May 21, 2012

Outstanding Achievement Awards

Call for Nominations: Deadline July 2, 2012

The PSF Outstanding Achievement in Plastic Surgery Research Awards

The PSF is now accepting nominations for the annual Outstanding Research Achievement Awards.

As in previous years, two awards will be offered. One award will recognize a member who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in basic and translational research. The other award will recognize a member who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in clinical and health services research.  Past award recipients are listed below.

To make a nomination, please submit materials in .pdf format to research@plasticsurgery.org and include the following information:

  • Nominee's Name
  • Nominee's Biosketch
  • A one page summary that describes how the nominee has advanced the practice of plastic surgery

The PSF Research Office is available to answer any questions at 847.228.9900.

This year’s award criteria are specified below:

AWARD:           PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research

PRESENTED:   The Clinical Research Award recognizes an investigator whose innovative research will advance the  treatment of surgical disorders. Such work may involve clinical, epidemiological, or health services research.

AWARD:           PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic and Translational Research

PRESENTED:   The Basic and Translational Award acknowledges an investigator whose novel work will evolve the treatment of surgical disorders and the practice of plastic surgery in general. Such work may incorporate biomedical research, as well as basic and translational studies.

The PSF Outstanding Research Achievement Awards will be awarded at the 2012 American Society of Plastic Surgeons Annual Meeting.

Past Award Recipients

The PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research

The PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research recognizes an investigator whose novel, significant work has had or will have a far-reaching impact on the treatment of surgical disorders and the overall practice of plastic surgery. Such work may involve clinical, epidemiological, and health services research.

Henry Kawamoto, Jr., MD, DDS

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Dr. Kawamoto has nearly half a century of plastic surgery experience. He has authored more than 154 scientific articles and served on numerous editorial boards, including the Western Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Surgery, and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Dr. Kawamoto served in the U.S. Army as a Captain of maxillofacial surgery at the 249 General Hospital in Japan during Vietnam. He has been a clinical professor for 20 years at the UCLA Center for the Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery. He spent his years in residency, practicing general surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, plastic surgery at the Plastic Surgery Reconstructive Institute, and New York Medical Center, and Postgraduate Education Craniofacial Surgery with Dr. Paul Tessier at L' Hôpital Foch and Clinique Belvédère in Paris.

Dr. Kawamoto is currently a member of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and founding member of both the International Society of Craniofacial Surgeons, and the American Society of Craniofacial Surgery.

The PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic & Translational Research

The PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic & Translational Research recognizes an investigator whose novel, significant work has had or will have a far-reaching impact on the treatment of surgical disorders and the practice of plastic surgery. Such work may involve areas of biomedical research, including basic and translational studies.

Geoffrey C. Gurtner, MD

Dr. Gurtner is a magna cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College and a graduate of the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine. He completed a general surgery residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School program, a plastic surgery residency at the NYU School of Medicine, and received advanced training in microsurgery at the University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Double board certified in general surgery and plastic surgery, Dr. Gurtner is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. He is the editor for the most widely read textbook in the field, Grabb & Smith's Plastic Surgery. Dr. Gurtner's NIH funded laboratory seeks to understand the role the physical environment (both mechanical and chemical) plays in determining how organisms respond to injury. This has led to the development of new technologies which are the foundation of several early stage Silicon Vally start-up companies.

Currently, Dr. Gurtner is a Professor of Surgery at Stanford University within the division of Plastic Surgery.  He was formerly the Program Director of Plastic Surgery at the NYU School of Medicine.

The PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research

The PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research recognizes an investigator whose novel, significant work has had or will have a far-reaching impact on the treatment of surgical disorders and the overall practice of plastic surgery. Such work may involve clinical, epidemiological, and health services research.

Maria Siemionow, MD, PhD, DSc
Dr. Siemionow is a world-renowned scientist and microsurgeon. She earned her medical degree from the Poznan Medical Academy in 1974, completing her residency in orthopedics. She specializes in microsurgery, hand surgery, peripheral nerve surgery, transplantation, and microcirculation research. Dr. Siemionow is leading the way in developing new technology for minimal immunosuppression in transplantation. Dr. Siemionow is the Director of Plastic Surgery Research and Head of Microsurgical Training for Cleveland Clinic's Department of Plastic Surgery.
Dr. Siemionow is currently President of the International Hand and Composite Tissue Allotransplantation Society, Secretary of the American Society for Reconstructive Transplantation, Section Coordinator of Research for the International Registry on Hand and Composite Tissue Transplantation, and Past President of the American Society for Peripheral Nerve.

In 2001, Dr. Siemionow was awarded the Folkert Belzer Award in Transplantation for her work on transplantation and tolerance at the 6th Congress of the International Society for Organ Sharing. In 2004, Dr. Siemionow received, as Principal Investigator, the first IRB approval in the world for her Composite Facial Allograft Transplantation protocol. In 2004 and 2007, Dr. Siemionow was honored with the James Barrett Brown Award for the best publication in a plastic surgery journal, for her wok on face transplantation. She also led the team of surgeons who performed the first near-total face transplantation in the United States in 2008. Dr. Siemionow is a recipient of the 2009 Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute Award for Excellence for the research on which her July 2009 Lancet publication, Near-total Face Transplantation for a Severely Disfigured Patient in the USA, was based. In 2010, Dr. Siemionow received the American Association of Plastic Surgeon’s Clinical Researcher of the Year Award.

Dr. Siemionow's research related to transplantation, nerve regeneration and prevention of ischemia reperfusion injury in reconstructive surgery has received recognition as demonstrated by media-invited appearances on local and national radio and television broadcasts including NPR's All Things Considered, The Today Show, CNN, NBC Nightly News, ABC, CBS, and The Oprah Show. Her work has also been featured in publications such as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Newsweek.

PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic & Translational Research

The PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic & Translational Research recognizes an investigator whose novel,significant work has had or will have a far-reaching impact on the treatment of surgical disorders and the practice of plastic surgery. Such work may involve areas of biomedical research including basic and translational studies.

Julia K. Terzis, MD, PhD, FRCS (C), FACS
Dr. Julia Kallipolitou Terzis was born in Thessaloniki, Greece and came to the United States where she completed her Bachelor of Science degree at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. Subsequently, she entered Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia where she received the Gold Medal in Anatomy out of a pool of 200 medical students. Dr. Terzis joined McGill University as a straight surgical intern at the Royal Victoria Hospital, and it was there that her work on reconstructive microsurgery began. She completed her PhD studies on the functional properties of mechanoreceptors serving the glabrous skin of primates. Parallel studies on the electrophysiological basis of skin graft reinnervation earned her the James Barrett Brown Award in 1977 for the best paper published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. In 1978 at McGill University, she established the Microsurgical Research Laboratories where she continued her experiments on peripheral nerve regeneration and microsurgical repair of nerves. In 1981 she was recruited to Norfolk, Virginia, where she established the Microsurgical Research Center and the International Institute of Reconstructive Microsurgery. She is currently the Director of the Microsurgical Program at Eastern Virginia Medical School and a Professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Eastern Virginia Medical School. She is the recipient of multiple awards and honors including:

  • The Gold Medal, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, 1981
  • The Academy of Sciences Achievement Award in the Field of Natural Sciences, AHEPA Educational Foundation, 1987
  • The Emanuel Kaplan Award, ASSH, 1987
  • Woman of the Year "Salute to Women Award," Daughters of Penelope Organization, 1998
  • James Barrett Brown Award, 1999-2000
  • Clinician of the Year Award, American Association of Plastic Surgeons, 2008
  • Distinguished Fellowship Award from the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, 2009

Dr. Terzis is the author of six textbooks and numerous manuscripts and peer reviewed articles in the field of reconstructive microsurgery. In addition, she has been an invited Professor to over 300 different academic centers around the world. She has trained over 200 young physicians from around the globe in the art of reconstructive microsurgery. She has introduced multiple clinical procedures to combat facial paralysis, obstetrical brachial plexus paralysis, and post-traumatic brachial plexus paralysis. She has popularized the use of vascularized nerve grafting, free muscle transplantation, and aggressive neurotization procedures for functional restoration. Dr. Terzis' organizational appointments have included:

  • Founding Member, International Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery
  • Chairman, Plastic Surgery Research Council, 1986
  • President, International Microsurgical Society, 1981
  • Founding President, American Society of Peripheral Nerve, 1990
  • President, American Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery, 2003
  • President, World Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery, 2007
  • President, European Association of Plastic Surgeons, 2010

Plastic surgery is recognized as a specialty with rich tradition for innovation and research. In order to recognize the important contributions that surgeon scientists have and continue to make in the development of the specialty and in medicine overall, two PSF Outstanding Research Achievement Awards were awarded at Plastic Surgery Annual Meeting 2009.

These annual awards serve to recognize plastic surgery pioneers, who have dedicated much of their career to scientific discovery and advancement.

PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research
Established to recognize outstanding achievements in clinical plastic surgery research, this award recognizes an investigator whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the treatment of surgical disorders and the practice of plastic surgery. Such work may involve clinical, epidemiological, and health services research.

2009 Award Recipient: Joseph G. McCarthy, MD
Dr. McCarthy's main professional interests have been in the field of reconstructive plastic surgery of the face. He has pioneered and developed the concept of craniofacial distraction which has revolutionized this surgical discipline. A champion of the cause of patients with facial deformity, he has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction since 1981 and was the Founding Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of Smile Train, the latter organization having provided pro bono surgery to over 150,000 children with cleft lip/palate around the world. He has been recognized by numerous awards and honors, given over 20 endowed lectureships and authored more than 350 scientific papers and book chapters. As one of the founding members of the International Society of Craniofacial Surgery, he later served as its Secretary/Treasurer and President. He has also been President of the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons, the New York Regional Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Association of Plastic Surgeons. He was a Founder and President of the American Society of Craniofacial Surgeons and in 2007 he was named National Physician of the Year by the Castle Connolly Organization. He has been on the Best Doctors List (New York Magazine) since 1980 and the Best Doctors in America list since 1996.

As Director of the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, Dr. McCarthy oversees the largest national educational effort in plastic surgery and has trained over 100 plastic surgery residents and 25 post-resident fellows in craniofacial surgery. The graduates of the residency training program have gone on to assume the Chairs of Plastic Surgery in over 20 universities around the world.

PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic & Translational Research
This award is established to recognize outstanding achievements in basic and translational research impacting the practice of plastic surgery. This award recognizes an investigator whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the treatment of surgical disorders and the practice of plastic surgery. Such work may involve areas of biomedical research including, basic and translational studies.

2009 Award Recipient: Cho Y. Pang, PhD
Cho Y. Pang, Ph.D. is a senior scientist at the Hospital For Sick Children Research Institute in Toronto. Dr. Pang is also a full professor in the Departments of Surgery and Physiology and the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto. Dr. Pang was an associate professor at the University of Toronto in 1985-1993 and the Head of the Division of Surgical Research in 1988-1998 at The Hospital For Sick Children Research Institute. Before coming to Toronto, Dr. Pang was an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the Southwestern Medical School in Dallas from 1980-1982. Before that, Dr. Pang took 3 years of postdoctoral research training at Yale University School of Medicine and postgraduate and undergraduate training at the University of Manitoba in Canada.

Dr. Pang's basic science research activities have been focused on the pathophysiology and pharmacology of skin flap ischemic necrosis in wound reconstruction and skeletal muscle ischemia/reperfusion injury in autogenous muscle transplantation and replantation surgery. Dr. Pang's research was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH), Medical Research Council of Canada (MRC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) as well as foundation and industrial funds in the past 26 years, and will continue to be supported by renewable CIHR grants over the next 3 years. In addition to participation in graduate student thesis advisory committees, and serving as thesis examiner, Dr. Pang has also supervised/co-supervised more than 20 plastic surgery/otolaryngology residents in doing basic science research. These surgical trainees have won 8 presentation awards from the Plastic Surgery Research Council, 1 investigator and 1 scholarship award from the Plastic Surgery Foundation, 6 presentation awards from the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons, and 5 other national and international research presentation/essay awards. Dr. Pang has also published 98 peer-reviewed papers/articles thus far.

Dr. Pang was a consultant editor for the Plastic Reconstructive Surgery journal and was invited by NIH and CIHR to participate in a grant review committee. At the present time, Dr. Pang is a guest reviewer for several surgical and basic science journals, and a member of the American Physiological Society, Canadian Physiological Society, American Heart Association, and Plastic Surgery Research Council.
 
Plastic surgery is recognized as a specialty with rich tradition for innovation and research. To help bring recognition to the important contributions that scientific research and investigation have had, and continue to have, on the development of the specialty and all of medicine two PSF Outstanding Research Achievement Awards were awarded at Plastic Surgery 2008.

These annual awards will serve to recognize plastic surgery pioneers who have dedicated much of their career to scientific discovery and advancement.

PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research
This award is established to recognize outstanding achievements in clinical plastic surgery research. This award recognizes an investigator whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the treatment of surgical disorders and the practice of plastic surgery. Such work may involve clinical, epidemiological, and health services research.

2008 Award Recipient: Joseph E. Murray, MD
Recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990, Joseph E. Murray, MD, is well known for his pioneering work on kidney transplants and research on immunosuppression. Dr. Murray has had a long and distinguished career in facial reconstruction and many other aspects of plastic surgery. Along with his surgical accomplishments, Dr. Murray has been a strong and effective advocate for the advancement of plastic surgery.

Dr. Murray graduated from Holy Cross College in 1940, after which he went on to attend Harvard Medical School, receiving his MD in 1943. Immediately after graduation he interned at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. In 1944, Dr. Murray was inducted into the Medical Corps of the United States Army and assigned to the plastic unit at Valley Forge General Hospital, where he met Dr. Bradford Cannon and began his career as a plastic surgeon.

Dr. Murray left the military in 1947 and returned to the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. The Brigham had no formal residency established for plastic surgery, and thus Dr. Murray, upon completion of his general surgical residency, went to New York City for specific training in plastic surgery at the New York and Memorial Hospitals. In 1951, Dr. Murray returned to Brigham Hospital, joining the surgical staff there. During his experience at the Valley Forge General Hospital, he became interested in the challenges of skin grafting and tissue transplantation which led to his interest in organ transplant surgery.

Upon his return to Boston, Dr. Murray joined a team of researchers based at the Harvard Medical School and the Brigham Hospital to pursue his interests in the problems presented by transplantation. In December 1954, Dr. Murray performed the world’s first successful kidney transplant between the identical Herrick twins at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. In 1959, he performed the world’s first successful allograft and, in 1962, the world’s first cadaveric renal transplant. Throughout the following years, Dr. Murray became an international leader in the study of transplantation biology, the use of immunosuppressive agents, and studies on the mechanisms of rejection. As Director of the Surgical Research laboratory at Harvard Medical School and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital for twenty years, he trained others who became leaders in transplant surgery and biology throughout the world.

The training of those plastic surgeons flourished under Dr. Murray and due to his influence, all of Boston’s major hospitals train plastic surgeons today. Dr. Murray served as the chief plastic surgeon at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, which later became Brigham and Women’s Hospital, until 1986. He also served as the chief plastic surgeon at Children’s Hospital from 1972-1985. He served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, where he retired as Professor of Surgery Emeritus in 1986.

Dr. Murray also has served as regent of the American College of Surgeons, chairman of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and president of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons. In 1990, Dr. Murray became the first plastic surgeon to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, helping to assure plastic surgery’s place in medicine and surgery.

PSF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic & Translational Research
This award is established to recognize outstanding achievements in basic and translational research impacting the practice of plastic surgery. This award recognizes an investigator whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the treatment of surgical disorders and the practice of plastic surgery. Such work may involve areas of biomedical research including, basic and translational studies.

2008 Award Recipient: J. Peter Rubin, MD
J. Peter Rubin, MD, is Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He balances a busy clinical practice with scientific research, serving as director of the surgical body contouring program and co-director of the Adipose Stem Cell Center. Dr. Rubin completed training in general surgery at Boston University and plastic surgery at Harvard University.

He founded the Life After Weight Loss clinical program at Pitt, a center dedicated to post-bariatric body contouring. This clinical center is the site of numerous clinical research studies related to plastic surgery care. He also founded and directs the postgraduate clinical fellowship in body contouring, and served as lead editor of the textbook, "Aesthetic Surgery After Massive Weight Loss". Dr. Rubin often teaches instructional courses on body contouring with an emphasis on patient selection and safety, and was recently named as a "Traveling Professor" for the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Dr. Rubin’s basic research activities are focused on the biology and clinical applications of adipose derived stem cells. He is the principal investigator on an NIH R01 grant aimed at developing cell based regenerative therapies for breast cancer reconstruction and principal investigator on a Department of Defense grant to apply adipose derived stem cells for soft tissue reconstruction of battlefield injuries.

He is the recipient of numerous research awards, including the American Association of Plastic Surgeons Academic Scholar Award and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the nation’s highest honor for young scientists. Dr. Rubin has a track record of service on university committees, as well as national and international scientific societies. He is a past president of the International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science (IFATS) and current Chair of the Plastic Surgery Research Council (PSRC).