Dillingham New PM&R Chair

Timothy R. Dillingham, MD, MS, has been named chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He was formerly chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Medical College of Wisconsin. His research interests include the rehabilitation and long-term outcomes for amputees. He is also widely recognized as an expert in the electrodiagnosis of patients with limb symptoms and musculoskeletal disorders.

Dillingham has received numerous honors, including the Distinguished Researcher Award from the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine, and is currently president of the organization’s board of directors. He won the Research Writing Award of the Association of Academic Physiatrists. Dillingham has published extensively in his field and has served in editorial positions on many journals and books.

Rick Demers, MS, RHh, director of Pharmacy, has received the Pharmacist of the Year Award from the Pennsylvania Society of Health-System Pharmacists. PSHP's highest honor, it recognizes sustained contributions to all aspects of the profession, including education, research, publications and lectures, and community service. Demers was also awarded the 2011 Clifton J. Latiolais Award from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. It recognizes individuals of high personal and professional ideals.

Susan Domchek, MD, director of the MacDonald Women’s Cancer Risk Evaluation Center at the Abramson Cancer Center, received the Cancer Control Award from the Southeast Region of the American Cancer Society.  This award recognizes an individual for a non-research activity that made a major or unique contribution to clinical practice, education and training or administration. The focal point of Domchek’s work has been raising awareness for breast cancer and its screening processes to the community at large, while dividing women into risk groups so that the appropriate screening and prevention measures can be utilized.

IOM Elects Three New Members from Penn

Three Penn researchers has been elected members of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), one of the nation’s highest honors in biomedicine. They are Vivian G. Cheung, MD, Paul Offit, MD, and Daniel Rader, MD. 

Cheung, of Genetics and Pediatrics and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has demonstrated, with her colleagues, that expression levels of genes are variable and genetically regulated. This led to the establishment of the field of Genetics and Gene Expression, which has greatly enhanced the understanding of gene regulation in humans and other organisms.

Offit, of Pediatrics, is director of the Vaccine Education Center and chief of Infectious Diseases at CHOP. His research includes developing one of the  main vaccines used to fight rotavirus, a disease that is the leading cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhea in infants and young children. He is also one of the most public faces of the scientific consensus that vaccines have no association with autism. Through his advocacy, Offit has successfully cut through misinformation and helped educate parents on the health benefits of vaccinating their children.

Rader is chief of Translational Medicine and Human Genetics, associate director of Penn’s Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, and director of Preventive Cardiology. His research focuses on genetic and pharmacologic regulation of lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis.

Winkelman New Chair of Penn Medicine

Mark O. Winkelman, a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, has been named chair of Penn Medicine. He replaces James S. Riepe, who oversaw the opening of the Roberts Proton Therapy Center and the Translational Research Center, the renaming of the Perelman School of Medicine, and the transition to new leadership for Penn Medicine. “Mark is a thoughtful leader and a dedicated Penn and Penn Medicine trustee,” said University President Amy Gutmann. “His broad management experience and deep understanding of the Penn landscape will help assure Penn Medicine’s  eminence and momentum.”

Winkelman, who received an MBA from Wharton School, is a senior director of Goldman, Sachs, & Co. A member of Penn’s Board of Trustees since 2002, he serves on the Executive Committee, is chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, and also sits on the audit and Compliance, and the Facilities and Campus Planning Committee.