Drs. Emilio A. Emini and George H. McCracken Jr. Honored with Alumni Distinction Awards
NEW YORK (May 18, 2006) — One hundred and one newly minted M.D.'s — a diverse group with international experience and a socially committed outlook — received their diplomas today at the commencement exercises of the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University. The ceremonies, held at Carnegie Hall, also marked the bestowing of 39 Ph.D.'s and 12 M.S.'s in the 2005-2006 year on graduating students of the Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University.
"I am extraordinarily proud of this talented and diverse graduating class who, after four years of intensive and hands-on learning, today took the Hippocratic Oath and became medical doctors," said Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College. "They are the future of medicine, and will help discover breakthrough treatments, practice compassionate patient care and expand our knowledge of the human body and disease."
Ten of the new Medical College graduates belonged to the prestigious Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program administered jointly by Weill Cornell, The Rockefeller University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Eleven chose to pursue a year devoted to research or other scholarly activity to complement their medical education.
Hunter R. Rawlings III, interim president of Cornell University, delivered the address.
The Medical College honored Dr. George H. McCracken Jr., class of 1962, with an Alumni Award of Distinction. Dr. McCracken is the GlaxoSmithKline Distinguished Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and The Seay Chair in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. His research interests include the clinical pharmacology of anti-microbial agents in infants and children, as well as animal and clinical studies of the molecular pathophysiology and treatment of bacterial meningitis and lower respiratory tract infections. He is the author of 439 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 60 book chapters.
The Graduate School honored Dr. Emilio A. Emini, class of 1980, with an Alumni Award of Distinction. Dr. Emini is executive vice president of vaccine research and development at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, where he focuses on the design and development of novel vaccines for bacterial and viral infections. Throughout his career in the public and private sectors, Dr. Emini has concentrated his efforts on the discovery of vaccines, especially in the area of HIV and AIDS. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
Each year, student speakers are chosen from the graduating classes of the Medical College and the Graduate School.
The student speaker for the Medical College was Joshua Farkas. The son of a physician and teacher, the new Dr. Farkas' interest in a career in which he could dedicate himself to helping others is longstanding. At Brown University, he received both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree in four years. His master's thesis concerned the interactions between mRNA and binding protein in Xenopus oocytes. His outstanding efforts in research resulted in his co-authorship of three publications.
The student speaker for the Graduate School was Barry Kappel. Dr. Kappel received a doctorate in pharmacology. In 2001, he was honored with a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowship, the first such award in the Graduate School's history. In 2005, he won a du Vigneaud award for investigation of therapies to remove specific T-cells to minimize risk for infection in patients with autoimmune disorders.
Dr. Gotto introduced the new Dr. Farkas. Dr. David P. Hajjar, dean of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, introduced Dr. Kappel.
Of the 49 women and 52 men in the Medical College graduating class, 87 percent of them won "matches" for postgraduate training at the "most competitive" teaching hospitals. They will do residency training or research in 19 different specialties at some of the most prestigious institutions across the country.
Almost 40 percent of the Medical College class, at some point during their education, took advantage of the outstanding international experiences that are sponsored by the Medical College in places such as Australia, Ecuador, Tanzania, Cambodia, India, Honduras, Nigeria, Italy and many others. Sixteen percent of the class took a year's leave of absence to more fully investigate their interests in research or other studies that would complement their career plans.
In addition to their studies and their interest in science, the graduates devoted their time and talents to many community service projects: helping to educate public school students about drug and alcohol abuse, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases; volunteering in homeless shelters; helping to provide self-esteem-building experiences for children who recovered from burn injuries; mentoring children and adolescents from disadvantaged communities; and contributing their efforts to those of students in all years to establish the Weill Cornell Community Clinic — a health-care service for uninsured residents of New York City.
They have also remained active in their numerous outside interests: music, literature, dance, business, photography, writing, art and a wide variety of sports.
The Graduate School graduates have published more than 60 research papers in prestigious journals of biomedical science. More than 50 of them mentored New York City middle-school students through the Cornell Science Challenge program. Many graduates will pursue postdoctoral fellowships at outstanding research institutions throughout the world. Several have chosen to directly enter the fields of biotechnology, patent law and science business consulting.
The Medical College Class of 2006 elected 16 faculty members to its Senior List to recognize and acknowledge those faculty members who have made a strong commitment to mentoring and teaching, and, from the students' perspective, have demonstrated consistent excellence in teaching. This year the Senior List included Dr. Charles Bardes, Dr. David Berlin, Dr. Ilya Bialik, Dr. Morton Bogdonoff, Dr. M. Michael Eisenberg, Dr. Domenick Falcone, Dr. Leah Lande, Dr. Veronica LoFaso, Dr. Estomih Mtui, Dr. Anthony Ogedegbe, Dr. Emilio Oribe, Dr. Mark Pecker, Dr. Robert Post, Dr. David Silbersweig, Dr. Suzanne Wenderoth and Dr. Dana Zappetti.
The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College
The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College — located in New York City — is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine. The Medical College offers an innovative curriculum that integrates the teaching of basic and clinical sciences, problem-based learning, office-based preceptorships, and primary care and doctoring courses. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research in such areas as stem-cell biology, genetics and gene therapy, geriatrics, neuroscience, structural biology, AIDS, cancer and psychiatry — and continue to delve ever deeper into the molecular basis of disease in an effort to unlock the mysteries behind the human body and the malfunctions that result in serious medical disorders. Weill Cornell Medical College is the birthplace of many medical advances — from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., and most recently, the world's first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease. Weill Cornell's Physician Organization includes 650 clinical faculty who provide the highest quality of care to patients.
Leslie Greenberg
leg2003@med.cornell.edu