BUSM Faculty Honors & Awards 2014-15
Carmela Abraham, PhD, professor of biochemistry and pharmacology, was one of six recipients of the Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium Award. The grant was awarded to her for her work on multiple sclerosis and the role of the life extension protein Klotho in the limited repair of white matter in the disease. The Consortium gives the award to those doing translational research in neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases—such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, neuropathic pain and treatment-resistant depression.
Bill Adams, MD, professor of medicine and a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center (BMC), has been named a Center for Disease Control (CDC) Childhood Immunization Champion for his outstanding efforts to promote childhood immunization in Massachusetts. Adams was recognized for his dedication to improving how immunization data is used within Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and the development of a high-quality state-wide immunization registry.
Daniel Alford, MD, MPH, dean of the office of Continuing Medical Education and associate professor of medicine and director of the Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit at BMC received the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation Award for Health Education. The award was established to recognize professional educational activities by practicing physicians and to encourage health education, with a special focus on physicians working in drug and alcohol abuse.
Emelia Benjamin, MD, received the 2015 Paul Dudley White Award from the American Heart Association (AHA). The award, named in honor of one of Boston’s most revered cardiologists, Dr. Paul Dudley White, a founding father of the AHA, is given annually to a Massachusetts physician who has made a distinguished contribution to the Association’s mission of building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Dan R. Berlowitz, MD, MPH, professor of Medicine and Health Policy Management at BUSM and BUSPH, has been selected as the recipient of the VA’s 2015 Under Secretary’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research, the highest honor for a VA health services researcher. It represents exceptional achievement in improving the health and quality of care of Veterans, inspiring and training the next generation of health services researchers, and enhancing the visibility and recognition of VA research nationally. Since 2012, he has served as Acting Chief of Staff for the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital in Bedford.
Michael Charness, MD, professor of neurology and associate provost of veterans affairs at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Chief of Staff of the VA Boston Health Care System has been selected by the Rosett Committee of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group (FASDSG) as the 2015 recipient of the Henry Rosett Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) field.
Alan Farwell, MD, received the American Thyroid Association’s (ATA) 2014 John B. Stanbury Pathophysiology Medal and Distinguished Service Award. Farwell is BUSM associate professor of Medicine and director of the Endocrine Clinics at BMC. He has served two terms on the ATA Board of Directors, is the founding and current chair of the ATA Alliance for Patient Education, and has been an associate editor and member of the Editorial Board of Thyroid, and since 2009 has been editor-in-chief of Clinical Thyroidology for the Public.
James Feldman, MD, MPH, BUSM professor of emergency medicine and a physician at Boston Medical Center, has been honored by the Massachusetts Medical Society with its Committee Chair Service Award, an honor recognizing exceptional leadership and service to the Society, the statewide professional association of physicians. Dr. Feldman is being honored for his six years of chairing the Society’s Committee on Quality of Medical Practice, which provides consultation to the Society’s Board of Trustees and its House of Delegates on the improvement of the quality of health care provided by physicians.
Neil Ganem, PhD, assistant professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Medicine, has been named a 2015 Searle Scholar. Ganem is one of 15 young scientists—and the first from Boston University—to receive the prestigious, three-year $300,000 award.
Kal Gupta, MD, professor of Medicine and chief, Infectious Diseases at VA Boston Healthcare, is the recipient of the 2015 Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Barry Farr Award, which recognizes the best article submitted to the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology in 2014. The paper assessed the durability over a two-year period of MRSA-free status, after patients were removed from MRSA contact precautions.
Thea James, MD, associate professor of Emergency Medicine and assistant dean for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, has received the 2014 Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award for her work as an attending physician in BMC’s ED, director of the hospital’s Violence Intervention Advocacy Program and as co-founder of Unified for Healing, an organization whose mission is to improve health outcomes around the world.
James also received the Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. These awards “honor business and professional women who have demonstrated excellence in entrepreneurship, management, and lifetime achievement.
Robert C. Lowe, MD, associate professor of medicine, was honored by the Massachusetts Medical Society as the 2015 recipient of the Grant V. Rodkey Award, which recognizes a Massachusetts physician for outstanding contributions to medical education and medical students.
Carine Lenders, MD, MS, ScD, associate professor of pediatrics, and Elizabeth Henry, DrPH, MHS, who will graduate from BU’s School of Public Health (BUSPH) in September, have received the People’s Health Medal from the Social Republic of Vietnam’s Ministry of Health for their work on behalf of the Abbott Fund Institute of Nutrition Science (AFINS). Lenders and Henry were recognized for advancing hospital nutrition in Vietnam using a three-prong approach based on education, clinical service and research. The commemorative medal is the highest honor awarded to nationals and foreigners who make a major contribution to health care in Vietnam.
Michael Klein, MD, professor of medicine and director of the BMC Electrocardiology Laboratory, is the recipient of the 2015 Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. The award, established in 2010 to commemorate Jerome Klein’s 50 years of service to BMC/BUSM, is presented annually to a physician who mirrors Jerome Klein’s commitment and service as a mentor, leader, teacher, researcher and clinician.
Naomi Ko, MD, MPH, a BMC oncologist and health services researcher, is the 2015 recipient of the Stevens Award for Research or Practical Improvement, which is awarded to a BMC employee working to improve the health care system’s response to women impacted by gender-based violence. Ko is honored for her work with interpersonal trauma survivors, whom she interviews to learn how to improve their experience of breast cancer screening and treatment.
Carine Lenders, MD, MS, ScD, associate professor of Pediatrics; medical director, BMC Nutrition and Fitness for Life (pediatric obesity) program; director, BMC Pediatric Nutrition Support Services and project director, The Abbott Fund Institute of Nutrition Sciences (AFINS), Hanoi, Vietnam, has been awarded the commemorative medal “For the People’s Health” from Vietnam’s Ministry of Health. This award is conferred periodically “on people, including employees inside and outside the health service and foreigners, who make contributions to the cause of building and development of Vietnam’s health service.” The AFINS project, based at BUSM not BMC, is a multidisciplinary project to advance clinical nutrition in hospitals in Vietnam. Between 2009 and 2014 Carine worked together with leadership at Ministry of Health, research institutes, medical universities and hospitals to implement educational, research and clinical services activities. AFINS is part of a 15-year-old, ongoing partnership of the BU Family Medicine Global Health Collaborative with Vietnam’s health care leaders to improve the nation’s healthcare system.
Rafael Ortega, MD, professor of anesthesiology and vice chair for academic affairs for the Department of Anesthesiology, and Alcy Torres, MD, assistant professor of pediatric neurology are listed among the 100 most influential Latinos in Massachusetts by El Planeta, Boston’s Latino daily newspaper. Ortega also was selected by the Boston Business Journal as an honoree for the Annual Leaders in Diversity Awards. The award honors companies and individuals for their leadership in successfully promoting inclusiveness and opportunity. Ortega will be awarded the Corporate Leadership award for his exceptional work at the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.
Christine Pace, MD, assistant professor of medicine and primary care physician at BMC, was honored by The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce as one of Ten Outstanding Young Leaders in the region. Pace is a physician leader known for her efforts in the integration of primary care and behavioral health services.
Sean Palfrey, MD, Pediatrics, has been awarded the American Medical Association Jack B. McConnell, MD Award for Excellence in Volunteerism, one of the organization’s Excellence in Medicine awards. The award honors Palfrey’s work for improving and advocating for children’s health, including founding the Immunization Initiative of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, writing and shepherding a bill through the state legislature to create a public-private trust to fund the purchase, administration, and management of all vaccines for children in Massachusetts, and helping to develop medical homes and integrated networks of programs and services for children from underserved and immigrant populations and with special health care needs. Palfrey has also worked closely with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts State Legislature, and other organizations to maintain Massachusetts as a universal distribution site for all recommended vaccines, as well as on programs on environmental health and safety, universal health coverage for children, obesity prevention, and other child health initiatives.
Vasan Ramachandran, MD, professor of medicine and senior investigator of the Framingham Heart Study, was awarded the American Heart Association (AHA) 2014 Population Research Prize. He was recognized, “for brilliantly seizing upon opportunities to translate cutting-edge bench science into an epidemiological context, thereby making fundamental contributions to identifying systemic markers for cardiovascular risk, both here and in developing countries.”
Jean E. Ramsey, MD, Boston University Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics MPH was named a recipient of the 2015 Dr. Allen Crocker Health Services Award from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Department of Developmental Services. Presented annually, the award recognizes an individual or organization that mirrors the life of Dr. Crocker and his respect for and value of individuals with a disability. Dr. Ramsey who also serves as BUSM Associate Dean for Alumni Affairs and Vice Chair of Education and Program Director for the Department of Ophthalmology, was selected because she excels in including individuals with disabilities in her clinical practice, increasing the cadre of people who joyfully and compassionately care for individuals with disability, focusing on individuals’ capabilities rather than their disabilities, and advocating for equity and social justice.
David Salant, MD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and chief, Section of Nephrology at Boston Medical Center, was awarded The 2015 Donald W. Seldin Award of the National Kidney Foundation’s (NKF).The Donald W. Seldin Award recognizes excellence in clinical nephrology in the tradition of one of the foremost teachers and researchers in the field, Dr. Donald W. Seldin. Supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), he has conducted extensive research on immune disorders of the kidneys. Dr. Salant’s work has led to breakthroughs in identifying and treating membranous nephropathy, specifically he helped to identify a protein called PLA2R that is crucial to understanding the development of the disease.
Robert Saper, MD, MPH, associate professor of family medicine and director of The Program for Integrative Medicine and Health Care Disparities at BMC has been named co-editor-in-chief of Global Advances in Health and Medicine (GAHM). GAHM’s publishing platform includes a peer-reviewed, indexed medical journal that provides original research articles, as well as multiple online forums. It is publishesd six times per year in print, digital and mobile formats, with abstracts in three different languages (English, Spanish, Chinese).
Robert Simms, MD, has been selected as the recipient of the Scleroderma Foundation’s “Lifetime Achievement Award. Simms is being recognized for his contributions to advancing scientific understanding of this complicated disease and his commitment to compassionate patient care over the course of his career.
Andrew S. Ulrich, M.D, associate professor of emergency medicine and executive vice chairman of the department of emergency medicine at the Boston Medical Center (BMC), was presented with the AMA Medal of Valor of the American Medical Association (AMA). The award recognizes physicians who demonstrate courage under extraordinary circumstances in non-wartime situations. Dr. Ulrich was chosen by the AMA for his work during the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. He directed and coordinated the immediate care and resuscitative efforts for 28 patients, who ranged in age from 5-78.
Gopal Yadavalli, MD, assistant professor of medicine and program director for the internal medicine residency, has been elected to the Council of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM). The APDIM is the international organization of accredited internal medicine residency programs. Dr. Yadavalli, a member of the infectious diseases faculty, will serve a three-year term beginning July 1, 2014.
Barry S. Zuckerman, MD, BUSM professor and chair emeritus of pediatrics and BUSPH professor of public health, received the Federation of Pediatric Organizations’ Joseph W. St. Geme, Jr. Leadership Award. This award was created in honor of Dr. St. Geme to recognize a pediatrician who is a role model for others to emulate as a clinician, an educator, and/or an investigator. Recipients of the award have had a record of broad and sustained contributions to pediatrics that have had or will have a major impact on child health. Most importantly, the award recognizes those individuals who have “created a future.”
Group, Department Honors & Awards
BUSM’s SCOPE of Pain Receives National Award
White House Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli has awarded BUSM’s Safe and Competent Opioid Prescribing Education (SCOPE of Pain) program a 2014 National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) award for Outstanding Prevention Effort.
Boston Magazine’s annual Top Docs issue included 62 BUSM faculty and BMC physicians listed as “tops” in their respective fields. Nahid Bhadelia, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the section of infectious diseases, is pictured on the magazine’s cover and featured about her work caring for Ebola patients in Sierra Leone.
Five BUMC Faculty Members Elected AAAS Fellows
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journals Science, Science Translational Medicine, and Science Signaling, has named five members of the Boston University Medical Campus (BUMC) community AAAS Fellows:
David Center, MD, associate provost for Translational Research, director of BUMC Translational Research Institute, and chief of Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Medicine at Boston Medical Center (BMC), was elected as a fellow under the Section on Medical Sciences for his contributions to the field of Immunology, particularly the discovery of the first human (IL-16) and virus-derived (HIV-1 gp120) lymphocyte chemotactic factors.
Ronald Corley, PhD, professor of microbiology and director at the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, was elected as a fellow under the Section on Medical Sciences for his contributions to the field of immunology, particularly in elucidating innate functions of antibodies and B cells and their roles in accelerating adaptive immunity.
Josée Dupuis, PhD, professor and associate chair of Biostatistics, was elected as a fellow under the Section on Biological Sciences for her contributions to the field of statistical genetics, leading to the discovery and improved understanding of the genetic basis for common diseases.
Katya Ravid, DSc, PhD, professor of medicine and biochemistry and founding director of the Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research, was elected as a fellow under the Section on Medical Sciences for pursuing interdisciplinary research. Ravid outstandingly combined the fields of hematology and vascular biology, leading to the discovery of transcriptional and cell cycle signatures that govern polyploidy during megakaryocyte/platelet development.
David Salant, MD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, BUSM and chief of the Section of Nephrology at BMC, was elected as a fellow under the Section on Medical Sciences for his contributions to the field of immunological kidney diseases, particularly for discovering that the anti-phospholipase A2 receptor is the major autoantigen in human membranous nephropathy.
BUSM Pediatric Interest Group receives inaugural AAP MSSC award
The BUSM Pediatric Interest Group has been selected to receive the first ever 2015 Pediatric Interest Group of the Year Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics Medical Student Subcommittee.
This award recognizes one Pediatric Interest Group annually for its excellence in interest group programming and involvement in the Section on Medical Students, Residents and Fellowship Trainees (SOMSRFT) annual advocacy campaign. Among the many applications received this year, the BUSM chapter “stood out as one that not only proves what a chapter can do, but also sets the standard high for what is achievable as an interest group,” as one reviewer commented.