2024 Daniel Drake Medals to be awarded April 27
Two current faculty members and an alumna of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine will receive 2024 Daniel Drake Medals, the highest honor awarded by the college, during a celebration on April 27. The medal recipients are Gail Besner, MD, James Herman, PhD, and Brett Kissela, MD.
"These 2024 medal recipients are exemplars of the College of Medicine and are representative of our incredible alumni and extraordinary faculty," says Andrew T. Filak Jr., MD, senior vice president for health affairs and Christian R. Holmes Professor and Dean of the College of Medicine, and a 2018 Drake Medal recipient.
Gail Besner, MD. Photo courtesy of Nationwide Children's Hospital.
Besner is a member of the college’s Class of 1982 and is the H. William Clatworthy Jr. Professor of Surgery and chief of the Department of Pediatric Surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. She is also chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery at the Ohio State University College of Medicine.
An outstanding pediatric surgeon and scientist, Besner is an expert in necrotizing enterocolitis, a bacterial invasion of the intestinal wall of neonates with a mortality rate of up to 50%. After graduating from the College of Medicine, Besner completed her general surgery residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston followed by a research fellowship in the Boston Children’s Hospital laboratory of Judah Folkman, MD, founder of the field of angiogenesis.
Besner did her pediatric surgery training at Buffalo Children’s Hospital before joining the faculty at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She has received the Sheen Award from the American College of Surgeons and the Nationwide Children’s Allen Distinguished Scholar Award in recognition of her research.
James Herman, PhD. Photo/Joseph Fuqua/University of Cincinnati.
Herman is the Flor van Maanen Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and, since 2018, the chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology at the College of Medicine. An internationally recognized expert in stress neurobiology, his research has been responsible for uncovering the molecular basis of how the brain responds to stress and how a person’s response to stress can lead to a variety of neurological diseases.
He is most well-known for discovering the neuro-anatomical pathways that translate stress information into physiological and behavioral responses. In 2020, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Psychoneuroendocrinology. Herman received his doctorate in neurobiology and anatomy from the University of Rochester and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. He served on the faculty of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine from 1991 to 1999 before joining the UC College of Medicine faculty in 2000.
Brett Kissela, MD. Photo/Joseph Fuqua/University of Cincinnati.
Kissela is chair of the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, Albert Barnes Voorheis Professor of Neurology, executive vice dean and senior associate dean for clinical research at the College of Medicine.
Kissela is a national leader in stroke epidemiology, diabetes impact on stroke and stroke recovery. For nearly 20 years, he has been the principal investigator of a population-based study in Greater Cincinnati that has established much of the epidemiology of stroke in the U.S., including the estimated number of strokes in the country, the risk factors for stroke, the recent change in incidence by age, gender and race and the evolution of how stroke is treated and managed.
Kissela received his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine. He completed his neurology residency at the University of Michigan and a fellowship in cerebrovascular disease at UC. He also earned a master’s degree in epidemiology from UC.
The Daniel Drake Medal is awarded annually to living faculty or alumni for their outstanding and unique contributions to medical education, scholarship and research. The medal was established in 1985 to honor the 200th birthday of Daniel Drake, MD, the founder of the Medical College of Ohio, the forerunner of the UC College of Medicine, and one of the most influential physicians, educators and scientists of 19th century America.
Featured photo at top of Daniel Drake Medal. Photo/University of Cincinnati.
Latest UC News
- LastPass password manager now available for UC staffThe University of Cincinnati has partnered with LastPass to provide staff with enhanced password management services. This news article provides more details about the initiative launched on May 1, offering information and resources to help staff set up and use LastPass effectively for improved online security.
- Can new rules in Ohio address a pharmacy staffing shortage and improve care?The University of Cincinnati's Michael Hegener joined WVXU's Cincinnati Edition to discuss recent rules released by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy designed to address pharmacy staffing.
- UC’s Dean Lawrence J. Johnson, a transformative figure in CECH, celebrates 25 yearsThe University of Cincinnati's College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology Dean Lawrence J. Johnson retires this year after 25 years in the role (and 34 years with the college). In this article we look at his road to academia and journey to a transformative quarter century at UC.
- Pianist, educator and scholar Lynn Worcester Jones joins CCM’s facultyUC College-Conservatory of Music Interim Dean Jonathan Kregor has announced the addition of Lynn Worcester Jones, DMA, to the college’s roster of distinguished performing and media arts faculty members. Jones is an innovative pianist, educator, writer, speaker, mentor and leader who encourages career preparation and excellence in students. She begins her new role as Associate Professor of Piano Pedagogy and Coordinator of Group Piano at CCM on Aug. 15, 2024.
- Residents concerned about high concentration of low-income housingEfforts to build more affordable housing in Cincinnati have created concerns for residents as low-income housing has been concentrated in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, WCPO reported. Gary Painter, PhD, the academic director of the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business real estate program and a professor of real estate, said a complaint against the city could lead to positive outcomes.
- Is ketamine the answer to treatment-resistant depression?The University of Cincinnati's Stephen Rush joined WVXU's Cincinnati Edition to discuss the use of ketamine and esketamine to treat treatment-resistant depression.