Wake Forest Baptist Physician, Team Cited as Pioneers in Pediatric Orthopaedics
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Oct. 25, 2013 – L. Andrew Koman, M.D., professor and chair of orthopaedic surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, was lead author on three of the top 30 worldwide research papers on pediatric orthopaedic surgery identified recently by the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Only one other lead author had more papers cited.
Wake Forest Baptist co-authors on the papers were Beth P. Smith, Ph.D., professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory; Francis O. Walker, M.D., professor of neurology; Amy Goodman, R.N., department business administrator for orthopaedics; and Terry Mulvaney Sink, P.T., pediatric physical therapist.
The journal said that “The 100 Classic Papers on Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery” it selected “have contributed the most to the body of knowledge used to guide evidence-based clinical decision-making in pediatric orthopaedics today.”
Wake Forest Baptist Professor Receives Research Award
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Oct. 25, 2013 – James C. Eisenach, M.D., professor of anesthesiology and physiology and pharmacology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has received the 2013 Excellence in Research Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
The award is given in recognition of outstanding research achievements that have had an important effect on the field of anesthesiology. Eisenach is well-known for his research on understanding the mechanisms of pain.
Since joining the faculty at Wake Forest Baptist in 1985, Eisenach has received more than $21 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) support and $2 million in industry support. In 2011, he received one of the highest awards given by the NIH, reflecting a distinguished career and providing the recipient with up to 10 years of research funding.
Eisenach is editor-in-chief of the journal Anesthesiology and is a past member and chair of the Food and Drug Administration’s Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee.
Wake Forest Baptist Professor Named President of National Association
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Oct. 25, 2013 – Francis O. Walker, M.D., professor of neurology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been selected to serve as president of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM).
Walker has been a member of AANEM since 1985 and has served on numerous boards and committees. As president,he will lead the Board of Directors, which has responsibility for the association's strategic planning, policy creation, and financial oversight.
Certified by the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Walker has lectured extensively on the topic of neuromuscular ultrasound and is considered a national expert in this field.
Magazine honors Wake Forest Baptist Physician for Work in Breast Cancer
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Oct. 25, 2013 – Marissa Howard-McNatt, M.D., a surgical oncologist and director of the Breast Care Center at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been honored by Black Health magazine.
The magazine spotlighted 15 outstanding African-American breast cancer specialists in its October issue. Black Health is a quarterly publication with a circulation of 265,000 that addresses the holistic health concerns of African-American women.
McNatt has ongoing research interests in clinical and translational breast cancer projects. She also focuses on elderly and minority populations in her work.
Wake Forest Baptist Physician, Team Win Grant for Cardiovascular Care
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Oct. 25, 2013 – Simon A. Mahler, M.D., and an investigative team at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have won a three-year grant to build a transformative collaboration between researchers, educators and health system leaders to improve care delivery for patients with acute chest pain.
The $270,000 grant to Mahler and his team was one of just two awarded by the Association of American Medical Colleges and The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation.
Mahler and his team will test the implementation of a clinical decision aid and two serial blood protein measurements to identify patients with chest pain who can safely be discharged without objective cardiac testing.
Wake Forest Baptist Professor Wins Grant for Cancer Research
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Oct. 25, 2013 – Allen W. Tsang, Ph.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has received a $300,000 grant from the Avon Foundation for Women to investigate links between breast cancer and chlamydia.
Tsang’s research group has been studying how the sexually transmitted disease can rearrange processes within normal cells with the potential of triggering their transformation into cancer cells.
The research has found that infection with chlamydia leads to activation of a protein that significantly increases metastasis and tumor progression. In addition to that, he is working with Cristina Furdui, Ph.D., a colleague at Wake Forest Baptist, to develop drugs capable of reducing the activity of the protein.
Media Relations
Shannon Putnam: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587
Mac Ingraham: mingraha@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-3487