Dr. Orli Etingin
Dr. Orli Etingin Receives the Maurice R. Greenberg Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Orli Etingin, the Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz Professor in Women's Health at Weill Cornell Medical College, received the prestigious Maurice R. Greenberg Distinguished Service Award during a celebration May 30 at the Plaza Hotel.
Established in 1980 by Maurice R. Greenberg, board chairman emeritus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Dr. Peter Guida, a retired NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center surgeon, the award recognizes exceptional and longstanding service demonstrated by a senior member of the medical staff.
Dr. Etingin, who is also professor of clinical medicine and professor of medicine in clinical obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Cornell, began her clinical practice at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell in 1994 in general internal medicine and hematology-oncology. In 2000, she founded and was the founding medical director of the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center, a premier patient care provider. She served as associate chair of the Weill Cornell Department of Medicine from 1992 to 1997, and until 2009 was vice chair.
Dr. Lorraine Gudas of Weill Cornell Awarded the 2013 Future of Health Technology Award for her Work in Cancer Research
Dr. Lorraine Gudas
Dr. Lorraine Gudas, chair of Weill Cornell Medical College's Pharmacology Department and the Revlon Pharmaceutical Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, has recently received the 2013 Future of Health Technology Award for her research on new drugs for cancer treatment and prevention.
The Future of Health Technology Award is given annually by the Future of Health Technology Institute to groundbreaking thinkers whose work can "help reduce suffering, maximize the potential for self-realization, and extend human potential through technology," according to the institute. The award was presented during the Future of Technology's annual summit, which was hosted at the MIT Faculty Club.
With the goal of improving therapies for cancer and other diseases, Dr. Gudas and her collaborators have provided major insights into the roles of retinoids in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation. Retinoids, which include both natural and synthetic derivatives of vitamin A, control many aspects of normal cell differentiation and can inhibit cancer development as well as progression. Dr. Gudas also studies the roles of retinoids and gene expression in tissue regeneration and repair.
Dr. Gudas, an expert in the field of cancer research, is the first woman to lead a basic science department at Weill Cornell. She has also served in leadership positions for several organizations, including a term as a member of the American Association of Cancer Research Board of Directors. The association is the largest organization of cancer researchers in the United States.
The Future of Health Technology Institute was established to identify the most promising technologies to improve the quality of health care, and to define promising health technology research areas needed to meet future health challenges. Based in Hopkinton Mass., the think tank is dedicated to defining the advancing direction of health technology in the 21st century.
Additional Awards and Honors
Dr. Frank A. Chervenak, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Given Foundation Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and professor of obstetrics and gynecology, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in March. In April, Dr. Chervenak also became an honorary member of the Republic of Armenia's Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Neonatologist, the Georgian Obstetrics and Gynecologist Association, Georgia, and the Academy of Medicine, Paraguay.
Dr. Scott Ely, associate professor of clinical pathology and laboratory medicine, and his team were chosen as a finalist for the Cornell Venture Challenge for inventing an immunohistochemical platform to assess myeloma proliferation. The Cornell Venture Challenge is Cornell University's business plan competition in which applicants pitched their business ideas to a panel of professional investors and entrepreneurs. Dr. Ely's team was a finalist among hundreds of applicants for the challenge, which was sponsored by BR Venture Fund, a student-run venture capital fund at Cornell University's Johnson School of Graduate Management.
Dr. Jo A. Hannafin, professor of orthopaedic surgery, was presented with a Physician of the Year award from Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. at a ceremony March 18 at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. Awards are given to physicians who are nationally recognized leaders and contributors in their specialties. Dr. Hannafin was one of three physicians who received the Clinical Excellence Award, recognizing physicians who exemplify excellence in clinical medical practice.
Dr. Gary J. Lelli Jr., assistant professor of ophthalmology, served as the co-course director for the Open Medical Institute's 2013 Salzburg Weill Cornell Seminar in Ophthalmology April 7-13 in Salzburg, Austria. The Salzburg Medical Seminars, established in 1993, is a postgraduate medical education program founded by the American Austrian Foundation and physicians from Weill Medical College of Cornell University.