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J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1995;110:586-587
© 1995 Mosby, Inc.
REPORTS OF INTEREST TO THORACIC SURGEONS |
The Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education (TSFRE) is an important new force in our specialty. Its mission is to identify, encourage, and provide private funding for education and research programs in thoracic surgery. The Foundation is entirely supported through the generous contributions of individuals, industry, and the four professional societies of our specialty.
During 1994, 160 thoracic surgeons contributed a record $192,000 to the Foundation as members of The New Century Society, setting the example for surgical colleagues and the public with their generous annual contributions to the Foundation.
GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
A record thirty-five grant applications were submitted for the year and were reviewed by an independent awards committee of surgical specialists chaired by Dr. Andrew S. Wechsler. The Foundation announces the following awards for 1995:
Research fellowships provide salary support to surgeons and surgical trainees who wish to acquire investigational skills; recipients are: Joseph H Gorman III, MD, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, for his work on the pathogenesis and repair of ischemic mitral regurgitation; Hiranya Rajasinghe, MD, University of California, San Francisco, for his work on fetal induction of immune tolerance for neonatal xenotransplantation.
Research grants provide one year of operational support for original research projects. Preference is given to investigations that have the potential to use the data generated for pursuit of additional peer-reviewed funding; recipients are: Richard P. Embrey, MD, University of Iowa College of Medicine, for a study of the mechanisms of coronary microvascular abnormalities caused by cardiopulmonary bypass and cardioplegia; Joren C. Madsen, MD, DPhil, Massachusetts General Hospital, for his work on cardiac allograft vasculopathy in miniature swine; John D. Mannion, MD, Thomas Jefferson University, for studies of the effects of basic fibroblast growth factor on protection of ischemic skeletal muscle during long-term electrical stimulation.
The Nina Starr Braunwald Fund provides career development awards and research fellowships for women in academic cardiothoracic surgery. Career development awards provide salary support for applicants who wish to pursue investigative careers in thoracic surgery. They are typically made for two years in the form of a loan, which is forgiven if the applicant remains in an investigative role in an academic environment for two years beyond the award period.
Contributions to the Nina S. Braunwald Fund for 1994 totaled $326,000, bringing the cumulative fund total to $1.1 million. A research fellowship grant was awarded to Elaine E. Tseng, MD, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, to study the role of nitric oxide in mediating neurologic injury during hypothermic circulatory arrest. Margaret D. Allen, MD, University of Washington School of Medicine, received a career development award to expand the scope of research on adhesion molecules.
The application deadline for all of the foregoing grants is October 1, 1995
The Evarts A Graham Fund was established by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery in 1951 to support education and research. The fund was transferred to the TSFRE in 1993. The Evarts A. Graham Memorial Traveling Fellowship provides grants to young surgeons, predominantly from outside North America, who have completed their formal training in thoracic surgery. The award allows recipients to study for one year to intensify their training in a program of special interest and to travel to several sites to broaden their experience and establish contacts with thoracic surgeons internationally. The 1995-96 awardee is Cornelius McKown Dyke, MD, from The Medical College of Virginia. The Robert E. Gross Research Scholarship provides an opportunity for research training for North American surgeons who are committed to pursuing an academic career in cardiothoracic surgery. The program, funded by the AATS, is undertaken within the first three years after completion of an approved cardiothoracic residency and is for two years. Mehmet C. Oz, MD, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, and Thoralf Mauritz Sundt III, MD, Washington University School of Medicine, are the 1994-96 recipients of this award.
Review and selection of applications for these awards is conducted by the Evarts A. Graham Memorial Traveling Fellowship Committee, chaired by Henry M. Spotnitz, MD.
The application deadline for these grants is July 1 of each year.
The Alley-Sheridan Program. A $1 million gift from David Sheridan honoring Dr. Ralph Alley enables the Foundation to develop a new initiative in continuing education for practicing surgeons. The Alley-Sheridan Program will prepare surgeons for leadership roles in the changing environment of medical practice and in directing progress of the specialty in the future through graduate and continuing education programs in health care policy. A newly formed education committee will establish continuing education courses to be funded by this program in these areas:
The course at Harvard will begin in May of 1996. Applications for Alley-Sheridan Fund Scholarships to attend will be available through the Foundation office after September 1, 1995.
Baxter Healthcare Grant. Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Edwards CVC Division, celebrated the implantation of its one millionth prosthetic valve by presenting a $1 million grant to the TSFRE in April of 1995. This grant represents the first corporate contribution of this magnitude. This gift to the Foundation, facilitated by Dr. Delos M. Cosgrove, will advance the Foundation's support of research and education.
Challenge Grant from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
The STS has awarded a $100,000 challenge grant to the TSFRE, effective March 1, 1995, through April 30, 1996. Contributions from small companies will be matched on a one-to-one basis during this time. Companies interested in participating are encouraged to contact Dr. W. Gerald Rainer, co-chair of the corporate committee, to help meet this challenge.
Other News From the Foundation
A sixteen-member board of directors is elected from nominees from The American Association for Thoracic Surgery, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association. The Foundation welcomes newly elected directors Dr. Richard P. Anderson, representing the STS, Dr. A. Robert Cordell, representing the STSA, and Dr. Andrew S. Wechsler, representing the AATS. Dr. Robert B. Wallace, representing the AATS, and Dr. W. Gerald Rainer, representing the STS, were reelected for three-year terms.
The directors express their appreciation to the past president, Dr Harold V. Liddle, whose vision and leadership guided the Foundation through its formative years, as well as to past directors, Dr. Harold C. Urschel, Dr. John A. Waldhausen, and Dr. Benson R. Wilcox. Dr. Liddle will continue serving as a director and as a member of the planned giving committee. Dr. Urschel will continue to be active with the Foundation on the education committee. The finance committee, chaired by Dr. Quentin R. Stiles, treasurer, has been developed to include each of the treasurers of the four thoracic surgical societies. Walter G. Purcell has assumed the position of administrative director and Deborah A. Cohen is director of development of the Foundation. They are helping your Foundation strengthen the specialty of thoracic surgery through research and education. Inquiries and suggestions should be directed to Walter Purcell at the Foundation office in Chicago.
Footnotes
J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG 1995; 110:586-7 
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