Sept./Oct. | 2009
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Awards

Lombard receives New Scholar in Aging Award

David B. Lombard, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School and research assistant professor at the U-M Institute of Gerontology, has earned the Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar in Aging Award. The foundation supports basic biological research in aging including studies that are relevant to understanding aging processes and age-related diseases.

A four-year, $100,000 per year grant supports Lombard’s application, “Mitochondrial acetylation in calorie restriction and aging.”

Lombard’s experiments will contribute to the understanding of how calorie
restriction affects the function of mitochondria, the powerhouses of every cell in the body. Mitochondrial adaptation to calorie restriction is central to the health benefits of this regimen. Understanding the mechanism might allow the development of drugs that induce the health benefits and anti-aging effects of eating an ultra low-calorie diet.

U-M earns American Heart Association Start! Award

For the second year in a row, the American Heart Association has recognized the University of Michigan with a Start! Fit Friendly Companies Gold Award. The award recognizes employers that champion the health of their employees and work to create a culture of physical activity in the workplace.

U-M won the 2009 Gold Award for the work of MHealthy, which provides health and well-being services for faculty and staff. During the past year, MHealthy became an official program of the University, launched a new Web site, conducted wellness assessments for over 17,000 employees, engaged 10,000 participants in Active U and raised $25,000 for charity. In addition, MHealthy rolled out new or expanded offerings in the areas of physical activity, healthy eating, ergonomics awareness, and mental and emotional health, and created a video titled, “Building a Culture of Health.”

Freed is youngest to win lifetime pediatric research award

Gary L. Freed M.D., MPH, was awarded the Douglas K. Richardson Award for Lifetime Achievement in Health Services Research. At age 47, Freed is the youngest recipient of this award from the Society for Pediatric Research at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Baltimore, MD.  He is the director of the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit and the director of the Division of General Pediatrics at the Health System. Freed is also the Percy and Mary Murphy Professor of Pediatrics and a professor of Health Management and Policy. He is a nationally and internationally renowned researcher of child health policy, the medical workforce and childhood immunizations.

Minter is 2009 outstanding teacher

Rebecca Minter, M.D., assistant professor of Surgery, received the 2009 Outstanding Teacher Award from the Association for Surgical Education. This award is presented annually to three individuals considered by their chair, peers, or trainees to be outstanding teachers.

Minter is actively involved in both undergraduate and graduate medical education at the departmental, institutional and national level. Her clinical practice is focused in the areas of general and gastrointestinal surgery, including laparoscopy and surgical endoscopy. She has a particular interest in the management and treatment of benign and neoplastic diseases of the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, rectum and pancreas.

Halter honored by Glacier Hills Retirement Community

U-M Geriatrics Center Director Jeffrey Halter, M.D., was honored for his significant leadership and commitment to geriatric medicine by the Glacier Hills Retirement Community at a tribute event last May. The event was hosted by Glacier Hills, in partnership with a number of community sponsors, in celebration of the Ann Arbor facility’s 35th anniversary.

Professor of Internal Medicine and chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine, Halter was recognized for his leadership role in the decades-long collaboration between the Health System and Glacier Hills as a community partner. Glacier Hills serves as an important site for training geriatric medicine fellows and clinical research conducted by Geriatrics Center faculty, who provide medical oversight and care to the residents.

Lawrence receives radiation oncology award

Theodore Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D., was awarded the 2009 Gold Medal from American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Lawrence is the Isadore Lampe Professor and Chair of Radiation Oncology at the UMMS.

Lawrence’s current research interests include new treatments for liver cancer, pancreas cancer, and brain tumors using image-guide therapy and combination chemoradiation with molecularly targeted therapies. The Department of Radiation Oncology is acknowledged as a leader in treating patients with cancer, a status achieved by providing cutting-edge therapies and compassionate, attentive patient care.

The Gold Medal is ASTRO's highest honor; it is awarded each year to two members throughout the country who have made outstanding contributions to the field of radiation oncology, including research, clinical care, teaching and service.

Professor Faulkner honored for service to U-M and Medical School

John Faulkner, Ph.D., was honored for his 49 years at U-M at a surprise luncheon  at the U-M Alumni Center. Faulkner, the longest-serving active faculty member of the UMMS, was celebrated by friends and colleagues from the university and the American Physiological Society. He was given a Lifetime Service Award from the university and a proclamation by the APS honoring his work.

Faulkner is a senior research scientist for the Institute of Gerontology and professor of physiology. Remarks were given by President Mary Sue Coleman, Dean James Woolliscroft, Bishr Omary, M.D., professor and chair, Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, former U-M football coach Lloyd Carr and representatives from APS.

Remington receives Teaching Excellence Award

Clinical associate professor of Pharmacy, Tami Remington, a 1991 graduate of the U-M College of Pharmacy and a College faculty member since 2001, was the College's 2009 Teaching Excellence Award recipient. Remington is a clinical pharmacist, Department of Pharmacy Services.

The Award recognizes exceptional teaching in the College's professional and graduate programs. Selection criteria include: clear and logical presentation of material, fair and appropriate evaluations of student performance, ability to motivate students, responsiveness to the student's needs and innovation in teaching methods or content.

In addition to mentoring 10 PharmD students each year at her Turner Geriatric Clinic practice site, Remington's classroom teaching includes involvement in many pharmacy courses. She is also extensively involved in College curriculum enhancement efforts, and has been a lead proponent of the College’s motivational interviewing skill-building initiative.

Medical School team receives a Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize

Lloyd Stoolman, M.D.Medical School faculty members were honored with the U-M’s first Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize for the most original approaches to teaching and creativity in the classroom.

Lloyd Stoolman, M.D., professor of Pathology, and Matthew Velkey, Ph.D., lecturer in Cell and Developmental Biology were awarded for innovative teaching related to Virtual Microscopy for Life Sciences Education. The project’s overriding goal was to preserve the highly interactive laboratory experience by generating high-resolution digital replicas of the best tissue sections, compiling online image repositories, and deploying user-friendly, computer-based “viewers” that recapitulated the operation of a microscope.

Montie receives St. George National Award from cancer society

The American Cancer Society awarded James E. Montie, M.D., professor, Department of Urology, as one of twenty-seven Society volunteers with the national St. George National Award for distinguished service to their community in support of the Society's mission of saving lives from cancer.

Montie is currently vice president of the Society's Great Lakes Division’s board of directors, one of many volunteer leadership positions he has held at the American Cancer Society. He is a past recipient of an American Cancer Society research grant and has authored or co-written nearly 300 papers and contributed chapters to more than 60 books.

Jagsi recommended for Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program

Reshma Jagsi, M.D., D.Phil., was recommended for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation physician faculty scholars program’s class of 2012. The Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars® Programseeks to recruit, train and advance physicians in all specialties who wish to become leaders in research and policy both within and outside the walls of academia.

Jagsi is an assistant professor, Department of Radiation Oncology. Her recent study found that women are under-represented in clinical cancer research published in high-impact journals. 

Over the past 30 years the RWJ CSP has trained about 1,000 physicians who have gone on to be national leaders in health and health care, including leading academic clinician-researchers, heads of foundations/philanthropies, and health directors of states, counties and cities. The program is designed to augment clinical training by providing new skills and perspectives necessary to obtaining and excelling in such positions.

Williams selected as recipient of David A. Peterson Award

Brent C. Williams, M.D., MPH, associate professor of Internal Medicine, was selected for the David A. Peterson Award for Best Paper of the 2008 Volume of Gerontology and Geriatrics Education. Williams was lead author for the paper entitled, “Successful Implementation of a Faculty Development Program in Geriatrics for Non-Primary Care Physician Educators.”

The four-year faculty development program enhanced geriatrics learning among house officers in seven surgical and related disciplines and five medical subspecialties. The program resulted in changes in attitudes and knowledge of faculty participants, expanded curricula and teaching activities in geriatrics, and enhanced and altered career trajectories of faculty participants. The program centered on problem-oriented small-group seminars with concurrent application of new skills.
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