Miller School Leadership Elected Masters of the American College of Physicians

Posted on April 11 2011 by Claudia Carson

The Diabetes Research Institute and Dr. Kathy Hebert Receive Special Awards

Laurence B. Gardner, M.D., professor and executive dean for education and policy, and Marc E. Lippman, M.D., the Kathleen and Stanley Glaser Professor of Medicine and chair of medicine at the Miller School, have been elected Masters of the American College of Physicians (ACP). Masters are selected from among Fellows of the prestigious College and represent a very elite group of physicians who have distinguished themselves through clinical care, educational leadership, or medical research and have made a notable contribution to the field of medicine.

The ACP also recognized the Miller School’s Diabetes Research Institute with the Samuel Eichold II Memorial Award for Contributions in Diabetes, given for important health care delivery innovations for diabetic patients, which improve clinical or economic outcomes. Additionally, Kathy Hebert, M.D., M.M.M., M.P.H., associate professor of medicine in the Cardiovascular Division and director of disease management and outcomes research, was honored with the ACP’s Second Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award from The Rosenthal Family Foundation for her original approach in designing and operating a disease management program, which increased clinical and economic effectiveness for heart disease patients at UM/Jackson, Louisiana’s public health system, and the country of Georgia.

The presentation of Drs. Lippman and Gardner as Masters took place during a special convocation at the ACP’s annual meeting in San Diego on April 7. The College is the nation’s largest medical specialty society, representing doctors of internal medicine. The organization promotes the highest clinical standards and ethical ideals, provides continuing medical education for its members and advocates on public policy related to health care for the benefit of patients and the medical profession.

Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Miller School, and CEO of UHealth University of Miami Health System, said the ACP masterships and special honors bring more national recognition to the “consistent, high-quality medicine” that takes place on the Miller School campus.

“These are outstanding achievements for the entire Miller School and for Drs. Lippman and Gardner, two giants of medicine who have long committed their expertise and excellence to UHealth and the entire community,” Goldschmidt said. “Indeed, UHealth, the University of Miami, and the larger community salute their outstanding contributions to medical education, research, and patient care and take pride in these well-deserved honors.”

Dr. Gardner, a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School, trained in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and completed a fellowship in nephrology while serving as chief resident at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. After two years of active duty with the U.S. Army, he joined the Miller School faculty. His entire academic career has been in Miami, including 12 years as chairman of the Department of Medicine.

“I am humbled by the honor which my colleagues in internal medicine have afforded me by means of this recognition,” said Gardner.

Dr. Lippman, a graduate of Cornell University and Yale School of Medicine, is a pioneering breast cancer researcher who came to the Miller School in 2007 after serving in several high-profile positions. His curriculum vitae includes chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan, head of the Medical Breast Cancer Section of the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, director of the Vincent T. Lombardi Cancer Research Center and chairman of oncology at Georgetown University. During his time at NIH, Lippman rose to medical director of the U.S. Public Health Service and reached the rank of captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

“The ACP represents the best traditions in internal medicine and this recognition by my colleagues is a very proud moment in my career, and I am thrilled with this honor,” said Lippman.

Lippman and Gardner join three other Miller School faculty members who have been elected to a Mastership: Jeanette Mladenovic, M.D., professor of medicine and senior associate dean for graduate medical education, Jay S. Skyler, M.D., professor of medicine, pediatrics and psychology, and associate director for academic programs at the Diabetes Research Institute, and Eugene Schiff, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Center for Liver Diseases. Masters are authorized to use the letters MACP (Master of the American College of Physicians) in connection with all their professional activities.

Body Health Care