Jan L. Breslow, M.D.

Jan L. Breslow, M.D., is Frederick Henry Leonhart Professor Emeritus at The Rockefeller University, where he studies susceptibility to atherosclerosis. His accomplishments include discovering human genetic variation in apo E, which is linked to LDL cholesterol levels, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and longevity. He is known for creating the first induced mutant mouse model of human atherosclerosis widely used for laboratory studies. He is also known for showing that overproduction of apo CIII is a major determinant of high triglyceride levels.

Dr. Breslow received undergraduate and master’s degrees in chemistry from Columbia University and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. After residency in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, he worked at the National Institutes of Health, and then returned to the faculty at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He joined the Rockefeller faculty in 1984. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the German National Academy of Sciences, and a past president of the American Heart Association.