Wake Forest Baptist August Awards and Recognitions

August 3, 2020

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Physicist Voted President-Elect of National Society

J. Daniel Bourland, Ph.D., professor of radiation oncology, biomedical engineering and physics at Wake Forest School of Medicine, part of Wake Forest Baptist Health, has been voted president-elect of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), beginning Jan. 1, 2021.

Bourland is an expert in clinical gamma radiosurgery, medical physics education and research in the area of radiation countermeasures.

The AAPM is widely regarded as the premier organization in medical physics, both in the U.S. and abroad. Its mission is to advance medicine through excellence in the science, education and professional practice of medical physics and represents more than 9,000 medical physicists around the world.

 

Wake Forest Baptist Scientist Receives Award for Epilepsy Research

David Klorig, Ph.D., instructor of neurobiology and anatomy at Wake Forest School of Medicine, part of Wake Forest Baptist Health, received the Junior Investigator Award from the American Epilepsy Society (AES) for his work on evaluating gene therapy strategies to treat epilepsy using a novel method.

Klorig’s award is funded by the Epilepsy Foundation and is one of 25 research grants and fellowships awarded by the AES to early career scientists committed to studying epilepsy.

Founded in 1946, the AES is a medical and scientific society whose members are dedicated to advancing research and education for preventing, treating and curing epilepsy.

 

Wake Forest Baptist Pediatrician Receives Award from National Association

Savithri Nageswaran, M.D., professor of pediatrics at Brenner Children’s Hospital, part of Wake Forest Baptist Health, has received the Calvin C.J. Sia Community Pediatrics Medical Home Leadership and Advocacy Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

This award honors pediatricians who have advanced the medical home through practice and advocacy, especially for children with special health care needs.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 pediatricians committed to the optimal physical, mental and social health and wellbeing for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults.

 

Wake Forest Baptist Geriatric Medicine Leader Nationally-Recognized for Blood Pressure Intervention Study

Jeff Williamson, M.D., program director for the Sticht Center for Healthy Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention and director of the Center for Healthcare Innovation at Wake Forest Baptist Health, on behalf of a team of research colleagues, received a Top-10 Clinical Research Achievement Award from the Clinical Research Forum.

Williamson and colleagues, including David Reboussin, Ph.D., Nick Pajewski, Ph.D., and Steve Rapp, Ph.D., among others from Wake Forest School of Medicine and leading research institutions across the country, were recognized for leading the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) MIND study. The study showed that intensive control of blood pressure in older adults significantly reduced the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, an early stage of dementia for many people.

Awards were selected based on the degree of innovation and novelty involved in the advancement of science; contribution to the understanding of human disease and/or physiology; and potential impact upon the diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of disease.

Wake Forest Baptist Cancer Researcher Receives Award

Wei Zhang, Ph.D., professor of cancer biology at Wake Forest School of Medicine, part of Wake Forest Baptist Health, was part of a nationwide team that received the Team Science Award from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

Zhang was a co-director of one of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)’s Genome Data Analysis Centers and led a number of studies and key publications that have contributed to advances in cancer research and patient care.

TCGA was established in 2006 by the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute and has brought together teams of researchers from 20 institutions across the U.S. and Canada to help improve the understanding of cancer.

 

Wake Forest Baptist Nurse Anesthesia Program Simulation Center Receives International Accreditation

Wake Forest School of Medicine’s Nurse Anesthesia Program, part of Wake Forest Baptist Health, received full accreditation for its simulation center from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) with recognition in the areas of teaching and assessment.

The simulation center, located at 525@Vine in Innovation Quarter, is the only Nurse Anesthesia single-entity center in the country to receive this designation.

Established in 2004, the SSH is the largest international simulation accreditation organization and seeks to improve performance and reduce errors in patient care through the use of simulation.

Media contact:

Joe McCloskey, jmcclosk@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-1273