For the Record: Cheers

Cheers is a monthly listing of honors and awards received by faculty, staff and students plus recent appointments and promotions. Contributions must be submitted in writing and be accompanied by a phone number.

 

Bayview Medical Center

Mohamad Allaf, assistant professor, has been appointed director of Minimally Invasive and Laparoscopic Surgery in the Department of Urology. Allaf joins Bayview after completing his residency in urological surgery at the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins in 2000. His areas of interest include kidney, prostate and testicular cancers and the minimally invasive management of these cancers.

Mehran Habibi, assistant professor, has joined the surgical oncology team. Prior to coming to Bayview, Habibi completed his fellowship in surgical oncology at Virginia Commonwealth University Hospitals. He received his medical degree from Azad University in Iran in 1996.

Thomas Reifsnyder, assistant professor and chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery, received the 2007 Keith D. Lillemoe Faculty Teaching Award, bestowed annually by surgical residents for outstanding teaching skills.

Andrew J. Satin has been appointed chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He previously was professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences' F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine. He also served as an attending physician at both the National Naval Medical Center and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Satin received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University and completed his fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins and is a member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Residency Review Committee for Obstetrics and Gynecology.

 

Bloomberg School of Public Health

The school was named University Leader of the Year by the Malaria Foundation International for its expanding educational role as a leader in the fight against malaria. The organization also honored the school with an award for Educational Document of the Year for University and Graduate Students, for its Malaria Course launched in 2006 with OpenCourseWare online lectures.

 

Homewood Schools

The Johns Hopkins chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, has been named an Honor Chapter for its outstanding activities in 2006-2007. Each May, the 546 chapters of the society are asked to submit a report detailing their activities from the academic year; based on these reports, the national executive committee chooses approximately 15 Honor Chapters whose projects honor excellence in the study of the Spanish language, contribute to cultural understanding and uphold the goals of the society. According to the organization, chapter adviser Harry C. Sieber, professor in the Department of German and Romance Languages and Literatures, was instrumental in earning this national honor, which was awarded to only 13 chapters this year.

 

Peabody Institute

Harlan Parker, coordinator of the Music Education Division in the Conservatory and director of the Peabody Wind Ensemble, has been named conductor of the Peabody Sinfonietta for the 2007- 2008 season, following the retirement of Gene Young as conductor of the Peabody Preparatory's premier youth orchestra.

 

School of Medicine

Deborah Armstrong, associate professor in oncology, has been awarded the Rosalind Franklin Excellence in Ovarian Cancer Research Award for her efforts to enhance treatment options and women's understanding of ovarian cancer. The award was presented during the 10th Annual Ovarian Cancer National Alliance Conference in July. The award is named for molecular biologist Rosalind Franklin, who was instrumental in the discovery of the structure of DNA and who died from ovarian cancer. The honor carries with it a legacy of scientific excellence and tremendous contribution to the ovarian cancer community.

Steven Chang, a 2005 School of Medicine graduate and current resident in otolaryngology, received the award for best basic science oral presentation at the first Congress of the International Academy of Oral Oncology in Amsterdam in May. The title of his presentation was "MicroRNA Expression Levels in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas."

Victor McKusick, University Professor of Medical Genetics, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the world's oldest university, the University of Bologna, Italy, which was established in 1088. Among the newest of specialties, medical genetics emerged largely as a result of McKusick's pioneering work on such complex genetic disorders as Marfan syndrome, cystic fibrosis and hemophilia. This is his 22nd honorary degree.

Gedge Rosson, assistant professor of surgery and director of Breast Reconstruction, and Arnold Lee Dellon, part-time professor of surgery, received the first-place award for best clinical paper at the Fourth Congress of the World Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery in Athens, Greece. The paper, presented in June, was titled "Prevention of Ulceration/Amputation in Diabetic Neuropathy by Microneurolysis."

Stephen Baylin, Robert Casero and Curt Civin have been awarded funding from the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting concept-driven research leading to targeted therapies for cancer. All recipients collaborate with other SWCRF investigators on projects funded by the foundation. Baylin, professor of oncology and medicine, and Casero, professor of oncology and principal investigator, were selected for identifying malfunctioning epigenetic components that help establish colorectal cancer; their work has led to an investigational drug study to treat the disease. Civin, professor of oncology and pediatrics, is exploring novel ways to reprogram leukemia stem cells to eliminate the root cause of the disease.

 

School of Nursing

Cheryl Dennison, assistant professor, Nursing Systems and Outcomes, has been appointed co- editor of the "Progress in Prevention" column in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing.

Fannie Gaston-Johansson, professor, Acute and Chronic Care, has been appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley as one of six members of the Maryland Health Care Access and Reimbursement Task Force. Created by legislation in 2007, the group is tasked with examining physician and health care reimbursement trends in the state and developing recommendations to present to the general assembly and the governor.

Janice Hoffman, instructor, Acute and Chronic Care, was sworn in on Sept. 7 as a member of the Maryland State Board of Spinal Cord Injury Research for a term of four years.

Marie Nolan, associate professor, Acute and Chronic Care, and director of the school's PhD program, has been elected to the board of the International Network for Doctoral Education in Nursing.

 
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