Skip to contents
In This Issue:
This year’s Mary Horrigan Connors Award recognized Meryl LeBoff, MD, director of the Skeletal Health and Osteoporosis Center and the Bone Density Unit.
Created in 1999 by Partners Chairman Jack Connors Jr. and the BWH Women’s Health Leadership Forum to honor Connors’ mother, the $25,000 award recognizes a member of the BWH community, who has made significant contributions to women’s health through dedication, imagination and leadership.
At the October 12 ceremony, Connors Center Executive Director Paula Johnson, MD, MPH, characterized LeBoff’s accomplishments when she quoted her nomination letter, “Meryl is truly an example of the Triple Crown: outstanding caregiver, effective teacher and accomplished researcher.”
LeBoff collaborates with researchers at BWH and others across the country to analyze the role of vitamin D, androgens, estrogen, and other hormones on bone; search for osteoporosis triggers; and improve bone health in young women with low bone mass. She also contributes to educational guides affecting women’s health policy. With the Connors Award, LeBoff plans to research links among celiac disease, hip fractures and vitamin D deficiency.
LeBoff serves on the Calcium, Vitamin D and Osteoporosis Committee for the NIH’s Women’s Health Initiative and contributed to the ground-breaking Surgeon General’s Report on Osteoporosis.