Boston University Medicine - Summer 2018

BostonUniversity Medicine Boston University School of Medicine

SUMMER 2018 • bumc.bu.edu

BUSM Celebrates 170 Years of Frontline Medicine

1848 2018

Message From The Dean

AND COLLEAGUES,

In 2018 we are celebrating the school’s 170 years on the frontlines of medicine— from the beginning expanding the scope of who could study medicine and science, defining the concept of a medical center, serving a diverse population of patients in Boston, and working internationally—170 years of teaching and discovery. Rebecca Lee Crumpler. Charles Eastman. Solomon Carter Fuller. The Home Care Program.

The Framingham Heart Study. The National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories.

Osamu Shimomura. Ann McKee. It’s quite a legacy. Please enjoy the cover story celebrating our accomplishments.

At Commencement on May 17, we launched another 144 MDs, 27 PhDs, and 365 master’s degree graduates into their careers in medicine and the biomedical sciences. They are becoming physicians and scientists at a time of great discovery, but also great uncertainty and change.

We hope our creative, resilient, intelligent, and innovative graduates will become the future leaders on the frontlines of medicine.

Four months ago, our MD seniors celebrated Match Day 2018. The day began with class awards and honors, then congregating on the front steps for the class picture, and finally the countdown to noon, when they learned where they would spend their residencies. All of our students matched in competitive residencies from Maine to California. Primary care specialties, emergency medicine, surgery, radiology, neurology, and OB/ GYN were the top specialties chosen, in that order.

Boston University Medicine Boston University Medicine is published by the Boston University School of Medicine Communications Office.

Maria Ober Assistant Dean, Communications

design & production

Boston University Creative Services

contributing writers

Lisa Brown, Gina DiGravio, Kathryn Mariano, Gillian Smith

photography

Frank Curran, Dave Green, David Keough, Justin Knight, Jennifer Pottheiser, Jackie Ricciardi, Cydney Scott

Best regards,

Karen Antman, MD Provost, Medical Campus Dean, School of Medicine

Please direct any questions or comments to: Maria Ober Communications Office Boston University Medical Campus 85 East Newton Street, M427 Boston, MA 02118 P 617-638-8496 | F 617-638-8044 | E mpober@bu.edu

Boston University School of Medicine

0718

PHOTO BY DAVID KEOUGH

DEAR ALUMNI, FRIENDS,

In April we held the school’s first-ever fundraising dinner, Black Ties for White Coats, in honor of the 45-year career of Robert Witzburg, MD. To date, more than $170,000 has been raised for the Robert Witzburg, MD, ’77 Scholarship Fund, and contributions are still being accepted.

I especially thank our departments who sponsored tables.

Earlier in the year, we announced the appointment of Hee-Young Park, PhD, to the newly created role of associate dean for faculty affairs. The Faculty Affairs office will support the recruitment, retention, academic advancement, and career satisfaction of our diverse faculty.

We congratulate Ann McKee, MD, director of the BU CTE Center and chief of neuropathology at VA Boston Healthcare Systems, for receiving two distinguished honors by being named Bostonian of the Year by the Boston Globe and one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2018 by TIME magazine.

We also applaud alumni Elizabeth C. Dooling (MED’65) and Donald Grande (MED’73), whose generous contributions have made it possible to establish named scholarships for our students.

We hope you’ll read with interest the feature on alumnae Stacey Rosen (MED’85) and Jennifer Mieres (MED’86), who work for Northwell Health and the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell on Long Island, New York.

They’ve recently published the book Heart Smart for Women: Six S.T.E.P.S. in Six Weeks to Heart-Healthy Living, to equip women of all ages with a comprehensive program for heart-healthy living.

Please enjoy this issue of Boston University Medicine.

Contents

SUMMER 2018

Fourth-year medical students raise their glasses to toast Match Day 2018.

PHOTO BY FRANK CURRAN

FEATURE

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DEPARTMENTS

Celebrating 170 years of frontline medicine.

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Campus News

27

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Giving to BUSM

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Alumni News

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Faculty News

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Research

1848–2018

Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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News

MATCH DAY

Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

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ome feel like they are moving in a slow-motion video and others, as if everything is happening at warp speed. On the third Friday in March, all their hard work of the past four years was rewarded when 142 BUSM fourth-year students

each opened a plain white envelope. With a tick of the clock on the wall in Hiebert Lounge, it was noon—and members of the Class of 2018 learned which residency program they will attend and where they will spend the next three to seven years of their lives.

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Students pick up their Match Day envelopes, anxious to find out where they will attend their residency.

“Your class has matched all over the US, from Maine to California. We are delighted that we will be keeping 20 of you who matched to BMC and three more who will join us in our combined BMC-Boston Children’s Hospital pediatric residency,” said BUSM Dean Karen Antman, MD. While BUSM students matched in residencies across the country, nearly a third are staying in Massachusetts (45), with California (22), and New York (17) the next most popular states.

The class matched in a range of programs, with 43 students choosing primary care specialties—which includes family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics—

PHOTOS BY FRANK CURRAN

CAMPUS

Facebook “f ” Logo

BUSM ON THE WEB

CMYK / .eps

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twitter.com/ BUMedicine

facebook.com/ BUMedicine

Match Day: Matched Specialties Anesthesiology

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Child Neurology

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Dermatology Emergency Medicine Family Medicine General Surgery

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Neurology

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Neurosurgery

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OB/GYN

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Ophthalmology

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Orthopaedic Surgery

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Otolaryngology

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Pathology

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Pediatric Anesthesiology

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Plastic Surgery

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Psychiatry

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Psychiatry-Family Medicine

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Radiation Oncology

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Radiology/Diagnostic

followed by emergency medicine (13), surgery (11), radiology (10), neurology (10), and OB/GYN (7).

“Match Day is one of, if not the, most exciting days for a medical student. It’s exciting to start med school and get your white coat; it’s exciting to learn new skills, to start clinical rotations, and to realize ‘I can really do this,’” said Associate Dean for Student Affairs Angela Jackson. “But Match Day also is the culmination of all the other exciting days of medical school. It’s a celebration of all of the years of hard work, hard choices, and hard-won personal growth. It’s a celebration of the tremendous joy of caring for people and of the path ahead.” n

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Internal Medicine

Pediatrics

Students celebrate as they share their residency locations with family and friends.

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Thoracic Surgery

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Urology

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Vascular Surgery

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Associate Dean and Director of Admissions Dr. Robert Witzburg addresses the class.

Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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CAMPUS NEWS

Happy MD candidates await the start of Commencement ceremony.

BUSM MD/PhD Commencement:

“O

ur most solemn obligation, our most sacred trust, as scientists and as physicians, is also our greatest privilege. We must do our best for the people we serve, not because of who they are, the color of their skin, the language they speak, the part of our society they may represent, or their ability to pay, but just because of the fundamental humanity we all share,” said Associate Dean and Director of Admissions and Professor of Medicine Robert Witzburg, MD, at the 2018 Boston University School of Medicine Commencement ceremony.

A fixture on the Medical Campus for 45 years—36 on the BUSM faculty and 16 as head of Admissions—Dr. Witzburg was chosen by the graduates to be their Commencement speaker. “We advance science with integrity and care for our patients with dignity, compassion, and respect, simply because it is the right thing 4

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to do. This, I believe, is at the heart of what we have all learned at BU. This is what binds us all together, this is what is special, and this is what makes us proud.”

BUSM conferred 137 medical degrees, five MD/PhDs, two MD/ MBAs, and 27 PhDs; 23 students earned Latin honors—15 cum laude, five magna cum laude, and two summa cum laude: Orly Leiva and Angela Nolin.

PhD class speaker Kadryn Kadasia, a member of BUSM’s inaugural class of the Program in Biological Sciences, received her PhD in molecular and translational medicine. Born and raised in Kenya, Dr. Kadasia received her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from Purdue University. Her dissertation research addressed the use of HIV monoclonal antibodies to prevent HIV transmission, reflecting her strong desire to find a solution to the HIV/AIDS crisis

PHOTOS BY FRANK CURRAN

“We Must Do Our Best for the People We Serve“

2018 FACULTY AWARDS: Stanley L. Robbins Award for Excellence in Teaching Ann Zumwalt, PhD Associate Professor, Anatomy & Neurobiology Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award Presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Ryan Chippendale, MD Assistant Professor, Medicine Committee on Faculty Affairs Educator of the Year Awards Educator of the Year in Preclinical Medical Sciences Karen Harnett, PhD Assistant Professor, Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics Educator of the Year in Clinical Sciences Boston Medical Center Cullen Carter, MD Assistant Professor, Surgery It was a happy day for the graduates, many of whom had their children, family, and friends in attendance.

and other infectious diseases that have taken an exceptionally hard toll on women and children in Africa.

During her time in Boston she volunteered locally, and while in Kenya she worked with Doctors Without Borders to establish a reproductive health program in Nairobi’s Kibera settlement. She plans to remain engaged in international health by working in academia or industry.

Dr. Kadasia is the first person in her family of 56 to earn a PhD. “In Kenya, we say it takes a village to raise a child. To us . . . a village is fluid and dynamic, a representation of your support system,” she said.

“I encourage you to reflect on your own villages, not just the hands that raised you, but the voices that encouraged you, mentors who challenged you, even supervisors who pushed you to the precipice of quitting. Take this opportunity to acknowledge that you are the sum of many parts, and despite the trends of the times, we must recognize the sanctity and necessity for all of these different parts in society by unabashedly embracing diversity, especially at this level of scholarship.”

MD class speaker Dr. Anoop Ravilla will join Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles this summer as a radiology resident. At BUSM he

Roger Williams Medical Center R. James Koness, MD Site Director, Surgery Kaiser Permanente Katie Lemieux, MD Site Director, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Kaiser-San Jose Medical Center Educator of the Year in Graduate Medical Sciences MA Didactic Instructor Jude Deeney, PhD Assistant Professor, Medicine PhD Didactic Instructor Tarik Haydar, PhD Professor, Anatomy & Neurobiology GMS Dissertation Advisors Darrell Kotton, MD David C. Seldin Professor of Medicine; Director, Center for Regenerative Medicine Neil Ganem, PhD Assistant Professor, Pharmacology & Medicine

Rachel Thompson, MD Assistant Professor, Pediatrics

was a four-year member of the Student Committee on Medical Student Affairs (SCOMSA), Chair of the Radiology Interest Group, and a member of the Science Teaching Enrichment Program, mentoring high school students on careers in the sciences. He also worked with a technology startup to develop proposals for healthcare applications of their proprietary technology.

“Today is a day of great pride and humility. Pride in recognition of all you have accomplished. Humility in recognition of the fact that there is still so much left to learn,” he told the class. “The graduation ceremony is the perfect representation of this duality.”

Dean Karen Antman congratulated the graduates on reaching this milestone. Quoting Winston Churchill, she said, “Now is not the end.

It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

“The faculty have great confidence in your creativity, resilience, intellect, and innovation,” she continued. “You wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t convinced our admissions offices that you wanted to change the world on the frontlines of science and medicine—the school’s mission.” n Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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GMS Graduates Urged to Focus on Wellness At the Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS) convocation ceremony on May 17, Associate Provost for GMS Linda Hyman, PhD, commended the 365 master’s degree candidates for their remarkable ambition and more than 600 hours of community service. She also urged them to focus on wellness as they prepare for what comes next. “Solvitur ambulando—it is solved by walking.”

“I remember my first meeting with the leadership of our student groups, and I was thinking about how ambitious you were, feeling a bit skeptical about your ability to accomplish all you set out to do,” Dr. Hyman told the assembled students at Boston University’s Track & Tennis Center. “But a few weeks ago when you delivered your endof-the-year reports, we were blown away.”

Master of Science in Medical Sciences and Master of Public Health degree candidate Katherine Valles reflected on how the field of medical science is always evolving, forcing students to become “Masters of Persistence.”

“We have been challenged to prove that we have the passion, diligence, and intellectual horsepower it takes to rise to any occasion,” Ms. Valles said.

Valles reminded students that Commencement is not simply the celebration of the fact that they met the requirements for their degrees, but the beginning of their careers in an everchanging field.

“If you ask anyone roaming around in a gown today about gene regulation or the cardiovascular system, they’ll be sure to talk your ear off,” she said. “But I would encourage you to ask them about how they learn best, how they handle and cope with stress, and how they learn from their mistakes, because those are the homework assignments that matter most.”

Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine degree candidate Lesley McGee started her speech by asking guests and graduates to take a few deep breaths together.

Quoting Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, McGee celebrated the remarkable journey of her peers.

Master’s degree candidates line up for procession into Commencement.

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PHOTOS BY LOREM IPSUM

“It is solved by walking.”

“You are composed of the caretakers and loved ones who cheered and encouraged you, the countless moments of insight and growth, and the BU faculty and staff who have done extraordinarily tremendous work to ensure that you are ready to enter the world as a competent and compassionate clinician,” she told them.

Naomi Wagner, a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling degree candidate, urged her peers to protect scientific research and clinical knowledge and to share it with the general public.

“It is our responsibility as scientists and healthcare professionals to make sure that the information we are providing to our patients applies to their everyday reality,” she said. “Science cannot be separate from everyday life.”

Dr. Hyman quoted Mark Moss, PhD, who recently retired as chair of the department of anatomy and neurobiology. He told her that “the brain needs rest to stir the creative juices.”

“Whatever the complexities of the day, whatever problems you may face, take a walk, take a swim, ride your bike,” she said. “Take care of yourselves and the innovation and creativity will follow.” n

The faculty procession begins the ceremony.

Eager students await the start of Commencement.

Associate Provost for GMS Linda Hyman, PhD, addresses the candidates, families, and friends.

All smiles before the students receive their degrees.

Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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CAMPUS NEWS

BUMC Celebrates MLK Legacy

Tom Moore Reduces BUMC Roles Tom Moore, MD, executive director of the Human Research Affairs office and associate provost of the Medical Campus, has stepped down from these roles effective July 1.

“Dr. Moore has brought his considerable wisdom and diplomatic and organizational skills to a number of critical roles on the Medical Campus,” said BUMC Provost and BUSM Dean Karen Antman, MD. Dr. Moore arrived at BUSM in 2001 as director of clinical research, with a primary responsibility to oversee all human research conducted at the three schools on the Medical Campus and at Boston Medical Center (BMC). The program initially consisted of the Institutional Review Board and one auditor; today, with additional support from the Clinical & Translational Science Institute, Human Research Affairs offers educational pro8

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grams, consultations, quality assurance reviews, and a monthly online newsletter to help investigators who do human research conduct high-quality studies in compliance with relevant regulations. The office has a track record of exemplary Food and Drug Administration audits and the Human Research Protection Program is fully accredited with special distinction.

During his 17 years here, Dr. Moore also served as ad interim Medical Campus provost (2004–05); ad interim chair of the Department of Medicine and BMC physicianin-chief (2005–06); and chair of the multidisciplinary BU NEIDL Task Force, which was charged with facilitating community relations and working with the NIH and regulatory agencies required for credentialing the NEIDL (2007–14). He helped shape the excellence of the clinical departments by serving as a member of the Faculty Practice Foundation Board (2006– 12) and on many department chair search committees, including medicine (Coleman),

ophthalmology (Christiansen), dermatology (Alani), surgery (Doherty), pediatrics (Vinci), family medicine (Jack), and OB/ GYN (Lee-Parritz). He also served as liaison to the affiliated Veterans Affairs hospitals.

Dr. Moore was previously executive medical director at Merck (1995–2000) and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School (1974–2000) in the Department of Medicine (endocrinology) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he directed the Cardiac Risk Reduction Center and chaired the steering committee of the NIH-sponsored DASH Trial that developed the DASH Diet, which is recommended by hypertension treatment guidelines and the American Heart Association. His research focused on the interaction between nutrition and blood pressure.

“Tom will continue to work on important projects, including serving as chair of the task force for our LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education) reaccreditation,” Dean Antman said. “Please join me in thanking Tom for his many contributions to our community.” n

PHOTO BY DAVID KEOUGH

On Thursday, January 18, more than 100 a 5 pm curfew as police gathered on his members of the Medical Campus comstreet. He remembered the influence of his munity gathered in the Hiebert Lounge brother and sister, and their eagerness to to commemorate the legacy of Martin be part of the demonstrations. As the Civil Luther King, Jr. This year, the annual event Rights movement broke barriers, Woodson featured a conversation with Jonathan worked his way up the ranks of the army; Woodson, MD, director of the BU Institute he shared memories of calls from his uncle, for Health System Innovation & Policy. who was proud to be talking with a general.

During his presentation, “My Soul Looks Back, Lest I Forget,” Associate Dean of Diversity & IncluWoodson holds the rank of Brigadier at the annual MLK event on the Medical Campus, Jonathan Woodson, MD, reflects on his childhood growing up in New sion Rafael Ortega, MD, welcomed General in the US Army Reserves and York during segregation, busing, and police riots. esteemed guests, including University served from 2010 to 2016 as Assistant SecProvost Jean Morrison, PhD; BUMC Proretary of Defense for Health Affairs in the vost and BUSM Dean Karen Antman, MD; Associate Provost and US Department of Defense, where he was the principal advisor to the Dean of Students Kenn Elmore; and Associate Provost for Diversity Secretary of Defense for all health and health protection issues while & Inclusion Crystal Williams. ensuring the effective execution of the department’s medical mission.

Rev. Julian Armand Cook, assistant director of BU’s Howard Thur“On a day like today, it’s important to look back with one’s soul. man Center, began the event with an invocation: “We are challenged, Do some introspection, [don’t] forget the lessons of the past, and inspired, and renewed by the vision and witness of Dr. King. As we find strength and optimism for the future,” he told the crowd. watch in concern, we will work in hope. Because justice may be “What would MLK do?” he asked, pointing out that “The condideferred, it may be delayed, but it cannot be destroyed.” tions and challenges of the time in which he led provide a litmus In Woodson’s presentation, “My Soul Looks Back, Lest I Forget,” he test for clarity of purpose and values through which issues, chalreflected on his life growing up in New York during segregation, buslenges, and efforts of today can be examined. We must examine ing, and police riots. He shared the fears of his mother, who gave him this history with our souls.” n

Framingham Heart Study Marks 70th Anniversary “The Town That Changed American Hearts”

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dvances in technology make a significant difference in how patients are treated. Thanks to the generosity of Framingham Heart Study (FHS) participants over the past 70 years, scientists and investigators have had the opportunity to be early adopters of technology utilized for patient care.

The Early Years In the mid-1940s, little was known about the underlying causes of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which was responsible for at least half of all deaths in the United States at the time.

Under the direction of the National Heart Institute—now the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)—the Framingham Heart Study began an ambitious project in health research in 1948.

The study’s objective is to identify factors and characteristics that contribute to CVD by following its development over a long period of time in a large group of participants who were healthy at the study’s inception.

The first FHS cohort of participants contained more than 5,000 men and women between the ages of 28 and 62, including 1,644 spousal pairs and 596 extended family members. They completed tests including a physical exam, chest X-ray, and electrocardiogram evaluations and have been invited back every two years since that time. Fewer than 50 participants from the original cohort are still alive today.

After years of collecting data, early clues emerged that linked the data to the development of heart attacks over time in the study participants. Some data led to revelations about high blood pressure, high blood pressure cholesterol levels, and cigarette smoking in relation to the development of coronary heart disease. FHS researchers also coined the term “factors of risk,” known today as “risk factors.”

“It was the development of cardiovascular disease events in these initial healthy people that made it possible to explore some of the underlying etiological factors

Jennifer Eaton, Jean Eaton, EmmaJean Eaton-Ayres, Regina Treveloni, and Andrea Eaton Whitley.

for heart disease,” explains Daniel Levy, MD, NHLBI Director at FHS. A New Model In 1969, the National Institutes of Health cut FHS funding, leading to the termination of participant exams and to more than 20 employee layoffs. Eventually, the funding decision was rescinded, and FHS continued

as it had for 20 years, but under a new collaboration between Boston University and the NHLBI. Under the new model, the study began recruiting a second generation of participants in 1971, dubbed the “Offspring Cohort.”

Technological advances in the 1970s led to the invention of the cardiac ultrasound, which was used to obtain live images of the heart. In 1978, scientists conducted the first echocardiogram—a sonogram of the heart—at FHS. “Whatever technology comes along, we apply to our cohorts,” notes Vasan Ramachandran, MD, BU director and FHS principal investigator. “We always have, and continue to be, highly engaged in technological and scientific advances to stay at the forefront of science.”

When the Washington Post published a list in 1999 of the 100 most important medical advances of the twentieth century, The FHS ranked fourth behind the development of antibiotics, the use of vaccines, and the discovery of vitamins.

In 2002 the FHS began to recruit a third generation of participants. Thanks to advances in technology, the third generation cohort focuses on genetics, such as whole genome sequencing.

The Power of Framingham The study’s ambitious mission is to train the next generation of scientists across the globe, educate the public on the implications of FHS research, and share data in public repositories so that it can be accessed by researchers around the world.

Dr. Ramachandran believes that the study’s power comes from the spirit of altruism that pervades everything the FHS does.

“Our participants give their time and their samples for the good of humanity and science,” he says. “We adore and respect our patients, because we know there would be no study without them.

It would be very difficult to duplicate this study if you tried to today. It was a combination of the right place and time, and, fortunately, the right people. This is a unique human experiment and I am honored and privileged to have the opportunity to work with the participants and fellow scientists.” n Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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CAMPUS NEWS

Above: To showcase the various situations an Outreach Van Project (OVP) volunteer might experience during an exchange with a client, attendees at the Homeless Health Symposium participate in an OVP simulation with assigned roles such as van volunteer or client. Top right: Attendees act out roles such as client and van volunteer in the medical assistance area of the Outreach Van Project simulation. Bottom right: Roseanna Means, MD, opens the symposium by discussing her work with Health Care Without Walls.

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aring for the underserved is a core value the BUSM community shares. For more than 20 years, the Outreach Van Project (OVP), a group of students that provides basic necessities and care every week to the underserved community in East Boston, has exemplified the important roles compassion and service play in the culture of our school.

On Saturday, February 10, OVP students organized the inaugural “Homeless Health Symposium” that included attendees and presenters from universities and organizations throughout New England.

Roseanna Means, MD, founder, president, and CMO of Health Care Without Walls (HCWW), was the event’s first speaker. An internal medicine physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and associate clinical professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School with more than 30 years of experience in healthcare, she offered an overview of the issues, challenges, and best practices of working with the homeless. “Caring for homeless 10

Boston University School of Medicine

individuals is challenging, but outreach projects such as BUSM’s OVP make a huge difference,” she said, noting that homeless women are underrepresented at clinics and face a greater challenge because of their unique biological needs (such as during childbearing and menopause). Dr. Means has dedicated herself to women’s health issues since she founded HCWW in 1999.

Gabriel Wishik, MD, MPH, BUSM instructor of medicine and a physician at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP), discussed addiction in the homeless population and recommendations for engaging with users. He cited some of the changes BHCHP has implemented, including naloxone availability, support groups, more access to behavioral health, and monitoring restrooms throughout the city.

After a networking lunch (provided by a job-training program at the Pine Street Inn called iCater), attendees participated in an OVP simulation during which they were assigned roles such as clients or van volunteers. Clients approached tables offer-

ing food, clothing, or care staffed with van members, and acted out scenarios ranging from seeking food, needing legal advice, tackling language barriers, and obtaining clothes for children.

When participants discussed their experiences as a group, some observed how easy it was to “fall into a silo,” by focusing on only providing food or only providing clothes, when they could have asked clients if there was anything else they needed. Others learned quickly that flexibility is key, as roles may change as client needs evolve.

The final part of the symposium featured group presentations, including projects from: • Homeless Health Immersion Experience (BUSM) • House of Hope Community Development Corporation (Warwick, Rhode Island) • Healthcare Alliance for the Homeless (Tufts) • Worcester Free Clinic Coalition (UMass) • Crimson Care Collaborative (Harvard) n

PHOTOS BY DAVID KEOUGH

Homeless Health Symposium Promotes Collaboration, Education & Awareness

PHOTOS BY JUSTIN KNIGHT

Black Ties for White Coats Raises $170K for Scholarships, Celebrates Robert Witzburg Hiebert Lounge never looked so good!

Nearly 175 faculty members, alumni, staff, and friends gathered April 5 at Black Ties for White Coats to raise money for student scholarships and to recognize the 45-year career of Robert Witzburg, MD (MED’77).

All proceeds from the evening went to the Robert Witzburg, MD, ’77 Scholarship Fund. To date, more than $170,000 has been raised, and contributions still are being accepted.

“The school hadn’t done anything like this before,” said BUSM Dean Karen Antman. “I especially thank the departments who sponsored tables; we very much appreciate their support for our students in Bob’s honor. The evening was full of good food, great music, and camaraderie.”

Underwritten by Dean Antman and her husband Elliott Antman, MD, the event featured speakers including David Coleman, MD, Wade professor and chair of Medicine; Angela Jackson, MD, associate dean for student affairs and associate professor of medicine; and Dr. Witzburg’s daughters, Anne-Marie Sklarwitz and Deborah Witzburg, all of whom delivered entertaining and moving tributes.

“Bob, on behalf of generations of (Boston) city residents and now, generations of students, I want to thank you for being the dedicated teacher and the astute clinician.

You challenged your learners—us—through your own practice of the science and art of medicine, to dig deeper, work harder, and aim higher. Thank you for walking the walk and teaching us to do that, too. And thank you for asking, ‘Is there anything that I can do to help?’ and really meaning it. It is an honor to call you my friend,” Dr. Jackson said in her remarks.

1 1. Bob Witzburg with his wife Lorraine and their daughters Anne-Marie Sklarwitz, far left, and Deborah Witzburg, right.

2. Bob and Lorraine Witzburg, along with other guests, enjoy remarks in tribute to his career.

3. Associate Dean for Student Affairs Angela Jackson, MD, shares a moment with Bob Witzburg.

4. The cake!

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“I thank you all very much for the gift of 45 years in the most noble of all professions, and I will never forget any one of you and the opportunities you have given me and the growth that I have had as a result of all of you and your work,” Dr. Witzburg said. “If someone had asked me what is the greatest honor that someone could confer upon me as I leave this campus after 45 years, I think I would have said ‘to make it easier for deserving students to join our profession in the future’ and that’s what all of you have done. I thank all of you very much for what you have done for the scholarship program.

“If I have accomplished even a fraction of the things that have been attributed to me today, it is truly because I have spent my life trying to be the person (my wife) Lorraine quite unaccountably thinks I am.”

To make a gift to the Robert Witzburg, MD, ’77 Scholarship Fund, visit www.bu.edu/supportbusm.

Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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CAMPUS NEWS

In one of 3,000 walkouts taking place simultaneously across the country, Boston University Medical Campus students, faculty, and staff gather on Talbot Green wearing white coats and orange clothing as part of the National School Walkout to demonstrate solidarity with victims of gun violence.

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n a combination memorial and protest, on March 14 more than 300 Boston University Medical Campus students, faculty, and staff walked out of their

classes and offices in their white coats or wearing orange to demonstrate solidarity with the victims of gun violence in Parkland, Florida, and other cities and towns around the country.

Participants honored the lives of 17 killed at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High and sent a message to state and federal lawmakers regarding the need for stricter gun control laws.

Coordinated by young people within Women’s March Youth Empower, the walkout was one of more than 3,000 occurring simultaneously at elementary schools, high schools, colleges, universities, and hospitals across the country as part of a national program called “#Enough: National School Walkout.”

The BUMC event was a joint effort between BUSM medical students and the BUSPH Activist Lab, with Boston Medical Center’s participation.

Event speakers included Eileen Costello, chief of ambulatory pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, and BUSM instructor of medicine; Harold Cox, BUSPH associate dean of the public health practice and associate professor of community health sciences; Anita Knopov (MED’19); Aldina Mesic (SPH’18); and Rebecca Webb (MED’20).

“We’re here today because 17 people were killed. Seventeen people lost their lives because of a senseless, selfish act by a person 12

Boston University School of Medicine

with a gun. This has happened again and again. We are here to say one simple word, ‘Enough’,” Dean Cox said.

“As medical professionals, we know that the problem of gun violence goes far beyond the mass shootings covered by the media. We know that there were nearly 38,000 gun deaths in the United States in 2016.

We know that firearms are the third-leading cause of death for children in the US. We know that on average, 96 people die from firearm-related injuries every day,” Ms. Webb noted, adding, “At Boston Medical Center, we understand the tremendous impact the gun epidemic has on the communities we serve. As the largest safety net hospital in New England and a Level 1 trauma center, we treat victims of gun violence on a daily basis, and we want to remind the world that gun reform is healthcare reform, and that gun violence is a public health issue.”

“Today we stand here to say, ‘Enough.’ We say enough to an endless cycle of violence and inaction. We say enough to the undue influence of the NRA. We say enough congressional inaction,” Ms. Mesic said.

“Let us not forget the inspiring example set by the students of Stoneman Douglas High School, who in the face of tragedy have mobilized. They have used the national spotlight to urge political and corporate leaders to address gun violence. They have pressured dozens of companies into cutting ties with the NRA. They have pushed retailers to restrict the sales of assault rifles. Their tireless effort has shifted our national dialog and has brought us here to the national school walkout,” Ms. Knopov stressed.

An SPH Dean’s Seminar, “#Enough: Community Forum on Gun Violence” moderated by Dean Cox followed the walkout. Panelists included David Jones, assistant professor of health law, policy and management; Michael Siegel, professor of community health sciences; Michael Ulrich, assistant professor of health law, policy, and management; and Ziming Xuan, associate professor of community health sciences. n

PHOTO BY DAVID KEOUGH

BUMC Students Organize Walkout in Support of #ENOUGH & Gun Violence Prevention

Medical Schools Need to Build on #MeToo Movement In JAMA op-ed, BU School of Medicine dean comments on national survey of med students

By Megan Woolhouse • In a 2017 survey, 14.8 percent of graduating medical students reported being subjected to offensive sexist remarks.

• BUSM Dean Dr. Karen Antman’s JAMA op-ed says medical schools must have zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

• BU is committed to creating a level playing field for its students, faculty, and staff, Antman says.

One in three medical school students surveyed by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) last year reported they had experienced sexist or racist comments, lower grades, or denial of training or awards based on sex, race, or ethnicity.

In a Journal of the American Medical Association commentary, BUSM Dean Karen Antman writes that reports of sexual harassment have remained stable since 2013, but that the time is right for that to change.

“Women certainly had previously reported sexual harassment, but even after multiple complaints, often nothing of consequence happened to the perpetrator,” Antman writes. After the recent public downfall of men like film producer Harvey Weinstein and sports physician Larry Nassar, who was convicted of abusing hundreds of athletes, “the consequences of sexual harassment changed almost overnight” and “leaders in medicine and science need to take advantage of the momentum” and build on the #MeToo movement. “#MeToo and the national discussion of sexual harassment has increased awareness and, at least for now, has resulted in increased willingness to hold offenders (and enablers) accountable,” Dean Antman writes. “Decreasing the incidence of sexual

harassment (and harassment and discrimination behaviors in general) will improve the learning and working environment of US medical schools.”

Dr. Antman, who has recently been chair of the AAMC Council of Deans, was invited

by JAMA to write the essay about the survey results. She says that the council held sessions with medical school deans on eradicating harassment, “so it was something I cared about and had thought about.”

More than 14,000 graduating medical school students from universities around the country responded to the AAMC survey.

Among the findings: • 8 percent of those responding reported being subjected to offensive sexist remarks or names.

• 8 percent believed they had received lower evaluations or grades solely because of gender rather than performance.

• 3 percent reported unwanted sexual advances.

While deans at medical schools across the United States have reported efforts to enhance training and educational programs to increase awareness of sexism, racism, and gender identity discrimination, Dr. Antman notes in the JAMA piece, other efforts are under way as well. Some institutions are pursuing sexual harassment investigations to completion instead of terminating such probes when an accused faculty member resigns before its conclusion. Some are also rethinking the practice of entering into confidentiality agreements with faculty found to have violated sexual misconduct policies in return for their voluntary departure.

On the federal level, she writes, new efforts by the National Science Foundation (NSF) include a reporting requirement for scientists receiving NSF grants who have been found guilty of sexual harassment.

And new federally sponsored research is looking into the ways harassment affects the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women.

Dr. Antman says medical school deans will often meet with accused faculty members, who are frequently unaware that their comments or behaviors are offensive, with the goal of improving the learning and working environment at US medical schools by taking a zero-tolerance approach.

BU, she adds, is committed to creating a level playing field for its students, faculty, and staff.

“Medical schools must equip learners, faculty, and staff to prevent or escape abuse, not only to protect themselves but also to intervene if they observe a colleague being targeted, particularly at professional meetings,” Dr. Antman writes. “Professional societies who sponsor meetings should consider ways to protect women who attend.”

Accounts of such problems have been widely published, she writes, without specifying where.

She says she has observed unwanted behavior at meetings. “Most of the time it’s possible to just walk away. The problem is if the harasser is powerful in your field.”

The incidents of harassment reported in the AAMC survey, according to Dr. Antman, consisted of all harassment experienced by medical school students, and that includes sexist or racist remarks made by other students and patients as well. “Hospitals are a microcosm of US society. I’ve had patients who clearly said they didn’t want a woman doctor. And my African American colleagues tell me that they have similar comments based on race,” she says, and some of them have been mistaken for food service staff and asked to remove meal trays.

“With harassment educational programs, reporting sometimes went up, most likely because of increased awareness and decreased fear of reprisal,” Dean Antman says. “It’s important to talk about these episodes when they happen.” n Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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News

Appointments, Honors & Awards Haydar, Ikezu Named 2018 Spivack Scholars Tarik Haydar, PhD, and Tsuneya Ikezu, MD, PhD, have received the 2018 Jack Spivack Excellence in Neurosciences Award.

Mr. Spivack established the award in 2013 to recognize and support outstanding faculty conducting clinical or basic research in Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, and other neurological disorders.

Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Dr. Haydar came to BUSM in 2010 from George Washington University School of Medicine and the Center for Neuroscience Research at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. He is internationally recognized for his cutting-edge work in developmental neurobiology and cellular mechanisms of neurogenesis in the mammalian forebrain, and particularly for his innovative work in Down syndrome. Dr. Haydar received his BS in 1992 in microbiology from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst and his PhD in 1997 in physiology from the University of Maryland, then in 2002 completed postdoctoral training in neurobiology at Yale University.

The author of 55 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, case reports, editorials, and critical reviews, Dr. Haydar serves on the editorial board of Developmental Neuroscience and has served on more than 30 National Institutes of Health (NIH) study section panels, most recently as chair of the neural cell fate NIH study section. He also cochaired a session on neural development for the American Society of Neurochemistry and a mini-symposium on brain development in Down syndrome at the Society for Neuroscience. Continually NIH-funded since 1998, his 14

Boston University School of Medicine

research is supported by a team of postdoctoral fellows and graduate students from the anatomy/neurobiology, molecular medicine, and GPN programs.

Professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and Neurology, Dr. Ikezu arrived at BUSM in 2010 from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and is particularly renowned for his outstanding contributions in basic science research on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to his role in pharmacology, he is also a member of the BU Alzheimer’s Disease Center. He received his BS in biological science, MD, and PhD in pharmacology from the University of Tokyo.

Dr. Ikezu holds six patents and, among his honors, he received the 2017 Inge GrundkeIqbal Award for Alzheimer’s research at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, presented to the senior author of the most impactful study in the previous two calendar years. The author of 87 peerreview papers and book chapters, he serves as senior section editor for the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology and on the editorial board of Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis.

Esterman, Medalla Named 2018 Spivack Emerging Leaders Michael Esterman, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychiatry and an investigator at the VA Boston Healthcare System.

His research includes the neural basis of attentional control

and distractibility in both healthy young and old adults and in neurological and psychiatric populations. He received his BA in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and his PhD in psychology from the University of California-Berkeley.

Maria Medalla, PhD, is an assistant professor of anatomy and neurobiology.

Her research uses high-resolution imaging and cellular electrophysiological approaches to study the structural and functional details of critical prefrontal brain networks that underlie cognitive and motivational functions. She received her BS in biology from the University of the Philippines-Diliman and her PhD in applied anatomy and physiology from Boston University.

Kotýnková Named 2018 Dahod International Scholar In August of 2008 Shamim Dahod (CGS’76, CAS’78, MED’87) and her husband Ashraf gave BUSM $10.5 million to establish the Shamim and Ashraf Dahod Breast Cancer Research Center, as well as endow assistant professorships and international scholar positions.

Kristyna Kotýnková, PhD, has been named the 2018 Dahod International Scholar.

Dr. Kotýnková came to BUSM in the fall of 2016 as a postdoctoral associate in Neil Ganem’s (PhD, pharmacology and medicine) laboratory, which focuses on cancer cell biology. She received her bachelor and master of science degrees in biochemistry from the Charles University, Prague, and her PhD in cell biology from the Francis Crick Institute, formerly known as the London Research Institute.

PHOTOS BY BU PHOTOGRAPHY

FACULTY

As a Dahod International Scholar, Dr. Kotýnková aims to mechanistically define how breast cancer cells adapt to possessing an abnormal number of chromosomes, a state known as aneuploidy. Though already abnormal, many aneuploid breast cancer cells continue to shuffle their chromosome content, often gaining and losing chromosomes with each cell division. This chromosome instability is known to fuel tumor progression, drug resistance, metastasis, and relapse. Her data suggests that loss of a gene, named SPINT2, is sufficient to promote the growth and proliferation of aneuploid cells. Dr. Kotýnková will use animal models to test if SPINT2 is a novel breast cancer tumor suppressor gene.

Sam Named Interim Director of Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute Professor of Medicine Flora Sam, MD, has been appointed interim director of the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute.

Dr. Sam received her MD from the six-year undergraduate-MD program at the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School in Johannesburg, South Africa. She did her residency training at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York and cardiology fellowship at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, with a subsequent research and advanced fellowship in heart failure. Dr. Sam joined the BUSM community in 2000 as assistant professor of Medicine.

Her research is in cardiac myocyte biology and mechanistic underpinnings of cardiac remodeling in various disease states including heart failure, infiltrative cardiomyopathies, and hypertension, with a major focus on heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), also known previously as “diastolic heart failure.” Internationally recognized in the HFpEF field, she is a physician-scientist and translational researcher

whose research is bidirectional, going first from the patient and then to the basic laboratory. She serves as an advanced heart failure cardiologist in the critical care unit at Boston Medical Center.

Park Named Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs Hee-Young Park, PhD, has been appointed associate dean for faculty affairs.

Dr. Park will retain her current responsibility as chair of medical sciences and education but will no longer serve as assistant dean for Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS).

In this inaugural role, Dr. Park will organize and supervise the new Faculty Affairs office, whose mission is to support the recruitment, retention, academic advancement, and career satisfaction of our diverse faculty by: • facilitating timely faculty appointments and promotions, • organizing department faculty development, • maintaining faculty websites, and • identifying appropriate faculty for internal and external recognition of scholarly achievement.

Dr. Park received both her BS and PhD from MIT and joined the BUSM Department of Dermatology faculty in 1990. Principal investigator of an active federally funded biomedical research laboratory that earned national and international recognition in cutaneous biology, she also trained and mentored numerous graduate and medical students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty.

She became a GMS assistant dean in 2010 and chair of the Department of Medical Sciences and Education in 2014. She has worked with faculty across schools and colleges at BU by serving as a member of the University Council, Faculty Council, and Executive Committee. Collaborating with clinicians and basic science educators, Dr. Park imple-

mented a Master of Science in Health Sciences Education program. She has served in a variety of roles at BUSM, including as a member of the Committee on Faculty Affairs, chairing the McCahan Education Day, and leading the Boston Area Health Education Center partnership, an initiative to engage and expand diversity and outreach efforts.

Ravid Named Fellow, President of Massachusetts Academy of Sciences Katya Ravid, DSc, founding director of the Boston University Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research office and the Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research, has been named a fellow and new president of the Massachusetts Academy of Sciences, whose mission is to promote public understanding and appreciation of the sciences, support scientific research and education in areas relevant to the needs of the state, and provide consultative or advisory services on matters of science to the governor and to local, state, and federal agencies.

Dr. Ravid, professor of medicine, biochemistry and biology, received the honor in recognition of her distinguished record of scientific achievements. She is also an investigator at BU’s Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, where her research focuses on blood stem cells, cardiovascular biology, and cell cycle control. Her major research interests include platelet production and function, and the roles of purine receptors in platelet and vascular biology in health and pathology.

Trained in engineering at the Technion (Israel) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Ravid is an established investigator with the American Heart Association and has served on editorial and advisory boards of the American Society of Hematology and Purines Scientific Committees. She has chaired local and national conferences, Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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FACULTY NEWS

Appointments, Honors & Awards continued such as the Gordon Research Conference on cell biology of megakaryocytes and platelets, and has received several awards for research and teaching, including BUSM’s Educator of the Year Award in Graduate Medical Sciences, the Sidney University Professorship Award, the Weizmann Institute Rosi and Max Varon Professorship Award, and the Fulbright Scholar Award. Dr. Ravid is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Most recently, Dr. Ravid participated in the Lee and Nile Albright Annual Symposium at the Boston Museum of Science on the value of team science in precision medicine.

2018 WING TAT LEE AWARDEES NAMED Four faculty members have been named recipients of the 2018 Wing Tat Lee awards, funded to establish cooperative research programs between BUSM and Chinese universities—with particular emphasis on those in Hong Kong—while further deepening the friendship and mutual understanding between these institutions.

Haiyan Gong, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology and anatomy and neurobiology, has focused on glaucoma research for more than 20 years. Dr. Gong and Ningli Wang, MD, PhD, professor and director of Eye Center of Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, will study mechanisms to increase the fluid outflow to lower intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients through minimally invasive surgery.

A postdoctoral fellow from Dr. Wang’s team will train in Dr. Gong’s lab, and School of Medicine faculty will visit Tongren Eye Center to learn about their patient population (more than 109,500 outpatient visits and 3,000 surgeries annually). Dr. Gong earned her MD at Jiangxi Medical College and her PhD at Boston University.

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Boston University School of Medicine

Yang Jin, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, will study molecular mechanisms of lung inflammation in bacterial pneumonia, a leading cause of death. Despite recent advances in supportive care, no specific therapy is available to treat acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Jin and Jinming Gao, MD, professor of Pulmonary Medicine at Peking Union Medical College, will explore miRNAs as novel targets for developing diagnostics or therapeutics. Dr. Jin received her MD from Beijing Medical University and PhD from Rutgers University.

Andrew W. Taylor, PhD, associate dean of research, professor of ophthalmology, and Amy Lo, PhD, associate professor, University of Hong Kong, will study therapeutic approaches to suppress program cell death in the retina. Uveitis, acute glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration impair vision and cause blindness because of retinal cell death. Dr. Taylor received his PhD from The Ohio State University.

Xiaoling Zhang, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in biomedical genetics, will examine how disease severity in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) correlates with retinal and brain neurodegeneration. She will work with Zhigang Fan, MD, PhD, Sun Yat-sen University, to identify gene biomarkers and imaging markers in patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD to improve early diagnosis of the disease. Dr. Zhang received her MD from Hubei University of Chinese Medicine and her PhD from Boston University. n

Faculty in Print Encyclopedia of Cardiovascular Research and Medicine

By Vasan Ramachandran, MD Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology; Chief, Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology Offering more than 200 articles covering every aspect of cardiovascular research and medicine—including fully annotated figures, abundant color illustrations, and links to supplementary datasets and references—and contributions from top experts in the field, this is an easily searchable resource of cardiovascularfocused basic and translational content for students, researchers, clinicians, and teaching faculty across the biomedical and medical sciences.

Marburg- and Ebolaviruses, From Ecosystems to Molecules

By Elke Muhlberger, PhD Associate Professor of Microbiology; Director, Biomolecule Production Core, NEIDL This overview of recent advances in the understanding of the biology of marburg- and ebolaviruses focuses on four essential areas: ecology, outbreaks and clinical management; disease, pathogenesis and protection; virus replication inside the cell; and molecular tools for virus study and taxonomy.

TIME Magazine Honors Ann McKee

TIME magazine has named Ann McKee, MD, chief of neuropathology, VA Boston Healthcare System, and director of the BU Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center, as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2018. The annual list, the TIME 100, and related tributes

were published in the April 30 issue of the magazine.

At the end of 2017, the Boston Globe named Dr. McKee Bostonian of the Year “for her skill and relentlessness in pursuing research that is forcing us to confront the hard truths most of us would rather avoid.”

“After more than 10 years of enormous effort and resilience in the face of constant adversity, not only by myself, but the entire BU Center and VA Boston team, it is very gratifying to be recognized this way,” Dr. McKee said. “Our research has prompted changes in rules, management of injury, and public awareness concerning the dangers of head impacts—including concussions and subconcussions—in sports and military service.

“We have shifted the prevailing paradigm of scientific thought regarding head trauma and demonstrated that ‘mild’ repetitive head trauma can provoke a persistent and progressive neurodegeneration, termed chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, which continues long after the traumatic exposure. We have published more than 70 percent of the world’s cases of CTE ever reported and created the Veterans Affairs– Boston University–Concussion Legacy Foundation (VA-BU-CLF) brain bank, the world’s largest repository of brains from individuals exposed to traumatic brain injuries (more than 550) and neuropathologically confirmed CTE (more than 320).” n

PHOTO BY ASIA KEPKA

BUSM Rises in 2019 U.S. News Rankings Boston University School of Medicine ranks No. 29 in research (along with Oregon Health Sciences University) in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report rankings of the nation’s best graduate schools.

BUSM shares the No. 26 spot in primary care with Duke, Johns Hopkins University, The Ohio State University, University of Utah, and Yeshiva University (Einstein) in New York. This is the highest the school has been listed in the U.S. News rankings.

“We did well,” said BUMC Provost and BUSM Dean Karen Antman, MD. She noted that U.S. News changed its methodology in calculating research funding, and for the first time included all of a school’s research funding as one metric (in previous years, rankings only considered NIH-funded research).

A snapshot of BUSM’s rankings history over the past few years: U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate School Rankings—Medicine

Year Research

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

29 30 29 30 32 30

Primary Care 26 34 40 52 35 39

Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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COVER STORY | 170 YEARS

1848 2018

BUSM CELEBRATES 170 YEARS Walk through the rotating doors of the School of Medicine Instructional Building at 72 East Concord Street, take a left at the coffee kiosk, start down the hallway, and you’ll spot an aged marble plaque that reads, in part: In Memory of Samuel Gregory, M.D. To his efforts is due the origin of the New England Female Medical College. “I found this on the thirteenth floor, a place where the

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Boston University School of Medicine

OF FRONTLINE MEDICINE

By Kate Becker

elevator doesn’t even stop,” Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Psychiatry Douglas Hughes says. “Somebody put it over the Xerox machine right next to the men’s bathroom.” History buff Dr. Hughes decided it was time to bring the plaque, along with other artifacts of the school’s history, some place where they could actually be seen. “This is who we are,” he says. “We need to recognize it.”

Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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1848 2018

In 1848, the school that Samuel Gregory founded—the New England Female Medical College (NEFMC)­—opened its doors.

A fledgling institute temporarily housed in the parlor of a Franklin Street house, it became the first medical college in the world for women; in 1873, Boston University took over and made it co-ed. BUSM embraced the NEFMC mission—“to offer opportunity where none may exist elsewhere” as Associate Dean of Admissions and Professor of Medicine Robert Witzburg puts it—as well as its South End location.

“Few other schools still occupy the location where they were founded,” BUMC Provost and BUSM Dean Karen Antman points out. “Even some of the current trees on the green are readily identifiable in older campus pictures.” She adds that something else makes those old campus pictures remarkable as well—the faces of students and faculty include not just women but African Americans and Native Americans, many excluded from medical education elsewhere.

According to Rafael Ortega, MD, professor of anesthesiology and associate dean of diversity and inclusion, “From inception, BUSM had a philosophy of openness and inclusion.” The school’s ethos of nondiscrimination extends from its admissions practices, which reach traditionally underrepresented students through initiatives like the Early Medical School Selection Program, to the community it serves at its primary teaching hospital, Boston Medical Center.

But back to 72 East Concord. A little farther down the hall, in unassuming wooden frames, are the stories of some of the school’s history-making “firsts”: Charles Eastman (MED1890), also called Ohiyesa, the first Native American man to graduate from medical school, and Rebecca Lee Crumpler (MED1864), the first black woman to graduate medical school in the United States. Their stories are of difficult times laden with opportunity both fulfilled and suppressed. To their credit, both Drs. Eastman and Crumpler ultimately transformed their frustrated ambition into activism.

The thread that ties the ideals of suffrage and abolitionism to the present-day BUSM is a complicated and tangled one, but the passion that inspired the school’s early champions—including activists such as Harriet Beecher Stowe—still energizes the school, inspiring students and faculty to provide care to people who might otherwise fall through the cracks of the medical system.

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Boston University School of Medicine

1848 New England Female Medical College A visionary in his day, Dr. Gregory believed that if women had female physicians, their longevity and infant mortality would improve.

Samuel Gregory

Those people include thousands of Boston men, women, and children without homes. Since the 1980s, BUSM students and physicians have been serving Boston’s homeless at BMC, in shelter-based clinics, and at the inpatient Barbara McInnis House of the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program. In 1997, BUSM students launched the Outreach Van Project, which flipped the equation: rather than waiting for homeless patients to come to the hospital, the van brings basic first aid care, warm clothes, food, and toiletries to the homeless wherever they are. A team of students, a physician, and a social worker provide immediate care as well as housing and medical referrals.

Established in the 1870s, the Home Care Program also is dedicated to bringing care to those in need, rather than the other way around. Today the program serves 570 elderly homebound patients with—according to Dr. Witzburg— services that are as valuable for students as they are for patients. “It’s eyeopening for medical students to have the experience of caring

COVER STORY | 170 YEARS

1883

1876

Members of the Class of 1885 pose for their class photo.

The school three years after BU took over

1864

1873

1890

First Female Black Doctor Graduates

BU Takes Over

A trailblazer, Dr. Crumpler became the first black physician to write a medical textbook, and the only female physicianauthor of the 19th century.

The school becomes co-ed.

First Native American Male to Graduate from Medical School Charles Eastman enrolled as a medical student at Boston University. He graduated in 1890 with his medical degree and the honor of being the orator of his class.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALUMNI MEDICAL LIBRARY AND BU PHOTO ARCHIVES

Rebecca Crumpler

Throughout its storied history BUSM has increased awareness of the issues of the day, among them equality, health disparities, and social justice.

Ohiyesa (Charles Eastman)

for patients in their own homes,” he says. It is also an experience that binds generations of BUSM students together. “It’s an astonishing, intense, life-changing experience and it is on the very short list of things that every graduate of the medical school has in common.”

The Framingham Heart Study (FHS) also demonstrates the power of longevity. Since it began in 1948, the BUSMmanaged study has followed the health of three generations of volunteers; its investigators literally invented the concept of cardiac risk factors. Determined to keep abreast of changing times, in 1994 FHS researchers incorporated a more diverse volunteer group, and advances in genetics have added a new dimension to the study, helping researchers link hundreds of new genes with major heart disease risk factors. It has also been a model for open data sharing.

In 2008, BUSM Professor Emeritus of Physiology Osamu Shimomura shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of the green fluorescent protein, or GFP. The protein, Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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COVER STORY | 170 YEARS

PHOTO BY KALMAN ZABARSKY

Global Health Program

Outreach Van Project

1948

1980s

1997

The Framingham Heart Study

Global Health Program

Outreach Van Project

Begun in 1948, the Framingham Heart Study is one of the world’s most informative and longestrunning studies on cardiovascular disease. It has been a partnership between the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Boston University since 1971.

BUSM has amplified its international presence with the Global Health Program, which places more than 30 students abroad annually.

Founded in 1997, the Outreach Van Project provides basic necessities, including dry food, clothing, toiletries, and a warm meal every week to its East Boston clientele.

which is the stuff that makes the jellyfish Aequorea victoria glow, comprises 238 amino acids knitted up into a cylinder.

When blue or ultraviolet light hits the protein, it glows green.

Researchers have used GFP and its variants to visually illuminate the internal workings of living cells—revealing when genes switch on, how cancers grow, and how dangerous bacteria spread—and to map the network of nerve cells in the brain.

Today, thousands of researchers use GFP, and it’s been compared to a next-generation microscope: a revolutionary tool that makes the invisible visible.

In 2011, BUSM made the invisible visible in a very different way when a group of students marched in the Boston Pride Parade wearing rainbow tie-dye T-shirts and carrying the school’s official banner—a first. “That was an important milestone, because there was a newfound sense of pride among the LGBT population here,” Dr. Ortega says. “They understood that the School of Medicine was serious about including them.” The parade organizers honored the BUSM 22

Boston University School of Medicine

While it remains rooted in its South End home, BUSM also has amplified its international presence with the Global Health Program, which was founded in the early 1980s and now places more than 30 students abroad each year.

National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories

Ann McKee 2011

2017

Osamu Shimomura

Gay Pride

In 2008, Professor Emeritus of Physiology Osamu Shimomura shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of the green fluorescent protein, or GFP.

In 2011, BUSM made the invisible visible in a very different way when a group of students marched in the Boston Pride Parade wearing rainbow tie-dye T-shirts and carrying the school’s official banner—a first.

Biosafety Level 4 Research Approved

2008 Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center Opens Ann McKee is one of the CTE Center’s faculty members who have made many people uncomfortable by revealing the devastating neurological effects of contact sports like football and hockey.

delegation with the prize for best marching group and, the next year, dozens of medical schools followed suit at Pride parades around the country.

Taking unpopular stands seems to be in the school’s DNA. Over the last 10 years, Professor of Neurology and Pathology and Chief of Neuropathology at VA Boston Healthcare Ann McKee, MD, has made many people uncomfortable by revealing the devastating neurological effects of contact sports like football and hockey. As the director of the BU Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center established in 2008, Dr. McKee leads brain studies that have lent firm scientific footing to what many retired athletes and their families have long suspected—“getting your bell rung” can lead, years later, to a cruel constellation of personality changes, including depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and even violence and suicide. In 2017, the Boston Globe named Dr. McKee “Bostonian of the Year,” and she was also listed on the TIME 100: The Most Influential People of 2018.

The NEIDL received final approval to begin Level 4 research in December 2017.

While it remains rooted in its South End home, BUSM also has amplified its international presence with the Global Health Program, which was founded in the early 1980s and now places more than 30 students abroad each year.

The school’s universal focus extends to the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL), where researchers now study global health threats like Zika, Ebola, and Marburg. After years of scrutiny, in December 2017 the lab received final approval to work with pathogens requiring the highest level of safety precautions, designated “biosafety level 4.” The NEIDL is one of only 10 such labs in the country.

Samuel Gregory probably never imagined research at this extraordinary level, but the school’s founders would certainly recognize the spirit of service that drives it. “The continuing commitment to serve the disadvantaged is central to who we are,” Dr. Witzburg stresses. “It goes all the way back in our history, but it’s as vibrant and central today as it was then.” n Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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BUSM

Research

■ Air Pollution Linked to Irregular Menstrual Cycles

The air female teens breathe may be causing irregular menstrual cycles.

Well-documented negative health effects from air pollution exposure include infertility, metabolic syndrome, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Now, a study published in the journal Human Reproduction is the first to show that exposure to air pollution among teen girls ages 14–18 is associated with slightly increased chances of menstrual irregularity and a longer time to achieve regularity in high school and early adulthood.

Researchers used health and location data gathered in the Nurses’ Health Study 2, plus air pollution exposure metrics from the EPA air quality monitoring system, to understand participant exposure during a particular time window; they found exposure to air pollution during high school correlated with menstrual cycle irregularity.

“While air pollution exposures have been linked to cardiovascular and pulmonary disease, this study suggests there may be other systems, such as the reproductive endocrine system, that are affected as well,” said corresponding author Shruthi Mahalingaiah, MD, MS, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology. “Implications on human disease may come through reducing emissions on a global and individual level.”

■ Hits, Not Concussions, Cause CTE

Researchers have identified evidence of early Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) brain pathology after head impact—even in the absence of concussion signs.

Early indicators of CTE pathology not only persisted long after injury but also spread through the brain, 24

Boston University School of Medicine

Welldocumented negative health effects from air pollution exposure include infertility, metabolic syndrome, and polycystic ovary syndrome.

providing the best evidence to date that head impact, not concussion, causes CTE. Published in Brain, the findings are based on analysis of human brains from teenagers with recent head injury and mouse models that re-create sports-related head impact and military-related blast exposure; the investigators also performed laboratory experiments and computer modeling. Study results shed light on the origins of CTE and relationship to traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussion, and subconcussive head injury.

Early indicators of CTE pathology not only persisted long after injury but also spread through the brain, providing the best evidence to date that head impact, not concussion, causes CTE. “The same brain pathology that we observed in teenagers after head injury was also present in head-injured mice. We were surprised that the brain pathology was unrelated to signs of concussion, including altered arousal and impaired balance, among others. Our findings provide strong causal evidence linking head impact to TBI and early CTE, independent of concussion,” explained corresponding author Lee E. Goldstein, MD, PhD, an associate professor of psychiatry, neurology, ophthalmology, pathology and laboratory medicine, and biomedical engineering. “The results may explain why approximately 20 percent of athletes with CTE never suffered a diagnosed concussion.”

Dr. Goldstein and his colleagues anticipate that their study will advance understanding of how head injuries lead to CTE brain pathology, even in teenagers and young adults, with the goal of facilitating the development of new diagnostics, therapeutics, protective equipment, and preventive measures to help people affected by head injuries and at risk for CTE.

■ Researchers Identify Possible Biomarker for Diagnosing CTE during Life A new biomarker (CCL11) for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has been discovered that may allow the

disease to be diagnosed during life for the first time.

The findings, which appeared in PLOS ONE, might also help distinguish CTE from Alzheimer’s disease, which often presents with symptoms similar to CTE and also can only be diagnosed post-mortem. The ability to diagnose CTE during life will allow for research into prevention and treatment of the disease.

Researchers studied the brains of 23 former college and professional football players and compared them to the brains of 50 non-athletes with Alzheimer’s disease and 18 non-athlete controls. They observed that CCL11 levels were normal in the brains of the nonathlete controls and non-athletes with Alzheimer’s disease, but were significantly elevated in the brains of individuals with CTE. They then compared the degree of CCL11 elevation to the number of years those individuals played football and found a positive correlation between the two.

“Not only did this research show the potential for CTE diagnosis during life, but it also offers a possible mechanism for distinguishing between CTE and other diseases.

By making it possible to distinguish between normal individuals, individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, and CTE, therapies can become more targeted and hopefully more effective,” noted first author Jonathan Cherry, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in neurology.

■ Type 2 Diabetes Associated with Increased Risk of Breast Cancer in Black Women

African American women with type 2 diabetes (often referred to as adult-onset diabetes) are at a greater risk for developing breast cancer.

Evidence has emerged in recent years that the two major subtypes of breast cancer—estrogen receptor positive (ER+) and estrogen receptor negative (ER-) breast cancer—differ in some causes. Thus, the investigators focused on whether type 2 diabetes had differing associations with ER+ and ER- cancer.

The research was based on data of 54,337 African American women participating in Boston University’s Black Women’s Health Study who were cancer free upon enrolling in 1995 and were then followed for up to 18 years, during which time researchers identified 914 ER+ and 468 ER- cases.

In findings that appeared in Cancer Research, African American women with type 2 diabetes were estimated to have a 43 percent increase in risk of ER- breast cancer relative to women without diabetes; in contrast, there was no increase in the risk of ER+ breast cancer among women with diabetes relative to women without diabetes.

The increased risk of ER- breast cancer among women

Researchers studied the brains of 23 former college and professional football players and compared them to the brains of 50 nonathletes with Alzheimer’s disease and 18 non-athlete controls.

with diabetes was not explained by obesity status.

“While we observed no association for the most common type of breast cancer, the type that is responsive to estrogens, women with diabetes were estimated to be at increased risk of developing estrogen receptor negative breast cancer, a more aggressive type of breast cancer that is twice as common in US black women as it is in white women,” said corresponding author Julie Palmer, ScD, associate director of BU’s Slone Epidemiology Center.

■ Beauty Standards May Be Broadening

According to BUSM researchers, during the past three decades Americans have grown to appreciate beauty across more skin types and ages.

In a letter published in JAMA Dermatology, researchers describe their findings after analyzing photographs of celebrities who were deemed ‘beautiful’ by People magazine in 1990 compared to 2017.

“After breaking down looks by hair, skin color, eye color, age, gender, and race, we found that celebrities rated beautiful in 2017 were older, more often women, and had a higher rate of darker skin types and mixed race,” said Neelam Vashi, MD, director of the BU Center for Ethnic Skin.

While lighter-skinned men and women accounted for 88 percent of choices in 1990, by 2017 that figure fell to about seventy percent. Individuals with darker skin accounted for nearly 30 percent of list participants by 2017, up from just 12 percent in 1990. The average age also rose over time, up from 33 in 1990 to nearly 39 in 2017.

“This data suggests that maybe our society is starting to embrace graceful aging, diversity, and the beauty we are born with.”

■ Nearly 1/5 NSAID Users Exceed Daily Limit Chances are, you or someone you know has used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) within the last month. NSAIDs, such as Advil (ibuprofen), Aleve (naproxen), and Celebrex are among the most commonly used medicines in the US. These drugs can have serious side effects—including gastro-intestinal bleeding and even heart attacks—and are often taken without medical oversight because many are available over-the-counter.

In findings that appeared in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, researchers discovered for the first time that 15 percent of adult ibuprofen users exceed the maximum recommended dose of ibuprofen or other NSAIDs in a one-week period. Exceeding the Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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BUSM Research

daily limit often followed taking too much of a single NSAID at one time, taking two different NSAIDs at the same time, or failing to wait long enough before taking another dose.

“It is important to understand how many users exceed the maximum, how they do it, and what characteristics are associated with overuse. This knowledge can help guide consumer interventions to promote safer use,” said lead author David Kaufman, ScD, director of Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center.

Approximately 1,300 individuals who reported taking an ibuprofen medication in the preceding month completed a daily diary of their NSAID use for one week, taking ibuprofen during that time; the researchers then were able to compute their ingested daily dosage and compare it with the recommended daily maximum dose. Those who exceed the recommended dosage tend to have a combination of medical factors

Those who exceed the recommended dosage tend to have a combination of medical factors such as chronic pain and a poor physical state.

such as chronic pain and a poor physical state, attitudes conducive to ignoring the label recommendations, and poor knowledge of those recommendations. n

RESEARCH AWARDS ■ Luebke wins grant to study Huntington’s disease Jennifer Luebke, PhD, professor of anatomy and neurobiology, has been awarded a three-year, $1,196,681 grant from the CHDI Foundation to characterize and model alterations to neurons in the brains of mouse models of Huntington’s disease. Co-led by Christina Weaver, PhD, a computational neuroscientist at Franklin & Marshall College, this research will provide novel insights into the mechanisms of neuronal vulnerability in Huntington’s disease.

■ BUSM researchers receive grant to explore health promotion using mobile devices Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine have received a three-year, $446,999 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to explore different approaches to health promotion using mobile devices such as smartphones. The study will assess the accuracy of mobile technologies in capturing health data and how best to keep users motivated. This project will be led by faculty members Joanne Murabito, MD, and Emelia Benjamin, MD—longtime collaborators on the Framingham Heart Study—and will expand upon their previous research in cardiovascular disease.

■ Goldstein to continue TBI research with renewed support Lee Goldstein, associate professor of psychiatry, neurology, ophthalmology, pathology radiology, laboratory medicine, and biomedical engineering, has received renewed support from the Crown Family Foundation to conduct research on the microvascular mechanisms underpinning traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussion, post-concussive syndrome, and related neurological disorders.

Early diagnosis is key to preventive therapy for TBI, a leading cause of mortality, morbidity, and disability for more than 1.3 million Boston University School of Medicine 26 Boston University School of Medicine

Americans each year; yet currently there is no means for early diagnosis or treatment of TBI and related disorders. Research funded by the foundation will advance development, implementation, and evaluation of new ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent acute and chronic effects of neurotrauma.

■ Amyloid Center Gerry Laboratory receives grant to extend research on AL amyloidosis pathobiology The BUSM Amyloidosis Center Gerry Laboratory has received a grant of $150,000 from the Wildflower Foundation to continue research on the pathobiology of AL amyloidosis (the most common form of amyloidosis) and identify potential therapeutic targets and improved treatment strategies. The research team for this effort includes Lawreen Connors, PhD; Tatiana Prokaeva, MD, PhD; and Elena Klimtchuk, PhD, all longtime collaborators in the center, which the Wildflower Foundation has generously supported since 2010.

■ Cure Alzheimer’s Fund renews support to Xia for continued prevention and treatment research The Cure Alzheimer’s Fund has renewed its support to Weiming Xia, PhD, a research associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and the Alzheimer’s Disease Center. In addition to a $300,000 grant from 2015 to 2017, the fund made a second grant of $100,000 for continued screening of potential therapeutics to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s. To expedite an often time-consuming and expensive drug-screening process, the current project will utilize induced pluripotent stem cells derived from Alzheimer’s patients to validate novel lead drug candidates and identify potential side effects.

BUSM

Giving

bu.edu/supportingbusm

Impact by the Numbers

Campaign

Impact: The Campaign for BU and the School of Medicine

An update on the progress of the nine-year, $240 million campaign for BUSM:

With your help, the next generation of clinicians, medical leaders, and researchers can join us in turning possibility into reality. There are so many ways to have an impact. You can help students receive a cutting-edge education that will prepare them for rewarding careers and give them the tools and resources they need to become trailblazers in their chosen fields. Or, you can help us support our dedicated faculty, who conduct groundbreaking research while bringing excitement to the classroom. No matter your contribution, you can have a hand in advancing medical education and research.

Generous support from alumni, parents, and friends will have an enduring and significant impact on the experience of students, faculty, and researchers at the School of Medicine. Learn more about making your own impact at bu.edu/supportingbusm, or contact the BUSM Development office at 617-358-9535 or busmdev@bu.edu.

Here’s the impact your fellow donors have made. n

$268.9M $228.5M $40.4M 2,411 RAISED

PERMANENTLY RESTRICTED

CURRENT USE

ALUMNI PARTICIPATING IN CAMPAIGN

MORE THAN

$23.6M $4.9M 14 $153M

RAISED FOR STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS

IN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE ANNUAL FUND

SUPPORT

MONTHS REMAINING

IN THE CAMPAIGN

RAISED FROM CORPORATIONS

AND FOUNDATIONS

Figures as of June 1, 2018. Campaign concludes September 30, 2019.

Dean’s Advisory Board Gathers for Spring Meeting The Dean’s Advisory Board held its spring meeting May 4 on the Medical Campus.

Board members engaged with faculty on various issues and initiatives, including round table discussions on professionalism and medical ethics with John Polk, MD, and Ken Grundfast, MD; faculty development with Emelia Benjamin, MD, ScM, and Hee-Young Park, PhD; and industry opportunities with Linda Hyman, PhD, and Stephen Ober, MD, MBA. The meeting also featured a research panel on women’s health; a presentation on admissions past, present, and future; and a conversation with fourth-year students regarding their career goals. The day culminated with a hard hat tour of the Gross Anatomy Lab, which is currently undergoing renovations (see story, pg. 29). n

The current Dean’s Advisory Board includes members (front row, from left) Shamim A. Dahod, MD (CGS’76, CAS’78, MED’87); Leslie K. Serchuck, MD (MED‘90); Lee B. Silver, MD (MED’82); Dean Karen H. Antman, MD; Louis W. Sullivan, MD (MED’58); Suzanne Cutler, PhD (Questrom’61); and Jonathan P. Gertler, MD (Questrom’99); and (back row, from left) Burton P. Golub, MD (MED’65); Elizabeth R. Brown, MD; H. Kim Bottomly, PhD; Donald M. Kaplan, MD (MED‘73); Emily Wise Shanahan, MD (MED’09); Mark H. Dougherty, MD (MED‘93); Richard J. Catrambone, MD, DMD (MED’92); Rachelle L. Silver; Terry R. Peel; Jane R. Clark, MD; and Simon C. Parisier, MD (MED‘61).

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Giving

BUSM

Keefer Society Dinner

M

Sumner Stone, MD (MED’58) and Louis Sullivan, MD (MED’58)

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Boston University School of Medicine

Guests mingled with MD students and enjoyed a performance by the student a capella group, the Doctors’ Notes. (L to R) Nayan Sanjiv (MED’21), Tim Nguyen (MED’21), Justin Siu (MED’21), Colleen Zorc (MED’21), Kathy Chen (MED’21), Wini Zambare (MED’21), Shelby Scola (MED’21), and Erin Carter (MED’21)

Reese Ober, John Polk, MD (MED’74), Jonathan Gertler, MD (Questrom ’99), and N. Stephen Ober, MD (MED’86)

Shamim Dahod, MD (CGS’76, CAS’78, MED’87), Robert Witzburg, MD (MED’77), Lorraine Witzburg (Wheelock’06), and Maurice Ferré, MD (CGS’81, MED’92, SPH’92)

Robert Witzburg, MD (MED’77), Lorraine Witzburg (Wheelock’06), Viviane Tannoury, Tony Tannoury, MD, Dean Karen Antman, MD, and Maurice Ferré, MD (CGS’81, MED’92, SPH’92)

PHOTOS BY FRANK CURRAN

embers of the Boston University School of Medicine Dean’s Advisory Board and the Chester S. Keefer, MD, Society—which recognizes donors who have supported the school with lifetime gifts totaling $50,000 or more— gathered at the Trustee Ballroom on the Charles River Campus for the Society’s 25th annual dinner. This year Dean Antman inducted the following new members into the society: Erika Ebbel Angle, PhD (MED’12) and Colin Angle; G. Robert Baler, MD (MED’50) and Nancy Baler; Maurice R. Ferré, MD (CGS’81, MED’92, SPH’92) and Maria D. Ferré; David T. Greenleaf, MD (MED’65) and Katherine O. Greenleaf; Cecelia Lance; Edward J. McDonald, Jr., MD, and Catherine A. McDonald; Sunit Mukherjee, MD (MED’89) and Sumeeta Mukherjee; The Newton Family Fund; Simon L. and Sarah A. Strong; Tony Tannoury, MD, and Viviane Tannoury; Stephen M. Tringale, MD (MED’90); Robert A. Witzburg, MD (MED’77) and Lorraine Westphal Witzburg, MEd (Wheelock’06). n

Robert Bouchie, anatomical gift and laboratory director, and Ann Zumwalt, PhD, associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology, in newly renovated lab space.

Gross Anatomy Lab Renovations Underway

PHOTO BY DAVID KEOUGH

For medical students, learning how to dissect a human cadaver is both a requirement and a rite of passage.

The BUSM laboratory where this class is held is undergoing a five-phase renovation project.

According to Ann Zumwalt, PhD, associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology, the school’s Gross Anatomy Laboratory, which always has been slightly unlike labs in many other schools due to its location in the building, will receive updates that will further enhance the difference.

“Many anatomy labs are in the basement,” Dr. Zumwalt explains. “We are fortunate to be on the tenth floor and have natural light coming in through the windows. These renovations take that natural light and help it reach all corners of the lab.”

Now complete, the first and second phases of the project included updating the floors, walls, ceilings, lighting, sinks, storage, and safety equipment; the lab has also been reconfigured to better accommodate embalming, administration, and waste handling. New lockers were built for

students, a glass wall now spans the entire length of the facility—allowing natural light into the classroom that runs parallel to the main lab—and a new air-handling system has been installed to help monitor the lab’s inside temperature.

In addition to first-year medical classes, more than 100 dental students, 50 fourthyear medical students, and 35 physician assistant students utilize the anatomy lab space for their courses.

“Our students have been so happy with being able to use the lab that they haven’t realized we were in need of updated equipment,” Robert Bouchie, anatomical gift and laboratory director, points out. “The updates give the lab a more contemporary feel and bring it into the twenty-first century.”

Mr. Bouchie expects it will take two years before all phases of the project (which started in the winter of 2017) are complete.

“Incoming students are looking at medical schools that recently have had million

dollar renovations,” he says. “When they come to our lab and see the renovations and updates that we have made, we hope they will be impressed.”

Dr. Zumwalt is looking forward to the addition of iPads and larger computers that will help students become familiar with using new technology they may later encounter in clinical settings.

“The reality is that most people do not encounter dissection-based anatomy once they leave school,” she explains. “This will be a great opportunity to bridge the gap between lab work and the work they will do in the future.”

The Gross Anatomy Lab has a transformative effect on BUSM students—and thanks to generous donor support, these renovations have already begun to impact the current student experience. Continued donor support will ensure that the School of Medicine can create a state-of-the-art Gross Anatomy Lab deserving of students, faculty, and those who donate their bodies for educational purposes. To make a gift or to learn more about the Gross Anatomy Lab, please contact the BUSM Development office at 617-358-9535 or busmdev@bu.edu, or visit bu.edu/supportanatomylab. n Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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Giving

BUSM

Finding a Cure for Student Debt

B

enjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

He may have added ‘student loans’ to that famous quote had he known the price we pay for education.

Graduating from medical school is an incredible accomplishment that, unfortunately, can be overshadowed by the reality of student debt. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual survey of medical students found that the 2016 median debt level for graduates was $190,000; residency incomes vary from specialty to specialty, and it takes a bit of time to get on your feet financially.

Fortunately, there is a network of BUSM alumni ready to help future physicians with their financial burden. According to Jean E. Ramsey (MED’90, MPH’08), associate dean for alumni affairs and associate professor of ophthalmology and pediatrics, alumni are driven to give back because they want to see the younger generations of physicians thrive.

“When they see the impact of what alumni giving means to the students and the school, they want to be a part of it. They treasure their education at BUSM and want other deserving students to have that opportunity,” Ramsey explains.

The following scholarships have been recently named, thanks to generous support from BUSM alumni: Christmas-Eastman-Fuller Scholarship Fund Established by Elizabeth C. Dooling (MED’65), this award honors: • June Jackson Christmas (MED’49), a BUSM “living legend” and former NYC Commissioner of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services; • Charles Eastman, MD (MED1890), one of the first Native Americans to be certified as a European-style doctor. Eastman worked as an agency physician for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Indian Health Service on the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota.

• Solomon Carter Fuller (MED1887), the first African American male psychiatrist and one of the first African American academic faculty members in the US. Fuller attended the University of Munich to pursue research in psychiatry under Emil Kraepelin and Alois Alzheimer. In 1974, the Black Psychiatrists of America created the Solomon Carter Fuller Program for young black aspiring psychiatrists to complete their residencies. The Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center, adjacent to BUSM, is named after Fuller.

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Boston University School of Medicine

This award will offer assistance to one or more students from an underrepresented minority group, with a preference for African American males. Dr. Dooling was inspired to help after attending a black history symposium on March 4, 2016, organized by Katherine Phaneuf (MED’88), moderElizabeth C. Dooling ated by Thea James, MD, BMC associate chief medical officer, and sponsored by the BUSM Alumni Association, where Dr. Christmas had pointed out that the number of African American males applying to medical school has not changed in the past 40 years, despite increases in the total population of African American males.

“The numbers were just so Donald J. Grande striking,” Dr. Dooling, a pediatric neurologist, says. She was sitting next to Jason Sherer (MED’16)—then a fourth-year medical student and now a PGY 2 resident in Internal Medicine at BMC)— who’d come to BUSM from Hampton University through the Early Medical School Selection Program. Having received scholarship support herself at Robert Witzburg BUSM, she wanted to help give this opportunity to underrepresented minorities: “If my scholarship makes it a little easier for outstanding applicants like Jason to come to BUSM, then I’ve done my part.”

Donald J. Grande, MD, and Elena M. Grande Scholarship Fund Established by Donald J. Grande (MED’73) in January 2018, this fund will provide annual scholarship awards based on financial need to one or more students in good academic standing, with a preference for medical students who have an interest in dermatology. Dr. Grande, BUSM clinical professor of dermatology and the founder of Mystic Valley Dermatology in the Greater Boston area, was influenced by his mentor, Peter Pochi (MED’55), to get involved with the Alumni Association phonathons and networking events and was inspired by alumni like Dr. Dooling, whom he calls a “great example for BUSM.”

As the former Past President of the Alumni Association Executive Board, Dr. Grande noticed a need for dermatology-related awards.

With the success of his practice (thanks to his training at BUSM) he realized the importance of giving back and is now able to support students with a shared interest.

Robert Witzburg, MD, Scholarship Fund Funds for this unique award were donated in honor of Robert Witzburg (MED’77) at this year’s Black Ties for White Coats event, which has raised more than $170,000. The scholarship will be awarded to an entering MD student or students with financial need and a demonstrated commitment to serving disadvantaged communities.

BY THE NUMBERS

LEARNING BY DOING Fujifilm Sonosite Edge II:

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This compact, portable ultrasound is ideal for training students in bedside diagnosis and therapy. Its optional minimal-footprint departments, bays, and rooms.

Weighing less than 10 pounds, the device is easy to carry— and hard to break.

Regenstrief EHR Clinical Learning Platform:

Dr. Witzburg’s 45 years of public service include leadership roles such as training program director and associate chief of medicine at Boston City Hospital for 12 years; associate chief medical officer at Boston Medical Center (BMC); first chief of the section of community medicine at BMC and BUSM; and founder, president, and medical director of the Neighborhood Health Plan.

“As associate dean for admissions for the past 16 years, I ack­ nowledge that virtually every student in our school has chosen BUSM over one or more lower-cost alternatives. This is particularly true for applicants planning a career serving disadvantaged communities, where their income is likely to be lower. Building scholarship funds is our best shot at becoming a viable choice for all accepted applicants.” n

T h e s e a r e s o m e o f t h e la t e s t t e c h t o o ls o n o u r w i s h li s t f o r t h e C li n i c a l S k i lls a n d S im u la t io n C e n t e r t o h e lp m a ke it a state-of-the-art facility.

Laerdal SimBaby:

3

The SimBaby simulator represents a ninemonth-old patient, allowing students to practice early assessment, diagnosis, and treatment to help improve pediatric patient outcomes. Students learn to communicate conditions, including respiratory emergencies, shock, and cardiopulmonary arrest.

1

Pseudonymized medical records from more than 12,000 actual patients help students learn how to evaluate patients in realistic clinical scenarios, from such varied sites as classrooms and labs. Data sources include emergency, inpatient, and outpatient settings.

Laerdal SimMan 3G:

3

This wireless, full-body adult-patient simulator can display both neurological and physiological symptoms, enabling students to practice many basic and advanced clinical skills. With such features as automatic drug recognition, light-sensitive pupils, and bodily fluid excretion, SimMan 3G encourages collaborative learning and improves decision-making.

For more information about supporting the BUSM SIM Center, please contact Maura Coakley at the BUSM

Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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DEAR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS,

Let’s stay connected! Join the thousands of BUSM alumni who: • Know what our students are doing, and how education constantly changes at BUSM • Learn of the latest BUSM research developments impacting our world • Keep up-to-date on campus and alumni activities You can do all this, too (i.e., stay connected), by checking out our monthly electronic BUSM Alumni e-Newsletter. Only have a minute? Browse the newsletter for key images and information. See a topic that catches your interest? Click on it for more information. And don’t forget to check out our Alumni and

CONTACT US If you have news, announcements, or creative works you’d like to share with your fellow alumni, please write to the BUSM Alumni Association at 72 E. Concord Street, L120, Boston, MA 02118 or email alumbusm@bu.edu.

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BUSM Alumni on Facebook CMYK / .eps

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Boston University School of Medicine

NEWS

alumbusm@bu.edu

Donor Spotlight section. Find out how you can • Cheryl Scott, MD (MED’82), School of be recognized in our publication. We want to Medicine Humanitarian Award hear from you…and we want you to hear from us.

• Patricia Roberts, MD (MED’81), School of Please check your email to ensure you are Medicine Distinguished Alumna Award receiving our e-newsletter. If you aren’t, please • Keyvan Nouri, MD (MED’93), School of send a note to alumbusm@bu.edu or call 617Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award 358-9525 to stay connected!

What have our alumni been doing? Much to They will be honored at the Friday Awards our students’ appreciation, alumni shared their Luncheon, where they will speak to the BUMC “Words of Wisdom” and memories recently community about their work. Stay tuned for during Match Day. details and make plans now to experience this “Now is the time that you leave your mark celebratory event! on medicine. All your actions, thoughts, and Erika Ebbel Angle (MED’12) will receive the words will count. Put the patient’s best interYoung Alumni Award from Boston University est first, and you cannot go wrong.” Osa Obanor (MED’15) Our alumni also shared their “Words of Wisdom” with incoming students at the White Coat Ceremony.

The Class of 2022 will soon be on campus, and we welcome your thoughts. What were your impressions on your first day of medical school?

Black Alumni Symposium panelists from left: Dallas A. Reed (MED’10), Cheryl L. Scott (MED’82), and Jason A. Sherer (MED’16, SPH’16) Write them down and send them to us at alumbusm@bu.edu. at the annual Best of BU Awards Luncheon.

Stay connected!

Bestowed by the Boston University Alumni We held our second Black Alumni Association, this is one of the University’s Symposium this past fall, and it sparked amazmost prestigious awards. ing conversations around micro-aggressions.

Your involvement with BUSM is imporAll who attended the event thought it important—and possible—in so many ways. Stay tant to continue this dialog, so we will hold our connected! third Black Alumni Symposium on October 18.

Mark your calendars! We invite you to join us for this important conversation.

Reminder: Alumni Weekend, traditionally your time to reconnect with your classmates and other alumni, has been moved to September 21 & 22. Alumni feedback helped guide us in making this change.

Jean E. Ramsey, MED’90, MPH’08 Alumni Weekend is also a time to recAssociate Dean for Alumni Affairs ognize and celebrate distinguished alumni Associate Professor, who have been nominated by the School of Ophthalmology Medicine Alumni Awards Committee. The and Pediatrics selected alumni have outstanding careers Vice Chair of Education and in public health, surgery, and dermatology Program Director, BUSM and BMC Department of Ophthalmology (respectively).

PHOTOS BY FRANK CURRAN

Alumni

The Power of Partnership and Friendship

I

PHOTO BY BEN ANSON (BENANSON.COM).

t’s funny how paths can run separately for years and intersect at just the right moment. Fate brought Jennifer Mieres (MED’86) and Stacey Rosen (MED’85) together as colleagues, but their deep bond kept them together as best friends and propelled them to become trailblazers in advancing the awareness and science on the sex and gender aspects of cardiovascular disease.

Though Drs. Mieres and Rosen could have crossed paths in the hallways of BUSM or Boston City Hospital in the mid-80s, they wouldn’t officially meet until 1994, when Rosen became a fulltime faculty member at North Shore University Hospital in Manhattan. Dr. Mieres had been working there since 1993, the first female faculty member in the cardiology department. “We became fast friends . . . and since that time, we’ve collaborated on numerous research projects, scientific publications, and community outreach programs,” Dr. Mieres says.

“Sometimes you need a professional bestie!” Dr. Rosen jokes.

Today, they both work for Northwell Health and the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/ Northwell on Long Island. Dr. Mieres is senior vice president of the Center for Equity of Care and chief diversity and inclusion officer at Northwell, as well as a professor of cardiology and occupational medicine, epidemiology & prevention. Dr. Rosen is the vice president of Women’s Health at Northwell’s Katz Institute for Women’s Health and a professor of cardiology and the Partners Council Professor of Women’s Health, an endowed professorship funded by a group of philanthropists who have supported women’s health initiatives for 25 years.

“We’re sort of a ‘yin and yang.’ I am often very granular and tactical, and (Jennifer) is a bit more visionary and a global thinker, but together we play off each other’s strengths and look out for each other,” Dr. Rosen explains.

“We are mentors and sponsors to one another. If everyone could have gentler, kinder, respectful, and collaborative relationships like this in medicine, we’d all be more successful,” Dr. Mieres adds.

The dynamic duo has recently published Heart Smart for Women: Six S.T.E.P.S. in Six Weeks to Heart-Healthy Living, which equips women of all ages with a comprehensive program for heart-healthy living. Co-authored by Lori Russo (LAW’81), the book simplifies complex medical content with clear illustrations, real patient stories, and a practical, step-by-step approach to living a healthy life.

The two friends have spent their careers as clinicians, investigators,

Drs. Rosen (left) and Mieres (right) at a book launch event held in October 2017 at the Landmarc Restaurant in Manhattan, New York.

educators, and advocates for women’s heart health, health literacy, and equity in healthcare delivery, and plan to continue their collaboration in the form of a documentary. Stay tuned for the film Ms. Diagnosed, which focuses on cardiovascular disease and explores inequities in women’s health including research, medical care, and outcomes.

According to Guy Mintz (MED’84), associate professor of medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/ Northwell and director of cardiovascular health & lipidology at Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital (and the one who suggested this story), “They are both stars dedicated to caring for patients beyond everything else. I have known them as classmates and have been in the envious position of observing their great deeds as a colleague. They are leaders in the field of cardiology and humanity.” n

Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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BUSM Alumni

CLASS NOTES

Note-a-Thons raise $14,500 IN Memoriam

CLASS NOTES

1945 Henry R. Wolfe of Hollywood, California, writes, “Now a widower (second time). I sold my home in Mission Viejo and now live in North Hollywood, closer to my children. Still driving, playing bridge, almost alert, and worried politically. Climatic changes and advancing technologies have or will force radical lifestyle alterations.”

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In September and October, the Alumni Association held a number of Note-a-Thons on the Medical Campus, during which students wrote notes to update loyal alumni donors on what’s new at BUSM. Here, Ann Sheng (MED’21) discusses her message with Jean Ramsey, MD (MED’90, SPH’08), associate dean for alumni affairs, at the dinner event. By the end of February, students had helped raise $14,500 from 31 alumni.

the Rosenthal humanitarian award from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation on their 50th anniversary, and currently the Inflammatory Bowel Disease service at Lenox Hill Hospital is being named for me.”

1952

1951

Alvin N. Eden of New York, New York, writes, “Having attended and enjoyed our 65th reunion, I continue to practice pediatrics, teach, and write, mainly about the prevention of childhood obesity. I would very much like to hear from any and all of my classmates to share fond memories of our BUSM days together.”

Burton I. Korelitz of New York, New York, writes, “I am no longer seeing patients but still have a research office at Lenox Hill Hospital, where I continue to do studies in inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis). In November I received

Nicholas Giosa of Wethersfield, Connecticut, writes, “To my classmates, a brief consideration as Time marches on: The Final Mise en scene As we dowse for eternity, amid

Boston University School of Medicine

this arid orb of rounding clay, may we not end beset with guilt, fear or lingering regret, but learn to accept the need of letting go: embrace the fact of “mere oblivion” that attends the final scene.

Accordingly, let us face Necessity’s inescapable decree: “For that which is born must, in time, cease to be.”

And whatever the would-be covenant made for the promise of an eternal stay, in some vague eternity—it has served its due, whether it be false or true— . . . and so, may the curtain fall, proclaim with this brief epilogue, the final mise en scene.”

PHOTOS BY FRANK CURRAN

Norman Weinstein Dr. Norman Weinstein, 89, of Longboat Key, Florida, and Bridgeport, Connecticut, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 23 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Florida. Dr. Weinstein was born in Bridgeport, son of the late Samuel and Jennie Weinstein and brother of the late Dr. Albert Weinstein. Norman was a cherished husband, father, grandfather, and brother, as well as a respected pediatrician in the greater Bridgeport community. He attended Syracuse University and graduated from Boston University School of Medicine in 1953. He was a veteran of the US Air Force and a founding member of Children’s Medical Group in Bridgeport and Pediatric Healthcare Associates.

Dr. Weinstein is survived by his beloved wife Marilyn Strogoff Weinstein, his devoted children Judy K. Weinstein of Easton, Connecticut, and Dr. Robert J. Weinstein and his wife Dr. Wendy F. Habelow of West Hartford, Connecticut, and his adored grandchildren Mia Weinstein Jacobson, Emily S. Weinstein, and David J. Weinstein. n

1959 John M. Bennett of Pittsford, New York, writes, “Continuing part time in hematopathology at the University of Rochester Medical Center; teaching and consulting; major effort in better defining leukemic disorders. Closing in on 600 publications!”

Francis L. Comunale of La Quinta, California, writes, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the academic and clinical faculty of Boston University and the associated Departments of General Surgery, chaired by Dr. John Byrne, and Anesthesiology at Boston City, chaired by Dr. Phil Marcus, for teaching me administrative, academic, and clinical anesthesia and surgery. Without the clinical and administrative knowledge they passed on to me I never would have accomplished many of my successes.”

1965 Burton P. Golub of Denver, Colorado, writes, “Last year I received the ‘Hero of the Year’ award from the Center for Health and Hope, a Denver-based organization that supports HIV/ AIDS programs for the underserved in India and Africa.”

John A. Hermos of Brooklyn, New York, writes, “Rosalie (SPH’91) and I have just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. We are now temporarily living in Brooklyn, New York, to be near two of our daughters and three of our grandchildren. Brookline and Brooklyn, two great places to live! After retiring from my clinical position at the Boston VA in 2000, I began a part-time research position with the VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) at the Boston VA Coordinating Center.

We work with VA investigators throughout the system designing and implementing large, multisite trials; many of these VA CSP studies have influenced medical care within the VA and nationally. My long-term friendships with Class of ‘65 classmates have been a wonderful part of my life. Best to all.”

1966 Peter A. Schwartz of Port St Lucie, Florida, writes, “Retired, as defined by full-time work without compensation! Four compelling interests: one of eight physicians on American Medical Association’s Council on Ethical and

Judicial Affairs; very involved through American College of ObGyn in Ethiopia; on Board of Frontier Nursing University, which graduates our country’s largest number of midwives annually with a 96 percent pass rate on the national exam; still teaching in the Council for Resident education in ObGyn New Program Director’s School.

“Just returned from my 5th trip to Ethiopia, where I am assisting the Ethiopian Society of ObGyn in creating their first Code of Medical Ethics, teaching in their School for Program Directors (they recently went from two residency programs in a country of 100 million people to 12, and can really use some help in bringing those programs to a national standard). My wife, Lynne, and I also have two projects in Ethiopia that we are trying to assist. Still trying to balance a need to exhaust my energy in working within my competency and spending time with my amazingly wonderful children and my four grandchildren. Can’t imagine anything better!”

1968 Frederick L. Fox of Harrisonburg, Virginia, writes, “Skip Berrien and I (along with a cadre of classmates who stepped up to assist with outreach) have kept busy over the past three years focusing on classmates to notify and reunite with at our big FIVE-OH celebration in September 2018. Yes, the Class of 1968 celebrates our 50th Reunion year; the festivities will be held on September 21 & 22 in Boston.

It has been amazing and heartwarming to purposefully check in with classmates and the surviving spouses and family members of those who have passed on. With this effort, we expect a very good turnout. So far, our class has raised more than $250,000 for the Class Gift to support medical education and scholarship—and that tally will grow. Information about Alumni Weekend and discounted room blocks in Boston can be found at www.bu.edu/ MEDaw. Hope to see you there!”

1969 Marc F. Hirsch of Bowling Green, Kentucky, writes, “I started writing detective fiction in my on-call room as a hospitalist during my last year of practice in 2011. I’m about to publish the third in my series about a woman law student/investigator in 1950s

New York City (the time period and place of my teen years) called The Con Case. I’m re-editing my first two, The Case and Hard Case, to be published as third editions in coming months.”

Michael Salcman of Baltimore, Maryland, writes, “It’s almost 50 years since my graduation from the Six-Year Medical Program and meeting my wife Ilene at Boston University.

After Poetry in Medicine—my anthology of classic and contemporary poems on medical subjects and healing—came out, my collection of poems about Prague and the history of my family in the Holocaust and beyond, A Prague Spring, Before & After, won the 2015 Sinclair Poetry Prize from Evening Street Press. I still see patients three days a week and lecture on contemporary art. Thrilled to give a 2017 Distinguished Alumnus lecture at BUSM on “The Brain as a Metaphor Making Machine” and also attended the annual Hippocrates Initiative Meeting on Poetry and Medicine that was held at that other medical school on Shattuck Street. Very much looking forward to our 50th reunion.”

1972 James R. Brasic of Baltimore, Maryland, writes, “We published an article about the physiology of autism: Hwang BJ, Mohamed MA, Brasic JR. Molecular imaging of autism spectrum disorder.

International Review of Psychiatry. In press.”

Stephen J. Joyce of Phoenix, Arizona, writes, “Still enjoying private practice as a CV surgeon as well as my motorcycle, cars, golf, and racquetball.”

1974 Steven J. Holtz of Oakland, California, writes, “I am currently semi-retired, but still teaching at UCSF and serving on the Boards of the California and San Francisco Neurological Societies after having been president of both organizations. I am also a member of the Government Relations Committee of the American Academy of Neurology, working on policies that will ensure the best care for patients with neurological disorders. With more free time, my wife Helen and I have been able to travel the world and enjoy the company of our children and elderly mothers.”

Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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BUSM Alumni

CLASS NOTES

CLASS NOTES

continued

Harold Reitman of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, writes, “Advocating for neurodiversity at our nonprofit, DifferentBrains.org. Writing some books, making some movies, had 26 pro heavyweight fights. We sure had a bunch of different brains in our class! Always thankful to BUSM, our great teachers, and classmates for the opportunity to achieve the MD, become an orthopaedic surgeon, and commute from Fort Lauderdale for 30 years to give the first-year med students the clinical anatomy of the upper extremity. Thanks all!”

1976 Mark S. Goulston of Los Angeles, California, writes, “My book, Just Listen, became the top book on listening in the world. In October 2017, I did a one day, sole presenter training on listening and empathy in Moscow to CEOs and managers from the Russian Federation. I also write a syndicated column for business journals.”

1977 Gary L. Stanton of Cambridge, Massachusetts, writes, “Still working full time in neurology private practice in Concord, Massachusetts. I was on the organizing committee and lectured at the Ninth International Symposium of Auriculotherapy last summer in Singapore. Got to visit Bali with my family (highly recommended).”

1978 Edith E. Braun of Medfield, Massachusetts, writes, “I am still doing primary care in the Boston area, and looking forward to seeing everyone at our 40th reunion this fall!”

Charles S. Munn of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, writes, “Chair, radiology, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Professor, UCLA. Adjunct associate professor, Tufts. Fulbright specialist, peace and reconciliation studies. Married, father of two. Best wishes to all!”

1979 John E. Herzenberg of Owings Mills, Maryland, writes, “John and Merrill (SON‘77) celebrated the wedding of their daughter Danielle

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Boston University School of Medicine

recently. John is head of the International Center for Limb Lengthening at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. They volunteer two or three times a year on international orthopedic service missions to the developing world, recently including Uganda, Haiti, and Ecuador.”

1981 Daniel S. Romm of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, writes, “I published the book, Escape from Hell: Based on the True Story of a Syrian Political Prisoner, that is available on Amazon.”

1985 Alan S. Multz of Woodbury, New York, writes, “Two important things to note. My daughter Rachel is a member of the Class of 2021, and I had the pleasure of being present at her White Coat Ceremony in August. I am now associate medical director for quality and complex care at White Plains Hospital Center, working with Michael J. Palumbo (MED’86), Steven M. Meixler (MED’84), and Paul Pechman (MED’82). Lots of BU power in Westchester!”

1988 Jamel Y. Patterson of Pomona, New York, writes, “Greetings, Class. I am enjoying retirement. Some friends and I started an organization six years ago, The Ageno Foundation International, Inc., covering Eastern Africa and the Caribbean; we are presently involved in Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Haiti, and Jamaica.

Our vision is to provide access to clean water, comprehensive healthcare, education, clothing and shelter for the indigent in these countries. We have sponsored over 125 students in Haiti and Uganda; distributed school supplies to individuals and schools; provided nutritional supplements to help fight malnutrition (especially in pregnant women and children five years and under); and distributed mosquito nets to fight malaria in villages throughout Uganda and in Kenya. This year we provided clean water to villages in Uganda that never had any, and are in the process of providing clean water on the Masai Land. We are also providing resources to complete a primary school in Kenya with over 300 children, mostly orphans, and will build a school in Kenya. We support churches that work in Jamaican communities with meals, clothing, and school supplies.

In Haiti, we have a medical team that works

alongside the doctors in a clinic we manage. I also direct an organization that volunteers in Colombia, where we are building a gym. Please visit us on the website www.agenofoundation. org, and join us on one of our trips!”

Carl E. Rosen of Anchorage, Alaska, writes, “Still the only oculoplastic surgeon in Alaska.

Pivoting now, at Stanford Graduate School of Business. We will see where it takes me. All the best to my classmates.”

1993 Samuel A. Lee of Albuquerque, New Mexico, writes, “I have been promoted to professor of medicine with tenure in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. I was also awarded the title of Regents’ Lecturer, given every three years, for excellence in at least three areas of clinical medicine, research, education, or administration. I serve as the section chief of infectious diseases at the New Mexico VA Healthcare System. My research focuses on molecular pathogenesis of invasive candidiasis and antifungal drug discovery.”

Yvette Youssef of Hingham, Massachusetts, writes, “I was appointed a fellow of the American College of Physicians; convocation was March 2017. I also had a perspective piece published in the Washington Post in May of 2017. I was appointed chief of hospital medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, Massachusetts.”

1998 Kenneth H. Lee of Plano, Texas, writes, “I have recently been appointed chief of surgery and the director of the Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program at Children’s Health Dallas and Plano.

“I was an invited speaker at Egypt Cochlea in Cairo, where my presentation title was “Developing a novel self-coiling cochlear implant electrode array with shape memory polymers.

“In April, I was a keynote speaker at the International Congress of Otorhinolaryngology in Seoul, Korea, where my lecture was “Current Diagnosis and Management of Congenital CMV Related Hearing Loss.”

Ronda A. Rockett of Wellesley, Massachusetts, writes, “I retired from medicine in 2013 and currently run a CrossFit gym out of my garage. I love helping people realize their health and fitness goals and building confidence within a supportive community. I’m also an active volunteer and board member for Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts, working to prevent child abuse in Boston’s neighborhoods. My husband and three kids are awesome and I pinch myself every day to make sure this isn’t a dream. Feeling blessed.”

2007 John A. Scolaro of Irvine, California, writes, “I am currently an associate clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine, where I’m also chief of orthopaedic trauma and residency program director.”

2011

Brandi N. Ring of Denver, Colorado, writes, “I was elected to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists position of national junior fellow vice chair, a three-year position progressing from national junior fellow vice chair to national junior fellow chair to junior fellow past chair. The term started in April of 2018.”

Daniel L. Faden of Amherst, New York, writes, “I was appointed chief for external beam radiotherapy at Long Island’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.”

“ I would not have had the

amazing opportunity to study and professionally grow at Boston University without the generosity of donors. Their support means the world to me.

”

“BU has been my academic home for eight years, first as an undergraduate and then as a medical student. My BUSM scholarship gave me the chance to learn from and alongside some of the most passionate people I have ever met. Their commitment to delivering holistic, patientcentered healthcare fostered my desire to make advocacy work a hallmark of my career as a pediatrician focusing on adolescent medicine.

Thank you for your continuing support!”

Katelin Blackburn (Sargent’14, MED’18)

Education is a gift. Pass it on.

To learn more about how you can support a student like Katelin Blackburn through a planned gift, contact the Planned Giving office at 800-645-2347 or opg@bu.edu, or visit bu.edu/plannedgiving.

Summer 2018 | www.bumc.bu.edu

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Calendar 2018

august 2

2018

september 20

White Coat Ceremony and Parents Reception BUSM Talbot Green

Annual Scholarship Dinner with Dean’s Advisory Board Hotel Commonwealth, Boston

The BUSM Alumni Association invites you to:

CELEBRATE MED ALUMNI WEEKEND 1948 | 1953 | 1958 | 1963 | 1968 | 1973 | 1978 1983 | 1988 | 1993 | 1998 | 2003 | 2008 | 2013

September 21-22, 2018 Westin Copley Place

september 21-22

Host Hotel

Alumni Weekend

bu.edu/medaw