Roberto Bonasio, PhD, associate professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, was honored for his outstanding research in the field of epigenetics with the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award, which is endowed with 1.5 million euros. Bonasio's studies on ants show how the epigenetic regulation of genes can influence the behavior and appearance of individuals. Connected to the prize is a research project in collaboration with the University of Freiburg, during which he intends to investigate how the brain of the ant queen differs from that of worker ants.
Carl June, MD, a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies in the Abramson Cancer Center, and Virginia Man-Yee Lee, PhD, the John H. Ware 3rd Professor in Alzheimer's Research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, were named among the 76 most influential people in the region by Philadelphia magazine. University of Pennsylvania Health System CEO Kevin Mahoney, Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, vice provost for global initiatives, and Penn President Amy Gutmann were also included on the list.
Yasmin Kadry, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Eric S. Witze, PhD, an associate professor of Cancer Biology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, was named a 2020 FDA-AACR Oncology Educational Fellow.
This is the first year of the fellowship, a joint initiative of the Oncology Center of Excellence at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American Association for Cancer Research. The fellowship is designed to promote scientific progress through the exchange of knowledge in oncology education, collaborative learning, and research. The fellows will increase their familiarity and experience with oncology drug development and the regulatory review process.
Patricia A. Kapur, MD, a clinical professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Perelman School of Medicine, was awarded the 2019 Distinguished Service Award by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). The award, the highest honor ASA grants to members, recognizes individuals who have transformed the specialty of anesthesiology. Kapur has been a member of ASA for 36 years, making countless contributions to the organization, including serving as chair of the Section on Education and Research for nine years and chairing the 2008 ASA annual meeting. In addition, she has served as president of the American Board of Anesthesiology and the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research.
Ross Koppel, PhD, FACMI, a senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at Penn and professor of Medical Informatics, was selected by the American College of Medical Informatics' (ACMI) Executive Committee to receive ACMI's 2020 Distinguished Fellow Award. Koppel is one of six inaugural ACMI fellows to receive the award, recognizing those who have made sustained contributions to the organization and whose careers have dramatically impacted the field of biomedical informatics. The award's recipients will be announced at the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Plenary Session and the AMIA Awards Gala, both to be held on Sunday, November 15.
Farzana Rashid, MD, an associate professor of Clinical Medicine, a gastroenterologist, and the director of Women's GI Health, has been awarded the Gold Medallion Award from the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation (CCF). She was honored for her commitment to Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients in the Philadelphia Chapter virtual gala held last month.
Michael Restuccia, chief information officer (CIO) of Penn Medicine, was named the health care winner of the 2020 PHILLY CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards. For more than 20 years, the CIO ORBIE Awards have recognized technology executives for leadership, innovation, and excellence in this rapidly growing, CIO-led, national professional association. The Philadelphia CIO of the Year® ORBIE® Awards honor chief information officers who have demonstrated excellence in technology leadership. CIOs are typically recognized in multiple categories, based on the size and scope of their organization and responsibilities.
Penn Medicine's department of Radiation Oncology is among the 2020 recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for healthcare, the Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Performance Excellence (MAAPE) announced recently. MAAPE, a nonprofit organization serving Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, is focused on helping organizations achieve improved levels of performance by identifying and recognizing role-model organizations, and sharing their best practices and strategies. It is one of 31 state and regional Baldrige-based award programs across the country. This is the third recognition from MAAPE for the department of Radiation Oncology, following awards in 2016 and 2018.
MAAPE applicants are evaluated in seven areas defined by the Baldrige criteria: leadership; strategy; customers; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce; operations; and results.
Gary Wu, MD, the Ferdinand G. Weisbrod Professor in Gastroenterology and an associate chief for Research in Gastroenterology, is the winner of the Sherman Prize for his research into how diet and nutrition can affect Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and even cause it. Wu is also recognized as an exemplary mentor of junior faculty at Penn. The Sherman Prize comes with $100,000 to support his multi-disciplinary research.
