Wake Forest Baptist May Awards and Recognitions

May 12, 2017

Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Receives Award for Bioprinting

Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) has been awarded a 2017 Excellence Award sponsored by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBC). WFIRM was one of five recipients.

WFIRM won in the research and development category for its custom-designed 3-D printer that prints living cells. The award recognizes exceptional accomplishments in research and development including capacity investment, external funding, significant knowledge/technology advances and peer or external recognition.

The NCBC is a private, nonprofit corporation created by the state that provides long-term economic and societal benefits by supporting biotechnology research, business and education statewide.

Wake Forest Baptist Professors Honored by N.C. Justice Center

Thomas Arcury, Ph.D., professor of family and community medicine, and Sara Quandt, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and prevention, at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, have been awarded a Defender of Justice Award by the North Carolina Justice Center.

These awards honor individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions in the fight against poverty in four areas that reflect the scope of the Justice Center’s work – legislative advocacy, policy research and advocacy, litigation and grassroots empowerment. Arcury and Quandt’s award was for policy research and advocacy, recognizing their work on immigrant workers’ health and justice. 

The Justice Center is a research and advocacy organization designed to help eliminate poverty by ensuring that every household in the state has access to the resources, services and fair treatment it needs to achieve economic security.

Wake Forest Baptist Oncologist Authors Organization’s Diversity Plan

Karen M. Winkfield, M.D.,Ph.D., associate professor of radiation oncology and director of the Office of Cancer Health Equity at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, served as the lead author of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) strategic plan for increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the oncology workforce.

The goal of the plan is to enhance existing programs and create new opportunities to achieve an oncology workforce that reflects the demographics of the U.S. population. The plan is published in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

ASCO represents more than 40,000 oncology professionals who care for cancer patients through research, education and promotion of the highest-quality patient care. View Winkfield’s summary here.

Wake Forest Baptist Urologist on Winning Team in National Competition

Ryan Terlecki, M.D., associate professor of urology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, was part of a three-person team that won first place in a competition sponsored by the American Urological Association (AUA) Leadership Program.

Terlecki was one of 20 participants selected nationwide to attend the leadership program. Participants completed a “real-world” project and presented the results to a panel of judges. Terlecki’s team was charged with evaluating trends in referral patterns among community and academic urologists.

The AUA promotes the highest standards of urological clinical care through education, research and the formulation of health care policy

Wake Forest School of Medicine Student Receives Fellowship

Michael LeCompte, a first-year Wake Forest School of Medicine student, has received the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Minority Summer Fellowship Award. Each year, two students from across the country are selected for the award; LeCompte is the first Wake Forest School of Medicine student to be honored.

The award introduces medical students from backgrounds that are under-represented in medicine to the discipline of radiation oncology. The fellowship provides an experience designed to expose students to clinical, basic and translational research questions in radiation oncology.

ASTRO is an organization dedicated to improving patient care through professional education and training, support for clinical practice and health policy standards, advancement of science and research and advocacy.

Media Relations

Eryn Johnson: eryjohns@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-8228

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