September 20, 2005

Awards of Excellence Earned by 16 PENN Medicine Faculty

(Philadelphia, PA) -- Sixteen faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine were named today as recipients of this year’s PENN Medicine Awards of Excellence – which signify demonstrated excellence through highly significant contributions in the areas of biomedical research, patient care, mentoring, and medical education.

Each recipient was chosen by a committee of senior faculty from the School of Medicine. “I am proud to honor these faculty for their achievements,” said Dr. Arthur H. Rubenstein, EVP/Dean of PENN Medicine, in announcing the award recipients. “The contributions of these remarkable physician-scientists represent the outstanding quality of patient care, teaching, mentoring, and research that is evidenced consistently by our world-class faculty.”

The six recipients in the “Research” category include:

• Stanley N. Cohen Biomedical Research Award to Yale E. Goldman, MD, PhD, of the Department of Physiology;
• William Osler Patient-Oriented Research Award to Daniel J. Rader, MD, of the Department of Medicine;
• Samuel Martin Health Evaluation Sciences Award to Daniel Polsky, PhD, of the Department of Medicine;
• Michael S. Brown Junior Faculty Research Award to Avinash Bhandoola, PhD, of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine;
• The Lady Barbara Colyton Prize for Autoimmune Research to Michael P. Madaio, MD, of the Department of Medicine; and Kathleen E. Sullivan, MD, PhD, of the Department of Pediatrics.

The five recipients in the “Clinical” category include:

• I.S. Ravdin Master Clinician Award to Stephen Ludwig, MD, of the Department of Pediatrics;
• Louis Duhring Outstanding Clinical Specialist Award to David A. Katzka, MD, of the Department of Medicine;
• Sylvan Eisman Outstanding Primary Care Physician Award to Aba Barden-Maja, MD, MS, of the Department of Medicine;
• Luigi Mastroianni Clinical Innovator Award to Joseph E. Bavaria, MD, of the Department of Surgery;
• Alfred Stengel Health System Champion Award to C. William Schwab, MD, of the Department of Surgery.

The recipient in the “Mentoring” category is:

• Arthur K. Asbury Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award to Steven M. Albelda, MD, of the Department of Medicine;

The four recipients in the “Teaching” category include:

• The Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching to Emma A. Meagher, MD, of the Department of Medicine; and Paul N. Lanken, MD, of the Department of Medicine;
• Leonard Berwick Memorial Teaching Award to Nina Luning Prak, MD, PhD, of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine;
• Robert Drunning Dripps Memorial Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education to Lisa M. Bellini, MD, of the Department of Medicine.

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PENN Medicine is a $2.7 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn’s School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #4 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes: its flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, consistently rated one of the nation’s “Honor Roll” hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home health care and hospice.

This release is available online at http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/sep05/exlawards.htm