Allan Ropper Joins BWH Department of Neurology
Allan H. Ropper, MD, was appointed executive vice chair of the Department of Neurology effective May 10. Ropper, who in 1991 joined St. Elizabeth's Medical Center as Division of Neurology chief and Tufts University School of Medicine and was appointed chair of Neurology at Tufts in 1996, is internationally-known for his expertise in neurological and neurosurgical intensive care.
"We are thrilled that Allan joins the leadership of our Neurosciences Center of Excellence," Martain Samuels, MD, chairman of the department of Neurology, said. "Allan brings a well-deserved reputation for his clinical expertise, groundbreaking research and commitment to education."
Samuels added, "I, for one, am confident that my own understanding and practice of Neurology will be improved dramatically by his brilliance, incisiveness, candor and energy."
Ropper will have many roles at BWH. He will lead the development of a center for the study of coma as a component of the Neuro ICU. As an NIH-funded principal investigator, Ropper's major research interests include Neuro-ICU, Guillain-Barré syndrome, immune neuropathies, neurology of head trauma, coma, brain death and vegetative state and gene therapy for diabetic neuropathy.
He serves as the associate editor for neurology for the New England Journal of Medicine and principal author of Principles of Neurology. Holding various professor and instructor roles at Harvard, Tufts, St. Elizabeth's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Ropper has been teaching and publishing since 1979. He completed his undergraduate and medical school studies at Cornell University, served his Medicine residency at the University of California Hospitals and trained in Neurology at MGH.
"I look forward to joining the dynamic team of care givers in BWH's Neurology Department," Ropper said. "Its reputation for excellent care for the most complex patient cases, innovative physician education programs and leading clinical research efforts is second to none."
Rogers Named BWH's First Executive Director of Cardiovascular Services
BWH in April named Debra Rogers its first executive director of Cardiovascular Services, a position created to help lead and manage the broad operational and administrative changes that will be put in place to improve patient care at the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center.
"Brigham and Women's is changing the way cardiovascular care is delivered," Kenneth Baughman, MD, director of BWH's Advanced Heart Disease Section, said. "This creative approach requires a new administrative structure that matches the dramatic changes in the patient care model."
Rogers, formerly director of Clinical Services, began her new position April 30. She is responsible for further development of BWH's cardiovascular strategic plan and will focus on operational processes, improvements and service line growth and performance.
"Debra, a rising star in hospital administration, has distinguished herself as an outstanding and dedicated collaborator with limitless administrative capabilities," Baughman said.
In her former role, Rogers directed operations for the Cardiovascular Diagnostic and Intervention Center and the Infusion Service and served as transplant administrator for the hospital. Prior to her last position, Rogers was director of finance and projects for BWH's Surgical Services Administration. Rogers holds an MS in management from Lesley University and a BS from Syracuse University.
Samuels Receives H. Houston Merritt Award
Martin A. Samuels, MD, chairman of Neurology, in May received the prestigious 2007 H. Houston Merritt Award and Lecture from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) during its annual meeting in Boston. The H. Houston Merritt Award and Lecture is awarded for excellence in clinically relevant research and presented every other year.
Samuels's lecture delivered during the AAN's 59th annual meeting in Boston highlighted his career-long work, which explores ways the nervous system affects other organs in the body. His research examines the heart and brain connection as an example of how brain and mind processes can be harmful to the heart.
"This work helps us understand how the brain can cause or prevent many diseases of the internal organs," said Samuels. "Receiving this award has special meaning to me, as Merritt was one of the early Brigham neurologists."
Samuels was also the recipient of last year's AAN A.B. Baker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Neurological Education. Receiving both the society's highest teaching and research awards is unprecedented. He has just finished a three-year term as president of the Association of University Professors of Neurology, the North American society that represents all of the academic departments of neurology.
Weiner Selected as Dystel Prize Winner
The National MS Society and the American Academy of Neurology in May honored BWH's Howard L. Weiner, MD, with Neurology's 2007 John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research. Weiner, the Robert L. Kroc professor of Neurology at HMS, founder and director of Partners Multiple sclerosis Center at BWH and co-director of Center for Neurological Diseases at BWH, was selected by a committee of his peers and recognized for his contributions to research, treatment and prevention of MS.
The Dystel Prize is given jointly by the National MS Society and the academy and is funded through the Society's John Dystel Multiple Sclerosis Research Fund. Society Honorary Life National Board of Directors member Oscar Dystel and his late wife Marion established this fund in 1994 in honor of their son John Jay Dystel, an attorney whose promising career was cut short by progressive disability from MS. John Dystel died of complications of the disease in June 2003.
Black Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Peter Black, MD, chairman of the departments of Neurosurgery at BWH and Children's Hospital and chief of Neurosurgical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, received the Charles Wilson award for lifetime achievement in Neurooncology at the April 14 annual meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) in Washington, D.C. This award is given by the AANS/CNS Section on Brain Tumors in recognition of significant contributions to the field of brain tumor research and therapy. Black is only the second person to receive this honor in five years.
Shah Joins Cath Lab as Director of Interventional Fellowship and Clinical Trials
Pinak Shah, MD, has joined the BWH Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory faculty as the director of the interventional cardiology fellowship training program and as the leader of clinical program initiatives within interventional cardiology.
Shah brings exceptional coronary interventional skills from his five years in practice as the associate director of the St. Elizabeth's Cardiac Catheterization laboratory and the co-director of the cardiology fellowship training program. He established many clinical and teaching programs including a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) closure program and directed the Caritas St. Elizabeth's Hospital Catheterization Laboratory Quality Improvement Program and clinical trials efforts.
A graduate of University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Shah trained at BWH from his medical internship in 1994 through his interventional cardiology fellowship in 2002 and served as chief medical resident in 2000.
Mannick Admitted to Honorary Fellowship
John Mannick, MD, the Moseley Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief emeritus, in April was admitted to honorary fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the highest honor bestowed by the college. The ceremony took place at a meeting of the Royal College in Cork, Ireland, on April 20. More than 20 Irish academic surgeons who received their research training in Mannick's laboratory at BWH over the course of 25 years attended the ceremony to celebrate. Four of these former fellows were featured speakers at the scientific program. Mannick continues to work in collaboration with James Lederer, PhD, in the Julian and Eunice Cohen Laboratory at BWH devoted to burn and trauma research.
Welt Joins Cath Lab as a Director
Frederick Welt, MD, has joined the BWH Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory faculty as the director of Experimental Interventional Cardiology and as a leader of the clinical interventional cardiology program. Welt previously served as the director of the catheterization laboratory at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center. He has extensive experience as a researcher in interventional cardiology with a focus on the effects of aging on the vasculature and on device development using animal models.
In addition to his leadership role in interventional cardiology, Welt will lead the experimental and animal research laboratory and help to lead the structural heart and percutaneous valve investigational program for the cardiac catheterization laboratory.
Welt trained at BWH from his medical internship in 1992 through his interventional cardiology fellowship in 1998. He served as director of the Boston VA Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory from 1998 through 2003.
Higgins Honored for Paper
Laurence D. Higgins, MD, chief of the Sports Medicine/BWH and Partners Shoulder Service, received the Excellence in Research Award from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM). The honor is for the best paper submitted with a primary author younger than 40 to the AOSSM Awards Committee at its annual meeting. Higgins will receive an honorarium and will present his paper at the AOSSM meeting.
Bonventre Receives Bywaters Award
Joseph Bonventre, MD, PhD, director of BWH's Renal Division and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology and the Robert H. Ebert Professor of Medicine and Health Sciences and Technology at HMS, in April received the 2007 Bywaters Award from the International Society of Nephrology for outstanding contributions to acute renal failure research. The International Society of Nephrology bestows this prestigious award for lifetime achievement in the field of acute renal failure only once every two years. Acute renal failure, currently referred to as acute renal injury, is common in hospitalized patients and is associated with a high mortality rate. The award was presented to Bonventre during the ISN satellite meeting on acute renal failure in Salvador Bahia, Brazil.
Nadelson Appointed to Board of Directors of the Society for Women's Health Research
Carol Nadelson, MD, was appointed to the board of directors of the Society for Women's Health Research in March 2007 for a three-year term. The Society for Women's Health Research aims to improve the health of all women through research, education and advocacy and to encourage the study of sex differences between women and men that affect the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease.
Lee Awarded new Contract by National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD, was awarded one of 12 Women's Health Initiative (WHI) contracts to study common biological and genetic diseases affecting women post-menopause. Lee and her team seek to evaluate ways that women can reduce their risk of coronary heart disease, such as through physical activity and lower body fat, and to understand the biological mechanisms through which physical activity and lower body fat influence heart disease risk, beyond their effects on traditional risk factors.
The WHI is a 15-year research program intended to tackle frequent causes of disability, reduced quality of life and death in post-menopausal women, namely due to cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis.
Zhou Receives Kaplan Award for PKD Research
BWH researcher Jing Zhou, MD, was named as one of two recipients of the Lillian Jean Kaplan International Prize for the Advancement in the Understanding of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) from the Lillian Jean Kaplan Foundation. The award, first created in 2002, recognizes a medical professional or researcher exhibiting excellence and leadership in PKD research. The prizes were awarded April 23 during the 2007 World Congress of Nephrology in Rio de Janero, Brazil.
AIDS Clinical Trial Unit Receives Grant Renewal
The Partners/Harvard AIDS Clinical Trials Unit, led by Principal Investigator Dan Kuritzkes, MD, has been granted a seven-year renewal of $7.5 million to continue its efforts in research and treatment. The unit, which includes BWH, MGH and BIDMC, has been a leader in developing anti-HIV therapies.
The Partners/Harvard unit is apart of about 25 domestic and 20 international units that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH) group known as the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) which is the largest HIV/AIDS clinical trials organization in the world.
Kuritzkes is the director of AIDS Research at BWH and professor of medicine at HMS, and serves as vice chair of the ACTG. Paul Sax, MD, is also a leader of the Partners/Harvard ACTU clinical research site.
Lumbley Appointed ASA Lansdale Public Policy Fellow
Joshua Lee Lumbley, MD, of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, received the Lansdale Public Policy Fellowship by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Award, making him the first resident to win this prestigious award.
This award provides funding for Lumbley to spend a year working in a Congressional or federal administration office in Washington, D.C. This fellowship helps recipients gain an advanced understanding of the legislative process and national health care policy and science issues. Lumbley will attend the ASA Legislative Conference in the spring of 2008 and write an article after for the ASA newsletter describing his experiences.
Farmer Receives Austin College Leadership Award
Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, co-founder of Partners In Health, in March accepted a $100,000 prize from the Austin College Leadership Award, which he will dedicate to his continuing efforts of providing health care to the world's poorest citizens. Farmer was chosen among several influential candidates for the award, including 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammed Yunus. Established in 2005, the Austin College Leadership Award recognizes individuals who strive to make a positive impact on society through service to the local, national, or international community.
Garber Elected Vice President of ACCE
Jeffrey R. Garber, MD, in April was elected vice president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists at the AACE 16th annual meeting and Clinical Congress. Garber, chief of Endocrinology at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, helped develop guidelines governing AACE's relationships with other professional organizations. AACE has more than 5,800 members throughout the United States and 85 countries.