News and Notes
Pascuzzi, Sturek Seated as New Chairs
Robert M. Pascuzzi, MD, is the new chair of the Department of Neurology,
and Michael Sturek, PhD, has joined IUSM to chair the Department
of Cellular and Integrative Physiology.
Dr. Pascuzzi, who was vice chair of his department for several
years, was named the American Neurological Association’s Distinguished
Neurology Teacher in 2001. He has been honored by IU medical students
on several occasions for his innovative teaching style.
A professor of neurology, Dr. Pascuzzi served as interim chairman
after José Biller, MD, stepped down from that position in
2003. Dr. Pascuzzi specializes in neuromuscular diseases and electromyography.
He serves as a director of the American Board of Psychiatry and
Neurology and is past editor-in-chief of Seminars in Neurology.
He has been a member of the IUSM faculty since 1985.
Dr. Sturek came to IUSM after serving as associate director of
basic research at the Center for Diabetes and Cardiovascular Health
at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, where he was professor
of medical pharmacology and physiology. He replaces Rodney A. Rhoades,
PhD, professor emeritus, who was department chair for many years.
Dr. Sturek’s research focus is vascular biology, primarily
in the area of diabetes.
He holds several grants including funding from the National Institutes
of Health and the American Diabetes Association. He is a member
of several professional societies, including the Biophysical Society,
the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association.
Chisholm Walks Point for Emergency Medicine
Society
Carey Chisholm, MD, was recently elected president of the Society
for Academic Emergency Medicine at the group’s annual meeting
in May in Orlando, Fla. He is director of the IUSM Emergency Medicine
Residency Program and a clinical professor of emergency medicine.
Dr. Chisholm joined the IU faculty in 1989 and has overseen the
residency training program in emergency medicine ever since. A 1980
graduate of the Medical College of Virginia, Dr. Chisholm completed
his residency at Madigan Army Medicine Center and went on to serve
as director of emergency services at the U.S. Army hospital in Nurnberg,
Germany. From 1985-1989, he served as the residency director at
the Joint Military Medical Command-Brooke Army Medical Center, San
Antonio, Texas.
The Society of Academic Emergency Medicine is the leading organization
for the discipline. It is dedicated to improving the care of acutely
ill and injured patients by improving research and education.
Einhorn Honored for Cancer Research Career
Lawrence H. Einhorn, MD, was awarded the Distinguished Service
Award for Scientific Achievement by the American Society of Clinical
Oncology. The distinction is presented each year to an oncologist
who has contributed significantly to cancer research.
Dr. Einhorn, distinguished professor and professor of medicine,
built a career searching for better treatments for cancer patients.
He’s a recognized authority in treating urologic and lung
cancer and certain other tumors, but his premier work is in the
field of testicular cancer.
In 1974, Dr. Einhorn and IU urologist John Donohue, MD, developed
a chemotherapy and surgical regimen for testicular cancer patients.
This development changed a ninety-five percent death rate to a ninety-five
percent cure rate.
A former president of ASCO, an organization with 22,000 members
worldwide, Dr. Einhorn has won numerous prestigious awards over
the years, including the
American Cancer Society Medal of Honor and he is a member of the
National Academy of Sciences.
Ora Pescovitz Takes Reins at Riley
The top dean of research at IU School of Medicine has been named
president and chief executive office of Riley Hospital for Children,
a move intended to strengthen the relationship and collaborations
between the School and Clarian Health Partners.
Dr. Pescovitz, who will continue to serve as IUSM’s executive
associate dean for research affairs, stepped into her new role Sept.
1, following her appointment by Clarian Health. As a long-time faculty
member and physician at the state’s premier children’s
hospital, she is excited by the opportunities and challenges of
her new leadership position.
“Ora is a special talent,” says Dean D. Craig Brater,
MD. “She is a skilled clinician, scientist and administrator.
She’s given the School remarkable leadership in guiding our
research mission, particularly the Indiana Genomics Initiative.
Her next role will allow her to apply even more broadly her charisma
and vision.”
Dr. Pescovitz is the Edwin Letzter Professor of Pediatrics and
professor of physiology and biophysics at the IU School of Medicine.
She also has directed the pediatric endocrinology and diabetology
program at IUSM and Riley since 1990. She is an internationally
recognized pediatric endocrinologist whose clinical research interests
are in the areas of growth and puberty.
The new Riley CEO, a graduate of Northwestern University Medical
School, is married to Mark Pescovitz, MD, an organ transplant surgeon
and vice chair of research for the IU Department of Surgery.
Coat of Trust, Coat of Honor
Each fledgling medical student had a chance to be center stage
at the ornate Murat Theatre in Indianapolis. One by one, they stepped
forward to receive not a costume for a play but a symbolic cloak
of healing and professionalism. August 14, 2004, was an unseasonably
cool day in Hoosierland, but inside the historic theater, emotions
were warm and expectations were high as the 280 members of Class
of 2008 were officially welcomed into the IU School of Medicine.
With cameras flashing and their beaming families and friends looking
on, the students received their new lab coats and together recited
the Physician’s Oath, whose origins are tied to the teachings
of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates.
“The White Coat Ceremony impresses upon students the altruistic
nature of the doctor-and-patient relationship,” says IUSM
Dean D. Craig Brater, MD, Walter J. Daly Professor. “It encourages
students to accept the obligations inherent in the practice of medicine,
to excel in science, to be compassionate and to maintain the honor
and the dignity of the profession.”
Keith D. Lillemoe, MD, chairman of the Department of Surgery, was
the ceremony’s featured speaker.
The solemn White Coat Ceremony has become a fundamental rite of
passage for new students. Beginning this year, another tradition
was established. Before the ceremony got under way, students signed
their names to the newly established IUSM Honor Code, which was
conceived by upper-level medical students, who worked with administration
and others in the School to develop the statement. The code seeks
to create a culture at IUSM to affirm the personal and professional
values of honor, integrity and respect.
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