Awards and More

Several professors in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have been honored with awards from medical organizations for their leadership abilities and research activities.

Paul L. Rogers, a professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Department of Critical Care Medicine and director of the Multidisciplinary Critical Care Training Program, has been named one of four recipients of the Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award. The award, sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and Alpha Omega Alpha, honors professionals who exemplify dedication and excellence in educating medical students.
Rogers also is vice president of the VA Pittsburgh Health Care System, director of the surgical intensive care unit at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and an intensivist at UPMC Presbyterian. He is a founding member of the School of Medicine’s Academy of Master Educators.

Gail Wolfe, professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, is the recipient of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award. This award honors an AONE member who is recognized by the broader nursing community as a significant leader in the nursing profession and who has served AONE in an important leadership capacity.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City has selected Robert Arnold to receive its top alumni award, Alumnus of the Year. Arnold is the Leo H. Criep Chair in Patient Care, a professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, and chief, Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is a nationally recognized scholar, clinician, and educator in medicine and bioethics.

The American College of Emergency Physicians has named three faculty members in Pitt’s School of Medicine as Pennsylvania Heroes of Emergency Medicine—emergency medicine physicians who have dedicated their careers to their patients, communities, and specialty. Those honored are Bruce A. MacLeod, a clinical professor of emergency medicine and chair of the UPMC Mercy Department of Emergency Medicine; Paul M. Paris, professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine in the medical school and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; and Donald M. Yealy, professor and vice chair in the Department of Emergency Medicine in the medical school and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

David Anderson, clinical assistant professor, University of Pittsburgh Department of Prosthodontics, is a founding member of the Academy for Health Equity, which was established on June 26, 2008, in Denver, Colo. The academy’s mission is to utilize rigorous scientific research, policy development, and community advocacy to eliminate health disparities and create a social movement designed to ensure equal access to health care.

The Research to Prevent Blindness organization has awarded two grants to the Department of Ophthalmology in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Joel Schuman, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, received a $110,000 grant to direct departmentwide research looking into the causes, treatment, and prevention of blinding diseases. Daniel Roh, a University of Pittsburgh Medical Scientist Training Program student, received a $30,000 grant to conduct a research project within the Department of Ophthalmology and currently is studying the regenerative capacity of certain corneal cells.

Information on two Pitt staff members who have been accorded recent honors follows.

W. Richard Howe, associate dean for administration and planning in Pitt’s School of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded the 2008 Distinguished Service Award by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Chemical Society.

Howe received the honor in recognition of his many years of service to Pittsburgh’s scientific community. He was instrumental in bringing both the 1989 International Science and Engineering Fair as well as the 1992 International Chemistry Olympics to Pittsburgh and served as local chair for both events. He has served as chair of the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh. He also has been a member of the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh and the Chemical Heritage Council, and he has served on the organizing committee for the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy.

Charles L. Nieman, associate director of Pitt’s Office of International Services, was selected to participate in the  Fulbright Scholar Program’s U.S.-Japan International Education Administrators Program. The three-week seminar, which includes visits to various institutions in Japan, is designed to familiarize participants with higher education, society, and culture in Japan.

Mikko Johannes Parviainen has been named a visiting Fulbright Scholar in Pitt’s Department of Mathematics for the 2008-09 school year. Parviainen is an assistant professor at the Institute of Mathematics, Helsinki University of Technology, in Helsinki, Finland.