Dr. Michael Seidman is soon to be a member of the clinical faculty of Providence Health Care and the University of British Columbia, focusing on clinical care, education, and research relating to cardiovascular pathology. He was recruited by Dr. McManus to UBC in 2013 specifically to take on a role in the Cardiovascular Tissue Registry. Dr. Seidman has training in vascular biology, immunology, molecular biology, genetics, and anatomic pathology.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Dr. Seidman grew up in suburban Baltimore, in suburban Chicago, Illinois, in Richmond, Indiana, and in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Cornell University and earned a Bachelor of the Arts in Biological Sciences. His undergraduate research was split between two laboratories, one focused on molecular biology and molecular genetics and the other working on the cell biology of viral gene therapy vectors. He was the recipient of the Goldwater Scholarship of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program.
Dr. Seidman spent a year in Cambridge, England, studying as a Churchill Scholar of the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States. He completed a Master of Philosophy degree in Physiology, working on peptide phage display to identify drug targeting ligands.
Returning to the States, Dr. Seidman undertook studies in the NIH funded Medical Scientist Training Program at the Weill Cornell / Rockefeller / Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional MD/PhD Program in New York City. Completing a thesis relating to the genetics and cell biology of leukocyte migration, Dr. Seidman earned his PhD in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis.
Upon completion of his MD, Dr. Seidman initiated a residency in Anatomic Pathology at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Seidman also conducted subspecialty training in Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Pathology and in Molecular Genetic Pathology, as well as spending a term serving as the Chief Resident. During this time, Dr. Seidman’s academic efforts were focused on translational studies aimed at improving diagnostic understanding of non-neoplastic disease.
Moving forward, Dr. Seidman hopes to continue translational and collaborative research relating to cardiovascular disease, in particular inflammatory and congenital cardiovascular conditions. Much of his own work leverages the resources within the Cardiovascular Tissue Registry, and he is available to discuss ways in which other researchers can harness this invaluable resource.