Honors & Appointments

Shireen Ahmad, MD, associate professor of anesthesiology, was elected in May to the board of the Society of Ambulatory Anesthesia during the group’s annual meeting in Miami Beach, Florida.

Ermilo Barrera Jr., MD, assistant professor of surgery, received the
Excellence in Teaching Award from Evanston Northwestern Healthcare.

H. Hunt Batjer, MD, Michael J. Marchese Professor and chair of neurological surgery, is chair of the American Board of Neurological Surgery.

Charles B. Brendler, MD, professor of urology and director of the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Prostate Cancer Center, was invested as the Ronald L. Chez Family and Richard Melman Family Chair of Prostate Cancer.

Navdeep S. Chandel, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, is the recipient of the American Lung Association Career Investigator award. The title of his project is “Mitochondrial ROS Regulation of TGF-Beta Induced Gene Expression.”

Bechara Choucair, MD, assistant professor of clinical family medicine, was selected to receive the 2008 National Association for Community Health Centers Health Professions Education and Training Award. This award recognizes individuals whose initiatives have developed and enhanced education and training programs for health professionals at community-based health centers.

Nicholas Cianciotto, PhD, professor of microbiology-immunology, has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Serving a one-year term as president of the National Association of MD/PhD Programs is David M. Engman, MD, PhD, professor of pathology and director of the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Feinberg School.

Kathryn N. Farrow, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics, has been awarded the 2008 Richard D. Rowe Award in Perinatal Cadiology from the Society of Pediatric Research. The award will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Society’s meeting in Hawaii in May.

James J. Foody, MD, FACP, professor of medicine, will become governor of the Illinois Northern Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP), the national organization of internists. His term began during the ACP annual scientific meeting in Washington, DC, May 15-17.

Michelle Frisque, head of information systems for the Galter Health Sciences Library, was elected 2008-2009 vice president/president-elect of the Library and Information Technology Association, a division of the American Library Association.

Recognizing his outstanding leadership potential, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine presented its New Faculty Scholar Award to Joseph P. Gibes, MD, instructor in family medicine, during the group’s conference held April 30-May 5 in Baltimore.

David Green, MD, PhD, professor emeritus of medicine, Neil J. Stone, MD, professor of clinical medicine, and Arnold L. Widen, MD, associate professor of medicine received masters designation by the American College of Physicians on May 15, 2008. The took place at the college’s convocation ceremony at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

Mary Hendrix, PhD, president and scientific director of the Children’s Memorial Research Center and professor in the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, was appointed to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Council of Councils as liason to the National Cancer Institute.

In the May 2008 issue of Nature, the Nodal protein work and maspin research of Mary Hendrix, PhD, Zhila Khalkhali-Ellis, PhD, and their colleagues at Children’s Memorial Research Center was referenced in the commentary “Cancer: Whispering Sweet Nothings.” Dr. Hendrix is president and scientific director of the Children’s Memorial Research Center and Medical Research Institute Council Professor at Children’s Memorial Hospital. Dr. Khalkhali-Ellis is a research associate professor at Children’s Memorial Research Center.

Emmet Hirsch, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, is the recipient of the Illinois Chapter of the March of Dimes Jonas Salk Health Leadership Award for Research. The March of Dimes honors Illinois health care leaders for their exemplary leadership in maternal and infant health in the areas of nursing, medicine, research, and public and community health.

Curt M. Horvath, PhD, professor of medicine and biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology, was awarded the Jean Ruggles Romoser Chair of Cancer Research.

Ravi Kalhan, MD, assistant professor of pulmonary, presented the abstract “Serum F2-Isoprotanes and oxidized LDL are longitudinally associated with lower lung function: The CARDIA Study” at the American Thoracic Society Meeting in Toronto on May 20, 2008. The meeting was attended by 16,000 physicians.

The research, “Differential Expression of micoRNA Species in Human Uterine Leiomyoma Versus Normal Myometrium”, of Erica E. Marsh, MD, fellow in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, was chosen for the June 2008 cover article for Fertility and Sterility. Fertility and Sterility publishes juried original articles of scientific excellence in clinical and laboratory research relevant to reproductive endocrinology, physiology, immunology, genetics and menopause. Dr. Marsh conducts research in the laboratory of Serdar E. Bulun, MD, George H. Gardner Professor of Clinical Gynecology.

June M. McKoy, MD, MPH, JD, assistant professor of medicine, was recently elected to the board of directors of the American Cancer Society’s Illinois Division and H.O.M.E., Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly.

David Smith Oyer, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine, received the “Father of the Year” award from the American Diabetes Association on June 12, 2008. The award honors fathers who have demonstrated the ability to balance their personal lives with their professional careers, to serve as role models for their children, and to help make a positive difference in their communities.

The Medical Faculty Senate Council is pleased to announce William H. Pearce, MD, Violet R. and Charles A. Baldwin Professor of Vascular Surgery, Chief, Division of Vascular Surgery, has been named the 2008 faculty mentor of the year.

Nina A. Paleologos, MD, associate professor of neurology and the director of the neuro-oncology program at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, was endowed as the Stanley C. Golder Chair of Neuroscience Research.

Leonidas C. Platanias, MD, PhD, Jesse, Sara, Andrew, Abigail, Benjamin, and Elizabeth Lurie Professor of Oncology, is serving as president of the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research for 2008-09.

Elliot J. Roth, MD, Paul J. Magnuson Professor and chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation, was appointed chief academic officer at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. In April he also received the Aphasia Advocacy Award from the National Aphasia Association.

Michael F. Schafer, MD, Ryerson professor and chairman of orthopaedic surgery, is the recipient of the 2008 Orthopaedic Research and Education and Foundation’s William W. Tipton Jr., MD leadership Award.

Michael J. Schmidt, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine, was awarded the 2007-2008 Physician Clinical Excellence Award for Clinical Collaboration, from the Foundation on Friday, June 20 for developing and implementing new models of care for patients with sepsis. This prestigious award is given to the physicians who have demonstrated outstanding responsiveness to collegues, particularly as it relates to access, communication, and overall citizenship in patient care activities. He was honored together with Richard Wunderink, MD, professor, Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine.

Paula Tanabe, PhD, MPH, RN, research assistant professor of emergency medicine, was awarded a career development award through the NIH (1K23NR010940-01A2), “A Decision Support Tool for Adult Sickle Cell Emergency Department Patients”. Dr. Tanabe will receive training in sickle cell, addiction, and pain management.

Linda J. Van Eldik, PhD, professor of cell and molecular biology, was recently awarded a three-year research grant from the American Health Assistance Foundation for Alzheimer’s disease research. The award of $400,000 is for her project titled “Attenuating Proinflammatory Cytokine Up-Regulation as an AD Therapeutic Strategy”.

Aleksandar Videnovic, MD, MS, assistant professor of neurology, was selected for the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation and American Academy of Neurology Clinician Scientist Development award. The title of the awarded project is “Circadian Rhythm and Sleep/Wake Cycle in Parkinson’s Disease Patients with Excessive Daytime Somnolence.”