activation in the acinar cell for over 25 years. His more recent work has extended more into in vivo pancreatitis models and highlighted pathways that might mediated pancreatitis severity and be relevant to clinical disease. His publications reflect his expertise and progress. Over 65 of his 97 peer-reviewed basic science studies and about 50 of his 70 reviews, chapters and editorials are related to this acute pancreatitis. Recent work (Ref 1-3), including that supported by his current Veterans Administration Merit Proposal (Ref 4), could provide a basis for pancreatitis therapy as well as a useful prognostic tool for predicting severe disease. His laboratory has been continuously funded by the NIH and VA for this work for 40 years. In addition to his role as a physician-scientist who cares for patients, Dr. Gorelick has relevant educational activities that include training a number of post-doctoral fellows who now have full time academic positions and are funded for pancreatic research and providing guidance and education as the Deputy Director of Yale’s NIH-funded MD-PhD program. He has also directed the Yale T32 training program for Digestive Diseases Fellows in Investigative Gastroenterology for the past 13 years. Dr. Gorelick also serves on other T32 advisory boards at both Yale and other institutions (e.g Duke, Univ Pennsylvania) and chairs the University of Penn NIH Digestive Disease advisory board.

1. Waterford SD, Kolodecik TR, Thrower EC, Gorelick FS. Vacuolar ATPase regulates zymogen activation in pancreatic acini. J Biol Chem. 2005 Feb 18;280(7):5430-4. PMID:15582989
2. S. Husain, T. Kolodecik, M. Nathanson, F. Gorelick. Regulation of zymogen processing in acinar cells by the ryanodine receptor. Proc Natl Acad Sci, USA. 2005 102:14386-91 PMC124228858.
3. Bhoomagoud M, Jung T, Atladottir J, Kolodecik TR, Shugrue C, Chaudhuri A, Thrower EC, Gorelick FS. Reducing Extracellular pH Sensitizes the Acinar Cell to Secretagogue-Induced Pancreatitis Responses in Rats. Gastroenterology. 2009 137:1083-92 PMC2736307
4. Kolodecik TR, Reed AM, Date K, Shugrue CA, Patel V, Chung SL, Desir GV, Gorelick FS. The serum protein renalase reduces injury in experimental pancreatitis. J Biol Chem. 2017 Dec 22;292(51):21047-21059. PMID:29042438