Two new endowed professorships were recently established at Weill Cornell Medical College: The Ralph A. Baer, M.D. Professorship of Medical Research, held by Dr. Phyllis August, and the Philip Geier Professorship of Cardiothoracic Surgery, held by Dr. Karl Krieger.
Dr. Karl Krieger is the first recipient of the Philip Geier Professorship of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
The Baer Professorship is endowed by the James Hilton Manning and Emma Austin Manning Foundation in honor of Dr. Ralph Baer, clinical associate professor of medicine at Weill Cornell. The professorship was established pursuant to the mission of the Manning Foundation to further research in human physiology and the various ailments and diseases thereof. The Baer Professorship will not reside in any single department.
Recipient of the Baer Professorship is Dr. Phyllis August. Dr. August has been a member of the Weill Cornell community since 1978, when she joined the then-NewYork Hospital-Cornell Medical Center as a resident, and remained here to complete her fellowships in nephrology and hypertension. She has held faculty positions since 1983, as instructor of medicine, and is currently professor of medicine, medicine in obstetrics and gynecology, and public health. Dr. August was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha in 1977, and is the recipient of the Teaching Award from the Department of Ob/Gyn and the Lester Hoenig Award for Outstanding Achievement in Nephrology and Hypertension from the National Kidney Foundation. Dr. August received her M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine, and her M.P.H. from Harvard School of Public Health.
The Geier Professorship was created through a generous gift from Philip Geier Jr., chairman emeritus of the Interpublic Group of Companies, an advertising agency and marketing services management company. Faculty members selected to hold the Geier professorship exemplify excellence in the field of cardiothoracic surgery through academic contribution to research, teaching, and clinical service.
Dr. Krieger, the Medical College's first Geier Professor, joined Weill Cornell Medical College in 1985 as assistant professor of surgery. In 1994 he was appointed professor of cardiothoracic surgery, and in 1999 was named the Michel C. Bergerac Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery (a position he held until June 2005). As vice chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and a leading authority in his field, Dr. Krieger is the author of numerous journal abstracts and articles and book chapters. He graduated from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1975.
Photo by Weill Cornell Art & Photo.