FY19 School Update – Awards & Honors

Faculty Honors

Jodi Abbott, MD, MSc, HCM, Associate Professor of OB/GYN, has been selected as the Medical Director of the Education Center Curriculum and Outreach for the American Medical Association (AMA), a new initiative.

Sonia Ananthakrishnan, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, was selected as the 2019 Early Career Medical Student Educator by the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine of the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine.

Hugo Aparicio, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Neurology, has received the Aram V. Chobanian Assistant Professorship. This award is part of BUSM’s ongoing efforts to recruit and retain outstanding junior faculty.

Jennifer E. Beane-Ebel, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, received an award through the Digital Health Initiative (DHI) Program funded by the Hariri Institute for Computing and the Institute for Health System Innovation & Policy (IHSIP) for her proposal, “Pre-Cancer AutoHist: A software application to classify lung pre-cancer histologic features”.

Esther Bullitt, PhD, Associate Professor of Physiology & Biophysics, has been named president-elect of the Microscopy Society of America (MSA).

Two BUSM faculty were honored by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Stephen Christiansen, MD, Chair of Ophthalmology, received a senior achievement award, and Babak Eliassi-Rad, MD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, received an achievement award. Both awards recognize significant scholarly work, teaching and committee contributions to the Academy. The Senior Achievement Award honors those members with at least ten years of noteworthy contributions.

David Coleman, MD, Wade Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine, recently joined the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation board of trustees.

Catherine Costello, PhD, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, received the 2019 Lifetime Achievement in Proteomics Award from the U.S. Human Proteome Organization (U.S. HUPO). This inaugural award recognizes a career of discovery that has made a lasting impact in the field of proteomics, the field which explores the distribution, dynamics and modifications of proteins in cells and living organisms and their relationships to health and disease.

Robin Cotton, MD, Associate Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Sabra Botch-Jones, MS, MA, Assistant Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology have been appointed by Massachusetts Governor Baker to the state Forensic Science Oversight Board.

Mary K. Daly, MD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Chief of Ophthalmology at VA Boston Healthcare System, was installed as the 115^th president of the New England Ophthalmological Society (NEOS).

Anand K. Devaiah, MD, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, was named president of the Society of University Otolaryngologists. He served as president-elect for the past year.

David Farb, PhD, Professor and Chair of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, Zhen Y. Jiang, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine, Tat Fong Ng, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, and Andrew W. Taylor, PhD, Associate Dean of Research, Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Ophthalmology, are recipients of the 2019 Wing Tat Lee awards. These awards are funded to establish cooperative research programs between BUSM and Chinese universities, with particular emphasis on those in Hong Kong, while further deepening the friendship and mutual understanding between these institutions.

Geoffrey Habershaw, DPM, Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, has received a lifetime achievement award from the Massachusetts Foot and Ankle Society.

David Henderson, MD, Professor and Chair of Psychiatry, received the Alexander Gralnick, MD Award for Schizophrenia Research from the American Psychiatric Association.

Michael Holick, PhD, MD, Professor of Medicine, was named a fellow of the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). This is the highest honor ASN bestows, recognizing individuals for significant discoveries and distinguished careers in the field of nutrition. He was also elected by the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine into their Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was established in 2004 to honor the pioneers and leaders in orthomolecular medicine.

Angela Jackson, MD, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Associate Professor of Medicine, received the 2018 Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. The Award was established in 2010 to commemorate Dr. Klein’s 50 years of service to BUSM/BMC and is presented annually to a physician who shares Dr. Klein’s attributes, including clinical and research excellence, leadership, and dedicated commitment to education and mentoring.

Alice Jacobs, MD, Professor of Medicine, was named a Master Interventionalist by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. The MSCAI designation is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated excellence in invasive/interventional cardiology over the course of their career and for their commitment to the highest levels of clinical care, innovation, publication and teaching.

Natalie Joseph, MD, MPH, Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics, was named Massachusetts’ “HPV Vaccine Is Cancer Prevention Champion” for outstanding efforts to protect adolescents from cancers caused by HPV.

Danny G. Kaloupek, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, was recognized by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies for outstanding service to the field of psychological trauma and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Terence M. Keane, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology and Assistant Dean for Research, has received the Presidential Award from the Division of Trauma Psychology at the American Psychological Association (APA).

Vijaya B. Kolachalama, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Rhoda Au, PhD, Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology, received an award through the Digital Health Initiative (DHI) Program funded by the Hariri Institute Artificial Intelligence Research (AIR) Initiative and the Institute for Health System Innovation & Policy (IHSIP) for their proposal, “Adversarial Learning of MRIA Data for Improved Assessment”.

Shruthi Mahalingaiah, MD, MS, Associate Professor of OB/GYN, was appointed vice president of the New England Fertility Society for 2019.

Ann McKee, MD, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Pathology, Director of the BU CTE Center, and Chief of Neuropathology, VA Boston Healthcare System, received an Alzheimer’s Association AAIC Lifetime Achievement Award for her significant scientific contributions and demonstrated lifelong commitments to progress against Alzheimer’s and dementia. Dr. McKee was also elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) for her groundbreaking work on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Alzheimer’s disease, aging, and vascular neuropathology that has revolutionized medicine’s understanding of the clinicopathological and molecular features of CTE in athletes and veterans exposed to neurotrauma or blast injury and changed the public dialogue on sports-related risk.

Timothy Naimi, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, was appointed to the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. He is one of 20 nationally recognized scientists that review scientific evidence on topics and questions and provide reports on their findings to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary.

Charlene Ong, MD, MPHS, Assistant Professor of Neurology, was awarded the Peter Paul Career Development Professorship. This three-year award supports research and scholarly or creative work is awarded annually to junior faculty University-wide.

Elizabeth Pearce, MD, MSc, Professor of Medicine, began a one-year term as president of the Board of Directors of the American Thyroid Association. For the past year she served as president-elect.

Vasan Ramachandran, MD, FACC, Jay and Louise Coffman Professor in Vascular Medicine, delivered the prestigious William B. Kannel, MD, Memorial Lecture during the American Heart Association’s (AHA) 2019 EPI/Lifestyle Scientific Sessions held in Houston. The Lecture was established in 2013 jointly by the AHA’s Council on Epidemiology and Prevention and the American Society of Preventive Cardiology to honor Dr. Kannel’s dedication to the field of cardiovascular epidemiology.

John Renner, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, received the 2019 Special Award for Excellence in Medical Service from the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Julie White, MS, CHCP, Director of the Barry M. Manuel Continuing Medical Education (CME)/Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) office, has received the 2019 Distinguished Service award from the Society of Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME).

Spivack Awards

The following faculty have received 2019 Jack Spivack Excellence in Neuroscience Awards. Mr. Spivack established these awards in 2013 to recognize and support the research of outstanding BUSM faculty conducting either clinical or basic research in Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and other neurological disorders.

Robert Stern, PhD, Professor, Neurology, Neurosurgery and Anatomy & Neurobiology; Director, Clinical Core, BU Alzheimer’s Disease Center; Director, Clinical Research, BU CTE Center, received the Distinguished Neuroscientist Award.

Christopher Gabel, PhD, Associate Professor, Physiology & Biophysics, Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics; Mark W. Logue, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Biomedical Genetics; Statistician, National Center for PTSD, Behavioral Sciences Division, VA Boston Healthcare; Valentina Sabino, PhD, Associate Professor, Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Psychiatry, received the Spivack Emerging Leaders awards.

Camron D. Bryant, PhD, Assistant Professor, Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Psychiatry; Chandramouli Chandrasekaran, PhD, Assistant professor, Anatomy & Neurobiology, Psychological and Brain Sciences were named Spivack Young Investigators.

Student Honors

Fourth-year medical students Alan Hsieh and Harsh Patel along with Boston Medical Center (BMC) Anesthesiology Resident Melina Shoni, MD, and Zachary Glicksman, MD, Instructor of Anesthesiology were honored with the “Best Instructional Exhibit Award” for their scientific presentation, Falls From An Operating Room Table: A Patient Safety Educational Tool. The award was presented at the 72nd Post-Graduate Assembly in Anesthesiology in New York.

Michael Rosario, a second-year PhD student in the graduate program for neuroscience, has received a four-year, $120,000 Health Policy Research Scholarship from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is the first Boston University graduate student to receive this award.

Two MD students have received the Lancet Global Health Award for Best Student Poster for their presentation, “Uber Health: A Novel Method of Eliminating Transportation Barriers to Care Among Urban OBGYN Refugee Women.” Simone Vais, a third-year student and Justin Siu, a second-year student, began this work as part of a summer research project. It focuses on overcoming transportation barriers to healthcare access at Boston Medical Center’s (BMC) Refugee Women’s Health Clinic (RWHC).