Two Wake Forest Baptist Faculty Receive Highest Honor from Wake Forest University
Louis C. Argenta, M.D., F.A.C.S., and Michael Morykwas, Ph.D., professors of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, have received Wake Forest University’s highest honor, the Medallion of Merit.
University President Nathan O. Hatch presented the awards Feb. 19 at the Founder’s Day Convocation in Wait Chapel on the Reynolda Campus.
Argenta and Morykwas were recognized for their outstanding achievements in the medical field. Most notably, they co-invented the Vacuum-Assisted Closure (V.A.C.), a negative pressure wound therapy that has helped more than 10 million patients worldwide, including many U.S. military personnel who suffered extremity injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan. The wound V.A.C. also is estimated to have prevented more than a million amputations.
Wake Forest Baptist Names Director of New Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Center
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Feb. 27, 2015 – Donald A. McClain, M.D., Ph.D., a nationally recognized leader in diabetes and obesity research, has been named founding director of the new Center on Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
McClain will join Wake Forest Baptist on April 1 from the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, where he has held a number of leadership positions since 1999.
As director of the center, McClain will oversee its research and training activities, including its collaborative efforts with other Wake Forest Baptist researchers, and the recruitment of additional investigators. He also will work closely with the Joslin Diabetes Center and the Department of Internal Medicine’s Section on Endocrinology and Metabolism, where he will have a faculty appointment, and see patients at the Salisbury Veterans Administration Medical Center.
Wake Forest Baptist Names New Chair of Anesthesiology
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Feb. 27, 2015 – B. Scott Segal, M.D., professor and chair of anesthesiology at Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center in Boston since 2010, has been named chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and co-executive director of perioperative services at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, effective March 30.
As chair, Segal will direct the department’s medical education, basic and clinical research and clinical care activities.
Wake Forest Baptist Professor Honored by National Organization
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Feb. 27, 2015 – Steven Feldman, M.D., Ph.D, professor of dermatology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has received two presidential citations from the American Academy of Dermatologists (AAD).
The awards recognize Feldman for his contributions to the development of clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of atopic dermatitis and for his research that examines the delivery of dermatologic care and medication adherence.
Founded in 1938, AAD is committed to advancing the diagnosis and treatment of skin, hair and nail disorders. They are advocates for high standards in clinical practice, education and research and supporting and enhancing patient care.
Two Wake Forest Baptist Physician Assistants Earn Certificates from National Organization
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Feb. 27, 2015 – Ryan Elizabeth Gambino, PA-C, and Erin Thompson, PA-C, physician assistants (PAs) at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, earned Certificates of Added Qualifications (CAQ) from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).
Gambino was awarded a CAQ in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, and Thompson in emergency medicine. The certificates are earned by meeting licensure, education and experience requirements and passing an exam in the specialty. Gambino and Thompson are two of 32 certified PAs in North Carolina to earn CAQs since the program’s inception in 2011.
NCCPA is the certifying organization for physician assistants in the United States.
Wake Forest Baptist Research Fellow Named to International Investigator Council
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Feb. 27, 2015 – Claire Gayoung Jeong, Ph.D., research fellow at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, is one of nine young scientists from around the world to be named a member of the 2015 Tissue Engineering Young Investigator Council.
The council was created to further the professional development of young investigators in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Tissue Engineering is a biomedical journal dedicated to advancing the field of tissue growth and regeneration through research and applications.
Media Relations
Erin Harris: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587
Shannon Putnam: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587