15th Annual Mannick Awards Presented

From left, Drs. Chip Bolman, Stanley Ashley, Matthew Nehs, Nasim Ahmadiyeh, John Mannick, Luke Funk, Lawrence Lee, Herbert Hechtman, Frederick Chen and Sareh Parang

The 15th annual John A. Mannick awards were presented in October to Surgery residents Nasim Ahmadiyeh, MD, Luke Funk, MD, Lawrence Lee, MD, and Matthew Nehs, MD, as a recognition of their work in basic science, clinical or outcomes research. The award is named for John A. Mannick, MD, who served as the chief of Surgery at BWH from 1976 until his retirement in 1994. He remains a leader in vascular surgery research and maintains a laboratory, which has received funding from the NIH for more than 40 years. He continues to make contributions in the field of shock, sepsis and the management of burn patients, utilizing his studies of the role of the immune system in these disorders.

AAMC Recognizes Arky with Distinguished Teacher Award

Endocrinologist Ronald A. Arky, MD, the Charles S. Davidson Distinguished Professor of Medicine and dean of curriculum at HMS and former chief of the diabetes section at BWH, in November received the 2009 Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). He received the award during the AAMC annual meeting in Boston in November. Arky was recognized for his more than 45 years of service at HMS and BWH where he has charted new pathways in teaching, curriculum development and mentorship. He is one of the principal architects of HMS’ widely acclaimed New Pathway in General Medical Education program.

Weissman Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Barbara Weissman, MD, vice chair of the Department of Radiology, received the American Association of Women Radiologists (AAWR) 2009 Alice Ettinger Award. This lifetime achievement award recognizes long-term contribution to radiology and to the AAWR. Weissman is honored for her vast contribution to the field of radiology, as a clinician, scientist, educator and role model for women in the field. Fittingly, Weissman was also once a student of Dr. Alice Ettinger, who inspired Weissman to consider a career in Radiology. She received the award during the Radiological Society of North America annual meeting in Chicago in November.

Pozner Named President for AHA Founder Affiliate

Charles Pozner, MD, of Emergency Medicine and medical director of the Neil and Elise Wallace STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation at BWH, was named president of the Founder’s Affiliate, one of the eight national affiliates of the American Heart Association (AHA). Pozner’s two-year term began in October. As president, he oversees AHA initiatives in New York, New Jersey and New England. In addition to serving on the board of directors, Pozner will promote the mission of the AHA, advance the development of guidelines for clinicians, assist in distributing research grants and focus on cultural health initiatives and anti-obesity initiatives.

Marshall Receives Gilbert Foundation Award

Gad A. Marshall, MD, instructor in Neurology, was one of five early-career scientists who were awarded Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation/AFAR New Investigator awards in Alzheimer’s disease. The $75,000 awards, which were announced in September, provide resources for scientists seeking to accelerate development of diagnostic, preventative interventions and treatments.

Marshall will use state of the art imaging techniques to better understand the biological underpinnings of apathy and executive dysfunction in relation to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer’s disease in hopes of differentiating between patients whose MCI will progress to Alzheimer’s and intervene with disease-modifying agents, attacking the disease at its earliest stages.

Ropper Named Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians

Allan Ropper, MD, executive vice chair of Neurology, was named a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians early this year. This nomination is the highest honor that the college can bestow on a physician who is not already a member of the college. Ropper was one of four other physicians from around the world who were honored with this recognition during a ceremony in London in July.

Gandhi Receives Research Award

Tejal Gandhi, MD, MPH, executive director of quality and safety at BWH who is set to become the director of Patient Safety for the Partners network in January, is the 2009 recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for Research. The National Quality Forum (NQF) and the Joint Commission present the award annually to recipients in five categories, to recognize individuals and organizations that have made an important contribution to patient safety and health care quality in the areas of research or system innovation. During her career, Gandhi has been instrumental in increasing knowledge and awareness of safety issues in the outpatient setting and in designing improvement strategies for this setting, particularly through the use of information technology. Her groundbreaking work to better understand the epidemiology of a wide range of ambulatory safety concerns is responsible for drawing national attention to safety issues and potential prevention in this important patient care setting. She received the award at the NQF National Policy Conference in Maryland this fall.

Kikinis Received Enduring Impact Award

Ron Kikinis, MD, founding director of the Surgical Planning Laboratory at BWH and professor of Radiology at HMS, received the inaugural Enduring Impact Award during the international conference of the Medical Imaging Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention Society in London in September. He also was appointed a fellow in the society.

This award recognizes Kikinis’ dedication to scientific excellence, significant contribution to scientific advancement in the field of medical image computing and image guided therapy, as well as translational research and patient care, resulting in advances in the description, diagnosis and treatment of a variety of normal and pathologic conditions.

The society is dedicated to the promotion, preservation and facilitation of research, education and practice in the field of medical image computing and computer assisted medical interventions including biomedical imaging and robotics.

Krichevsky Named Distinguished Scientist

Anna Krichevsky, PhD, of Neurology, received this year’s Distinguished Scientist Award from the Sontag Foundation. The four-year, $600,000 grant is awarded annually to as many as three early career scientists working in the brain cancer field. The Sontag Foundation works to increase survival rates and improve recovery for brain cancer patients while looking for a cure or, at the very least, treatments to make brain cancer a manageable chronic disease. Krichevsky’s grant will support her work titled, “Development of therapeutic microRNAs for malignant glioma: a personalized approach.”

Karp Receives 2010 CIMIT Shore Fellowship

Jeffrey Karp, PhD, in the Department of Medicine at BWH, was awarded the 2010 CIMIT Miles and Eleanor Shore Fellowship. The award is presented to an early career Harvard Medical School faculty applicant who best represents the CIMIT values of academic excellence, near term impact on patient care, interest and aptitude for innovation and multidisciplinary collaboration. Karp, who is also the director of the Laboratory for Advanced Biomaterials and Stem-Cell-Based Therapeutics, will receive $70,000 to further his laboratory work with drug-based hydrogels as a drug delivery method for inner ears, gliblastoma and rheumatoid arthritis.

Yano Named 2009 Young Investigator

Hiroko Yano, PhD, of the Neurosurgery Department, is one of 201 researchers to receive a 2009 Young Investigator grant for research on psychiatric disorders from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). Young Investigator grants allow early-career researchers to gather the pilot data necessary to secure additional research funding from government agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and other private funding sources. This grant supports Yano’s study of epigenetic regulation of gene expression, in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders.