26 NEWS
BRIEFS
SPRING 2011
A career in academic research
On November 3, Jenny Pan-Yun Ting, PhD, the 2010 Norma Berryhill Distinguished Lecturer, presented a talk entitled “A Career in Academic Research—Hope, Joy and Fear.” Ting is the William Rand Kenan professor of microbiology and immunology, founding director of the Center for Translational Immunology, co-director of the Inflammatory Disease Institute, immunology program leader at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and co-director of the Southeast Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease. Along with a zeal for science is another of Ting’s greatest passions: mentoring graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. “We have to work very hard; there is no question about it,” she says. “I absolutely love science; I love discovery. I love to see other young people come to love science.”
Diabetes & Metabolism); Scott Bezer, Douglas Drossman, Kim Isaacs, Scott Plevy, R. Balfour Sartor (Gastroenterology); Mac Greganti, Laura Hanson (Geriatric Medicine); Daniel ClarkePearson, Wesley Fowler, John Soper (Gynecologic Oncology); Myron Cohen, Charles van der Horst (Infectious Disease); John Thorp (Maternal & Fetal Medicine); Stephen Bernard, Lisa Carey, Paul Godley, Richard Goldberg, Hyman Muss, Jonathan Serody, Thomas Shea, Mark Socinski (Medical Oncology); Alan Stiles (Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine); Ronald Falk (Nephrology); Matthew Ewend (Neurological Surgery); John Steege (Obstetrics & Gynecology); Jonathan Dutton, Travis Meredith (Ophthalmology); Harold Pillsbury, Brent Senior, William Shockley, Mark Weissler (Otolaryngology); Julie Blatt, Stuart Gold (Pediatric HematologyOncology); Amelia Drake (Pediatric Otolaryngology); C. Scott Hultman (Plastic Surgery); Richard Weisler (Psychiatry); James Donohue, David Henke (Pulmonary Disease); Jan Halle, Lawrence Marks, Julian Rosenman, Joel Tepper (Radiation Oncology); Marc Fritz (Reproductive Endocrinology); Nortin Hadler (Rheumatology); Benjamin Calvo, Mark Koruda, Anthony Meyer (Surgery); Richard Feins (Thoracic Surgery); Culley Carson, Raj Pruthi, Richard Sutherland, Eric Wallen (Urology); Matthew Mauro (Vascular & Interventional Radiology). A physician-led team of researchers followed a rigorous screening process to select top doctors on both the national and regional levels. Using mail surveys, telephone surveys and electronic ballots, the research team asked board certified physicians and the medical leadership of leading hospitals to nominate highly skilled, exceptional doctors. Criteria developed by the Castle Connolly research team led to the final selection of those physicians most highly regarded by their peers in each specialty. The criteria used to determine physician eligibility for inclusion in the magazine: professional qualifications; education, residency, board certification, fellowships; professional reputation, hospital appointment, medical school faculty appointment, and experience. UNC bariatric surgery program receives important distinctions The bariatric surgery center at UNC Hospitals has received two important distinctions.
The program has been accredited as a Level 1B facility by the Bariatric Surgery Center Network (BSCN) Accreditation Program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This designation means that UNC Hospitals has met the essential criteria that ensure it is fully capable of supporting a bariatric surgery care program and that its institutional performance meets the requirements outlined by the ACS BSCN Accreditation Program. In addition, the program was named a Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. To be designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery, UNC Hospitals met the selection criteria posted at www.bcbs.com, which includes: • an established bariatric surgery program, actively performing these procedures for the most recent 12-month period and performing a required minimum volume of 125 such surgeries annually • appropriate experience of its bariatric surgery team • an acute care inpatient facility, including intensive care and emergency services • full accreditation by The Joint Commission, Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP) or national equivalent • a comprehensive quality management program “These new designations for our established bariatric surgery program are important in the current environment because they demonstrate the UNC Health Care System’s continuing commitment to top level bariatric care for the people of North Carolina within the doors of the flagship institution,” said Tim Farrell, MD, who co-directs the program with D. Wayne Overby, MD. “Having patients here in the clinical and academic environment of UNC Hospitals helps them receive the best multidisciplinary care, but also exposes our trainees and researchers to the human face of the obesity epidemic. These personal connections will help patients today, but will also pay future dividends in better trained health care providers and research innovations.” Overby said, “UNC has a long history of providing weight loss surgery patients with excellent care. Patients and their providers can be even more confident choosing our program knowing we have been objectively reviewed and recognized