Robert Hernandez, M.D., senior associate dean for medical student administration, has been elected vice chair of the Southern Group on Student Affairs (SGSA) at its regional meeting in Dallas. The SGSA is the largest of four regional groups that comprise the Association of American Medical Colleges' Group on Student Affairs. His primary responsibility this year is to organize the combined meeting of the SGSA and the Southeastern Association of Advisors for the Health Professions which is tentatively scheduled to take place in Nashville in 2011.

Brian Berman, M.D., professor of dermatology and cutaneous surgery, has been elected to the board of directors of the American Academy of Dermatology. The organization represents more than 16,000 physicians and is dedicated to excellence in clinical care, education and research.

Leopoldo Raij, M.D., professor of medicine, director of hypertension and nephrology research at the International Medicine Institute, director of the Hypertension, Nephrology and Hypertension Division, and chief of the Nephrology and Hypertension Section at the VA Medical Center, has been elected chair of the Miller School's scientific awards committee. Along with vice chair Vinata Lokeshwar, Ph.D., professor of urology, they will spearhead the committee's vital recommendations for the distribution of research funds and the review of research grant programs.

Keith Candiotti, M.D., associate professor of clinical anesthesiology and internal medicine and vice chairman of clinical research, has been appointed chairman of the research committee for the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia. The Society's mission is to advance the study and growth of anesthesia in the outpatient surgery setting and to encourage high ethical and professional standards by promoting research, education and scientific progress in this growing area.

Angelique Grant, Ph.D., executive director of major gifts, has been honored as one of the 25 most successful black business women in South Florida by Success South Florida magazine. The honorees were chosen for their professional accomplishments and tireless efforts to support the South Florida community.

Ihsan Salloum, M.D., M.P.H., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, received honorary membership in the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) at the most recent WPA World Congress of Psychiatry held in Prague. The WPA is an association of 110 national psychiatric societies with a collective membership of more than 140,000 psychiatrists worldwide. Dr. Salloum also was editor of a recently published book, Psychiatric Diagnosis: Challenges and Prospects.

The UHealth Sleep Program recently received program re-accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). To receive a five-year accreditation, a sleep center must meet or exceed all standards for professional health care as designated by the AASM. The accreditation process involves a detailed inspection of a center's facility and staff, including an evaluation of testing procedures, patient contacts, and physician training.

The cycling team from the Medical Wellness Center won two awards from the American Diabetes Association during a ceremony in April. The cycling team was honored for being the third-largest team participating in the organization's 62-mile ride at C.B. Smith Park in February, and the second award was for raising $3,700.

Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT), developed by Howard Liddle, Ed.D., ABPP, professor of epidemiology and public health, has been officially recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. MDFT is a state-of-the-science, nationally and internationally recognized family-based treatment for adolescent substance abuse developed 25 years ago within a NIDA-funded clinical research project. MDFT is broad-based and involves multiple systems to help the adolescent and family get back on developmental track.

Erin N. Marcus, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of clinical medicine, received a $300,000 American Cancer Society Cancer Control Career Development Award for Primary Care Physicians. The award will enable her to conduct research on ways mammography centers can improve how they communicate results to underserved patients. She will conduct her research under the mentorship of Drs. Bernard Roos of geriatrics, Lee Sanders of pediatrics, and Beth Jones of the Yale School of Public Health, and will work closely with the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center's Disparities and Community Outreach Core in the completion of her project.

Daniel Lichtstein, M.D., professor of clinical medicine and senior associate dean for medical education at the Miller School at Florida Atlantic University, has received the "Master Teacher, William Dock, M.D., Award in Medicine," from his alma mater, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. The award is named for the late Dr. William Dock, a medical innovator, cardiologist and long-time faculty member at Downstate Medical Center.

Jennifer B. Marks, M.D., professor of medicine, presented two talks in Beijing, China, as part of the 2009 Peking University Diabetes Forum. The talks were titled, "Hyperglycemia & Diabetic Complications - Lessons Learned from the VADT and Other Clinical Trials" and "Rosiglitazone Treatment and Cardiovascular Disease in the Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial." More than 1,000 physicians attended the two-day symposium on diabetes and its management.

Stephanie Wragg, Ph.D., assistant dean for medical curriculum and director of faculty development at the Miller School at Florida Atlantic University, visited a medical school in April as part of an LCME team selected to review the institution's programs and adherence to the standards set by the accreditation body for U.S. and Canadian medical schools.

Carlos Singer, M.D., professor of neurology and director of the Division of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, recently chaired an international symposium on "Gene-Environment Interactions in Parkinson's Disease." The symposium was part of the 12th biennial meeting of the International Neurotoxicology Association held in Israel in June. Walter Bradley, D.M., F.R.C.P., chairman emeritus of neurology, also spoke on "The Role of a Ubiquitous Non-Protein Aminoacid, BMAA, and Cyanobacteria as an Environmental Cause of ALS, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease." Jeffery Vance, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of human genetics, spoke on "Genes, Environment and Susceptibility to Parkinson's Disease."

Camillo Ricordi, M.D., scientific director of the Diabetes Research Institute, presented the 2009 Dr. David M. Kovitz Visiting Professorship Lecture at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine in April. His lecture was titled "Islet Transplantation Beyond Systemic Immunosuppression: Cellular Therapies Meet Bioengineering."