Wake Forest Baptist Faculty Member Named Chair of NIH Study Section
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 29, 2013 – Lynne E. Wagenknecht, Dr.P.H., professor of public health sciences and associate director of the Division of Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been appointed chair of a Center for Scientific Review (CSR) grant-review committee.
Wagenknecht will begin her two-year term as head of the CSR’s Kidney, Nutrition, Obesity and Diabetes Study Section on July 1.
The CSR, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the gateway for NIH grant applications and their review for scientific merit. The center’s various study sections – whose members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their respective disciplines – evaluate most of the research grant applications submitted to the NIH.
Wake Forest Baptist Urologist Honored for Cancer Research
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 29, 2013 – K.C. Balaji, M.D., professor of urology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has received a 2013 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Society of Asian American Scientists in Cancer Research (SAASCR).
Balaji, whose research focuses on cell signaling and stem cells in prostate cancer, received the award April 7 in Washington, D.C.
SAASCR is a nonprofit organization with more than 3,000 members that fosters collaboration between scientists and promotes the exchange of ideas and scientific discoveries.
Two from Wake Forest Baptist Named to Pediatrics Academy Steering Committee
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 29, 2013 –Joseph A. Skelton, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, and Robert Schwartz, M.D., emeritus professor of pediatrics, have been named to the steering committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight.
The institute is dedicated to addressing obesity prevention, assessment and treatment at the point of care, in communities and with families. The role of the steering committee is to translate strategic priorities into actual programs and initiatives.
Skelton is director of Brenner FIT (Families In Training) at Brenner Children’s Hospital, a comprehensive obesity treatment, research and education program. Schwartz was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award for childhood obesity prevention by the North Carolina Pediatric Society prior to his retirement from Wake Forest Baptist in 2011.
Wake Forest Baptist Psychiatrist Named to National Group’s Editorial Board
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 29, 2013 – Guy Palmes, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry and head of the child and adolescent psychiatry section at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been appointed to a one-year term on the American College of Psychiatrists’ PIPE editorial board.
PIPE (Psychiatrists In-Practice Examination) is a comprehensive online exam that allows clinicians to assess their knowledge and skills. As a member of its editorial board, Palmes will develop questions for the exam.
The American College of Psychiatrists is an honorary association founded in 1963. Its membership is limited to 750 practicing psychiatrists who have demonstrated outstanding competence in the field.
Wake Forest Baptist Resident Receives Grant from Pediatrics Academy
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 29, 2013 – Abby Hunter Peters, M.D., a pediatrics resident at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been awarded a Community Access to Child Health grant by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The grant program supports efforts by pediatricians that are designed to improve access to health services for all children in their communities.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is dedicated to the optimal physical, mental and social health and well-being for infants, children, adolescents and young adults.
Comprehensive Epilepsy Center Retains Top-Level Designation
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 29, 2013 – The Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has once again been designated a Level 4 center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC).
Level 4 is the highest designation conferred by the NAEC and is valid for one year. It recognizes centers that “have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest level medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy.”
Wake Forest Baptist’s is the only Level 4 epilepsy center in northwest North Carolina and one of only five in the state.
Two Physicians at Wake Forest Baptist Brain Tumor Center Receive Grants
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 29, 2013 – Two physicians with the Brain Tumor Center of Excellence at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center’s Comprehensive Cancer Center have been awarded grants by national organizations.
Akiva Mintz, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of neurosurgery, has been awarded a Mentored Research Scholar Grant in Applied and Clinical Research by the American Cancer Society.
Analiz Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D., a neurosurgery resident, has been awarded a Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation Research Fellowship by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
Media Relations
Mac Ingraham: mingraha@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-3487
Chad Campbell: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-458