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Annual Meeting 2010 Award Citations

ALBERT DAVID KAISER MEDAL

Citation given by Mark Taubman, M.D.

Brad Berk has been my colleague and friend since we met at The Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston almost 30 years ago. Brad is a brilliant scientist, an accomplished physician and, above all, a visionary leader. As the CEO and Senior Vice President of Health Sciences, Brad embodies all the best attributes of the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Brad sees the "big picture" and understands the multiple important roles that our academic medical center plays in the long-term health and well-being of the University of Rochester, the City of Rochester, Western New York and the nation. He has the passion and fierce determination to guide the University of Rochester Medical Center through the challenging times ahead.

Brad is a hometown boy, a graduate of Brighton High School. He left Brighton to attend Amherst College, where he received degrees in both biology and history, but then returned home to the University of Rochester, where he was granted both an M.D. and Ph.D.

He left Rochester once again to do his medical residency and cardiology fellowship at The Brigham. Following completion of his fellowship, he remained at The Brigham and Harvard Medical School as a faculty member, where he focused on developing his skills in basic cardiovascular research.

While at the Brigham, Brad published a seminal paper showing that C-reactive protein is elevated in the blood of patients with acute coronary disease. This research formed the basis of subsequent studies that demonstrated the utility of C-reactive protein as a marker for coronary artery disease and evaluated the effect of treatments for reducing coronary inflammation, such as statins.

After The Brigham, Brad joined the faculty of Emory University while there, he collaborated with the Chair of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop devices to study the effect of blood flow on cells that line blood vessels.

Brad and his family moved to Seattle in 1994, where he had been recruited by the University of Washington as the John Locke Professor of Medicine and Director of Cardiovascular Research. He continued his studies into signal transduction in blood vessels and the genetic underpinnings that determine blood vessels’ ability to adapt to changes in blood flow

When the University of Rochester was seeking a renowned physician/scientist in 1998 to serve as Chief of Cardiology and Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Science, the search committee recruited Brad. Here, he has added a new dimension to his research – using state-of-the-art genomic approaches to unraveling the genes that regulate how blood vessels respond to stresses. A year later, he was appointed chair of Medicine, a post he held until his appointment as CEO and senior vice president in 2006. As CEO, he has led the development of a five-year strategic plan for guiding URMC’s future as a well-established leader in education, research, patient care and community service.

All of Rochester was touched by Brad’s injury last year and heartened by his remarkable recovery. He has used this unexpected turn in his life to become even closer to his family- his wife, Mary; his son, David; daughter, Sarah; and daughter Mariah, her husband, Anthony, and his three grandsons. He has also recommitted himself to patient-centered care. Brad Berk is truly URMC’s best representative of "medicine of the highest order." It is my pleasure to work with him every day and, tonight, to present the Albert David Kaiser Medal to him on behalf of the Rochester Academy of Medicine

Citation given by Jay A. Yates, M.D.

Members and guests of the Rochester Academy of Medicine,

Thank you for the privilege tonight to present to you, Dr. Eric Birken. We are here tonight to honor Dr. Birken with the Academy’s Award of Merit. I have been given the honor to share with you a sampling of Eric’s many personal and professional accomplishments and to give you a glimpse of the many remarkable qualities that he possesses.

My presence before you tonight illustrates the love and admiration that I have for this man, as he knows how much I dislike speaking in public. For the last 10 years he has been my mentor, colleague, and some times, father figure but most importantly my friend.

Despite his many accolades and achievements, Eric has always been a soft spoken and humble man; requesting that I not bore you with the minute details of his life and training in the medical profession.

It will have to suffice to say that his résumé is impeccable, completing his training at some of the most prestigious institutions in the country.

He is a fellow of numerous medical societies, the recipient of several awards and has published extensively. Notably, he is a fellow of the Head and Neck Society a distinction rarely given to those outside academic practices. He was an author in a major Thyroid textbook that at the time was the bible for the medical and surgical management of Thyroid and Parathyroid disorders. In 2009 he was the recipient of the Rochester Business Journal Lifetime Achievement Award in Health Care.

For the past 36 years he has tirelessly served the Greater Rochester Community providing otolaryngology head and neck surgical care to countless numbers of patients, while also serving on numerous boards and as a volunteer in the community.

If you ask Eric what his greatest achievements are in life, he will quickly say, having Marcia as his wife and Adam, David and now their families as his children.

He has touched many lives throughout this area, while treating generations of families in the process. When we are together in the hospital or office he is always, teaching, sharing a bit of historical trivia or telling a quick story. His laughter is unique and infectious, always brightening your day. When I have the privilege of spending time with him out in the community we are frequently stopped by people who want to thank him for the care he has given them and their families.

He is an unimaginable wealth of knowledge, a perpetual scholar, a pianist, a brilliant example of what a doctor and surgeon should be, and to add to this he is a loving and dedicated husband and father.

Citation given by James M. Haley, M.D.

Joseph Flatley was raised on a farm along the Hudson River. After grammar school in a one room schoolhouse, he went on to Schuylerville High School, where a substitute teacher suggested he go to college at Colgate, a lofty goal for a poor farm boy.

Joe did attend Colgate, working his way through, winning awards and scholarships, and graduating with honors in 1950. At a time when George Hoyt Whipple was still Dean, Joe entered the University of Rochester Medical School with the goal of becoming a small country physician. He worked his way through med school and, as in college, returned home each summer to tend to the family farm.

Graduating in the Class of 1954, he completed two years of residency at Ohio State University before being inducted into the US Army. Joe returned to Rochester in 1958 to complete his residency, followed by a research fellowship in cardiology and pulmonary disease under Dr. Paul Yu. In 1960, Joe began his career as a Rochester primary care physician, retiring in 1996. Along with Dr. Peter Perkins, Joe founded the Strong Pulmonary Outpatient Clinic, and established a one bed pulmonary ICU at Strong, the forerunner of the Medical Intensive Care Unit.

He held several leadership posts in the Genesee Valley Chapter of the American Heart Association (AHA), served as President of the NYS Affiliate of the AHA, was on the AHA National Board of Directors, and received the AHA’s Frank J. Sindelar Award for Outstanding Service in 1982. Joe won the Outstanding Internist Award from the NYS Society of Internal Medicine in 1984. He was President of the Rochester Society of Internal Medicine in 1972 and President of the Rochester Academy of Medicine in 1976-77.

A Clinical Professor of Medicine, Joe has been devoted to medical education, doing extensive student and resident teaching at his practice and the URMC. He was awarded the LA Kohn Teaching Fellowship from 1984-1989 and received the Department of Medicine’s James M. Stewart Award for Distinguished Clinical Teaching in 1989. Today, Joe continues to teach first year medical students in their physical diagnosis course each fall, as well as interview applicants for medical school admission.

Joe met his love, Mary, in the medical library at the URMC, and they were married in 1959. Mary was an integral part of Joe’s practice operations and was also one of the five women who started the Friends of Strong. Mary and Joe are the proud parents of three daughters: Amy, Anne, and Sarah, and are blessed with six grandchildren.

In 1989, I was privileged to join one of the premier internal medicine groups in Rochester: Peter Perkins, Roger Boulay, Phil Bonanni, and Joe Flatley. Joe was a superb role model for a young internist, and I will always cherish his mentorship. At a time when we need to inspire young physicians to enter primary care, we would do well to acquaint them with the heroes of that field. Joseph Flatley will always be one of my heroes, and it is an honor to present him to the Academy tonight for this long overdue Award of Merit.

Citation given by Robert L. Caldwell, M.D.

It is a great personal pleasure, and an honor, to introduce John Hansen. John is currently the Associate Dean for Admissions at the U of R School of Medicine and Dentistry. He is also Professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy and Associate Chair for Education in that department. An introduction of Dr. Hansen is a bit daunting as he has excelled in each of three major areas of academia: scientific research, teaching and administration.

But first a personal note and some background about John. As a teaching assistant in the gross anatomy lab, I have witnessed his lucid descriptions and blackboard renderings of anatomy as well as his deft dissections As a golfing companion I have witnessed John’s studied dissection of the golf swing. I’m now witnessing, with pleasure, the reassembly of the swing.

John is fanatical fan of the Green Bay Packers – so you can guess where he is from. After college, he left the land of cheese heads to pursue higher education, earning his PhD in anatomy form Tulane University. He came to the far east in 1985 to join the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy at Rochester. He quickly rose to full professor and became Chair of the Department. However, John’s growing interest in curricular development and medical education led him into other corridors of the medical school.. After serving on the admissions committee for several years, John was appointed Associate Dean for Admissions in 1996. Importantly, he has continued to teach in the lab and the classroom and has won may significant awards for teaching including the Gold Medal Award form the School of Medicine Alumni Association and the prestigious AOA Distinguished Teacher Award given annually by AAMC to only four nationally recognized medical educators.

But why this recognition by the Academy? It could be for his scientific research which had resulted in over one hundred publications; or for his contributions to the anatomy literature (lead editor of Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy, for example); or for his super teaching. But assuredly his most valuable and lasting contribution to the medical school – and to this community – is his tireless dedication to achieving diversity amongst our medical school classes. In his 14 years as Associate Dean for Admissions, he has steadfastly worked to attract – and to evaluate in a non discriminatory way – first generation and disadvantaged students, underrepresented students from every corner of the globe, students with disabilities, gay and lesbian students, and many others. Which is to sat that the composition of today’s medical school class more closely mirrors the diversity that is this country – diversity that serves to enlighten and to enrich us all. As a consequence, Dean Hansen has played a seminal role in generating medical professionals who are compassionate, understanding, and respectful towards those who come from cultures and environments different from their own. For this achievement, John was awarded the first annual Presidential Diversity Award by the U of R this past year. And it is primarily for his championing of diversity that the Academy is pleased to present this Award of Merit.

Citation given by Richard H. Sterns, M.D.

During his neurology residency at the University of Rochester, Dr. Gerald W. Honch distinguished himself. Dr. Robert Joynt, who headed the Department at the time, liked to spiral his exam bag to the waiting residents, football style, and Jerry never missed. So Dr. Joynt, who was trying to build a Neurology team at Rochester General, saw an opportunity. The line was already set with Josh Hollander, the General’s sole Neurologist. At first, Jerry said no, stating that Josh drives him crazy. Ultimately he heeded Bob’s counsel that it "would be good for you and good for Josh". Jerry figured he’d take the job as a temporary position – 2 years max. It lasted 35 years.

Actually, Jerry’s marriage helped him endure his 35 year sentence. Jerry and Patty met at Creighton where he was a medical student and she was studying nursing. They married in 1967 a year before coming to Rochester for Jerry’s residency and together they raised four children.

In-patient Neurology is incredibly demanding – strokes and meningitis don’t wait for the morning. Tirelessly and without complaint Josh and Jerry provided Rochester General with an outstanding Neurology service – and for many of those 35 years it was just the two of them, every other night, every Saturday for Jerry and every Sunday for Josh.

Jerry is being honored tonight for being an outstanding role model for those who practice and teach the art of medicine. This in not the first of those honors. He is the recipient of two teaching awards from the University’s Department of Neurology, a career teaching award from the Rochester General Hospital Residency Program in Internal Medicine, a teaching commendation from the University of Rochester medical school class of 2005, and the Humanism in Medicine Award from the Arnold Gold Foundation and the Health Care Foundation of New Jersey. He is a member of the American Academy of Neurology’s National Honor Roll on Neurologic Teachers.

Those of us who worked with Jerry over all those years know that these awards understate his accomplishments. But while Jerry should be proud of these honors and for the Award of Merit he receives tonight, he love to joke that he is most proud of his greatest accomplishment in life: putting up with Josh for 35 years. But on those days when he’s not joking about it, he admits that he loved every minute of it. Well, almost every minute.