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Two Downstate Students Receive SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence

Apr 15, 2010

Downstate medical students Marc Justin Braunstein, PhD, and Lorraine Min-Shan Liang, MS, have been awarded the 2010 Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. This award, conferred by SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher at an awards ceremony on April 6, recognizes academic excellence, leadership, and community service and is the highest student commendation within the State University of New York. Two winners were chosen from Downstate, based on the size of its student enrollment.

Marc Justin Braunstein earned his doctorate from Downstate in 2009 and will complete the requirements for an MD in 2011; Lorraine Liang will receive her medical diploma this year. Both have impressive records of scholarly achievements combined with extensive community involvement.

Dr. Braunstein, whose cancer research focuses on endothelial progenitor cells in multiple myeloma, is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. The winner of Downstate’s Annual Research Day Award on several occasions—in 2008 for Best Platform Presentation and in 2007 and 2005 for Best Poster—he has twice received a travel award from the American Society of Hematology. He also is active in student affairs, having served as president of the Downstate Student Center Governing Board and as a volunteer for the Brooklyn Free Clinic, a student-run health service for uninsured adult residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant and surrounding communities.

Before coming to Downstate, Lorraine Liang earned a master’s in nutrition from Columbia University. Following graduation in May, she plans to return to Columbia for residency training in urology. In addition to numerous journal publications and presentations at professional conferences, Ms. Liang has been active in the American Medical Women’s Association. She served as chapter president in 2007-2008 and as New York-New Jersey regional representative last year. In 2008, she received the association’s Young Women in Science Award.  

 

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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.