Dr. Cheguevara Afaneh, a resident in the Department of Surgery, received first place in the resident paper competition at the 2012 Scott and White's Surgical Innovations Conference, hosted by Scott and White Healthcare system's Department of Surgery in Texas. The conference brought together nationally recognized experts, forward-thinking surgeons and industry leaders to provide evidence-based results relating to innovative surgical procedures. In addition, Dr. Afaneh was named executive editor of the Journal of Transplantation Technologies and Research in 2012.
Dr. R.V. Paul Chan, director of the Retina Service, fellowship director of the Surgical Vitreo-Retinal Program, the St. Giles Associate Professor of Pediatric Retina and associate professor of ophthalmology, received the Secretariat Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The annual award recognizes ophthalmologists for special contributions to the academy and the field of ophthalmology.
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 honorary doctorates from Dubrovnik International University, Republic of Croatia; Ott Scientific Research University of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Saint Petersburg, Russia; Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia; and the Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Moscow, Russia.
Dr. Joseph Fins, chief of the Division of Medical Ethics, the E. William Davis Jr. M.D. Professor of Medical Ethics, professor of medicine, professor of public health and professor of medicine in psychiatry, gave the keynote address, "Brain Computer Interfaces and the Cyborg Myth: Does the Man make the Computer or Does the Computer make the Man?" at the fifth International Brain-Computer Interface Meeting hosted June 3 in Pacific Grove, Calif. The meeting brought together all the disciplines and constituencies whose cooperation is crucial to successful brain-computer interface research and development, including neuroscientists, neurologists, psychologists, physiatrists, systems and rehabilitation engineers, applied mathematicians, computer scientists, clinical rehabilitation specialists and actual BCI users.
Dr. Deirdre Kelleher, a surgical resident, won several awards for her research in recent months. She won the "poster of distinction" award for clinical research from the American Pediatric Surgical Association during its 44th annual meeting in May. In April, she received first place in clinical research and was a finalist in a case report in the Association of Women Surgeons, Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Chapter's poster competition. She received "poster of distinction" during the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons' annual meeting in Baltimore, Md., in April, as well as first place from the American College of Surgeons' Washington D.C., Chapter's All Surgeon's Day. Lastly, Dr. Kelleher took first place in clinical research from the American College of Surgeons' Committee on Trauma during its resident paper competition last November in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Dorothy Ryan, a clinical research fellow, received in May an American Thoracic Society Abstract Scholarship from its Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology Assembly. The Respiratory Cell and Molecular Assembly is one of 13 assemblies that are subdivisions of the society, the leading medical association dedicated to advancing clinical and scientific understanding of pulmonary diseases, critical illnesses and sleep-related breathing disorders. These scholarships are awarded to individuals based on the quality of abstracts submitted as reviewed by the assembly program committees. The assembly exists to promote the long-range goal of the society to decrease morbidity and mortality from respirator disorders and life-threatening acute illnesses through an improved understanding of the biological basis of lung disease.
Dr. Thomas J. Walsh, director of the Transplantation-Oncology Infectious Diseases Program, professor of medicine, professor of medicine in microbiology and immunology and professor of medicine in pediatrics, received the 2013 Division of Infectious Diseases Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award. The internal Weill Cornell award was established to annually acknowledge a faculty member who has been an outstanding teacher and/or has a compelling record of contribution to the professional development of fellows.