Names and Faces
Bertagnolli Named Chief of Surgical Oncology
Monica Bertagnolli, MD, was named the new chief the Division of Surgical Oncology at BWH.
“This is an exciting time for the division, which includes 15 full-time clinician-researchers, two senior teaching faculty members and five full-time faculty research scientists,” said Michael Zinner, MD, chair of Surgery. “Recruitment of faculty at all levels has advanced the division’s expertise in the clinical management of cancers such as breast, hepatobiliary, melanoma and soft tissue sarcoma with further growth expected under Dr. Bertagnolli.”
She is revered by her colleagues for taking on cases that others will not, as featured in the Boston Herald on June 24. In addition to surgery, Bertagnolli leads a research lab that studies intestinal tumor biology and examines the response of colon cancer to treatments.
Bertagnolli completed her internship and residency at BWH, attended the University of Utah School Of Medicine and completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University.
The Division of Surgical Oncology has grown in clinical volume and clinical research as a result of the 10-year-old partnership between BWH and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. It shares responsibility with the Division of General and GI Surgery to manage clinical care and research in other tumors such as colorectal, upper gastrointestinal and endocrine malignancies.
Cannon Chosen as Cardiosource Editor in-Chief
Christopher Cannon, MD, FACC, associate physician in the Cardiovascular Division, was chosen by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) to be the new editor in-chief of Cardiosource. During his three-year term, Cannon will be responsible for editorial content and the Web site, which is the clinical education portal of the ACC.
Cannon is an associate professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a senior investigator of the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Study Group, which has led such leading trials as PROVE IT-TIMI 22 and TACTICS-TIMI 18. He is also editor in-chief of the Critical Pathways in Cardiology journal.
Crumlish and Russell Named Rabkin Fellows in Medicine
The Shapiro Institute for Education named Colleen Crumlish, MD, instructor in Medicine, and Roger Russell, MD, assistant professor of Anesthesiology, as Rabkin Fellows in Medicine. The Rabkin fellowships were established in 1998 to give faculty the opportunity to develop the skills to advance their academic careers. Forty-eight fellows have graduated to date from 13 departments and divisions from seven Harvard-affiliated hospitals.
Tsen Named Editor-In-Chief
Lawrence C. Tsen, MD, director of Anesthesia for the BWH Center for Reproductive Medicine and associate professor of Anesthesia at HMS, accepted the position of editor in-chief of the International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia. IJOA, which is the only journal publishing original articles devoted exclusively to obstetric anesthesia, is the official journal of the Obstetric Anesthetists’ Association.
Zinner Receives Distinguished Alumnus Award
Michael Zinner, MD, chair of Surgery and surgeon in-chief at BWH, received the 2007 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Johns Hopkins University during the school’s homecoming weekend in April.
Zinner, who is a nationally known leader in surgery, medical education, research and patient care, completed his undergraduate education at Hopkins in 1967 and went to medical school at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He returned to Hopkins for his residency, which he completed in 1979, and later served on the faculty.
This prestigious award honors alumni who epitomize the tradition of excellence at the university through personal accomplishment and professional achievement. Zinner is the Moseley Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He is also clinical director of Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and co-director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Treatment Center at DF/BWCC.
Yang Wins Young Investigator Award
Frances M. Yang, PhD, has been selected by NARSAD: The Mental Health Research Association to receive a 2007 Young Investigator Award to study early detection of depression in minority older adults with chronic diseases. Yang is one of 222 early-career scientists in the United States and 10 other nations to receive funds from NARSAD to advance their research of mental illnesses. She will receive $60,000 from NARSAD for the next two years for her study, during which she will develop a culturally- and clinically-sensitive diagnostic screen for depression to improve detection among minority older adults with cardiovascular disease.
NARSAD is the world’s leading donor-supported organization dedicated to funding research on psychiatric disorders. NARSAD: The Mental Health Research Association raises funds to advance research on the causes, treatment and prevention of psychiatric disorders.
Jeffrey S. Flier New Dean of Harvard Medical School
Jeffrey S. Flier, MD, the George C. Reisman Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, was named dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Medicine effective Sept. 1. A member of the HMS faculty since 1978, Flier has served for five years as chief academic officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Flier is internationally recognized for his investigations of the molecular mechanisms of insulin action, the molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance in human disease and the molecular pathophysiology of obesity, having published more than 200 scholarly papers and reviews.
Some of the many awards Flier has received include: the Eli Lilly Award of the American Diabetes Association for Outstanding Scientific Achievement, an honorary doctorate in medicine by the University of Athens and the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement, the ADA’s highest award for scientific achievement. Flier is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, Flier is an elected fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.
Flier succeeds Joseph B. Martin, who stepped down as dean on June 30. Barbara J. McNeil, the Ridley Watts Professor of Health Care Policy and Professor of Radiology, is acting dean through the end of August.
ASTRO Honors Harris with Gold Medal, Names Mauch Fellow
The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) is recognizing two BWH faculty with prestigious awards. ASTRO’s highest honor, the Gold Medal, is going to Jay R. Harris, MD, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at DF/BW Cancer Center and residency program director for the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. Also, the organization named Peter M. Mauch, MD, associate chief of Academic Operations in Radiation Oncology, as one of 40 ASTRO fellows.
Harris has been an active member of several societies, including as the president and chairman of the board of directors at ASTRO. His publications include six books, he sits on four editorial boards, and he is the senior editor of Diseases of the Breast, the leading text in the field. Harris’s main interest has been to establish safe and effective radiation treatment for breast cancer patients, including breast-conserving therapy for those in the early stages of breast cancer.
Mauch is a member of an exclusive group to receive a fellowship award, which are given to members of ASTRO who have been part of the society for at least 20 years, served in a leadership role for the organization and have made significant contributions to Radiation Oncology. Mauch’s main interest is the surveillance and prevention of the late effects of treatment in long-term survivors of lymphoma. His publications include five books and he is the senior editor of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas.
Both Mauch and Harris will receive their awards at a special ceremony during ASTRO’s 49th annual meeting in October in Los Angeles.
Suber Wins Trauma Research Competition
Freeman Suber, MD, MA, a research fellow in the Department of Surgery, took the first-place prize in the Trauma Research Competition in June. His research, titled “The Role of Natural Antibody, Complement and Mast Cells in Burn Injury,” was selected from three other finalists. Finalists were chosen from a pool of research fellows who submitted 250-word abstracts based on unpublished manuscripts. Ten minute oral presentations followed by a five minute question period were given during Surgery Grand Rounds.
Music To LSO’s Ears
Longwood Symphony Orchestra Board President Lisa Wong, MD, and music director Jonathan McPhee, at left, accepted the MetLife Award for Excellence in Community Engagement in June weekend at the American Symphony Orchestra League national meeting in Nashville. Longwood Symphony, which is comprised of highly-trained musicians who are members of the Boston medical community, received the award for its Healing Art of Music program and its success in raising money for medical charities at its four annual concerts. Wong is affiliated with Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Gilli Named Senior Administrator of Ambulatory Specialty Services
Sioux Gilli, a 25-year employee of the Department of Medicine, is the new senior administrator of ambulatory specialty services for specialty clinics. In this role, Gilli manages the clinics and oversees practice managers in the new ambulatory care management model for the six specialty clinics as they fiscally transitions to the hospital on Oct. 1, when clinic staff will become employees of BWH rather than employees of the BWPO. The specialty clinics are: Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Renal, Endocrinology, Infectious Diseases and Pulmonary.
BWH Docs Earn HMS Class of 2007 Honors
Four BWH faculty earned awards from this year’s graduating class at Harvard Medical School, and two more BWH faculty won HMS teaching awards at a ceremony May 21.
Joel Katz, MD, director of the Internal Medicine residency program and assistant professor of Medicine at BWH, won the Best Clinical Instructor Award.
Ronald Arky, MD, the Charles S. Davidson distinguished professor of Medicine, earned the Overall Class Support award.
Robert Rubin, MD, associate director of the Division of Infectious Disease and the Gordon and Marjorie Osborne professor of health sciences and technology at HMS and BWH, earned the Thomas A. McMahon Mentoring Award. This award recognizes Rubin’s training of more than 140 fellows over the past 20 years in the performance of clinical research within the Clinical Investigator Training Program and the scientific approach to clinical transplantation and infection in the compromised host.
Julie E. Buring, ScD, professor in the Department of Medicine at BWH, took home the Roger L. Nichols Excellence in Teaching Award from HSPH.
Susan D. Block, MD, chief of Adult Psychsocial Oncology Program at DFCI, received the 2007 Dean’s Award for Leadership in the Advancement of Women Faculty. This annual award recognizes the contributions of an individual who has significantly supported recruitment, retention and/or promotion of women faculty at Harvard Medical School and its affiliated institutions.
Pfeffer Appointed Victor J. Dzau Professor of Medicine
Marc A. Pfeffer, MD, PhD, in June was named as the first Victor J. Dzau Professor of Medicine at HMS during a special ceremony celebrating this new professorship. Dzau had served as the chairman of the Department of Medicine and hospital’s physician in-chief and director of research from 1996 to 2004. He is now the chancellor for health affairs at Duke University and president and CEO of Duke University Health System.
Widely considered a premier translational investigator, Pfeffer, who completed his internship, medical residency and cardiology fellowship as a post-doctoral fellow of Eugene Braunwald, MD, served as the interim chair of the DOM following Dzau’s departure. He also serves as medical director of the Partners Research and Education Program.
Bennett New Administrative Director of Office for Minority Careers
Jabbar R. Bennett, PhD, in July joined BWH as the administrative director of the Office for Minority Careers (OMC) in the BWH Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (CFDD).
In this role, Bennett works with the OMC Advisory Committee and BWH departments and programs to make the OMC the central resource for the professional advancement of minority faculty and trainees. Bennett will lead the development of outreach initiatives, recruitment and search processes, retention and development programs for minority faculty, fellows and students. The OMC was launched earlier this year by associate director Christian Arbelaez, MD, MPH.
Bennett most recently served as senior director of development for Life Sciences, Healthcare and Education Industry Partnerships with United Way of Massachusetts Bay. Previously, he worked as a UNCF-Merck postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. Later at HMS, he spent three years as research and science specialist in the Office for Diversity and Community Partnership. Currently, he is the chair of the Diversity Committee of the National Postdoctoral Association.
Bennett received his BS in biology with a minor in Spanish from North Carolina A&T State University and his PhD in biomedical sciences from Meharry Medical College. He also completed the Massachusetts Education Policy Fellowship Program in Washington, D.C., in May 2004, and the Harvard University Administrative Fellowship Program sponsored by the Institute for Educational Leadership based in May 2005.