‘Achievement’ Is Here: SUNY Downstate Alumni Publish History of the College of Medicine
Oct 4, 2011
Downstate at 150: A Celebration of Achievement is a collection of 150 biographical essays that recount the careers and contributions of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University’s many illustrious alumni and faculty. Published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the College of Medicine, it provides a mosaic of the school as seen through the achievements of its celebrated men and women.
The book’s 150 monographs were written by colleagues and former students, many of whom have made sizeable contributions of their own to science and medicine. They provide illuminating portraits of such renowned figures as Robert Austrian and Gerald Schiffman, who developed and tested pneumonia vaccine; Raymond Damadian, an inventor of magnetic resonance imaging; Samuel Kountz, pioneering African-American transplant surgeon; geneticist and National Medal of Science awardee Evelyn Witkin; and Robert Furchgott, Nobel prize-winning scientist.
“So very many people who have been at this school accomplished so much,” says the book’s editor, Martin J. Salwen, MD, distinguished service professor of pathology. Himself an alumnus, Dr. Salwen has been at Downstate long enough to have personally known many of the distinguished men and women described in his book.
“These colleagues have changed the world and the lives of many people,” he said. “They should be remembered always.”
Downstate at 150: A Celebration of Achievement is published by the Alumni Association of the College of Medicine. It is available at the campus bookstore and can be ordered by phone (718-270-2486).
For more information, visit: FSA Bookstore.
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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.