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BULLETINThe Academy at HMS Awards Fellowships to Junior FacultyThree junior HMS faculty members have been selected to be Morgan-Zinnser Academy Fellows within the Academy at HMS. James Gordon, instructor in medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital; Elizabeth Rider, clinical instructor in pediatrics at Children's Hospital; and Dana Stearns, instructor in medicine at MGH, were recognized with the fellowships based on their record as dedicated teachers and their plans for innovations in medical education. The recently formed Academy was created to foster innovation in education through support of the efforts of some of the School's most effective and creative teachers (see Focus, March 9, 2001).
The new Morgan-Zinnser fellows of the Academy at HMS were honored at a lunchtime ceremony in July. Left to right are HMS dean for medical education Daniel Lowenstein, fellows Elizabeth Rider, James Gordon, and Dana Stearns, with donor and alumnus Herbert Morgan. Photo by Stu Rosner Gordon has been a major force at HMS in developing uses for medical simulators to teach students. In collaboration with the Center for Medical Simulation, he has led the effort to bring a medical simulator to the Quad and is helping to implement modules on it that are directly related to New Pathway tutorials. Rider is leading an initiative to link the work of the new Academy with a similar program at UCSF, which was started by Daniel Lowenstein, dean for medical education, before he came to HMS. And Stearns created a clinical course for first- and second-year students that links tutorial topics studied as "paper cases" with real people who come to the emergency department. Because of the popularity of the course, he is working to come up with ways of making the experience more broadly available. "All three of these individuals are making outstanding contributions to improving the quality of medical education here at HMS," said Lowenstein. "They are accomplishing this, each in his or her own way, through a unique combination of great dedication, remarkable creativity, and passion for their work." The fellowships are being funded, in part, by a gift from HMS alumnus Herbert Morgan.
In New Book, Nobel Winner Reflects on Surgical CareerFrom assisting in the surgical reconstruction of a severely burned pilot during World War II to performing the first successful kidney transplant to winning the 1990 Nobel Prize in medicine, HMS professor Joseph Murray has led a long and remarkable career in surgery. In his recently published autobiography, Surgery of the Soul: Reflections on a Curious Career, Murray tells not only his own story but those of 14 patients whom he helped. It was on these patients that he pioneered advances in surgical techniques to correct deformities of the head and face and with whom he made breakthroughs in human organ transplantation. The book, published by Science History Publications for the Boston Medical Library, includes detailed discussions of the surgical techniques used and the challenges faced in treating each of the patients. Now an HMS professor emeritus of surgery, Murray served as chief plastic surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital from 1951 to 1986 and at Children's Hospital from 1972 to 1985. Book signing: he will be signing copies of his book at the Countway Library on October 2 at 5:30 p.m. —Michael Higgins
Research Day to Be Held at HST's Martinos CenterThe Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Functional and Structural Biomedical Imaging in the HMS–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology will hold a research day on Sept. 13 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the atrium of building E25 at MIT. The facility is located at 45 Carleton Street in Cambridge. The theme of the day is "From Structure to Function and Beyond" and provides an opportunity to meet faculty, researchers, and students doing innovative work in imaging. It will also be a chance to discover unique research opportunities in the development and application of new imaging technologies and to learn about the center's future plans. For more information, call 253-4418 or e-mail hst@mit.edu.
In MemoriamWilliam McDermott, the Cheever professor emeritus of surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, died July 19. He was 84. A Harvard College and HMS alumnus, McDermott joined the faculty in 1951 after serving as a surgeon during World War II, where he was decorated with a Bronze Star. He served as chairman of the Harvard surgical services at the former Boston City and New England Deaconess hospitals for 22 years. His main interest was liver diseases, and he was instrumental in many advances in treatment of hepatic problems, including surgical replacement of the liver. He is credited with helping to bring liver transplantation to Boston. In 1992, McDermott received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Harvard. He is survived by a son, William of Dedham; two daughters, Gwen of Dedham and Jane Hoch of Chestnut Hill; and six grandchildren. Donations may be made in his memory to Harvard Medical School, Office of Resource Development, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA, 02115. Koshrow Momtaz-Tabatabai, HMS assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, died May 20 at the age of 53. He received his MD in 1974 from Pahlavi University School of Medicine, Iran, and joined the HMS faculty in 1982 as an instructor in dermatology. In 1988 he became an assistant clinical professor. He was an attending physician for the MGH Dermatology Service for 24 years and was known for his clinical research in psoriasis, photomedicine, and laser dermatology. He leaves his wife, Parvaneh. Contributions in his memory may be sent to Partners Cancer Research, c/o Partners Development, 100 Charles River Plaza, Suite 600, Boston, MA, 02114.
Honors and AdvancesMuhammad Yousaf, a postdoc in the lab of Marc Kirschner, the Carl W. Walter professor of cell biology, has received a Runyon–Winchell fellowship from the Cancer Research Fund of the Damon Runyon–Walter Winchell Foundation. The three-year fellowships are given to outstanding young scientists in support of their cancer research. Six residents at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary have received the Heed Ophthalmic Fellowship for 2001–2002. Twenty-five of the $15,000 fellowships were awarded nationally by the Heed Ophthalmic Foundation. Residents at MEEI who received the award are Balamurali Ambati, Sherleen Chen, Lynn Halpern, Ivana Kim, Subhransu Ray, and Erich Strauss. At its annual scientific meeting, the College on Problems of Drug Dependence awarded the Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Award to S. Barak Caine. Caine, HMS assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at McLean Hospital, studies the brain dopamine systems underlying cocaine abuse and psychiatric disorders. At the hospital, he directs the neuroscience program in the behavioral science laboratory of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center. The National Mental Health Association honored Alvin Poussaint, HMS faculty associate dean for student affairs and professor of psychiatry at Judge Baker Children's Center, with its annual Into the Light Award. He was recognized for his efforts to eradicate racial and cultural disparities in mental health treatment. McLean Hospital has announced the recipients of this year's Alfred Pope Awards for Young Investigators. Tze-Chun Tai, HMS research fellow in psychiatry; Debra Titone, HMS instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry; and Kehong Zhang, HMS instructor in psychiatry, were each recognized for their promising research. John David, the Richard Pearson Strong professor in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at HSPH and professor of medicine at HMS, received a Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Medal from the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine at a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. David was honored for his work on schistosomiasis and leishmaniasis in that country during the past 20 years, as well as for his contribution to making condom use an accepted part of Brazil's HIV/AIDS prevention program.
News BriefsThe Hershey Family Fund for Prostate Cancer Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center invites applications for its third round of research awards. Investigators must have a faculty appointment at an academic institution in Massachusetts, and applications from junior faculty are particularly encouraged. The application deadline is Sept. 15. Proposals may be basic, translational, or clinical, but must be directly relevant to prostate cancer. Six awards of $25,000 are planned. For more information, contact Steven Balk by email at sbalk@caregroup.harvard.edu or Glenn Bubley at gbubley@caregroup.harvard.edu. The University's Center for Ethics and the Professions is accepting applications from faculty members for Harvard Fellowships in Ethics for 2002–2003. The fellowships encourage teaching and research about ethical issues in professional and public life. Stipends of up to $35,000 are available. The application deadline is Dec. 1. For more information, call 495-1336 or e-mail ethics@harvard.edu. HMS and Merck have received a $150,000 grant from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust to investigate the use of a shared fuel cell system for the new research buildings that each is constructing on Avenue Louis Pasteur and Blackfan Circle. The proposed system would provide "clean," reliable electrical power to the adjacent research facilities. The grant will allow HMS and Merck to complete a feasibility study that will include a technical proposal, operational responsibilities, and financing options. |
