Jack A. Elias

Background

Jack Angel Elias was born on April 10, 1951, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Gabriel and Alma Elias. His parents later moved from Arkansas to New York, and the family eventually settled in Pennsylvania, where Elias spent most of his childhood and adolescence. He was one of six children.

His early life connected the American South with the urban and educational environment of Pennsylvania. He attended Cheltenham High School in the Philadelphia area and graduated in 1969, later remaining in Pennsylvania for his undergraduate and medical education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Education

Elias graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology in 1973 and received his Doctor of Medicine degree there in 1976. The university's medical and scientific programs provided the academic setting for his early development as a physician-scientist.

He completed an internship and junior residency in internal medicine at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston. He then returned to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for senior residency training and fellowships in allergy and immunology and pulmonary and critical-care medicine. His training combined clinical internal medicine with the emerging laboratory-based study of inflammatory and respiratory disease.

Career

Elias began his postgraduate medical training at Tufts-New England Medical Center, completing an internship and junior residency in internal medicine from 1976 to 1978. Tufts-New England Medical Center was a major teaching hospital in Boston, integrating clinical service with graduate medical education.

He continued at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed senior residency training and fellowships in allergy and immunology and pulmonary and critical-care medicine from 1979 to 1982. He subsequently joined the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine faculty, serving as an assistant professor and then associate professor in pulmonary and critical-care medicine. His academic work there included clinical teaching and research in lung inflammation and respiratory disease.

In 1990, Elias moved to Yale University School of Medicine as professor of medicine and chief of pulmonary and critical-care medicine. Yale's Department of Internal Medicine combined a large academic clinical enterprise with extensive biomedical research, and the pulmonary section expanded its clinical and research missions during his leadership. In 2000 he was named the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Medicine. In 2006 he became chair of Yale's Department of Internal Medicine and physician-in-chief of Yale-New Haven Hospital, positions he held until 2013; he was also appointed professor of immunobiology in 2007.

At Yale, Elias investigated the cellular and molecular mechanisms of asthma, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, acute lung injury, and tissue repair. His laboratory studied cytokines, transforming growth factor beta, chitinases, chitinase-like proteins, and genetic models of lung disease. His research received continuous National Institutes of Health support from 1982 and included work directed toward translating experimental findings into improved understanding of human lung disorders.

Elias joined Brown University in September 2013 as dean of medicine and biological sciences and Frank L. Day Professor of Biology. Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School is the medical education center of the university's Division of Biology and Medicine. As dean, Elias promoted translational science, helped establish the Brown Institute for Translational Science in 2015, and led the division through February 2022; Brown reported substantial growth in research funding and the development of new integrated research centers during his tenure. He subsequently served Brown as senior health advisor while continuing academic research and teaching roles.

Achievements

• Elias developed influential research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, acute lung injury, and tissue repair, including studies of chitinases and chitinase-like proteins.

• His research established connections between chitinase 3-like-1 and inflammatory, fibrotic, and tissue-repair processes in lung disease, contributing to the molecular understanding of asthma and pulmonary fibrosis.

• As dean of medicine and biological sciences at Brown University from 2013 to 2022, Elias promoted translational science and helped establish the Brown Institute for Translational Science.

• Elias contributed to more than 200 peer-reviewed research publications and held patents related to biomedical research and lung disease.

Works

• journal article

  • Chitinases and chitinase-like proteins in T(H)2 inflammation and asthma

    (Co-authored analysis of mammalian chitinases and chitinas...)

    2005
  • Chitinase 3-like 1 suppresses injury and promotes fibroproliferative responses in Mammalian lung fibrosis

    (Co-authored translational study of chitinase 3-like 1 in ...)

    2014
  • New insights into the pathogenesis of asthma

    (Co-authored review of the cellular and molecular mechanis...)

    2003
  • State of the art. Mechanistic heterogeneity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: insights from transgenic mice

    (Co-authored review examining genetically modified mouse m...)

    2006
  • Acidic mammalian chitinase regulates epithelial cell apoptosis via a chitinolytic-independent mechanism

    (Co-authored experimental study of acidic mammalian chitin...)

    2009
  • Chitinase-3-Like 1 Inhibits Innate Antitumor and Tissue Remodeling Immune Responses by Regulating CD47-SIRPα- and CD24-Siglec10-Mediated Phagocytosis

    (Co-authored research examining chitinase 3-like 1 and its...)

    2024
  • Role of breast regression protein-39/YKL-40 in asthma and allergic responses

    (Co-authored review of BRP-39/YKL-40, a chitinase-like pro...)

    2010

Views

Elias's scientific outlook emphasizes translational medicine: basic biological discoveries should be studied in clinically relevant settings and advanced toward applications that address disease. His research and academic leadership have consistently linked laboratory investigation, patient care, medical education, and institutional development.

His work on asthma, lung injury, fibrosis, and repair reflects a disease-oriented approach to biomedical science. Rather than treating clinical medicine and laboratory research as separate activities, he has presented them as mutually informing parts of physician-scientist practice.

Membership

Elias has participated in several major professional and scientific organizations in pulmonary medicine, internal medicine, and biomedical research. His professional affiliations include the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Thoracic Society, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Lung Association.

His leadership in the Association of American Physicians included service as a councilor, vice president, and president. He also held leadership and scientific-service roles in the American Thoracic Society and served on advisory and review bodies connected with the National Institutes of Health.

• Elected Fellow.

  American College of Chest Physicians , United States

  1991 - present

• Elected member.

  American Society for Clinical Investigation , United States

  1992 - present

• Served in scientific and leadership roles, including secretary and president of the society's science assembly.

  American Thoracic Society , United States

  1988 - present

• Served as councilor from 2003 to 2011, vice president from 2009 to 2010, and president from 2010 to 2011.

  Association of American Physicians , United States

  1998 - present

• Elected member of the Institute of Medicine, now the National Academy of Medicine.

  National Academy of Medicine , United States

  2010 - present

• Participated as a scholar and career investigator in the association's pulmonary research programs.

  American Lung Association , United States

  1982 - present

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• Brown University described Elias as a physician-scientist whose leadership emphasized translational science and the movement of biomedical discoveries toward medical application.

Connections

Elias married Sandra Gross on January 3, 1981. They have one daughter, Lauren Rachel Elias. His professional and family life has been associated with Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, reflecting his movement among the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and Brown University.

Father:

Gabriel Elias

Mother:

Alma Elias

Daughter:

Lauren Rachel Elias

Elias's daughter.

Wife:

Sandra Gross

Married Jack Elias in 1981.

References

• Jack Elias, MD — Yale School of Medicine Institutional biography documenting Elias's birthplace, education, clinical training, Yale appointments, professional service, research interests, honors, and emeritus status.
  2024
• Elias, Jack — Brown University Faculty profile documenting Elias's Brown appointments, education, credentials, research areas, professional honors, and scientific service.
• Elias named dean of medicine and biological sciences — Brown University Brown University announcement of Elias's appointment as dean of medicine and biological sciences beginning in September 2013.
  2013
• Jack Elias to transition to senior health advisor at Brown University Brown University account of Elias's transition from the deanship to senior health advising and his work promoting translational science and an integrated academic health system.
  2021
• History of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Institutional history documenting Elias's service as dean from 2013 to 2022 and developments in Brown's research enterprise during his tenure.
• Five from Yale elected to prestigious Institute of Medicine — Yale News Yale University report describing Elias's election to the Institute of Medicine, his leadership at Yale, and his research on asthma and lung disorders.
  2010