Three Downstate Faculty Members Receive Chancellor’s Award for Excellence:
Jul 31, 2008
Drs. Sharon Glick, Dawn Morton-Rias, and Christopher Roman
Brooklyn, NY - Three SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University faculty members have received 2008 Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence. Chancellor’s Awards are a statewide honor conferred to recognize consistently superior professional achievement and to encourage the ongoing pursuit of excellence within the State University of New York system. Awards are given for teaching, faculty service, professional service, librarianship, and scholarship and creative activities.
Sharon Glick, MD, assistant professor of dermatology and of pediatrics and chief of the Division of Pediatric Dermatology at University Hospital at Downstate and Kings County Hospital Center, has been honored with a Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Dawn Morton-Rias, EdD, PA-C, dean of the School of Health Professions and professor in the Physician Assistant (PA) Program, has received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service.
And Christopher Roman, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology and director of the Downstate Medical Center Transgenic Mouse Facility, was given the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service.
Dr. Glick is a superb teacher who employs a variety of techniques including formal lectures, one-on-one patient reviews with students, problem-based learning, and supervision of the preparation of posters and manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals. Her scholarship ranges from innovative new therapy to in-depth study of rare diseases, and it has been recognized by her peers with repeated invitations to lecture at meetings of professional associations.
Dean Morton-Rias was appointed dean of the School of Health Professions in 2004, after having served three years as interim dean. Prior to that, she was chair of the Physician Assistant Program at Downstate, where she secured $1.5 million in training grant funds for faculty development. Under her leadership as dean, the College has enjoyed growth both in applicant numbers and graduation rates. Over the past five years, its six academic programs have received full accreditation to the maximum level. Recently, she completed a Fulbright Senior Specialists project at Haifa University in Israel.
Since his arrival at Downstate in 1998, Dr. Roman has led a very successful research program, as evidenced by a senior-authored paper in Nature Immunology in August 2006 on two transcription factors that are critical for T-cell-dependent humoral immunity. His research projects on human and mouse autoimmunity have earned him extramural support as principle investigator from NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the American Cancer Society, the Lupus Research Institute, and the NYC Council Speaker’s Fund/New York Academy of Medicine.
The Chancellor’s Awards underscore SUNY’s commitment to sustaining intellectual vibrancy, advancing the boundaries of knowledge, providing the highest quality of instruction, and serving the public good. Through these awards, SUNY proclaims its pride in the accomplishment and personal dedication of its instructional faculty, librarians and professional staff across all its campuses.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.