Presidential Early Career Awards
Two University of Pennsylvania professors have been named winners of Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
The award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
They are Dr. Peter Reese, assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine, and Dr. Joseph Subotnik, assistant professor of physical and theoretical chemistry in the School of Arts & Sciences.
Dr. Reese, who cares for kidney-transplant recipients and living kidney donors, was recognized for his efforts to increase access to kidney and liver transplantation.
Dr. Subotnik received the PECASE award for his work on the fundamental dynamics of electron and energy transfer, particularly in the case of solar energy. |
Benedict Cassen Prize: Dr. Alavi
Dr. Abass Alavi, professor of radiology and director of research education in the Perelman School of Medicine, was honored with the Benedict Cassen Prize during the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s (SNM) 2012 annual meeting. This honor is given every two years by the Education and Research Foundation for SNM to living scientists or physician/scientists whose work has led to a major advance in basic or clinical nuclear medicine science.
Dr. Alavi received the award for his contributions in the development of modern imaging techniques, including positron emission tomography, which the society’s leaders called “revolutionary tools for conducting basic science research and improving patient care.”
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NEMSAC Appointment: Dr. Band
Dr. Roger A. Band, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, has been appointed to serve on the National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council (NEMSAC), which advises the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on all EMS matters and related issues on the nation’s roadways. Administered by NHTSA, the NEMSAC provides expert advice and recommendations to the safety agency and its federal partners on key issues including recruitment and retention of EMS personnel, quality assurance, data collection and EMS education over the course of a two-year term.
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Gates Grant, Honorary Degree & NRC: Dr. Behrman
Dr. Jere R. Behrman, W.R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Economics and Sociology in SAS and research associate of the Population Studies Center, has been awarded a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grant for a two-year, multi-country, multi-institutional, interdisciplinary study on Early Child Growth and Development in Four Countries: Young Lives. The study is investigating the determinants of and the impacts of child growth recovery and child growth faltering after one year of age on child schooling success and cognitive and non-cognitive skill attainment in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam.
Dr. Behrman has also been awarded a doctor honoris causa by the University of Chile at a special ceremony at the University of Chile in Santiago, Chile. At the ceremony, he also gave an invited lecture, From Macro Econometric Analysis to Early Childhood Development, pertaining to his four decades of research on the Chilean economy.
Dr. Behrman has been appointed to the National Research Council (NRC)-National Academies of Science (NAS) Committee on Population (CPOP) for three years. CPOP conducts scientific assessments of major population-related issues and provides a forum for the discussion and analysis of important public policy issues related to population.
The committee’s activities include full-length studies designed to assess knowledge and to formulate scientific consensus; workshops and conferences designed to elicit a full range of results of the population sciences relevant to a policy problem; and forums in which researchers and policy makers can deepen their understanding of population problems and potential solutions.
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Bressler Prize: Dr. Bennett
Dr. Jean Bennet, the F.M. Kirby Professor of Ophthalmology in the Perelman School of Medicine, was awarded the 2012 Alfred W. Bressler Prize in Vision Science by The Jewish Guild for the Blind. Dr. Bennett studies the molecular genetics of inherited retinal degenerations in order to develop rational approaches for treating retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration and other disorders.
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NSF Creativity Award: Dr. Composto
Dr. Russell J. Composto, professor in the department of materials science and engineering in SEAS, is the recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Special Creativity Award from the Division of Materials Research in recognition of “excellent research on dispersion and assembly of gold nanorods confined to polymer nanolayers.”
This grant offers the most creative investigators an extension on a current NSF project to attack adventurous, high-risk research opportunities. The overarching goal of Dr. Composto’s project, “Nanorod Assembly in Polymeric Matrices,” is to understand the fundamental principles that drive nanorod assembly when spatially confined.
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Mentorship Award: Dr. Danzon
Dr. Patricia Danzon, Celia Z. Moh Professor of Health Care Management and Insurance and Risk Management in the Wharton School and LDI Senior Fellow, has received the annual John M. Eisenberg Excellence in Mentorship award. The honor was announced in June at the National Research Service Awards (NRSA) Trainees Research Conference.
The award was established in 2001 in memory of Dr. Eisenberg, former director of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, former chief of the division of general internal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and long-time advocate of mentorship in the health services research field.
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CASE Research Award: Dr. Gasman
Dr. Marybeth Gasman, professor of higher education in the Graduate School of Education, was honored with the John Grenzebach Award for Outstanding Research in Philanthropy for Educational Advancement from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Dr. Gasman was honored along with Nelson Bowman III from Prairie View A&M University for A Guide to Fundraising at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (2011). The book features practical advice from leading HBCU fundraisers and private sector leaders on new strategies and best practices in fundraising. It also includes data-based content to strengthen understanding of institutional advancement, examples of innovative fundraising and engagement programs at various institutions.
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NSBRI Team Leaders
The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) has enlisted Dr. David F. Dinges, professor of psychology in psychiatry and associate director, Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, and Dr. Ann R. Kennedy, Richard Chamberlain Professor of Research Oncology and professor of radiation biology in the department of radiation oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine, as two of seven to serve as team leaders in its efforts to protect astronaut health during long-duration spaceflight. Dr. Dinges will lead the Neurobehavioral and Psychosocial Factors team, and Dr. Kennedy, who is also the director of the NSBRI Center of Acute Radiation Research at Penn, will lead the Radiation Effects team.
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Radcliffe Institute Fellow: Dr. Jaji
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University selected Dr. Tsitsi Jaji, assistant professor of English in SAS, to be a Radcliffe Institute Fellow for the 2012-2013 academic year. Dr. Jaji is among only 5% of applicants who were accepted. She will use the fellowship to complete her book, Africa in Stereo: Music, Literature and Film of Transnational Black Solidarity, which examines the impact of African-America music upon African literature, film and advertising during the 20th century.
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Research Award: Dr. June
Dr. Carl June, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and director of translational research for the Abramson Cancer Center in the Perelman School of Medicine, was named among the top three winners of the Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards of 2012, presented by the Clinical Research Forum. He was recognized for his work in treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia by using genetically engineered versions of the patients’ own T-cells, which multiply in the body as “serial killer” cells aimed at cancerous tumors.
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McKnight Technology Awards
Dr. James Eberwine, professor of pharmacology in the Perelman School of Medicine, and Dr. Ivan J. Dmochowski, associate professor of chemistry in the School of Arts & Sciences, together received a 2012 McKnight Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Award from the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience. The awards support four research projects to develop and apply innovative technologies for studying the brain and its diseases. Dr. Eberwine and Dr. Dmochowski’s project is entitled, TIVA-tag Enables True Neuronal Systems Genomics. Both are members of the Penn Genome Frontiers Institute.
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Norma Lang Award: Dr. Lipman
Dr. Terri H. Lipman, the Miriam Stirl Endowed Term Professor of Nutrition and professor of nursing of children in Penn Nursing, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the Norma M. Lang Distinguished Lecture Award for Scholarly Practice. Dr. Lipman will present the award’s first lecture on Thursday, October 18, at Penn Nursing’s Ann L. Roy Auditorium at 3 p.m.
Dr. Lipman is known for her career in integrating science, education, and practice. Her research is inspired by her clinical practice at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with children who have two health-compromising conditions, diabetes and growth disorders. Dr. Lipman developed and maintains the only registry of pediatric type 1 diabetes in Philadelphia.
The Norma M. Lang Distinguished Lecture Award for Scholarly Practice was established to honor Dr. Lang, dean of Penn Nursing from 1992 to 2000, for her world-renowned contributions to practice and policy.
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Research Scholar: Dr. Mehta
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), in partnership with the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, announced that Dr. Nehal N. Mehta, director of Inflammatory Risk in Preventive Cardiology at Penn Medicine, will be the inaugural Lasker Clinical Research Scholar. He will begin as a Lasker Scholar at NIH this month, joining the intramural program of the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Dr. Mehta will work in the NHLBI’s Cardiovascular-Pulmonary Branch.
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AUGS Award: Dr. Menchen
Dr. Lindsey Menchen, chief resident in urology, was recently selected for the Award for Excellence in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery by the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS). Dr. Menchen’s work over the past year includes a review article looking at the symptoms of overactive bladder syndrome in women who have undergone pelvic organ prolapse repair, with the goal of being better able to provide counseling to patients who are considering surgery. The other project dealt with addressing the Food and Drug Administration communications on transvaginal mesh use in pelvic organ prolapse repair.
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Pickering Fellowship: Ms. Patterson
Penn senior Autumn Patterson has won a 2012 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship. The award was established to provide financial assistance to individuals preparing academically and professionally to enter the United States diplomatic corps.
A political science major, Ms. Patterson intends to utilize the Pickering Fellowship to pursue a graduate degree in Middle Eastern Studies, while continuing her acquisition of Turkish and Azerbaijani languages. She aspires to enter the Foreign Service as a public diplomacy officer.
The Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program is named in honor of Thomas R. Pickering, who holds the rank of career ambassador.
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Council Research Fellow: Ms. Perelman
Annenberg doctoral candidate Alison Perelman has become a member of the first class of Legislative and Policy Research Fellows for the City of Philadelphia. Six graduate students from Philadelphia area universities were named to these fellowships.
Council Research Fellows will produce reports for members on topics including comparisons and analyses of federal, state and local statutes and policies. Research Fellows will not draft legislation, produce economic forecasts, provide legal opinions, conduct empirical research, or perform constituent services.
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Nell Mondy Fellowship: Ms. Redding
Laurel Redding, a joint VMD-PhD (epidemiology) candidate, has been awarded a Nell Mondy Fellowship from Graduate Women in Science. Ms. Redding was one of ten applicants selected from 188 submissions. The fellowship includes $4,600 to help cover the cost of her research. She is studying the use and effects of antibiotics in dairy cattle in the Cajamarca region of Peru, where she did field work this past summer.
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Psychopharmacology Award: Dr. Rickels
Dr. Karl Rickels, Stuart and Emily B.H. Mudd Professor of Human Behavior and professor of psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, has received the 2012 CINP Pioneers in Psychopharmacology Award from the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP).
The awards honor three individuals worldwide who have made major contributions to the field. Dr. Rickels, one of the founding members of the CINP in 1958, received the award for his groundbreaking work in the development of medications to treat anxiety disorders.
Dr. Rickels is also co-director of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Treatment and Research Program, in the department of psychiatry.
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Community-All Star: Mr. Sherr
Adam Sherr, director of student registration and information in the School of Nursing, has been named the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Community All-Star by the Camden Riversharks. He was honored at a pre-game ceremony at the 2012 Atlantic League All-Star Game in July.
Beginning in 2001, Mr. Sherr has volunteered at the Old First Reformed United Church of Christ, eventually becoming the church’s treasurer; his town’s Little League as the director of the league’s Snack Stand; and in 2010, became the president of the Oaklyn Municipal Alliance Youth Service Commission, where he brings drug-free and alcohol-free awareness to local schools.
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Scientific Award: Dr. Silberberg
The Ecuadorean National Assembly has bestowed its highest scientific award to Dr. Donald Silberberg, professor emeritus and former chair of neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine, for his efforts spanning two decades to raise awareness, enhance medical education and improve patient care for neurological and psychiatric conditions globally and in Ecuador. This is the first time the Ecuadorean National Assembly has granted the Vicente Rocafuerte condecoration to an American. |
Must-Read Book: Dr. Ulrich
Nursing Ethics in Everyday Practice by Dr. Connie Ulrich is included in the Top 50 Must-Read Books for Nurses in 2012 by LVNtoRN.net, a website that provides information for nurses who are interested in furthering their education and their career. Dr. Ulrich is an associate professor in the School of Nursing and associate professor of bioethics in the Perelman School of Medicine.
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Commitment to Career Development: Ms. Vick
In the summer, Julie Vick, senior associate director of Career Services, co-wrote “How New Graduate Students Should Spend Their Summers” in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The editor noted, “Julie Miller Vick has been writing for The Chronicle’s career section since it debuted in 1998. As of this year, she’s published 100 columns with us. Her “Career Track” column has been one our longest-running features. We thank her for commitment to career development for graduate students and postdocs.”
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Research Award: Dr. Wadden
The Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers (APAHC) has awarded Dr. Thomas A. Wadden, professor of psychology in psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine and director of the Penn Medicine Center for Weight and Eating Disorders, the Bud Orgel Award for Distinguished Achievement in Research. Dr. Wadden, well known for his work in the field of obesity, is shaping clinical knowledge and national policy through his research and advocacy efforts in an academic health center.
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Pew Scholars: Dr. Wellen
Dr. Kathryn E. Wellen, assistant professor of cancer biology in the Perelman School of Medicine, is among the 22 researchers named Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Scholars join a prestigious community that includes Nobel Prize winners, MacArthur Fellows, and recipients of the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award. Dr. Wellen explores the molecular link between metabolism and cancer.
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AAN Fellows: Three Nursing Faculty
Three Penn Nursing faculty have named fellows in the American Academy of Nursing. They are Dr. Lisa M. Lewis, Dr. Matthew D. McHugh and Dr. Salimah H. Meghani. They will be inducted and acknowledged at the AAN’s annual meeting on October 13, in Washington, DC. The fellowship is one of the highest honors in nursing.
Dr. Lewis, an assistant professor of nursing, explores factors that motivate and sustain health behavior changes in minority populations and applies these findings to nursing practice. Her current research is on hypertension among African-Americans and the relationship of spirituality to health.
Dr. McHugh, an assistant professor of nursing, is a nationally known policy researcher. He is examining the impact of a mandated minimum nurse-to-patient ratio on patient outcomes in California and investigating the effect of changes in Medicare payment policy which would result in hospitals no longer being reimbursed for certain preventable events that occur during hospitalization.
Dr. Meghani, an assistant professor of nursing, focuses on disparities in the management of pain and the under-treatment of pain, especially in patients with cancer and among racial and ethnic minorities.
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National Health Care Innovation Awards: UPHS
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that two projects submitted from the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) have been selected among a competitive review for funding through the Health Care Innovation Awards. Made possible by the Affordable Care Act—the awards will support 81 innovative projects nationwide that will save money, deliver high quality medical care and enhance the health care workforce.
The first project, submitted by Dr. David Asch and Dr. Kevin Volpp, of the department of medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine, Leonard Davis Institute and the UPHS Innovation Center, will focus on improving medication adherence and health outcomes in post-discharge patients who are recovering from acute myocardial infarctions in metropolitan Philadelphia and adjoining areas of New Jersey. The project is titled “A rapid cycle approach to improving medication adherence through incentives and remote monitoring for coronary artery disease patients.”
The second project, submitted by Dr. David Casarett, chief medical officer for Penn Wissahickon Hospice, will test a comprehensive set of home care services for Medicare and/or Medicaid beneficiaries with advanced cancer who are receiving skilled home care and have substantial palliative care needs, but are not yet eligible for hospice care. The “Comprehensive longitudinal advanced illness management (CLAIM)” program will serve five counties in the metropolitan Philadelphia area.
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Genetics Prize: Dr. Wallace
Dr. Douglas C. Wallace, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, is the recipient of the 2012 Genetics Prize of the Gruber Foundation. Founder of the field of mitochondrial genetics in humans, he is also director of the Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
He is honored for his groundbreaking achievements in understanding the role of mitochondria—the “power plants” of cells—in the development of disease and as markers for human evolution. He is also being honored for training and inspiring numerous pre- and postdoctoral students who have gone on to have distinguished careers of their own.
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Outstanding Book: Dr. Zelizer
Dr. Barbie Zelizer, the Raymond Williams Professor of Communication in the Annenberg School for Communication, is the recipient of the Media Ecology Association’s 2012 Marshall McLuhan Award for Outstanding Book in the Field of Media Ecology for her 2010 book About to Die: How News Images Move the Public. Dr. Zelizer is the first member of Annenberg’s faculty to receive this award, which has been given out every year since 2000.
The Media Ecology Association (MEA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the study, research, criticism, and application of media ecology in educational, industry, political, civic, social, cultural, and artistic contexts, and the open exchange of ideas, information, and research among the Association’s members and the larger community.
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Wharton Business Plan Competition
The Wharton Business Plan competition is managed by Wharton Entrepreneurial programs and is open to any Penn student. This year’s entries centered around IT solutions for business problems, particularly in the health care field. The winners are:
Michelson Grand Prize: $30,000 to RightCare Solutions—discharge decision support system helping hospitals, insurers, and homecare agencies identify patients at high-risk for re-admissions.
Second Prize: $15,000 to 1Doc Way—an online doctor’s office connecting hospitals with underserved patient populations—including the rural, elderly and disabled—via a secure video chat platform.
Third Prize: $10,000 to Calcula—novel urological medical devices for the removal of kidney stones without anesthesia.
Gloeckner Undergraduate Award: $10,000 for the highest-ranking Wharton undergraduate team to Invisergy who envisions all glass building materials contributing to a sustainable energy future.
People’s Choice Award: $3,000 to ChondroPro Biosciences—disease modifying therapeutic technology to treat osteoarthritis.
Student’s Choice Award: $3,000 to QMagico—online resource delivering affordable, world-class education to Brazilians through web technology focused on K-12 students.
Committee Award: $1,000 to accessMD—offers patients and physicians across the globe a certified second opinion from one of the nation’s top 20 specialty hospitals. |