A master clinician takes on new post

When Stephen J. Huot, M.D., professor of medicine, decided to organize a symposium in honor of Asghar Rastegar, M.D., he had to fight fierce resistance from the honoree himself. “I got an e-mail, a phone call [asking me not to],” Huot said of the famously humble nephrologist, who is stepping down as associate chair of medicine to serve as co-director of the international health program.

In the end, though, Rastegar acquiesced. The result was a series of tributes from fellow physicians celebrating his life, character and achievements, with accolades ranging from “master clinician” to “humanist extraordinaire.”

Huot, who replaced Rastegar as associate chair, traced Rastegar’s career from college and medical school in Wisconsin and residency in Pennsylvania to leadership roles at the medical school of Pahlavi (now Shiraz) University in his hometown of Shiraz, Iran, to Yale.

Majid Sadigh, M.D., associate professor of medicine, who trained under Rastegar at Shiraz, said that Rastegar’s “boundless energy” was among the reasons the university’s prestige skyrocketed in the 1970s. Sadigh then gave a spellbinding account of not only the complexities of practicing medicine in resource-poor Iran, but also the violence and strife during the Iranian Revolution. Rastegar, a democracy activist, left Iran in 1982 after having been jailed briefly. “Why,” Sadigh asked upon seeing his mentor imprisoned, “are they taking a hero to jail?” Two years later, Sadigh and his family were refugees themselves, living in a camp in Rome, when Rastegar secured him an internship in the United States.

Since joining Yale, Rastegar has made wide-ranging contributions to residency training, medical student education and the education of physician associates. “He is passionate about his commitment to improving the educational environment and comfortable undertaking the political conversations that need to happen in order for that to occur,” said Huot. Gary V. Desir, M.D., professor of medicine, added that Rastegar’s “unyielding desire to help those who are less privileged ... will be his most long-lasting legacy.”

At the symposium’s close, Rastegar said that he has led a “phenomenally privileged life.” When he returns to the city of Shiraz, he said, he always visits the man who ignited his love for reading—a bookseller, now 85, who allowed the 8-year-old Asghar to borrow books. He acknowledged Donna McCurdy, M.D., his mentor at the University of Pennsylvania, who allowed him to “imagine what I could be”; Samuel O. Thier, M.D., former chair of medicine, who urged him to come to Yale; and Frank Bia, M.D., a former professor of medicine, and Margaret Bia, M.D., professor of medicine, who were his interns when he was chief resident in Pennsylvania, and who helped him build a new life in the United States. “My career is indebted to people,” he said, “who took a chance on me.”

Pathologist honored with symposium

Michael Kashgarian, M.D. ’58, HS ’63, was the centerpiece of a Yale symposium in October, but the words of praise for him wouldn’t have been out of place at a fête in Hollywood or Cooperstown: “a real icon,” a “Renaissance man equally at home in town or country” and “a triple threat.”

Kashgarian, professor emeritus of and senior research scientist in pathology, was honored for his 50 years at the forefront of research on kidney disease. At Yale he established a diagnostic renal pathology and electron microscopy laboratory that bears his name. Kashgarian was also a pioneer in understanding the process of organ rejection.

Jon S. Morrow, Ph.D., M.D. ’76, HS ’77, department chair and the Raymond Yesner Professor of Pathology and professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, and a colleague of Kashgarian for 30 years, said that his “infectious” fascination with renal disease inspired others. “He’s been a real icon,” Morrow said. “He’s profoundly affected the practice of physiology.”

Echoing Morrow, former Dean Gerard N. Burrow, M.D. ’58, called Kashgarian “really a pathological triple threat” as a clinician, investigator and teacher. A skilled fisherman, wine expert and bridge player, Kashgarian was also a beacon outside the classroom. “The New York City background disappeared into a Yale country gentleman,” said Burrow, a friend since medical school.

Although Kashgarian retired in July, he continues to work, completing his remaining research grants. He will also continue to serve as editor in chief of Yale Medicine.

Genetics professor named to IOM

Arthur L. Horwich, M.D., HS ’78, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Genetics and professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the National Academy of Sciences announced in October. He was one of 65 people recognized last year by the academy for outstanding professional achievements in the fields of health and medicine. Horwich is an expert on the molecular mechanisms of protein folding, a process crucial to the maintenance of life. When proteins misfold, they can aggregate into plaques and lead to a variety of diseases. More than 20 diseases, including such neurodegenerative disorders as Alzheimer disease, have been linked to misfolded proteins.

The IOM election was the second major honor in a week for Horwich, who was also awarded the 2008 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize by Columbia University for outstanding contributions in biology and biochemistry. Horwich shared the prize with F. Ulrich Hartl, M.D., Ph.D., of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany, and Rosalind Franklin, Ph.D., who was honored posthumously for her work on the discovery of the structure of DNA. Horwich and Hartl were honored for their contributions to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of protein folding.

Portrait of psychiatry chair unveiled

Benjamin S. “Steve” Bunney, M.D., professor emeritus and former chair of psychiatry, returned to Yale in October from his home in coastal Maine for the unveiling of his portrait and a celebration of his 20 years as chair.

“Steve was always a voice of clarity and rationality and steadiness,” said William H. Sledge, M.D., the George D. and Esther S. Gross Professor of Psychiatry, recalling a tumultuous time in the department some 21 years ago when Bunney assumed leadership. With Bunney as chair, Sledge said, “we continued to progress and evolve into truly one of the most outstanding departments of psychiatry in the nation and the world.”

After remarks by John H. Krystal, M.D. ’84, the Robert L. McNeil Jr. Professor of Psychiatry, who called Bunney a “wonderful mentor,” the cloth over the painting was removed to gasps and applause.

“This department has been blessed with the most amazing people,” said Bunney, “so my job was very, very easy. … I want to thank everyone here for giving me such a wonderful career.”
The portrait by Gerald P. York depicts him sitting on a laboratory table flanked by scientific images, a stethoscope, and a model sailboat—symbols of his wide-ranging interests. The Sterling Hall of Medicine appears over Bunney’s shoulder. In keeping with tradition, the portrait will hang in the departmental offices at 300 George Street alongside those of previous chairs of psychiatry.

Since retiring in early 2008, Bunney has made his home in Newbury Neck, a peninsula in Maine near Acadia National Park.

Alumna receives Yale Medal

Roslyn Milstein Meyer, Ph.D. ’77, assistant clinical professor in psychiatry, is one of five recipients of the 2008 Yale Medal, the most prestigious award given by the Association of Yale Alumni. Meyer is well-known in the New Haven area for her leadership of a wide array of programs and her longstanding commitment to Yale and the university’s environs. Most recently, Meyer has supported research and treatment programs at Yale for melanoma, one of the fastest-growing and deadliest forms of cancer. With a gift of $10 million to the school last spring, she and her husband, Jerome H. Meyer, M.D. ’72, HS ’77, lecturer in psychiatry, are helping to establish the Milstein Meyer Center for Melanoma Research and Treatment, which will enable the development of more investigator-initiated clinical trials and improve Yale’s ability to design new treatments for the often fatal illness. Meyer is a trustee of Yale-New Haven Hospital, a patient advocate for Yale’s NIH-funded Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Skin Cancer and a co-founder of both New Haven’s International Festival of Arts and Ideas and the Leadership, Education, and Athletics in Partnership program. She has served as a member of the Volunteer Council for Women’s Health Research at Yale, a board member of the Yale University Art Gallery and a trustee of Yale’s Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life.

Notes

Robert Alpern

Robert J. Alpern, M.D., dean and Ensign Professor of Medicine, received the John P. Peters Award from the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) in November in recognition of his career of research and leadership. The award “recognizes individuals who have made substantial research contributions to the discipline of nephrology and have sustained achievements in one or more domains of academic medicine including clinical care, education and leadership.” Alpern, a former president of the ASN, is the second Yale faculty member to receive the award. Gerhard H. Giebisch, M.D., was honored in 2006. Established in 1983, this annual award is named for a leader in the discipline of nephrology who spent his entire faculty career at Yale; Peters was chief of the metabolic division in the Department of Internal Medicine from 1922 until 1955.

Michael Donoghue

Michael J. Donoghue, Ph.D., the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, has been named the first Vice President for West Campus Planning and Program Development. Donoghue recently completed a five-year term as the director of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Donoghue will work with faculty to develop specific details of new research programs and core facilities and will coordinate the program for library, museum and other initiatives there.

Yale’s 2007 acquisition of the West Campus, formerly the Bayer HealthCare complex, is part of a $1 billion commitment to strengthening science and medical research at the university. The 136-acre facility in nearby Orange and West Haven features 17 buildings with more than 500,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratory space, in addition to offices, warehouses and other facilities.

Donoghue joined the Yale faculty in 2000, serving as chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from 2001 to 2002. He also holds faculty appointments in Yale’s Department of Geology and Geophysics and in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Donoghue has served on dozens of scientific committees and has also served on the board of directors of New Haven’s International Festival of Arts and Ideas.

John Elefteriades

John A. Elefteriades, M.D. ’76, HS ’81, FW ’83, the William W.L. Glenn Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and chief of cardiac surgery, was given the Distinguished Fellowship Award by the International Academy of Cardiology at the XIV World Congress on Heart Disease in July in Toronto. The award was conferred in recognition of “profound contributions to the field of cardiovascular medicine.”

Robert J. Levine, M.D., HS ’63, immediate past co-director of Yale University’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, received The George Washington University Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award for 2008. This award was presented at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in April. Levine is professor of medicine, lecturer in pharmacology and director of the law, policy and ethics core at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in AIDS.

Carolyn Mazure

Carolyn M. Mazure, Ph.D., associate dean for faculty affairs and professor of psychiatry and psychology, is the 2008 recipient of the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Leadership Award. This award recognizes innovative research accomplishment and leadership that improve women’s lives and advance health outcomes. She is the founding director of Women’s Health Research at Yale, which was started in 1998 in response to the need for gender-based research. Mazure was also the 2007 recipient of the Marion Spencer Fay Award, given by the National Board for Women in Medicine.

Charles A. Morgan III, M.D., associate clinical professor of psychiatry, has received the Patriotic Civilian Service Award for his service to the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Since 1989, Morgan has been researching the factors that increase vulnerability to developing post-traumatic stress disorder during Special Forces training and other stressful situations and working to develop preventive strategies that could benefit civilians as well as military personnel.

Marcella Nunez-Smith

Marcella Nunez-Smith, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, has received the 2008 Herbert W. Nickens Faculty Fellowship from the American Association of Medical Colleges. The $15,000 fellowship recognizes a junior faculty member who leads efforts to remedy inequities in medical education and health care. Nunez-Smith is assistant director of the School of Medicine’s Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, which prepares physician leaders to improve the nation’s health and health care system by translating research into action at the local, state and national levels.

Erik M. Shapiro

Erik Shapiro

Erik M. Shapiro, Ph.D., assistant professor of diagnostic radiology and biomedical engineering, has received a $1.5 million Director’s New Innovator Award from the National Institutes of Health. Shapiro, who arrived at Yale in 2006 and directs the Molecular and Cellular Magnetic Resonance Imaging Laboratory in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, is developing new ways to enhance cellular and molecular magnetic resonance imaging technology. These technical advances will allow scientists to detect, measure and manipulate cell migration in living tissue.

Michael Simons

Michael Simons, M.D. ’84, a distinguished heart researcher and physician, has been named section chief of cardiovascular medicine at the School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Simons comes to Yale from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where he served as chief of cardiology, director of the cardiovascular center and the angiogenesis research center, and on the medical center’s board of governors. He was also professor of medicine and of pharmacology and toxicology at Dartmouth Medical School. While at Dartmouth, Simons received the department of medicine’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Simons previously served as an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and attending cardiologist at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. He was also director of Beth Israel’s coronary care unit.

Simons’ research interests include fibroblast growth factor signaling in the vascular system, regulation of arterial development, and branching and endothelial signaling.

Edward Zigler

Edward Zigler, Ph.D., Sterling Professor of Psychology emeritus, has been selected as the 2008 recipient of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology. Zigler received the award at the APA annual convention in Boston in August. Known as the “Father of Head Start,” Zigler is one of the principal architects of the federal Head Start program and the founder of the School of the 21st Century (21C) initiative.


			Originally published in Yale Medicine, Winter 2009. Copyright © 2009 Yale University School of Medicine. All rights reserved.