November 16, 2009

Cheers — Nov. 16, 2009

ACADEMIC CENTERS AND AFFILIATES

Jhpiego was named an Innovator of the Year by The Daily Record in recognition of its efforts to save the lives of women and their families by creating low-cost health solutions that can be utilized in remote locations with few resources, such as running water or electricity, around the world. This year, the Maryland publication received more than 80 nominations for the honor; 25 winners were selected.

BAYVIEW MEDICAL CENTER

Kathleen Barnes, director of the Genetic Research Facility and of the Lowe Family Genomics Corp., has been promoted to professor of medicine. Barnes is also the Mary Beryl Patch Turnball Scholar within the Center for Innovative Medicine in the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Steven Kravet, president of Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, has been promoted to associate professor of medicine. Kravet previously served as deputy director for clinical activities within the Department of Medicine.

BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Betty H. Addison, director of Career Services and Disability Support, has been appointed to the Planned Parenthood of Maryland board of directors for a three-year term.

Abdullah H. Baqui has been promoted to professor in the Department of International Health.

Joel Gittelsohn has been promoted to professor in the Department of International Health.

Robert S. Lawrence, director of the Center for a Livable Future, has been presented with the Sedgwick Award Medal for Distinguished Service in Public Health, the American Public Health Association’s oldest and most prestigious award. Lawrence received the award at the Public Health Awards Reception and Ceremony on Nov. 11 in Philadelphia, at the close of APHA’s 137th Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Terence H. Risby has been appointed professor emeritus in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences.

Peter J. Winch has been promoted to professor in the Department of International Health.

JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE

Mark Bittle, vice president of ambulatory services, has been chosen chair-elect of the Health Administration Section of the American Public Health Association.

KRIEGER SCHOOL OF ARTS  AND SCIENCES

Christopher Carroll, a professor in the Department of Economics, has been named a senior economist for macroeconomics on the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, which assists the president with the development and implementation of the nation’s economic policy. Led by a chair and two members, the council’s team of economists, forecasters and statistical experts draw upon evidence-based research to provide the president with thorough and timely economic analysis.

Martha Abele Mac Iver, a research scientist in the Center for Social Organization of Schools, has received a Senior Urban Education Research Fellowship, known as SUERF, from the Council of the Great City Schools. Mac Iver’s project, “Identifying the Early Warning Signals of Dropout Outcomes in the Baltimore City Public Schools,” will explore the causes of dropout and also the school and teacher practices that can help to reduce the incidence of ninth-grade failure in Baltimore and other urban districts. The U.S. Department of Education awarded the Council of the Great City Schools, a coalition of the nation’s large urban public school systems, more than $2.5 million in September 2006 to establish the SUERF program. This is the third round of fellowship grants, awarded annually to three senior education researchers.

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Jaishri Blakeley, assistant professor of neurology, oncology and neurosurgery and director of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Neurofibromatosis Center, has received the 2009 Make a Difference Award from Neurofibromatosis Mid-Atlantic, a 30-year-old nonprofit support organization that provides information on the disorder. Blakeley was nominated for the award by one of her patients.

Charles E. Connor has been promoted to professor of neuroscience.

Romergryko Geocadin, associate professor of neurology, neurosurgery and anesthesiology/critical care medicine, has been named director of the Neurosciences Critical Care Division and the Neurosciences Critical Care Unit at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Geocadin previously was associate director of the same-named division and unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Leon Gordis has been appointed professor emeritus in the Department of Pediatrics.

John E. “Jack” Grinnalds, senior director of facilities management, received the honor of IFMA Fellowship at the International Facility Management Association’s Awards of Excellence banquet on Oct. 9 in Orlando, Fla. Grinnalds oversees a budget of $121 million and a staff of 245 for 23 buildings. Being named an IFMA Fellow is the highest honor the association can bestow on a member. To date, only 83 professionals have received this distinction. James E. Loesch, the plant facilities chief engineer and project management office supervisor at APL, was named a fellow in 2002.

Ahmet Hoke has been promoted to professor of neurology.

Gregory L. Krauss has been promoted to professor of neurology.

Ira Papel, associate professor of facial plastic surgery, has been elected to a three-year term as president of the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Richard B.S. Roden has been promoted to professor of pathology, oncology and gynecology/obstetrics.

John T. Walkup has been promoted to professor of psychiatry.

Jon D. Weingart has been promoted to professor of neurosurgery.

Robert G. Weiss has been appointed first holder of the Clarence Doodeman Professorship in Cardiology.

SCHOOL OF NURSING

Michael Vaughn has been named the inaugural assistant dean for information technology and integration. He comes to Johns Hopkins from Indiana University, where he served as assistant dean for information systems and implemented the first schoolwide course management system, a fully distance-accessible option for the PhD program and the construction of a state-of-the-art clinical simulation facility. He was also instrumental in establishing the IU School of Nursing Lifelong Learning Department as a global provider of online continuing education offerings, reaching more than 1,500 individuals annually.

Kathleen White, associate professor and director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, was presented the Maryland Nurses Association Outstanding Leadership Award on Oct. 15 at the organization’s 106th annual convention. White began her leadership career with the MNA in 1980 and later became president. She currently serves as the chair of the American Nursing Association’s Congress on Nursing Practice and Economics.

UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION

Stephanie Reel, vice provost for information technologies and Johns Hopkins Medicine’s vice president for information services, has been appointed to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Created by President Barack Obama in April, the 18-member group of leading scientists and engineers directly advises the president and the Executive Office of the President on science, technology and innovative policies. In announcing formation of the group, which is administered by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Obama said he wanted it to advise him on national strategies “to nurture and sustain a culture of scientific innovation.”

WHITING SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

James E. West, a research professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is one of 11 “trailblazers” in science, technology and business chosen to be honored as 2010 Franklin Institute Laureates. Since 1824, the Philadelphia-based institute, founded in honor of Benjamin Franklin, has given awards to many prominent figures, including Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Marie and Pierre Curie, Orville Wright and Jane Goodall. West and the other honorees, who include Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, will be celebrated April 29 at a black-tie ceremony and dinner, considered to be one of the preeminent social events in Philadelphia. West, along with Gerhard M. Sessler of the Darmstadt University of Technology in Germany, will receive the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering in honor of their work in the 1960s as Bell Labs researchers who invented the first practical and inexpensive electret microphone, which continues to be used in telephones and many other electronic devices.