New leaders announced in four disciplines

Chairs appointed in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Therapeutic Radiology, Pediatrics and History of Medicine.

Dean David A. Kessler, M.D., has announced the appointments of four new departmental and section leaders.

Lockwood

Charles J. Lockwood, M.D., FW ’89, a specialist in high-risk obstetrics, became professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology on July 1. Lockwood came to Yale from New York University, where he was the Stanley H. Kaplan Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and chair of the department since 1995. Lockwood is a 1981 medical graduate of the University of Pennsylvania who trained as a resident at Pennsylvania Hospital before coming to Yale as a fellow in maternal-fetal medicine in 1985. He succeeds interim chair Peter E. Schwartz, M.D., HS ’70, who heads the section of gynecologic oncology, and Frederick Naftolin, M.D., Ph.D., who stepped down as chair in 2000.

Glazer

Cancer researcher and clinician Peter M. Glazer, M.D. ’87, Ph.D. ’87, became chair of the Department of Therapeutic Radiology on August 12, succeeding James J. Fischer, M.D., who had led the department since 1972. Glazer did his residency at Yale and joined the faculty in 1991. His research focuses on the cellular processes of DNA repair and mutagenesis and the phenomenon of radioresistance. Glazer, who has a secondary appointment in the Department of Genetics, is also interested in gene targeting and gene therapy strategies for cancer, viral infections and genetic diseases. He pioneered methods for in vivo measurements of mutagenesis and applied these to experiments demonstrating fundamental pathways of genetic instability in cancer. Glazer is co-director of the molecular oncology program in the Yale Cancer Center and a member of the Cancer Center executive committee.

Hostetter

Margaret K. Hostetter, M.D., became chair of the Department of Pediatrics on September 1. Hostetter came to Yale four years ago from the University of Minnesota, where she co-founded the nation’s first international adoption clinic in 1986. She was recruited to Yale to head the section of pediatric immunology and serve as director of the Yale Child Health Research Center. She was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2001.

An alumna of Baylor College of Medicine, Hostetter did her postgraduate training at Children’s Hospital in Boston and taught at Harvard before joining the Minnesota faculty in 1982. Her research on the molecular pathogenesis of pneumococcal and candida infections has received NIH funding for two decades. She is also the principal investigator of the Pediatric Scientist Development Program, a $13 million initiative of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

She succeeds Norman J. Siegel, M.D., HS ’70, who served as the interim chair since 2000 when his predecessor, Joseph B. Warshaw, M.D., left Yale to become dean of the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

Warner

John Harley Warner, Ph.D., became chair of the Section of the History of Medicine on July 1, succeeding Frederic L. Holmes, Ph.D., who stepped down after 23 years. Warner has also been appointed by the university provost to the newly created position of chair of the Program in the History of Medicine and Science.

Warner received his doctoral degree in the history of science from Harvard in 1984 and spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow in London at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine. He joined the Yale faculty in 1986. His research includes wide-ranging explorations of medical institutions, practitioners, ideas and practices, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Since becoming dean in 1997, Kessler has appointed new chairs in 11 departments and free-standing academic sections, including Cell Biology, Genetics, Pharmacology, Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Surgery, the Child Study Center and Microbial Pathogenesis. Searches are under way for successors to M. Bruce Shields, M.D., who has announced his intention to step down as chair of Ophthalmology and Visual Science; Albert B. Deisseroth, M.D., Ph.D., the former chief of the section of medical oncology who became president and CEO of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in San Diego last year; and Yale Cancer Center Director Vincent T. DeVita Jr., M.D., HS ’66, who is planning to step down at the end of this academic year.

A quilt by Deirdre Stowe was unveiled at the dedication of the Donald J. Cohen Auditorium, honoring the late director of the Child Study Center.

With a new name, auditorium honors late director of Yale’s Child Study Center

Before he died, Donald J. Cohen, M.D. ’66, the director of the Child Study Center, found warmth and comfort in a quilt made of patches that carried messages from friends, family and colleagues. A gold band runs through the quilt, connecting all the individual squares. “Donald is the gold band that continues to bring so many people together,” said Deirdre Stowe, a friend who made the quilt, as it was unveiled at the dedication of the Donald J. Cohen Auditorium at the Child Study Center.

Cohen, who died last October 2 of cancer at age 61, was honored at the June 19 dedication by several people who knew, loved and worked with him during his 18 years as director of the center. Yale President Richard C. Levin recalled giving a speech in the same room three years earlier at the dedication of the Irving and Neison Harris Building. “I was not the least bit surprised as we planned the dedication that he went about it with his meticulous attention to detail. He left absolutely nothing to chance,” Levin said. To laughter from the audience, he added, “He insisted on writing my speech. I took no risk. I delivered it as written.”

Levin and others remembered Cohen as a pre-eminent scientist and clinician, a man of broad interests and one who cared about others. “We have all benefited, especially children,” said Rev. Frederick J. Streets, the university chaplain, “from the depth of his intellect and the breadth of his spirit and kindness.”

The dedication came just a few days before the death of Cohen’s mentor and predecessor, Albert J. Solnit, M.D., HS ’52, following an automobile accident on June 21 (See In Memoriam). Solnit was director of the center from 1966 to 1983, when Cohen was appointed to succeed him.

When the Child Study Center’s new building opened three years ago, it and the auditorium were named in honor of Irving and Neison Harris, longtime supporters of the center. Neison Harris died earlier this year and his brother Irving suggested that the auditorium bear Cohen’s name. “Donald really made a huge contribution to Yale and I would like to see him recognized in any way possible,” Harris said in a telephone interview.

Dean David A. Kessler, M.D., recalled that Cohen saw the auditorium as a place where people would meet and pass on knowledge to the next generation. “In this auditorium,” Kessler said, “we shall hold close our memories of Donald, sustain his values for learning and service and carry out his vision for children and their families.”

Notes

The National Academy of Sciences announced in April the election of its new members and foreign associates in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Among the honorees was Richard A. Flavell, Ph.D., professor and chair of immunobiology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Flavell is known for his work on the structure and expression of eukaryotic genes, his studies of critical genes of the immune system and the application of genetic approaches to the study of immune function in vivo.

Paula A. Armbruster, M.A., M.S.W., associate clinical professor and director of outpatient services in the Child Study Center, was a facilitator at the 17th Annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy in Atlanta in November 2001. Armbruster was also appointed to the national steering council of A Partnership to Open Doors, a collaborative effort between Habitat for Humanity International, the National Mental Health Association and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

Jonathan B. Borak, M.D., associate clinical professor of medicine (industrial) and epidemiology, received a President’s Award from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) in April at its 87th annual membership meeting in Chicago. The award, presented by Dean A. Grove, M.D., president of the ACOEM, honored his service to the college as a member of the board of directors and as chair of the council on scientific affairs. Borak was also cited for his contributions to the growth and future of the college through his expertise in the field of toxicology and his commitment to the role of science in public policy.

R. Todd Constable, Ph.D., associate professor of diagnostic radiology and neurosurgery, was awarded a $1 million, 5-year grant from the NIH to develop and validate functional magnetic resonance imaging methodology for the study of language processing for neurosurgical planning. This work will not only lead to improved techniques for functional mapping but also improve the understanding of the neuronal circuits associated with language processing and characterize the impact of diseases such as epilepsy on cortical reorganization. Constable is the director of Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Yale and co-director, along with Douglas Rothman, Ph.D. ’87, of the Magnetic Resonance Research Center.

Vincent T. DeVita Jr., M.D., HS ’66, professor of medicine and of epidemiology and public health and director of the Yale Cancer Center, was elected to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in September for his “outstanding and lasting contributions to cancer research and medical education.” DeVita, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine, joins two other Yale School of Medicine professors previously elected to the European Academy: Gerhard Giebisch, M.D., and Patricia Goldman-Rakic, Ph.D.

Michael P. DiGiovanna, M.D. ’90, Ph.D. ’90, associate professor of medicine (oncology) and pharmacology and co-director of the Breast Cancer Research Program at the Yale Cancer Center, received a $200,000 grant from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to investigate the gene HER2, which can be predictive of the prognosis of breast cancer. DiGiovanna was also awarded a four-year grant of almost $1 million to study drugs that target HER2 in connection with anti-estrogen treatments.

Bruce C. Fichandler, PA, lecturer in plastic surgery and director of admissions for the Yale Physician Associate Program, was elected to his eighth term as treasurer of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). He has also served as AAPA president and vice president/speaker of the House of Delegates.

Gerald H. Friedland, M.D., professor of medicine and epidemiology and director of the aids Program at Yale-New Haven Hospital, has returned from a four-month sabbatical at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine in Durban, South Africa. Friedland and colleagues worked on several projects to provide antiretroviral therapy for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and participated in educational programs throughout the region for health care workers, medical students and physicians.

Margaret K. Hostetter, M.D., professor of pediatrics and microbial pathogenesis, was named the 30th annual Maxwell Finland Lecturer of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, its highest honor for a career in the field of microbial pathogenesis. The lecture, titled Why Candida Kills You, and the award were presented in San Francisco. Dorothy M. Horstmann, M.D., a former Yale faculty member, was the 1977 award winner. Hostetter is chair of the Department of Pediatrics.

Jeanette R. Ickovics, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology and psychology and director of the Connecticut Women’s Health Project, was honored with a Seton Ivy Award. The presentation was part of the 23rd annual Seton Elm-Ivy Award ceremony in April recognizing individual efforts to strengthen ties between Yale University and the city of New Haven.

Ilona S. Kickbusch, Ph.D., professor of public health (global health) and political science, served as Distinguished Scholar Leader in the inaugural year of the New Century Scholars Program of the Fulbright Scholar Program. This year’s program focused on Challenges of Health in a Borderless World. The program offers participants an international exchange opportunity of two to six months to further their research and investigate comparative approaches by interacting with colleagues abroad or in the United States.

I. George Miller, M.D., the John Enders Professor of Pediatrics and professor of epidemiology and molecular biophysics and biochemistry, was elected to a fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology for achievement in virology. Miller’s research discoveries have advanced the understanding and treatment of the human gamma herpes virus, Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi’s sarcoma herpes virus.

Irvin M. Modlin, M.D., professor of surgery, was appointed to the King James IV Professorship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for 2002. Modlin was to deliver the graduation oration for the College in October on the 497th anniversary of the award of the Seal of Cause to the College by James IV. His topic was The Use of Laser Capture Microscopy and Gene Analysis in Defining Neuro-Endocrine Cell Transformation and Autonomy.

Kitt Mia Falk Petersen, M.D., assistant professor of medicine (endocrinology) and assistant director of the General Clinical Research Center, received the Young Investigator Award, a 2002 Novartis Award in Diabetes, for her studies of the mechanism of insulin action in the liver, the pathogenesis of insulin resistance in obesity and type 2 diabetes, and the mechanisms of action of thiazolidinediones in patients with type 2 diabetes and leptin in patients with lipodystrophy. The award was presented in June by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

Fredrick C. Redlich, M.D., professor emeritus, former chair of psychiatry and dean of the School of Medicine from 1967 to 1972, received the Gold Medal of Distinction in January from the University of Vienna and the community for past services and teaching. Redlich spent a week visiting his native city of Vienna.

Karin M. Reinisch, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology, was named the 2002 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences by the Pew Charitable Trusts in June. Her research focuses on the macromolecular complexes involved in transport within the cell and structure/function studies of the macromolecules involved in nuclear transport.

After a fellowship in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at Yale, Francoise J. Roux, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the Yale Medical Group as an assistant professor of medicine (pulmonary and critical care). Her areas of clinical interest are asthma, sleep medicine and interstitial lung disease.

Vion Pharmaceuticals announced in April that the chair of its Scientific Advisory Board, Alan C. Sartorelli, Ph.D., received the 2002 Otto Krayer Award in recognition of his contributions to the field of pharmacology. Sartorelli, the Alfred Gilman Professor of Pharmacology at Yale, has designed, synthesized and evaluated numerous potential anti-cancer agents.

David Seligson, Sc.D., M.D., professor emeritus of laboratory medicine at Yale, was awarded an honorary degree from Quinnipiac University at Commencement exercises in May. Seligson, emeritus trustee at Quinnipiac, has been a member of the board of trustees since 1964 and served as vice chair from 1971 through 1977.

Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D., professor of pediatrics and a faculty member in the Child Study Center, was one of six new members appointed to the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council, the major advisory panel of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The council, the nation’s primary supporter of research on the brain and nervous system, meets three times each year to review grant applications.

Peter A. Takizawa, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology, was named a Searle Scholar earlier this year. The Searle Scholars Program, one of the most competitive and prestigious award programs for junior faculty, typically selects 15 of the most promising young faculty members in biomedical science and chemistry each year at universities and research institutes throughout the United States. Takizawa was recognized for his research on how specific MRNAs are transported to defined regions of a cell and the role that MRNA localization plays in cell-fate determination.

Stephen G. Waxman, M.D., Ph.D., chair of neurology and co-director of the Yale-London Collaboration on Central Nervous System Repair, received the John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research from the American Academy of Neurology and the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society in April. He received the prize for research in two areas: molecular changes that occur within nerve cells in MS and new therapeutic approaches that have the goal of restoring functions, such as vision or the ability to walk, in people with MS.

Joseph L. Woolston, M.D. ’70, professor of pediatrics and a member of the Child Study Center faculty, was appointed chief of child psychiatry at the center and at Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) in July. Woolston is the medical director and founder of the Yale Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Services at the center, medical director of HUSKY Behavioral Plus and medical director of Child Psychiatric Services at YNHH, where he founded the inpatient service.

Barry J. Wu, M.D., associate clinical professor of medicine, received the Award for Excellence in Teaching from the National Association of Inpatient Physicians (NAIP). The award, for his exemplary service as a teacher, academician, mentor and role model in hospital medicine, was presented at NAIP’s annual meeting in April.

Send faculty news items to Claire Bessinger, Yale Medicine Publications, P.O. Box 7612, New Haven, CT 06519-0612, or via e-mail to claire.bessinger@yale.edu.