Curhan Named to National Advisory Council for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Gary Curhan, MD, ScD, of the Department of Medicine at BWH, is one of five new members on the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s National Advisory Council for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NACCAM). He will serve for four years on the council with other physicians, scientists, licensed complimentary and alternative medicine practitioners and members of the public. The council meets three times per year to develop recommendations on prioritization, conduct and support of complementary and alternative medicine research.
Khademhosseini Receives Laboratory Automation Innovation Award
Ali Khademhosseini, PhD, of the Center for Biomedical Engineering at BWH, has received the LabAutomation 2010 Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA) Innovation Award. The award goes to individuals who present innovative laboratory technologies or advanced technological applications. Khademhosseini was honored for his podium presentation, Microengineered Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering and Stem Cell Bioengineering. Khademhosseini and 10 other ALA Innovation Award recipients will travel to Beijing to present their work at AchemAsia in June 2010.
Kikinis Named Greenes Director of Biomedical Informatics
Ron Kikinis, MD, PhD, founding director of the Surgical Planning Laboratory at BWH and professor of Radiology at HMS, in February was named the Robert Greenes Distinguished Director of Biomedical Informatics.
“Dr. Kikinis is an amazing researcher, colleague, teacher and generous contributor to our Department of Radiology, to BWH, to HMS and to the wider biomedical informatics community,” said Steven Seltzer, MD, BWH chair of Radiology.
Kikinis trained as a Radiology resident at the University Hospital in Zurich and as a researcher in computer vision at ETH Zurich before joining BWH in 1988. He founded the Surgical Planning Laboratory in 1990, which has pioneered research in developing post-processing methods to help organize and analyze data related to diagnosis and the effectiveness of treatments for tumors, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis and a host of other conditions.
“I want to thank my family and Dr. Seltzer, Dr. Jolesz and Dr. Greenes for the support and guidance they have given me over the years,” Kikinis said. “And to all of my colleagues in Medical Image Computing, I am forever grateful for the work you do. You are the true drivers of our successes.”
Phillips Receives National Space Biomedical Research Institute Fellowship
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Andrew J.K. Phillips, PhD, research fellow in the Sleep Medicine Division at BWH, is one of four young researchers chosen as the latest class of Postdoctoral Fellows for The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI). Funded by NASA, NSBRI studies the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight. The postdoctoral fellow program provides young researchers with the opportunity to manage their own space-related biomedical research project while continuing to learn from an experienced faculty mentor. Phillips is working with mentor Elizabeth B. Klerman, MD, PhD, at BWH, on developing a comprehensive model to help astronauts maintain an efficient sleep-wake cycle in space. Fellows receive a $40,000 stipend and funds to cover health insurance and travel to NSBRI-related meetings. Fellows also attend a summer institute in Houston that provides an introduction to NASA Johnson Space Center’s research facilities and programs.
Gitlin Installed as APM President
David Gitlin, MD, FAPM, director of BWH and Faulkner Hospitals Division of Medical Psychiatry, program director for the ACGME-accredited BWH fellowship in Psychosomatic Medicine, and assistant professor of Psychiatry at HMS, was elected president of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine (APM).
Installed as president in November 2009 for a one-year term, Gitlin will act as the organization’s chief executive officer and spokesperson and lead APM’s council, executive committee and annual meeting. Psychosomatic medicine physicians, also known as Consultation-Liaison psychiatrists, have specific training and expertise that allows them to uniquely collaborate with other physicians to address the complex needs of patients with co-morbid illness. The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, with membership approaching 1,000 physicians, represents psychiatrists dedicated to the advancement of medical science, education and health care for persons with comorbid psychiatric and general medical conditions and provides national and international leadership in the furtherance of those goals.
Wang Receives MDA Award
Xin Wang, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at BWH and HMS, was awarded a three-year grant from the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This $430,000 grant will support her Neuroapoptosis Drug Discovery laboratory to develop innovative drug treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is widely known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of muscle-controlling nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain.
BWHers Among Mentoring Award Honorees
Juan C. Celedón, MD, DrPH, of BWH’s Channing Laboratory and Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine, and Steven A. Shea, PhD, of the BWH Department of Medicine, are among faculty honored with this year’s A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award presented by Harvard Medical School’s Office for Diversity and Community Partnership.
Celedón and Shea are among eight other faculty honored with this mentoring award that is presented to individuals who provide sponsorship, encouragement and support for the career and/or personal development of other faculty, trainees and students. The winners were honored during the Office for Diversity and Community Partnership Excellence In Mentoring Awards Ceremony, June 1 at HMS.
In addition, Celedon was selected for membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). Founded in 1908, ASCI is one of the oldest and most esteemed honor societies of physician-scientists. ASCI membership signifies a researcher’s significant contributions, at a relatively young age, to the understanding of human disease, as researchers must be 45 years of age or younger in order to be eligible for nomination. Shea works in the Division of Sleep Medicine and was named President of the American Sleep Medicine Foundation. He was also elected to the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and named editor-in-chief of a new online journal, Nature and Science of Sleep.
Nabel Named Woman Cardiologist of the Year
Elizabeth Nabel, MD, president of BWH, was selected to receive the second annual Dr. Carolyn McCue Woman Cardiologist of the Year Award from the Virginia Commonwealth University Pauley Heart Center. The award honors the memory of Dr. Carolyn McCue, one of the few female cardiologists of her time and a pioneer in the field of pediatric cardiology. The McCue family supports the award “to encourage and inspire other young women to pursue careers in cardiology.” Nabel is recognized for being an outstanding scholar and researcher, a skilled administrator and an inspiration to young women considering careers in cardiology. The award was presented at a ceremony in Richmond in April.
Lin Receives AANS Neurosurgery Fellowship
Ning Lin, MD, a resident in the Neurosurgery Department at BWH, has received the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation fellowship from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. The research fellowship provides training for neurosurgeons who are preparing for academic careers as clinician investigators. Lin’s fellowship is a one-year grant of $40,000, which will support his study of the mechanism of vasospasm after aneurismal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Augelli-Szafran Nominated for Award
Corinne Augelli-Szafran, PhD, of the Center for Neurologic Diseases at BWH, was nominated by her students for an Everett Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award. The award is given annually by the Harvard Graduate Student Council to recognize faculty members who go above and beyond in their service as mentors to graduate students by supporting and promoting their students’ research, educational, professional and personal development. The HGSC is the voice of graduate students in academic, administrative and residential matters for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University.
Greenberg to Lead DOM Program
Jeffrey Greenberg, MD, MBA, in February was appointed to serve as the new medical director for the Department of Medicine quality program. Greenberg, who also serves as associate medical director for the Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He received his MBA in health care management at Wharton School of Business and completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He will continue to care for patients on the hospitalist service at BW/F.
Sonali Desai, MD, of the Rheumatology Division, will serve as the associate medical director for the DOM quality program.