Medicine | Page 27

Joseph Kaserman, MD, receives John W. Walsh Translational Research Award in Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency

Joseph Kaserman, MD, Instructor in the Section of Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep and Critical Care, received the inaugural John W. Walsh Translational Research Award in Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. The award is named in honor of John W. Walsh, the co founder of the Alpha-1 Foundation, who dedicated his life to finding a cure for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and helping those afflicted by it. Kaserman will be using the $225,000 award ($75,000 over three years) to study whether Alpha-1 carriers (individuals who have one normal Alpha1 gene (M) and one mutated gene (Z)), have an increased risk of developing liver disease. Alpha-1 is a genetic (inherited) condition, passed from parents to their children through their genes. It may result in serious lung disease in adults and/or liver disease at any age and up to 2% of the U.S. population could be an Alpha-1 carrier.

Congratulations to Dr. Kaserman!

Flora Sam, MD, Appointed Interim Director of the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute

Flora Sam, MD, Professor in the Section of Cardiology, has been appointed the Interim Director of the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, effective February 1. She is replacing Kenneth Walsh, PhD, who has accepted a position at the University of Virginia. Dr. Sam serves as an advanced heart failure cardiologist and her research is focused in cardiac myocyte biology and mechanistic underpinnings of cardiac remodeling in various disease states including heart failure, infiltrative cardiomyopathies and hypertension with a major focus on heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), also known previously as “diastolic failure heart failure.” Dr. Sam, who is internationally recognized in the HFpEF field, is a physician-scientist and translational researcher whose research is bidirectional, going first from the patient and then to the basic laboratory.

January 18 Faculty Appointments/Promotions

Congratulations to the following DOM Faculty Members on their initial appointments and promotions at Boston University School of Medicine:

Initial Appointments

Luis M. Agosto Vazquez, Ph.D. – Research Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases

Alexa Diranian, PA-C – Instructor of Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine

Marie F. Guerrier, M.S.N., ANP – Instructor of Medicine, Section of Geriatrics

Nicole L. Spartano, Ph.D. – Research Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Nutrition

Promotions

Christopher S. Huang, M.D. – Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology

Gene F. Kwan, M.D., M.P.H. – Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine

David Salant, M.D. named as next Vice Chair of Research

David Salant, M.D., has been named as the next Vice Chair of Research effective March 1, 2018. Dr. Salant is the Norman Levinsky Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Section of Nephrology, and has had a very distinguished career as a physician investigator, academic leader, and mentor. His group’s sentinel studies on the immuno-pathogenesis of membranous nephropathy are often cited among the most important findings in nephrology, and he serves as a wonderful role model and colleague. We are extremely fortunate to have Dr. Salant assume this leadership role and to build on the remarkable legacy of Dr. Barbara Corkey. Congratulations Dr. Salant!

Robert Witzburg, MD, named the 2017 recipient of the Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence

Congratulations to Dr. Robert Witzburg, Professor of Medicine in the Section of General Internal Medicine, for being named the 2017 recipient of the Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. This award was established in 2010 to commemorate Jerome Klein’s 50 years of service to BUSM/BMC and is presented annually to a physician that shares Dr. Klein’s attributes, which include clinical and research excellence, leadership, and a dedicated commitment to education and mentoring.

December 17 Faculty Appointments/Promotions

Congratulations to the following DOM Faculty Members on their initial appointments at Boston University School of Medicine:

Initial Appointments

Adam Gower, Ph.D. – Research Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Computational Biomedicine

Jennifer Howard, M.S.N., APN-BC – Instructor of Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine

Arpan Mohanty, M.B., B.S. – Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology

Megan R. Whelton, M.D., M.P.H. – Instructor of Medicine, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine

Boston Magazine’s Top Doctors 2017

Boston Magazine's annual Top Docs issue has hit newsstands, and the Department of Medicine was well represented. Congratulations to the following faculty members named to the list:

Allergy & Immunology

Helen M. Hollingsworth

Cardiac Electrophysiology

Robert H. Helm
Kevin M. Monahan

Cardiovascular Disease

Eric H. Awtry
Gary J. Balady
Sheilah A. Bernard
Robert T. Eberhardt

Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism

Sonia Ananthakrishnan
Alan P. Farwell
Michael F. Holick
Stephanie L. Lee
Elizabeth N. Pearce
Joshua D. Safer

Gastroenterology

Francis A. Farraye
David R. Lichtenstein
Robert C. Lowe
David P. Nunes
Paul C. Schroy III

Geriatric Medicine

Heidi P. Auerbach
Lisa B. Caruso
Hollis D. Day
Eric J. Hardt
Sharon A. Levine

Hematology

Vaishali H. Sanchorawala

Internal Medicine

Thomas W. Barber
Melissa D. DiPetrillo
Warren Y. Hershman
Angela H. Jackson
Susan L. Phillips
Jeffrey H. Samet

Interventional Cardiology

Alice K. Jacobs
Ashvin N. Pande

Medical Oncology

Timothy P. Cooley
Gretchen Gignac
Kevan L. Hartshorn
Adam Lerner

Nephrology

Jasvinder S. Bhatia
David J. Salant

Pulmonary Disease

John L. Berk
Jeffrey S. Berman
John Bernardo
Harrison W. Farber
Frederic F. Little
George T. O'Connor Jr.
Arthur C. Theodore

Rheumatology

David T. Felson
Eugene Y. Kissin
Paul A. Monach
Robert W. Simms

Matthew Kulke, M.D., appointed Chief of the Section of Hematology/Oncology and Zoltan Kohn Professor of Medicine

Matthew Kulke, M.D., has been appointed Chief of the Section of Hematology/Oncology and Zoltan Kohn Professor of Medicine effective March 1, 2018. In addition, he will also serve as Deputy Director of the BU-BMC Cancer Center and Medical Director of the Clinical Cancer Center at BMC. Dr. Kulke currently serves as the Director of the Program in Neuroendocrine and Carcinoid Tumors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and has received numerous awards for his accomplishments as a clinical investigator and provider of compassionate care to patients. He has led national and international clinical trials to identify new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches to neuroendocrine tumors and gastrointestinal malignancies, and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles about neuroendocrine tumors.

Daniel P. Alford, MD, MPH, promoted to Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education (CME)

Congratulations to Daniel P. Alford, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine in the Section of General Internal Medicine, on his promotion to Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education (CME). Dr. Alford has served as Assistant Dean for CME since September 2011, and holds a number of positions, including directing the Safe and Competent Opioid Prescribing Education (SCOPE of Pain) and the BU Evidence-based SBIRT Student Training (BESST) programs at BUSM, and directing the Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Unit in the Section of General Internal Medicine and the NIDA-funded Chief Resident Immersion Training (CRIT) Program in Addiction Medicine at BMC. Dr Alford joined the BUSM faculty in 1996, and his clinical, educational and research interests focus on opioid use disorders and safe and competent opioid prescribing for chronic pain. Additional honors include:

Served as past- president of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA)
Recognized as a “Champion of Change” by the White House in 2011
Received the AMA “Award for Health Education” in 2014
Received the American Society of Addiction Medicine first “Educator of the Year Award" in 2016
Received the American College of Physicians “Award for Distinguished Contributions to Behavioral Medicine" in 2017

Caroline Apovian, M.D., named President of The Obesity Society

Caroline M. Apovian, MD, Professor in the Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, was named President of The Obesity Society (TOS), a nonprofit scientific and educational organization that is dedicated to expanding research, the prevention and treatment of obesity, and reducing discrimination affecting persons with obesity. Read more: https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/11/01/1172672/0/en/Caroline-Apovian-Named-President-of-The-Obesity-Society.html