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July-August 2009
Faculty accomplishments
Shanna Swan, Ph.D., won the 2009 Paper of the Year Award from the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) for her groundbreaking article, “Decrease in Anogenital Distance among Male Infants with Prenatal Phthalate Exposure.” The paper –the first to reveal an association between pregnant women’s exposure to phthalates (chemicals commonly found in plastics and personal care products) and adverse effects on genital development in their male offspring – has played a pivotal role in advancing legislation that limits the amount of such chemicals in children’s toys. Swan, a professor of both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Environmental Medicine, is well-known for her work on the impact of environmental exposures on reproductive health, and has served on the National Academy of Science's Committee on Hormone-Related Toxicants. The Paper of the Year Award, now in its second year, is one of EHP’s means for reinforcing high-quality articles on groundbreaking research and emergent trends.
Babak Jahromi, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of both Neurosurgery and Imaging Sciences, has been elected as an honorary member of The Egyptian Society of Intensive Care Medicine and Trauma. This honor recognizes Jahromi for his contributions to improving the care of complex-case neurosurgery patients in Egypt, via his work helping to educate Egyptian physicians.
In May, medical students Christopher Hogan (from the lab of Patricia J. Sime, M.D., FCRP) and Sean Brady (from the lab of Jennifer Anolik, M.D., Ph.D.) won 2nd and 3rd place, respectively, for their research poster submissions to the 2009 New York Chapter of the American College of Physicians (NYACP) Scientific Meeting. Hogan’s research focused on how cigarette smoke causes inflammation in the lungs, priming the way for lung cancer; Brady’s work explored the role of B-cells in lymphoid tissues, and how this may play a role in the onset of lupus. NYACP is devoted to advancing the specialty of Internal Medicine in New York State, by assisting both its members and their patients through advocacy, education, networking, and communication.
Both Gregory C. Connolly, M.D., a first-year fellow in the Department of Hematology and Oncology, and Youngnam Jin, a graduate student working with Pharmacology and Physiology, have been awarded the Medical Faculty Council’s Travel Awards for Clinical Sciences and Basic Sciences, respectively. Connolly’s won for his abstract, “Leukocytosis, Thrombosis, and Mortality in Cancer,” which was presented at the XXII Congress of the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, held in Boston this summer. Jin will be presenting his abstract, “Effect of PPARγ Activation on Mitochondrial Morphology and Function in Huntington’s Disease Cell Model,” to be presented at the Annual Society of Neuroscience meeting in Chicago in October.
A group of 38 URMC faculty and staff (primarily from the departments of Internal Medicine, Surgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacy and Community and Preventive Medicine) have accomplished a major collaborative feat: publishing a book for health care providers titled “Manual of Heart Failure Management.” The project was led by editors John D. Bisognano, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Medicine/Cardiology and director of Outpatient Cardiology, Mary Beth Earley, CCRN, NC-P, senior nurse practitioner in the Program in Heart Failure and Transplantation, and Marc L. Baker, M.D. Ph.D., a fellow in the Division of Cardiology. Contributing faculty include: Mehmet Aktas, M.D.; Jeffrey Alexis, M.D.; G. Ronald Beck, ANP M.S.; Burns Blaxall, Ph.D.; Robert Block, M.D., MPH; Leway Chen, M.D., MPH; Joseph Delehanty, M.D.; Jennifer Falvey, PharmD; Michael Fong, M.D.; George Hicks Jr., M.D.; Laurie Kopin, M.S., ANP; H. Todd Massey, M.D.; Mark Nickels, M.D.; Lisa Norsen, Ph.D.; Aaron Olden, M.D.; Timothy Quill, M.D.; Jill Quinn, Ph.D.; Spencer Rosero, M.D.; Eugene Storozynsky, M.D. Ph.D.; J. Chad Teeters, M.D.; Gladys Velarde, M.D.
Sally A. Norton, Ph.D., R.N., F.P.C.N., associate professor in the School of Nursing, was inducted as a Fellow in Palliative Care Nursing by the Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association (HPNA). HPNA is a national non-profit organization of nursing professionals specializing in end-of-life care and pain management. Its mission is to promote excellence in hospice and palliative care. The HPNA fellows program honors members who are leaders in education, management, advanced practice and research. Norton, a member of the inaugural class of 15 fellows from across the U.S. and Canada, is the co-director of research for the Center for Ethics, Humanities, and Palliative Care at URMC.
In June, Dianne C. Morrison-Beedy, Ph.D, W.H.N.P.-B.C., F.N.A.P., F.A.A.N.P, F.A.A.N., professor and assistant dean for research at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, was named a fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, which recognizes nurse practitioner leaders who have made outstanding contributions to health care through clinical practice, research, education or policy. Forty seven individuals were selected this year. Morrison-Beedy was selected for her exceptional achievements in the nursing profession, especially her research in HIV awareness and prevention. She is also co-director of the Clinical Core at the University of Rochester’s Developmental Center for AIDS Research, which seeks to raise the overall quality and quantity of HIV/AIDS research.
Thomas A. Pearson, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., the Albert D. Kaiser Professor, Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, and senior associate dean for Clinical Research at URMC, has been inducted into the distinguished Society of Scholars of Johns Hopkins University. He is among 15 other honorees from around the world. The Society of Scholars inducts former postdoctoral fellows, postdoctoral degree recipients, house staff as well as junior or visiting faculty who have served at least one year at Johns Hopkins and thereafter gained marked distinction elsewhere in their fields. Pearson – a founding member of the World Heart Forum for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, and a major contributor to the American Heart Association’s prevention guidelines – was selected for his international leadership in both public health research and efforts to stave off cardiovascular disease.
Judith F. Baumhauer, M.D., professor, Division of Foot and Ankle Surgery, Department of Orthopaedics, recently was elected Vice President of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS). The AOFAS is the nation’s leading organization for orthopaedic surgeons and other health care providers who specialize in foot and ankle ailments. Most recently, Baumhauer served as Secretary on the AOFAS Board of Directors.
