Findings
Houston, Texas
Volume 6, Issue 7
August 2008

News briefs

Appointment of chief of pathology at TCH

James Versalovic, M.D., Ph.D., was appointed the new chief of pathology at Texas Children's Hospital, effective April 2009. Milton Finegold, M.D., professor of pathology, will continue in his current role as chief of pathology until next year and lead the transition of leadership. Finegold will remain a full-time member of the department, continuing to direct the Morphology Core of the Digestive Disease Center, participating in diagnostic pathology services and education at TCH, and providing expertise in the area of liver disease in children.

Versalovic, associate professor of pathology, molecular and human genetics, and molecular virology and microbiology, received his Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology at BCM in 1994 and his M.D. at BCM in 1995. He completed his clinical pathology residency training at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Since 2001, he has served as director of the Microbiology Laboratories. In 2006, he became director of the Division of Molecular Pathology at TCH. He also serves as co-director of the Medical Scientist (M.D./Ph.D.) Training Program at BCM and co-director of the Functional Genomics Core of the Texas Medical Center Digestive Diseases Center.

Interim chair of urology

Michael Coburn, M.D., was named interim chair of the urology department. Dr. Coburn has been with BCM since 1988. He received his M.D. from New York University School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowship training at BCM. He is vice chair for academic affairs for the Department of Urology and is also the director of education for urology. Dr. Coburn holds the Carlton-Smith Chair in Urologic Education and also serves as chief of the Urology Service at Ben Taub General Hospital.

Dr. Coburn has a great passion for education and has been recognized as a Master Teacher at BCM, received two Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P Faculty Excellence Awards, and in 2007 was selected as a recipient of the Barbara and Corbin J. Robertson Jr. Presidential Award for Excellence in Education. He chairs the BCM Graduate Medical Education Committee standing committee and last year the American Medical Association appointed him to a three-year term on the AMA Council on Medical Education to the Resident Review Committee.

Glaze honored at Rett syndrome conference

Daniel Glaze, M.D., professor of pediatrics – neurology, has received the Art of Caring Award at the International Rett Syndrome Foundation's 24th annual conference, the organization's most prestigious honor.

He was recognized for his years of compassionate care to families affected by Rett syndrome, and his contributions to improving the quality of life of patients. Glaze is one of the world's leading experts in the neurophysiological manifestations of Rett syndrome, particularly for sleep and seizure problems.

Rett syndrome is a brain disorder affecting development in childhood. Identified almost exclusively in females, RTT results in severe movement and communication problems following apparently normal development for the first six months of life. The characteristic features include loss of speech and purposeful hand use, occurrence of repetitive hand movements, abnormal walking, abnormal breathing and slowing in the rate of head growth.

Beaudet elected to Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars

Arthur Beaudet, M.D., chair of molecular and human genetics, has been elected to the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars. The Society of Scholars was created in 1967 and inducts former postdoctoral fellows, postdoctoral degree recipients, house staff and junior or visiting faculty at Johns Hopkins who have gained marked distinction in their fields of physical, biological, medical, social, or engineering sciences or in the humanities.

Beaudet, who was a resident at Johns Hopkins from 1967 to 1969, was selected based on his work in the applications of molecular genetics to human disease and his leadership of "one of the most successful human genetics programs in the world."