Awards and Achievements
Brennan Named Gergis Professor of Anesthesia
Timothy J. Brennan, M.D., Ph.D., professor of anesthesia in the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, has been named the Dr. Samir D. Gergis Professor of Anesthesia. The five-year appointment became effective April 1.
The endowed professorship, the first in the Department of Anesthesia, was created by gifts to the UI Foundation from the estate of Samir D. "Sam" Gergis, M.D., who was a longtime faculty member of the UI Department of Anesthesia. Gergis died in April 2005 at the age of 71.
Brennan, who is vice chair for research in anesthesia, is recognized worldwide for his innovative laboratory work on the mechanisms and treatment of postoperative surgical pain, an issue relevant to millions of patients each year. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health for over a decade, and he has published extensively in peer-reviewed medical journals.
Helms Wins Fulbright Award
Charles Helms, M.D., Ph.D., professor of internal medicine in the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to conduct vaccine policy research in Australia.
Helms, an infectious diseases specialist and medical director of the Office of Clinical Quality, Safety and Performance Improvement at UI Hospitals and Clinics, will travel to New South Wales, Australia in 2009 to study their new policy of health care worker immunization.
In 2006, New South Wales implemented a plan that requires the screening and vaccination of all health care workers for preventable diseases. Its goal is to radically reduce the transmission of such diseases among health care workers and to patients.
Currently, Iowa and most other U.S. states do not require mandatory programs of health care worker vaccinations. Hence, understanding the impact of the Australian directive could be key to shaping vaccination policies in the United States, Helms said.
Howard Appointed to VanGilder Chair in Neurosurgery
Matthew Howard, M.D., professor and head of neurosurgery in the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, has been appointed the John C. VanGilder Chair in Neurosurgery. The five-year appointment was effective March 1.
The endowed VanGilder Chairmanship honors the achievements and contributions of the late John VanGilder, M.D., UI emeritus professor of neurosurgery, and was created by gifts to the UI Foundation from colleagues, former trainees, friends and the VanGilder family. John VanGilder died in 2007.
Howard, who joined the UI faculty in 1993, has led the UI Department of Neurosurgery since it was first created in 2001. He is an expert in neurosurgical treatment of epilepsy, and his cutting-edge research explores how the brain processes sounds and emotions. Howard also is active in the development of new medical devices. He helped pioneer the invention of the Stereotaxis Magnetic Navigation System, which uses magnets to precisely guide surgical instruments through the human body.
Sheffield Renewed as Howard Hughes Medical Investigator
Val Sheffield, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics who holds the Martin and Ruth Carver Chair in Genetics at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, has been renewed through August 2013 as an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
Sheffield, who also holds an appointment in ophthalmology and visual sciences and is a pediatrician with UI Children's Hospital, was first appointed as an associate HHMI investigator in 1997 and promoted to full HHMI investigator in 2003.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, based in Maryland, was founded in 1953 by aviator-industrialist Howard Hughes to promote the basic sciences and the effective application of findings to benefit humankind. The institute supports investigators who research cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience and structural biology at academic medical centers and universities. HHMI provides salaries, laboratory space and equipment for investigators and their research teams.
Four CCOM Faculty Members Appointed to APA Work Group
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has announced the members of work groups who will review scientific advances and research-based information to develop the newest edition of the APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The work group members are composed of world-renowned scientific researchers and clinicians with expertise in neuroscience, biology, genetics, statistics, epidemiology, public health, nursing, pediatrics and social work.
"The work group members were chosen for their expertise in research and clinical care," said APA President Carolyn B. Rabinowitz, M.D. "APA's goal is to develop an updated manual that ensures the accuracy and consistency of diagnosis in clinical practice, and the work group members are committed to that task." The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is used by psychiatrists and other mental health professionals in the United States and around the world to accurately diagnose mental disorders as the foundation for appropriate treatment.
The work group appointees include three members of the Carver College of Medicine including:
- William Corywell, M.D., George Winokur Professor of Psychiatry, who will serve on the Mood Disorders Work Group;
- Jane Paulsen, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, who will serve on the Neurocognitive Disorders Work Group and;
- Susan K. Schultz, M.D., professor of psychiatry, who will serve on the Psychotic Disorders Work Group.