College of Medicine Salutes Faculty, Staff and Alumni at Dean’s Honor Day
| The College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) paid tribute to faculty, staff and alumni who have made their mark in Arkansas or around the nation at its sixth annual Dean’s Honor Day ceremony on April 19.
“Today is an opportunity for us, as a community of scholars, to celebrate our accomplishments in education, research, clinical care and service,” said Executive Vice Chancellor and College of Medicine Dean Pope L. Moseley, M.D. The ceremony on the UAMS campus featured 15 specific awards and other recognitions honoring more than 60 individuals.
Hall of Fame inductee Brent Polk, M.D., (left) talks with Dean Pope Moseley, M.D., and Distinguished Alumnus Award winner Richard Jacobs, M.D., after the Dean’s Honor Day ceremony.
The Distinguished Faculty Service Award was presented to Robert E. McGehee Jr., Ph.D., who has been one of the most influential educators of both medical and graduate students at UAMS for over two decades as well as a successful researcher. Among many leadership posts, McGehee has served as dean of the UAMS Graduate School since 2004.
“Dr. McGehee is an extraordinary teacher, a remarkable leader and an outstanding scholar,” Moseley said when presenting the award.
McGehee joined the faculty in 1993. He is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics Neonatology Section and holds additional appointments in the departments of Physiology and Biophysics and Pathology. McGehee’s research laboratory has been recognized for its discoveries in developmental molecular biology and the molecular mechanisms between type 2 diabetes and obesity.
McGehee played a key role in developing a fundamental course on cell biology for first-year medical students in 2001. As the course director or co-director for 12 years, he taught more than 2,000 medical students in their very first hour of classes.
“Dr. McGehee has taught or mentored scores of medical and graduate students, pediatric fellows and junior colleagues, earning many teaching awards and accolades along the way,” Moseley said. “His rapport with medical students is almost legendary.”
McGehee was an early advocate of “active learning” methods that are now central to the education of first- and second-year medical students. Moseley praised McGehee for helping students in their pre-clinical years of medical school understand why basic science knowledge is crucial to the practice of medicine.
McGehee said he was “humbled beyond belief” to receive the award. “This is a cherry on top of what has been a very blessed career,” McGehee said, thanking many mentors and current and former UAMS leaders for their support.
The ceremony began with another signature honor of the college, the induction of 1984 graduate D. Brent Polk, M.D., into its Hall of Fame. Polk has served as physician-in-chief of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California (USC) since 2010. Polk is also vice president for academic affairs at CHLA, vice dean for child health at CHLA and USC and director of the hospital’s Saban Research Institute.
Polk previously served for 20 years on the faculty at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn. His accomplishments as chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition spurred the school to rename the division in his honor.
The Lonoke County native also was honored by UAMS as the College of Medicine’s Distinguished Alumnus in 2009. He said after his Hall of Fame induction that the mentoring he received during medical school and residency at UAMS was an important factor in his success.
Polk said the late anatomy professor Lawrence E. Scheving, Ph.D., and now-retired physiology professor James Pasley, Ph.D., inspired him to pursue a career as a physician-scientist, which allowed him to combine his love of research and teaching with patient care. Polk also credited several current and former pediatric leaders at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH), including the late renowned physicians Betty Lowe, M.D., Tom Dungan, M.D., and Robert Fiser Jr., M.D.
“A kid growing up on the Arkansas River was able to go to college, medical school, residency and fellowship and have a great number of opportunities, leading to those of being responsible for the care and health of 2.9 million children living in one of the great cities of the world,” Polk said.
The 2016 Distinguished Alumnus Award went to Department of Pediatrics Chairman Richard F. Jacobs, M.D. The 1977 graduate is a national leader in pediatrics. He is president-elect of the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs and a past president of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.
Jacobs has been a faculty member since 1982 and became chief of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases section in 1989. He was the Horace C. Cabe Professor of Pediatrics at ACH from 1993 to 2005. Jacobs became chair of pediatrics in 2006 and was formally invested in the Robert H. Fiser Jr., M.D., Endowed Chair in Pediatrics in 2008. He served as president of the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute from 2004 to 2015.
“Dr. Jacobs has excelled in patient care, research and health administration – and the inspiration has been clear throughout his 34 years on our faculty,” Moseley said when presenting the award. “It is his devotion to the children of Arkansas.”
Like other honorees, Jacobs emphasized that many mentors during his education, training and early and middle years as a faculty member at UAMS helped him to succeed. “That old saying about ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ really has special meaning for me,” Jacobs said.
Numerous other faculty members were honored:
- David Davies, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences and director of the Human Structure module, received the Master Teacher Award. He was recognized for creating valuable new learning experiences in the Gross Anatomy Lab and for his leadership and contributions during a recent curriculum redesign.
- Jason Mizell, M.D., an associate professor and director of the Surgery Clerkship, received the Educational Innovation Award for developing a program for surgery residents and a separate course for senior medical students to help them understand business and personal finances.
- The Psychiatry Education Research Team received the Educational Research Award for their scholarly approach to improving education, training programs and residents’ wellbeing over the past 15 years. Current members are Jim Clardy, M.D., Molly Gathright, M.D., Ben Guise, M.D., Lewis Krain, M.D., and Carol Thrush, Ed.D.
- Stavros Manolagas, M.D., Ph.D., a distinguished professor and director of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism in the Department of Internal Medicine, received the inaugural Excellence in Research Award. He was honored for his leadership of the Center for Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Diseases, which has brought $83 million in extramural research grants to UAMS since 1994 and made seminal discoveries in the field.
- Pat Casey, M.D., a professor of pediatrics, received the Leonard P. Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, which is presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. He was recognized for his research and longstanding work with infants and children at risk for developmental and other problems due to premature birth, poverty and poor nutrition, and other factors.
- Frederick Bentley, M.D., Chair of the Department of Surgery, received a Residency Educator Award for his exemplary leadership of the Surgery Residency.
- Jennifer Laudadio, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Pathology, received a Residency Educator Award for outstanding leadership of the Pathology Residency.
- Kevin Phelan, Ph.D., was invested as the sixth Charles H. Lutterloh and Charles M. Lutterloh Medical Education Excellence Professor. Dr. Phelan was selected for his innovations in education and his leadership as co-director of the Division of Clinical Anatomy and director of the Anatomical Gift Program.
- Thirty-four faculty members who are being promoted in rank and/or receiving tenure in 2016 were recognized. Ten faculty members who were named to endowed chairs this year also were honored.
Four staff members were honored:
- Barbara Smith, R.N., B.S.N., C.P.C., received the Staff Excellence Award in Education for her work with UAMS’ ANGELS (Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System) telemedicine program. Smith has overseen the development of 216 guidelines for physicians on the care of women in high-risk pregnancies.
- Beverly Miller, M.Ed., received the Staff Excellence Award in Research for her work with faculty and communities throughout Arkansas as associate director of the Injury Prevention Center in the Department of Pediatrics. Deaths from unintentional injuries in children have decreased substantially since 2007.
- Christina Kehn, L.C.S.W., received the Staff Excellence Award in Clinical Care for her service to families, faculty and staff at the Schmieding Developmental Center and regional pediatric clinics in Lowell, Ark.
- Lisa Bilello, M.H.S.A., administrator of the departments of Physiology and Biophysics and Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, received the inaugural Staff Excellence Award in Administration. She was honored for her leadership, dedication and flexibility during a major administrative reorganization of the basic science departments.