First Annual Awards Dinner Recognizes Faculty Distinctions

Dean Allen S. Lichter hosted a dinner at Barton Hills Country Club in Ann Arbor on October 10 to honor faculty who received the following Medical School awards in 2001:

Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Education

Roland G. Hiss (M.D. 1957, Residency 1964, Fellowship 1966)
Professor and Chair, Medical Education

The Lifetime Achievement Award was established to recognize faculty who have contributed significantly to medical education. Hiss, chair of the Department of Medical Education for nearly 20 years, is highly regarded for his exceptional teaching of medical students and his contributions to the curriculum. Hiss also served on the dean’s staff as coordinator of affiliated hospitals for 16 years and has had a prominent role in the Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center since its inception in 1977.

Achievement in Basic Science Award

Gabriel Nuñez, M.D.
Professor of Pathology

The award for basic science achievements recognizes faculty who have contributed outstanding basic science research. Nuñez is a world leader in the study of molecular pathways involved in apoptosis, having made seminal contributions toward the understanding of these pathways, and he is regarded as one of the most innovative and productive scientists at U-M.

Achievement in Clinical Research Award


Sewon Kang (M.D. 1987)
Associate Professor of Dermatology

Gary Fisher, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Dermatology

Kang and Fisher share the Achievement in Clinical Research Award for their outstanding contributions to clinical research and their strong commitment and dedication to the field of dermatological research. They serve in many critical roles including those of clinician, teacher, research unit director and clinical research investigator, and they are widely regarded for their uncompromising work ethic and positive, energetic creativity.

Distinguished Faculty Lectureship in Biomedical Research Award

Steven Kunkel, Ph.D.
Professor of Pathology

This award honors faculty who have contributed long-term biomedical research, teaching and service to the University of Michigan. Kunkel is recognized nationally and internationally for his contributions in immu-nology and inflammation. His investigations focus on molecular mediators of inflammation and have provided not only an understanding of the basic mechanisms involved in immunologic processes, but also insight into developing therapeutic strategies to treat inflammatory disorders.

Community Service Award

Terence Joiner, M.D. (Residency 1985)
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases

The Community Service Award recognizes faculty who have contributed to the community in an extraordinary fashion. Joiner is regarded as one of the physicians on the faculty most dedicated to community service. He is devoted to a legion of community resources, including the Ypsilanti Pediatric Clinic, the Marshall H. Becker Memorial Clinic for under-served children, the Michigan Asthma Strategic Planning Initiative, American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Community Health, and the Washtenaw County Health Improvement Plan. Joiner has also been a consultant for the Michigan Children’s Protective Service Medical Advisory Committee and the Washtenaw County Head Start Program.

Clinical Award for Primary Care

James Peggs, M.D.
Associate Professor of Family Medicine

This award honors faculty who have shown exemplary performance as a practicing clinician or program director of innovation in clinical care. During his 23 years in the greater Ann Arbor medical community, Peggs has developed a clinical reputation of the highest order and has served as an influential role model for dozens of medical students and residents; he was honored with the Galens Silver Shovel Award in 1998 for teaching excellence. He has also provided critical leadership to Chelsea Community Hospital, the Chelsea medical community and the Chelsea Retirement Community. Peggs has been listed for the past several years as one of America’s best family physicians.

Clinical Award for the Specialist

Powel Kazanjian, M.D.
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine

This award recognizes the specialist who has shown exemplary performance as a practicing clinician or program leader of innovation in clinical care. Kazanjian has built an outstanding, nationally recognized clinical HIV/AIDS program which more than tripled in size between 1994 and 2000, due primarily to Kazanjian’s continued successful competition for federal Ryan White Title III funding. Local AIDS support programs regard the U-M HIV/AIDS Treatment Program, the only program in the state of Michigan nationally-ranked by U.S. News and World Report, as the best in the region.

Innovations Award

James R. Baker Jr., M.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine
Ruth Dow Doan Professor of Biologic Nanotechnology

The Innovations Award recognizes faculty who have developed an innovation that radically improves or transforms clinical outcomes, educational processes, or research processes. Baker has been both a national and international leader in the field of biologic nanotechnology and has brought considerable attention to U-M in establishing its Center for Biologic Nanotechnology, of which he has served as director since 1998. He is also co-director for the Center for Biomedical Engineering and division chief of Allergy and Immunology. Baker’s innovations can be seen in his work utilizing dendrimer polymers as significant nanobiologic agents, and for his investigations into the use of lipid emulsions as antimicrobial agents.

The Kaiser Permanente Teaching Award in Clinical Education

Paul Fine (M.D. 1989, Residency 1992)
Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine

The Kaiser Permanente Teaching Award in Clinical Education honors faculty who demonstrate superior teaching abilities in clinical education. Fine’s remarkable contributions in the areas of scholarship and educational methods have included innovative programs to facilitate medical students’ educational experience on the inpatient units, as well as superb teaching in inpatient and outpatient settings.

The Kaiser Permanente Teaching Award in Basic Science

Louis D’Alecy, Ph.D.
Professor of Physiology

The Kaiser Permanente Teaching Award in Basic Science honors faculty who demonstrate superior teaching abilities in basic science. With more than 25 years of outstanding teaching of medical and graduate students at U-M, D’Alecy is recognized as one of the individuals most committed to education in the basic sciences. He has served on 42 doctoral committees, sponsored 10 postdoctoral fellows, 18 research rotations and 13 undergraduate honors theses.