TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | j u ly 2 0 1 4 30 ACCOLADES GABRIEL M. AISENBERG, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and director of general internal medicine at LBJ Hospital, has been named the winner of the John P. McGovern Award as the exceptional clini- cal teacher. This is his second time to win the McGovern award—the first was in 2012. The John P. McGovern Award is given annually to an outstanding clinical faculty member as chosen by the senior class. JULIE A. BOOM, M.D., director of the Immunization Project at Texas Children's Hospital and associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine, has been named Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Childhood Immunization Champion for Texas. This annual award, given by the CDC Foundation and the CDC, honors exemplary childhood immunization advocates. Boom was nominated by her peers and selected as a Champion among health care professionals, community advocates, and other immunization leaders for making a significant contribution to public health in Texas through her work in children's immunization. MICHAEL H. COVERT, president and chief execu- tive officer of Palomar Health in San Diego, has been named chief executive officer of the CHI St. Luke's Health market. A veteran health care executive, Covert will serve not only as the top executive of the Houston-based health system but also as a senior vice president for Catholic Health Initiatives, the parent company of CHI St. Luke's Health. The two roles reflect and underscore the expanding responsibilities of key Catholic Health Initiatives executives responsible for providing leadership, strategic integration and overall operational man- agement for regional or statewide groups of health facilities that span the continuum of care. BRADFORD GOODWIN, DVM, executive director of the Center for Laboratory Animal Medicine and Care at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), recently received the 2013 Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Society for Biomedical Research. The award recognizes and is in appreciation for his many years of dedicated service to the science, research, and medical communities in the state of Texas. A veterinarian since 1967, Goodwin joined the Medical School and UTHealth in 1989, following a military career with the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps that included serving as President Lyndon B. Johnson's attending veterinarian. DAVID HERNDON, M.D., who holds the Jesse H. Jones Distinguished Chair in Burn Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), was honored with the Medallion for Scientific Achievement by the American Surgical Association (ASA). This is the highest accolade presented by the ASA, the oldest surgical society in the United States, established in 1880. Herndon also serves as chief of staff and director of research at Shriners Hospitals for Children—Galveston. He was recognized for his multiple, seminal contributions to the burn field, including his discoveries related to the hypermeta- bolic response to burn injury. ANIL KULKARNI, MSC, PH.D., professor in the Department of Surgery at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, was awarded a highly competitive Fulbright-Nehru Scholarship Award for Academic and Professional Experience to travel to India this fall to teach immunonutrition and functional foods in the global health era. As part of his fellowship, one of his goals back home in Houston will be to establish the Center of ImmunonUTrition, which will feature the development of basic and transla- tional curriculum in these specific areas. JOHN RIGGS, M.D., chief medical informatics officer for Harris Health System, has assumed an additional position as chief of service of obstetrics and gynecology for the health system's Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. Riggs serves as an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). He has worked in LBJ Hospital's OB/GYN services since 1990, when UTHealth's medical partnership with Harris Health began. His goals are to expand OB/GYN services in many of Harris Health's outpatient facilities and reinvigorate UTHealth's residency program. WILLIAM C. WATTERS III, M.D., MMS, has been named president of the North American Spine Society. Watters is a clinical associate professor for the Department of Orthopedic Surgery of The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He received advanced training in spinal surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and has served on major committees for organizations such as the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery and American Board of Spine Surgery, and holds a position on the Board of Advisors for World Spine Care.

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