Awards and Accolades: University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Announce Faculty, Staff Achievements
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 21, 2009 – The faculty, staff and students of the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences often are recognized by academic and scientific societies and other prestigious organizations for their significant achievements and exceptional leadership. Among those whose work has been acknowledged recently with awards and accolades are the following:
- Mervat Abdelhak, Ph.D., associate professor and chairman, Department of Health Information Management, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, was awarded the 2009 Distinguished Member Award by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). This award, the AHIMA’s highest honor, celebrates an individual with exceptional contributions to health information management. Dr. Abdelhak was honored at the General Session of the AHIMA Annual Convention in Grapevine, Texas in early October.
- Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC has received this year’s Hospital of Choice Award from the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers, which recognizes America’s most customer-friendly hospitals. Magee-Women’s Hospital of UPMC was one of only three Pennsylvania hospitals receiving this recognition. Choice Awards status is granted to health care facilities that provide the best customer service to patients and their families, as well as are actively involved in the communities they serve. “The UPMC Health Plan assisted the practice in gathering the data necessary to obtain this designation and the resulting recognition reflects the outstanding dedication to quality and patient services and places this practice among the best in the country,” said Cynthia N. Rosenberg, M.D., senior medical director for network management and provider relations for UPMC Health Plan.
- Rory Cooper, Ph.D., professor and chair, Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, will be honored with the Veteran of the Year Award from the Veterans in Leadership Program at an awards tribute in late October. The award recognizes contributions to military and veterans’ causes. A U.S. Army veteran with a spinal cord injury, Dr. Cooper has devoted his entire career to improving the lives of people with disabilities.
- Dr. Cooper also was recently selected as this year’s recipient of the Three Rivers Center for Independent Living Senator John Heinz Memorial Award, which is given each year to honor an individual or organization that has increased opportunities for people with disabilities for equal access in the community in the areas of transportation, employment, housing and recreation.
- Vonda Wright, M.D., associate professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, and orthopaedic surgeon, UPMC’s Center for Sports Medicine, was elected to the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) Visioning Board. The ICAA supports professionals who develop wellness and fitness facilities and services for aging adults. The Visioning Board will drive ICAA 2020, an initiative set up to create a vision for the future of active aging.
- Kareem Abu-Elmagd, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S., director, Intestinal Rehabilitation and Transplantation Center, UPMC Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, and professor of surgery, School of Medicine, presented a plenary session on the topic of Early and Long-Term Immunosuppression in Intestinal Transplant at the 11th International Small Bowel Transplant Symposium in Bologna, Italy. Dr. Abu-Elmagd served as a debate moderator and also was a member of the Symposium’s Scientific Planning Committee.
- Eugene N. Myers, M.D., distinguished professor and emeritus chair, Department of Otolaryngology at UPMC, was the guest of honor at the First Congress of the Asian Society of Head and Neck Oncology (ASHNO) held in September, in Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Myers’ keynote lecture was entitled: “Evolution of Head and Neck Surgery, Past, Present and a Look into the Future.” ASHNO was established in 2008 to promote and advance the knowledge of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of neoplasms and related diseases of the head and neck.
- Gayle Cotchen, PharmD., senior pharmacist at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, was named the 2009 Pharmacist of the Year by the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association at their annual conference in Lancaster, Pa., earlier this month. The award is presented to the pharmacist who has demonstrated dedication to the profession, contributed time and effort to the various professional organizations, and who has furthered the profession of pharmacy through community service.
- Marc Lukasiak, Manager, UPMC Media Relations, won an Award of Excellence in Communication Management from the Pittsburgh Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. The award was for the media relations planning and resulting coverage of the new Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.
- Susan George, D.P.T., Susan Clinton, P.T., Lisa Mager, M.P.T., and Colleen Schomburg, M.P.T., all from the Centers for Rehab Services, a part of UPMC, recently became certified in women’s health physical therapy by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. The certification formally recognizes physical therapists with superior knowledge, experience and skill unique to the women’s health practice.
The University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences include the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and the Graduate School of Public Health. The schools serve as the academic partner to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Together, their combined mission is to train tomorrow’s health care specialists and biomedical scientists, engage in groundbreaking research that will advance understanding of the causes and treatments of disease and participate in the delivery of outstanding patient care. Since 1997, Pitt and its affiliated university faculty have ranked among the top 10 educational institutions in grant support from the National Institutes of Health.
For additional information about the Schools of the Health Sciences, please visit www.health.pitt.edu.