Dr. Dietz is the Victor A. McKusick Professor of Pediatrics at the Department of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His undergraduate training in biomedical engineering was performed at Duke University and his MD degree was received from the Health Sciences University of Syracuse. Clinical and research training in pediatrics, pediatric cardiology, and genetics occurred at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Dietz heads a multidisciplinary clinic for the diagnosis and management of individuals with heritable forms of cardiovascular disease, with a special emphasis on Marfan syndrome and related connective tissue disorders. He directs a group of dedicated molecular biologists focused on improvement of the lives of individuals with Marfan syndrome and related disorders through the development of novel diagnostic and treatment strategies. Dr. Dietz’s research is focused on elucidation of the etiology and pathogenesis of connective tissue disorders that involve the cardiovascular system. Using a human genetics approach, his group identified the genes responsible for multiple syndromic presentations of aortic aneurysm including Marfan syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome and Shprintzen-Goldberg syndrome. His lab is best known for in-depth mechanistic studies that involve the creation and characterization of animal models. This work has firmly implicated the TGF signaling pathway in aneurysm progression and has revealed many unanticipated treatment strategies. Dr. Dietz has received multiple prestigious awards including the Curt Stern and Mentorship Awards from the American Society of Human Genetics, the Taubman Prize for excellence in translational medical science, and the Harrington Prize from the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Harrington Discovery Institute. He is an inductee of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Academy of American Physicians, National Academy of Medicine, Association of American Physicians, and the National Academy of Sciences.