Janet L Funk

Janet L. Funk, MD, FACP, is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Dr. Funk leads a federally-funded research team that is focused on identifying new treatments for chronic diseases that have strong inflammatory components, including metabolic bone diseases, such as arthritis, bone tumors and osteoporosis, and cardiovascular diseases, including diabetes. Recent studies have focused on the use of medicinal plants that have historically been used to treat inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis. By understanding whether and how these plants work in blocking inflammatory pathways in the body, we are striving to harness the power of nature and the wisdom of our ancestors to indentify new treatments for diseases that are common in our modern society. Discoveries we have made at the lab bench have allowed us to move forward into the clinics, building upon the old to discover the new.