Faculty accomplishments

Peter J. Papadakos, M.D., F.C.C.M., professor Anesthesiology, Surgery and Neurosurgery, and director of Critical Care, lectured on URMC’s innovative work providing mechanical ventilation to patients suffering traumatic head injury, at the 6th Annual Neurocritical Care Society Meeting, an international consortium dedicated to the care of critically-ill patients with neurological or neurosurgical diseases. He also served as faculty, scientific advisor and moderator at the Critical Care Canada Forum, lecturing on new hypertensive agents used in critically ill patients. That conference draws physicians and nurses from around the world, pulling from contingents such as the Canadian Critical Care Society, Canadian Clinical Care Trials Group, and the Canadian Intensive Care Foundation.

Nationally renowned foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon Judith F. Baumhauer, M.D., recently was elected as the first woman president of the Eastern Orthopaedic Association (EOA), a regional professional organization representing 1,200 orthopaedic surgeons from Maine to Florida. Baumhauer is professor and chief of the Division of Foot and Ankle Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedics, and leads the Strong Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Institute, a joint venture in clinical care and research with the Ithaca College Physical Therapy Department.

International expert Thomas Pearson, M.D., Ph.D., has been tapped by two national organizations to lead efforts to decrease the incidence of cardiovascular disease and stroke, two of the nation’s leading causes of death and disability. Pearson has recently been named chair-elect of the National Forum, an organization formed in 2003 by the American Heart Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to chart a course for the prevention of both diseases. The United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services also turned to him for expert advice in helping to: shape the nation’s dietary guidelines ( which are updated every five years in order to inform both the general public and government policy makers on ways both to improve Americans’ overall health through proper nutrition), and also reduce the burden of disease and death related to public health problems such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other chronic illnesses. Pearson is the Albert D. Kaiser Professor in the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine and a professor of Medicine.

Endocrine surgeon Jacob Moalem, M.D., was named chair of the American College of Surgeons’ Resident and Associate Society (ACS-RAS), a national organization representing more than 11,000 residents and young surgeons. The society offers career support to young surgeons (including educational opportunities and leadership skills development) and provides a venue for young surgeons to voice their concerns to ACS leadership. As chair, Moalem, an assistant professor of Surgery, will serve as spokesman for issues that affect surgical training and practice. His clinical and research concentrations focus on cancerous and benign lesions; thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal gland disorders; as well as endocrine tumors of the pancreas.

Arthur Moss, M.D., professor of Medicine, has won the New York Academy of Medicine’s highest honor – the Glorney-Raisbeck Lecture and Award in Cardiology. Endowed by the Corlette Glorney Foundation, the award is presented annually to a clinician or scientist who has made outstanding contributions to the field of cardiovascular disease, and includes the honor of giving a cardiology-related lecture to a peer audience at the academy’s New York City headquarters. Moss’s research interests include arrhythmias – especially Long QT Syndrome – and implantable defibrillators.

Melissa Newcomb, C.C.M.E.P., M.B.A., assistant director for certification, recently became a certified CME (Continuing Medical Education) professional. Newcomb has spent seven years working in the CME field, developing and implementing educational activities that help medical professionals keep their skills sharp and further their educations. The CCMEP exam/designation is a new offering, aimed at standardizing the CME field.

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) recently elected Sandra Schneider, M.D., vice president of its organization. Committed to advancing emergency care through continuing education, research and public education, ACEP has more than 27,000 members. Schneider, a professor of Emergency Medicine, previously served as the group’s Secretary-Treasurer.

Amneris E. Luque, M.D., associate professor of Medicine and medical director of the AIDS Center at Strong Memorial Hospital, together with Thomas Della Porta, clinical education coordinator for the Division of Infectious Disease, recently accepted an award on behalf of URMC’s HIV Clinical Education Initiative (CEI). The CEI program, run out of the Division of Infectious Disease, provides health care providers in the nine-county Rochester/Finger Lakes Region with continuous instruction, updating their knowledge on the ever-evolving disease. The CEI was presented the 2008 HIV Program Award from Rochester Area Task Force on AIDS in recognition of the impact this ongoing education has improving the lives and care of HIV/AIDS patients.

Susan H. McDaniel, Ph.D., professor of Psychiatry and of Family Medicine, received the Psychologist of the Year Award from the Genesee Valley Psychological Association. McDaniel is director of the University of Rochester Institute for the Family and editor of the American Psychological Association journal Family, Systems and Health.

Dianne C. Morrison-Beedy, Ph.D., W.H.N.P.-B.C., F.N.A.P., F.A.A.N., professor and assistant dean for Research at the School of Nursing, was recently inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing, joining the organization’s approximately 1,500 nursing leaders in education, management, practice and research. Morrison-Beedy was chosen by the Academy’s 15-member fellow selection committee for her outstanding achievements in the profession, especially for her research in HIV awareness and prevention, as well as her small-group intervention efforts with adolescent girls.

Jeanne T. Grace, Ph.D., R.N., W.H.N.P., professor emeritus of Clinical Nursing at the School of Nursing, is spending six weeks in Thailand this winter as a Fulbright Senior Specialist lecturing at Mahidol University. There, Grace will teach evidence-based practice skills to 180 nursing faculty, speak to both graduate and undergraduate nursing students, and consult with those working to establish a center of excellence for evidence-based practice.

Jeffrey M. Lyness, M.D., professor of Psychiatry and director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Program, has been elected president of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. In addition to his clinical work, Lyness, who also is the department’s associate chair for education, researches the characteristics and course of depression in older adults in primary care settings. His research has been supported by grants from the National Institute for Mental Health.

W. David Driscoll, Psy. D., received the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Innovative Practice Presidential Citation for February. According to APA President James H. Bray, Ph.D., Driscoll was cited for being a "model of primary-care psychology" through his 24 years of collaborating with Rochester's Elmwood Pediatric Group. Driscoll is a clinical associate professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Tom McInerny, M.D., F.A.A.P., associate chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Pediatrics, is the editor-in-chief of the Textbook of Pediatric Care, an essential tool for practicing pediatricians and soon-to-be physicians. Now it its fifth edition, the book’s new design and online components make it even easier to use for diagnosis and accessing updated guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).This is the first edition published with the AAP.

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