Names and Faces
Reney Named BW/F Chief Financial Officer
Michael Reney began his career at Brigham and Women’s Hospital as an accounting supervisor in 1990. He managed eight accountants, was responsible for cashier’s office and worked with the clinical improvement team that focused on expanding access for patients and improved registration.
With the formation of Partners HealthCare and the centralization of financial services for the member hospitals, Reney rose through the ranks as a senior manager and director over a 10-year stretch before coming back to the Brigham as executive director/controller for BW/F Finance in 2000.
Reney’s commitment to BWH and Partners over nearly two decades is fueled by his passion for health care. “I feel intricately connected to the BW/F mission of research, education and patient care and its commitment to expanding access to this care to our community,” Reney said.
In May, he began as chief financial officer for Brigham and Women’s and Faulkner Hospitals, a position that puts him in charge of all financial related services for BW/F. That covers about $2 billion in gross revenues each year, and he plays a major role on the executive leadership team in business decisions and financial agreements.
In August, Reney named Vincent McDermott as controller/executive director of Finance at BW/F. McDermott is responsible for guiding all accounting, capital investment, inter-institutional business relationships, multi-year planning and coordination with Partners Finance departments. He comes to the BW/F family from North Shore Medical Center where he was director of Finance for three years after working in the Partners Budget Office and Partners Accounting.
“We are very fortunate to have a proven leader with such a detailed knowledge of finance and the Partners Healthcare System join our talented team,” Reney said.
“With a solid team in place, I am truly excited to be in this position, and it’s a job I’ve looked forward to for a long time,” Reney said. “I enjoy every facet of the job and the day-to-day partnering with the senior management team to navigate complicated transactions and the complex relationships with our business partners.”
Reney, who holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bentley College and a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in health care financial management from UMass-Boston, said his great affection for BW/F stems, in part, from what he calls the hospitals’ “entrepreneurial spirit.”
“That mindset is somewhat unique to the Brigham family. The whole team fights off complacency,” Reney said.
Reney has demonstrated a similarly strong commitment to Partners HealthCare, too. “He has been an invaluable resource for Partners Finance, and his skills promise to strengthen further the contributions of the system’s finance team,” Peter Markell, Partners vice president for Finance, said.
BWH President Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA, said Reney, as controller and executive director of Finance since 2000, has played an integral role in that growth while focusing on quality, safety and performance.
“Michael has proven he is an insightful leader, effective thinker and thoughtful teacher,” Gottlieb said. “He is admired and respected for his ability to plan strategically and act decisively on a vision that carves out a path of success for BWH and Faulkner Hospital.”
Czeisler on to State’s Drowsy Driving Commission
Charles Czeisler, PhD, MD, FRCP, chief of the Division of Sleep Medicine, was appointed by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to serve on the state’s new Drowsy Driving Commission. Czeisler was sworn in on May 8 and represents the medical and academic community on the commission. The commission was formed as part of the Junior Operator Law enacted in 2007 to study the impact of drowsy driving on highway safety and determine scientific and legal standards for operating a vehicle while sleep-deprived. The commission also is charged with developing training requirements for drivers to better understand the effects and symptoms of sleep deprivation while driving.
Czeisler in June also won the Distinguished Scientist Award from Sleep Research Society. This is the highest award given for significant, original and sustained contributions of a basic, clinical or theoretical nature. Czeisler received the award June 9 at the Professional Sleep Societies Sleep 2008 annual meeting in Baltimore.
Selkoe Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Dennis Selkoe, MD, co-director of the Center for Neurologic Diseases, received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Alzheimer’s Disease Research at the 11th International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD) in Chicago. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to outstanding scientists who have dedicated themselves to helping millions around the world through their research on Alzheimer’s disease. Selkoe received the award July 27.
Golby Wins Young Clinician Award
Alexandra Golby, MD, of the Department of Neurosurgery, is the recipient of one of this year’s Young Clinician Awards from CIMIT, a Boston-based research group made up of local academic medical centers, engineering schools, and industry partners, funded by Johnson & Johnson’s Corporate Office of Science and Technology. Her current projects are focused on anatomic and functional brain mapping in areas surrounding brain tumors that have indistinct margins. She aims to develop a variety of techniques that intelligently scan the brain before and during surgery, thereby identifying critical brain areas and improving the definition of tumors.
Laws joins BWH as Director of the Neuro-Endocrine/Pituitary Center
Edward R. Laws, MD, FACS, one of the world’s leading experts in the treatment of neuroendocrine disorders, joined the Department of Neurosurgery this spring as the director of the Neuro-Endocrine/Pituitary Center and interim director of Neuro-oncology at BWH. His vast experience in the management of pituitary tumors and related diseases and the use of intraoperative endoscopy to safely and effectively excise these tumors is a welcome addition to the Department of Neurosurgery.
“There are few neurosurgeons with an interest in the history of our field who could resist an opportunity to work where it all began, and to join the group of outstanding clinical and basic neuroscientists at BWH,” said Laws.
BWH’s new Pituitary Center, with Ursula Kaiser, MD, as its medical director, is dedicated to providing efficient and comprehensive care for patients who travel from across the country and the world. In one appointment, patients will receive focused pituitary endocrine and neurosurgical evaluations, laboratory tests, imaging studies and appropriate consultations.
Laws comes to BWH from Stanford University Medical Center. He is past president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies and the American College of Surgeons. He is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Laws received his MD from Johns Hopkins, where he also completed his residency training in neurological surgery.
In July, Laws performed his 5,000th transsphenoidal operation for pituitary disease. Jeff Dynis, who suffered for years from difficulty breathing, sleep deprivation and chronic fatigue due to a growth hormone secreting benign pituitary tumor, traveled to BWH from St. Louis specifically to be treated by Laws. “In all the research I did, Dr. Laws always was on top of everyone’s list,” Dynis said.
The success of Dynis’ case comes from the strength of the multidisciplinary team in the Pituitary Center, Laws said. Physicians from the Department of Medicine, Radiation Oncology, Radiology, Surgery and Neurosurgery and Anesthesia were involved. “It’s a true team effort,” he said.
Laws has dedicated much of his career to the treatment and research of pituitary tumors, which are fairly common and almost always benign lesions. “Early detection and expert treatment are the keys to success in pituitary diseases,” said Laws. “Encouragement of basic and clinical research will shed light on the origin of these tumors and may tell us why they usually remain benign, an important clue for cancer management in general.”
Kupper Elected Member of AAP
Thomas S. Kupper, MD, chair of Dermatology and director of the BWH Biomedical Research Institute, in April was elected to the Association of American Physicians (AAP). Kupper was one of 55 new members elected this year to the AAP, which was founded in 1885. The AAP strives to promote and advance medical knowledge through basic and clinical science and application to clinical medicine.
Bierer Invited to Serve on Federal Research Committee
Barbara Bierer, MD, senior vice president for Research at BWH and director of the Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, was invited by Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt to serve as a member of the U.S. Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections. Bierer was appointed to a four-year term starting July 15, and she will serve as the committee chair.
The committee was established in October 2002 to provide advice to the department on protecting human research subjects. The 11-member committee, which meets three times a year, is composed of leaders in human subject protections and/or the conduct of human subject research. Its members provide recommendations to the Secretary on the responsible conduct of research involving human subjects. The members are responsible for reviewing and evaluating the activities of the Office for Human Research Protections and other offices and agencies within HHS that are responsible for human subject protection in biomedical and behavioral research.
Walls Receives Award for Academic Excellence
Ron M. Walls, MD, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, received the 2008 Hal Jayne Award for Academic Excellence on May 31. The prestigious award is presented annually by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) to a member of SAEM who has made outstanding contributions to emergency medicine through research, education and scholarly accomplishments. Walls was recognized for playing a role in the development of the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency, for his research leadership and expertise in the field of emergency airway management and for developing and implementing a series of difficult airway training courses, the manual for which has been translated into five languages and is used across the United States, Canada, and Britain. He is also recognized for his textbooks and reference materials and for playing the lead role in the creation of STRATUS, one of the most advanced centers for medical simulation.
Ligon Awarded Grant
Keith Ligon, MD, Phd, of the Department of Pathology, was awarded a $600,000 grant over three years from the Goldhirsh Foundation. Ligon will use this grant for the study of malignant gliomas. The Goldhirsh Foundation was established by Bernard A. Goldhirsh in 2000 shortly after he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Since his death in 2003, the foundation has shaped a grant-making program that reflects his values and entrepreneurial spirit.
Williams Wins Distinguished Scientist Award
Gordon H. Williams, MD, senior physician in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension, is the 2008 winner of the American Society of Hypertension (ASH), Inc., Distinguished Scientist Award. The award honors a scientist or physician for outstanding achievements in the field of hypertension in recognition of Robert Tigerstedt, an outstanding contributor to both endocrinology and circulation who is best known for his discovery of the renin-angiotensin system. Williams presented a lecture during the awards session at the ASH Annual Meeting in New Orleans in May.
Hornstein Wins Hope Award for Advocacy
Mark D. Hornstein, MD, clinical director of Reproductive Medicine at BWH, received the Hope Award for Advocacy presented by the National Infertility Association at the 2008 Hope Awards in June. Hornstein, president of the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology, was recognized for his advocacy work and writings in peer-reviewed articles that focused on insurance coverage and infertility treatment. This award is presented to an individual whose work increases public awareness, advanced a legislative agenda, or prompts change for the benefit of those diagnosed with infertility.
Bouix Awarded CIMIT Award
Sylvain Bouix, PhD, of the Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, was awarded the Soldier in Medicine New Concept Award by the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT) for his project titled, “Diagnosis of Diffuse Axonal Injury with Diffusion Tensor Imaging.” Bouix will use the $25,000 grant to design a novel brain imaging analysis technique to better diagnose traumatic brain injury using Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging (DTI).
Kim Named Best Clinical Instructor
Christine K. Kim, MD, of the Division of Medical Psychiatry, the director of Medical Student Education at BWH and FH, was named Best Clinical Instructor by the Harvard Medical School graduating class of 2008. She received a plaque and was recognized at the graduation ceremony on June 5. The recipient of this award is chosen from all the clinical areas across the HMS hospitals, taking into consideration the significant number of faculty members who teach students in all the clinical areas. Kim was also the recipient of the Cynthia Kettyle Award as the best medical student teacher in the HMS Department of Psychiatry in 2007.
Schmults Named Director of Mohs Micrographic Surgery Center
Chrysalyne Schmults, MD, was named the director of the Mohs Micrographic Surgery Center at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center at Faulkner Hospital. She will team up with Arturo Saavedra, MD, director of the Oncologic Dermatology Center, to launch the BWH Immunosuppression and Skin Cancer Clinic. Schmults joined BWH in October. She previously was assistant professor of Dermatology and the director of Dermatologic Surgical Research at the University of Pennsylvania, where she founded the Penn Dermatology Clinic for Organ Transplant Recipients. Schmults serves on the board of directors of the International Transplant Skin Cancer Collaborative.
Karp Wins Grant
Jeffrey Karp, PhD, a researcher in the Department of Medicine at BWH and director of the Laboratory for Advanced Biomaterials and Stem Cell-Based Therapeutics in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, won an investigation award from the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTTC). The $40,000 grant supplies gap funding in order to promote technology closer to commercialization. Karp and his colleagues have developed a unique biodegradable bandage with a thin coating of biocompatible glue to create the first gecko-inspired tissue adhesive. MTTC is funded by the state of Massachusetts with a mission of facilitating and accelerating technology transfer between research institutions and Massachusetts companies. This is the first time BWH has been granted an MTTC award.
Churchill Named Health System Pharmacist of the Year
William Churchill, MS, RPh, executive director of Pharmacy Services, has been named Health-System Pharmacist of the Year by the Massachusetts Society of Health-System Pharmacists (MSHP). Churchill began at BWH as a Pharmacy intern more than 32 years ago. He has been a key player in the implementation of CPOE, bar code scanning, smart infusion pump technology, robotics and creative clinical pharmacy programs in the Emergency Department, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Dialysis. The MSHP was founded in 1945 to foster the professional growth of hospital pharmacy in Massachusetts.