Penn State Names New Leader of College of Medicine and Medical Center
Harold Louis Paz, MD, MS, has been appointed as the next Penn State senior vice president for health affairs, dean of the Penn State University College of Medicine, and chief executive officer of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, taking over from Darrell G. Kirch, MD, who will assume the presidency of the Association of American Medical Colleges this year. Penn State also announced that the chair of the Department of Pediatrics and medical director of Penn State Children's Hospital at Hershey Medical Center, A. Craig Hillemeier, MD, would serve as the interim dean of the College of Medicine and chief executive officer of the Hershey Medical Center until Dr. Paz assumes his new duties at Penn State, effective April 24, 2006. Dr. Paz currently serves as the dean of the Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine in New Brunswick, New Jersey, a position he has held for 10 years. During Dr. Paz's time as dean of the Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine, the New Jersey-based institution has experienced tremendous growth and development, with the school growing to include a current faculty of 2,500, a student body of more than 1,000 on three campuses, and a total annual budget of greater than $400 million. Additionally, under the direction of Dr. Paz, the institution has enjoyed drastic expansion of its research arm, including the establishment of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and a near-doubling of National Institutes of Health grant support between 1988 and 2004. Furthermore, Dr. Paz has implemented major curriculum changes at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Paz completed his undergraduate degree in biology and psychology at the University of Rochester and received his master's degree in life science engineering from Tufts University. Dr. Paz received his medical degree from Rochester and went on to complete his internship and residency in the Department of Internal Medicine at Northwestern University School of Medicine. He also completed postdoctoral fellowships at Johns Hopkins University in pulmonary and critical care medicine and in environmental health sciences.
Robert M. Mentzer Jr, MD, Appointed Dean of Wayne State University School of Medicine
Robert M. Mentzer Jr, MD, a nationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeon, has been announced as the new dean of the Wayne State University College of Medicine. Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid and the Wayne State University Board of Governors selected Dr. Mentzer in November 2005 after an extensive year-long national search. Dr. Mentzer officially assumed his duties as dean until March 2006. Most recently, Dr. Mentzer served as the Frank C. Spencer Professor and Chairman of Surgery at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and as director of the University of Kentucky Transplant Center. Additionally, Dr. Mentzer served for 8 years as the president and chairman of the faculty practice group Kentucky Medical Services Foundation. Dr. Mentzer is widely regarded as an accomplished medical center leader. During his time at the University of Kentucky, he led the Department of Surgery to national status as a model for innovation, with intensive interdisciplinary training, well-developed clinical programs, and translational research efforts. Dr. Mentzer is an experienced heart transplant surgeon whose work has been continuously funded for 21 years by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Mentzer has received multiple honors for his work, including the Bigger-Lehman Award of the Virginia Surgical Society and the John Horsley Memorial Prize for Surgical Research.
Lanny S. Liebeskind, PhD, Named as New Director of University Science Strategies at Emory University
Lanny S. Liebeskind, PhD, has been appointed to the newly created position of director of university science strategies at Emory University, a position developed, in part, to help put into practice the science and technology portion of Emory's new strategic plan. Emory's strategic plan encompasses three significant initiatives in science and technology: (1) neuroscience, human nature, and society; (2) predictive health and society; and (3) computational and life sciences. In addition to implementation of the strategic plan initiatives, Dr. Liebeskind's duties will include helping Emory achieve a number of goals designed to raise the stature of the institution. This is to be accomplished via facilitating growth in areas consistent with strategic priorities, raising standards of excellence in both research and teaching, and improving the national ranking of Emory science departments. Recruitment of competitive faculty and students and increasing opportunities for interdisciplinary research were also identified as important goals. Dr. Liebeskind will maintain his current positions as the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Chemistry and as primary liaison with the Georgia Research Alliance on behalf of Emory President James Wagner. Dr. Liebeskind received his bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1972 and earned his PhD from the University of Rochester in 1976. He completed a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a National Institutes of Health Fellowship at Stanford. Dr. Liebeskind joined the Emory University Department of Chemistry in 1985 and was named Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Chemistry in 1988. From 1996 to 2000, Dr. Liebeskind served as chair of Emory's Department of Chemistry. Most recently, Dr. Liebeskind served as senior associate dean for research at Emory College from 2000 to 2005.
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Steps Down
David S. Hefner recently announced his decision to resign his posts as executive director and chief operating officer of Penn State's Hershey Medical Center, positions he has held since July 2003. Hefner expressed the gravity and difficulty of his decision, emphasizing the deep appreciation he holds for the personnel of Hershey Medical Center and the excellence they have achieved together. Darrell G. Kirch, MD, dean of the Penn State College of Medicine and chief executive officer of the Hershey Medical Center throughout Hefner's tenure, stated that Hershey Medical Center has benefited greatly from Hefner's dedication and foresight, specifically in his passionate pursuit of enhancing quality of care, customer service, and careful dispersal of the institution's resources. During Dr. Hefner's tenure at Hershey Medical Center, the Center has received a number of honors, including recognition as one of the top 10 connected facilities in the country, following the implementation of a computerized provider order entry system. Additionally, the Hershey Medical Center also ranks as a top performer in such areas as clinical quality measures, overall patient satisfaction, and the cost efficiency of its operations. Hefner's positions will be filled on an interim basis by the chair of the Department of Pediatrics and medical director of Penn State Children's Hospital at Hershey Medical Center, A. Craig Hillemeier, MD. Dr. Hefner is expected to assume his duties as senior partner with CSC Global Health Solutions, a position he held prior to his appointment as executive director and chief operating officer at Hershey Medical Center.
David W. Boyer Named Head of FDA's Office of Legislation
Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach recently announced the selection of David W. Boyer as the new head of the Office of Legislation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He will replace Patrick Ronan, who now serves as the Agency's chief of staff. In his role as assistant commissioner for legislation, Mr. Boyer will be responsible for responding to inquiries from Congress and with supervising the drafting of congressional testimony. He will also play a role in helping formulate public health legislation. In voicing his support for Mr. Boyar, Dr. von Eschenbach cited Dr. Boyer's qualification for the position, specifically noting Dr. Boyer's knowledge of Capitol Hill and his previous work in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Dr. Boyer has occupied several senior positions within the HHS, including special assistant in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Legislation and special assistant for oversight in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Legislation. Additionally, Mr. Boyer has worked with members of Congress as the director of federal government relations for the Biotechnology Industry Organization. In this position, he played an important role in policy and strategy development in the areas of biotechnology and public health issues. Mr. Boyer received his degree in government relations from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He assumed his duties with the FDA on March 20, 2006.
Donald S. Burke, MD, Named Dean of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health
Donald. S. Burke, MD, has been named as the new dean of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH). Dr. Burke is a leading authority on the prevention, diagnosis, and control of infectious diseases of global concern, focusing in particular on human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), avian flu, and emerging infectious diseases. Dr. Burke will also serve as the director of the University of Pittsburgh's new Center for Vaccine Research and associate vice chancellor for global health and will be the first to occupy the University of Pittsburgh Medical College-Jonas Salk Chair in Global Health. Dr. Burke was recruited from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where he has been a faculty member since 1997, following 23 years of service with the US Army Medical Corps. During his 23-year career with the US Army Medical Corps, Dr. Burke led research, vaccine development, and prevention programs centered in the areas of HIV, hepatitis, tropical diseases, and emerging infectious diseases. He held many positions at Johns Hopkins, including professor of international health and epidemiology, associate chair for disease prevention and control in the Department of International Health, and director of the Center for Immunization Research. Additionally, Dr. Burke served as a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh Arthur S. Levine, MD, said that owing to his pertinent interests, knowledge, and experience, Dr. Burke is uniquely qualified to lead the efforts of the University of Pittsburgh toward addressing significant current public health issues. In his role as director of the University's Center for Vaccine Research, Dr. Burke will lead a regional biocontainment facility and will be responsible for fostering programs to develop, produce, and test vaccines against existing and emerging agents. As associate vice chancellor for global health, Dr. Burke will oversee the University's various global health endeavors. In this capacity, he will develop research and education programs designed to improve health in poor and underserved countries. Dr. Burke is engaged in several studies conducted in conjunction with institutions in other countries, with much of his research on the epidemiology of infectious diseases being conducted in the field. He is the principal investigator in numerous studies, among these a National Institutes of Health-funded HIV Vaccines Trials Unit, a multicenter consortium to develop computational simulations and predictive models of the epidemiology and evolution of infectious diseases, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for Biodefense. Dr. Burke also served in leadership positions during his time in the Army, founding and serving as director of the US Military HIV/AIDS Laboratory Complex. Dr. Burke has received numerous honors for his work in the military and after, such as the Military Legion of Merit, the National Defense Service Medal, and the prestigious Thomas Francis Jr. Medal. He is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Microbiology, and Infectious Disease Society of America, among others. Dr. Burke has authored or coauthored more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He graduated magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University with a bachelor of arts in chemistry and biology and earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1971. He completed his residency training in medicine at Boston City Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. He will be the seventh dean of University of Pittsburgh's GSPH.
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Names New Vice Chair of Clinical Research in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Jeffrey F. Peipert, MD, has been announced as the new vice chair of clinical research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Mitchell and Elaine Yanow Professor and Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology George A. Macones, MD, made the announcement, adding that Dr. Peipert has the “ideal combination of expertise and vision for this position.” In his new role, Dr. Peipert will be charged with the development of a new clinical research division, focused on patient-oriented research, with the goal of providing new knowledge that will improve women's health. The creation of this division is designed to promote interdisciplinary research through collaboration with other departments and divisions at Washington University. It is anticipated that these efforts will increase clinical research in the Department and community and facilitate the training of new investigators in the area of research directly relevant to improving women's health. Dr. Peipert's research is focused on clinical epidemiology, infectious diseases, and contraception. Before his appointment to his position at Washington University, he served as professor of obstetrics and gynecology and community health for 13 years at Brown University. He also served as the director of the Department's research division, as well as program director for the Brown Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health Program and the Women's Reproductive Health Research Program. While at Brown, Dr. Peipert received numerous teaching awards, in addition to his role in leading courses in clinical epidemiology and evidence-based medicine. Dr. Peipert received his bachelor's degree in human biology from Brown University in 1982 and earned his medical degree from Emory University in 1986. Following completion in 1987 of his obstetrics and gynecology residency at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, from 1990 to 1992 he was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Yale University School of Medicine. In 1992, Dr. Peipert received a master's degree in public health from Yale University School of Medicine. In 2000, he received a master's degree in health care administration from the University of Minnesota. He has published over 100 publications and book chapters, as well as edited a textbook, Primary Care for Women.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Names First Bernard Fisher Professor of Surgery
David L. Bartlett, MD, was recently appointed as the first Bernard Fisher Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Bartlett currently serves as professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at the University, where he has been a faculty member since October 2001. Dr. Bartlett is an expert in the regional delivery of chemotherapy. His clinical expertise centers on the management of advanced abdominal cancers, including malignancies of the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. Dr. Bartlett also serves as director of the David C. Koch Regional Perfusion Cancer Therapy Center at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. Before coming to the University of Pittsburgh in 2001, Dr. Bartlett was a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute's Center for Cancer Research. He received his bachelor's degree from Rice University and earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. Dr. Bartlett completed his residency training in surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and served as a fellow at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Timothy R. Billiar, MD, George V. Foster Professor of Surgery and chair of the Department of Surgery, called Dr. Bartlett one of the nation's top surgical oncologists and expressed his excitement that the University has the opportunity to honor Dr. Bartlett as the inaugural Dr. Bernard Fisher Professor of Surgery. The professorship is named for Bernard Fisher, MD, Distinguished Service Professor of Surgery at the School of Medicine. Dr. Fisher is a 1943 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine who made significant contributions to the treatment and understanding of breast cancer.
West Virginia University School of Medicine Names New Chair of Department of Pediatrics
Giovanni Piedimonte, MD, was recently named as the new chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, succeeding interim chair Norman D. Ferrari III, MD. Dean of the West Virginia University School of Medicine John E. Prescott, MD, described Dr. Piedimonte as “an accomplished teacher, physician and researcher” and stated that Dr. Piedimonte will “raise the level of pediatric health care in West Virginia.” Dr. Piedimonte will become the school's first Wyeth Research Scholar. In this position, he will be able to continue his research in airway disease, particularly in the area of viral infections early in life and their effect on long-term pediatric pulmonary disease. Dr. Piedimonte said that his primary goal at West Virginia University is to ensure that no child in West Virginia with any type of disease will have to seek health care outside the state, as well as to strengthen the research arm of the institution. Dr. Piedimonte's clinical interests include childhood asthma, pediatric pulmonology, and cystic fibrosis. Dr. Piedimonte joins the West Virginia University faculty from the University of Miami, where he served as director of the asthma center, the fellowship-training program in Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, and the Cystic Fibrosis Center at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center. He also established the University of Miami Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine and has served as a member of the University of Miami Department of Pediatrics since 1995. Dr. Piedimonte received his medical degree in 1986 from the University of Rome School of Medicine. After completing a pediatrics residency at the same institution, he completed 4 years of postdoctoral research training at the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the University of California-San Francisco. Dr. Piedimonte completed his clinical fellowship in pediatric pulmonology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He has received a number of national and international awards for his studies of the impact of viral respiratory infections on early lung remodeling and on long-term pulmonary disease.
Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care Names New Chief Medical Officer
Lisa Diller, MD, has been appointed to the position of chief medical officer of Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care (DF/CHCC), as well as clinical director of pediatric oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston. Dr. Diller currently serves as director of the neuroblastoma program and is the founder and medical director of Dana-Farber's David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic. Dana-Farber President Edward J. Benz Jr, MD, says that during Dr. Diller's appointment as interim clinical director, the pediatric oncology program thrived. She assumed this position in 2005 and will now undertake it permanently. Dr. Benz added that an extensive national search, aided by the advice of national authorities in the field of pediatric oncology, led to the “unparalleled expertise” of Dr. Diller. Dr. Diller earned her medical degree from the University of California-San Diego and completed her postdoctoral training at Dana Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care. She also serves as an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard University Medical School. Additionally, Dr. Diller has focused on two main areas of research: the treatment of patients with neuroblastoma and Wilms' tumor and the study of survivors of childhood cancer. Dr. Diller is an innovator in the use of high-dose therapy and stem cell transplants in the treatment of neuroblastoma. In her survivorship research, Dr. Diller has sought to decrease the number of secondary malignancies occurring in individuals who have received radiation therapy for cancer as children. These efforts have included attempts to identify better methods to screen for later-developing tumors in childhood cancer survivors. Dr. Diller said that she is excited to assume this new leadership and to pursue future advancements in childhood cancer therapies.