VCU news

Lauren Goodloe, Ph.D., director of medical and geriatric nursing, administrative director of nursing research, assistant dean for clinical operations in the School of Nursing

At the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education board meeting, Oct. 19–22, Goodloe was elected to both the CCNE executive board and the position of secretary.

CCNE is an autonomous accrediting agency dedicated to the improvement of the public’s health. CCNE ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate and graduate nursing education programs and entry to practice nurse residency programs like the one at VCU Medical Center. CCNE accreditation supports continuing self-assessment, growth and improvement of education and nurse residency programs.

Richard “Dick” P. Wenzel, M.D., professor emeritus and former chair, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine

Wenzel was honored as a 2015 recipient of the Simon Gratz Prize. The award was bestowed by the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at an Oct. 17 ceremony during Thomas Jefferson University’s Alumni Weekend in Philadelphia.

A 1965 graduate of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Wenzel is a renowned expert on antibiotic resistance and a pioneer in preventing and controlling hospital-acquired infections. His research on bloodstream infections as well as his fieldwork treating cholera patients in epidemics in the Philippines and Bangladesh are well known.

“I have been fortunate to have numerous opportunities to explore in medicine, to be surrounded by talented fellows and colleagues, and to remain curious in my career,” Wenzel said. “To receive this recognition in the presence of my classmates at the 50th reunion was extraordinarily exciting.”

Every three years, the Simon Gratz Prize is awarded to alumni of Sidney Kimmel Medical College whose work has furthered the advancement of medical or surgical treatment of disease or for research work that has been of practical value. This year, Wenzel shared the prize with two other alumni.

Michel Aboutanos, M.D., professor of surgery, School of Medicine; chair, Division of Acute Care Surgical Services; medical director, VCU Trauma Center

Aboutanos was installed as president of the Pan-American Trauma Society at the 28th Pan-American Trauma Congress, Nov. 11-14 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The Pan-American Trauma Society was founded in Bogota, Colombia, in 1986 with the objective of improving the management of trauma patients in Latin American countries. The organization moved its headquarters to Richmond in 2011 to be hosted by the VCU Department of Surgery’s Division of Trauma, Critical Care and Emergency Surgery.

Lawrence B. Schwartz, M.D., Ph.D., the Charles and Evelyn Thomas Professor of Medicine and chair of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology

Schwartz was named Researcher of the Year by the European Competence Network on Mastocytosis and was awarded the ECNM Medal. He was honored at the ECNM’s annual meeting in Munich, Oct. 8-10.

Mastocytosis is a rare disease characterized by abnormal growth and accumulation of tissue mast cells in one or more organ systems. ECNM, a network of centers and experts in Europe, was established to improve disease recognition, diagnosis and therapy in patients with mastocytosis. The network, which began in Europe, was later extended to the U.S. and other non-European countries. The award honors experts in the field of mastocytosis who have made seminal and substantial contributions to mastocytosis research over time. Schwartz’s research is frequently cited and has shaped the field’s understanding of the disease and its treatment.

In announcing the award, the ECNM noted “[Schwartz’s] assay for total tryptase is now used throughout the world to facilitate the diagnosis of systemic mastocytosis (a WHO criterion and FDA approved for this purpose), helping to reveal this disorder in many patients for whom it might otherwise have remained undiagnosed. The assay is also used to help diagnose mast cell-dependent systemic anaphylaxis, to monitor mast cell cytoreductive therapy and to assess anaphylactic risk in patients who are sensitive to insect venom.”