Dr. Gary Firestein

Dr. Gary S. Firestein, professor of medicine, dean and associate vice chancellor of Translational Medicine and director of the Clinical and Translational Research Institute at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has been named the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Jane Wyman Humanitarian Award. This award recognizes Firestein's "affiliation with the Arthritis Foundation and its mission, and his extraordinary leadership in rheumatology and philanthropy in the community."

The award will be presented at the foundation's Commitment to a Cure Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills on Nov. 1. Past recipients of the Jane Wyman Humanitarian Award have included Victoria Principal; Sarah Purcell; Kathy Ireland; William Friedkin, Academy Award-winning director of "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist"; Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers manager; and Academy Award-winning actor Al Pacino.

Firestein is considered leading expert in the field of rheumatoid arthritis, a disabling and chronic disease affecting some 2.1 million Americans. His research focuses on the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and mechanisms of inflammation and his studies have played a pivotal role in the development of the highly effective drugs to treat this crippling disease.