Belfort
and Hannan Named Distinguished Professors
by Lisa James Goldsberry
Marlene Belfort and Edward Hannan, both from
the School of Public Health, are UAlbany�s newest Distinguished
Professors.
Appointment to the rank of Distinguished
Professor, the highest academic rank in the State University
of New York system, is conferred upon individuals who have
achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished
reputation within a chosen field. This distinction is attained
through significant contributions to the research literature,
or through artistic performance or achievement, in the case
of the arts.
The candidate�s work must be of such character
that the individual�s presence will tend to elevate the standards
of scholarship of colleagues both within and beyond the person�s
academic field.
�Our Distinguished Professors serve as models
of excellence for the entire University community,� said Chancellor
Robert L. King. �Their accomplishments in mathematics, anthropology,
learning theory, molecular biology, economics, and medicine
enhance the reputation of the entire University. I am very
pleased to congratulate our faculty for earning our most prestigious
award.�
Belfort, who joined the University in 1985,
is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. She
is world renowned for her path-breaking contributions to the
field of molecular biology. Her pioneering work reinforced
how science views the basic unit of heredity, the gene, and
was key to her election to membership in the National Academy
of Sciences. She earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology at
the University of California at Irvine. Belfort has an exceptional
record of research funding.
In his letter of nomination, School of Public
Health Dean Peter J. Levin wrote, �By combining elegant genetic
techniques with meticulous biochemical and structural studies,
Dr. Belfort has cleverly dissected the properties of mobile
introns. Furthermore, she has applied the knowledge gained
from these studies to develop introns and the proteins they
encode as novel genetic tools that have and will continue
to enhance molecular analysis of genomes from bacteria to
humans.�
Joan A. Steitz, now Sterling Professor of
Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at the Yale University
School of Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
noted: �I had not known Marlene prior to the moment in 1984
that she burst upon the RNA processing community with her
amazing announcement of self-splicing introns in T4 phage
transcripts. From the very first, it was clear that anything
we would hear from Marlene would be based on immaculate data
(whether genetic or biochemical) and eloquently presented.
Indeed, each new chapter in the story has been even more fascinating
than the last. Marlene�s original proposal that these introns
are mobile was borne out by her own (and others�) later studies.
Comparison of the endonuclease encoded by and involved in
intron movement has provoked debate over their evolutionary
origins. But most recently, Marlene�s insights have led to
the development of a very compelling model for the mechanism
of intron evolution that is applicable not only to prokaryotes
but might explain these enigmatic features of vertebrate genes
as well. Whatever aspect of the structure, function, or phylogeny
of mobile introns is under consideration, Marlene is sure
to have made pivotal contributions��
Steitz also noted, �Most remarkable is her
record of teaching and training. Despite her primary appointment
with the New York State Health Department, Marlene�s lab has
always bustled with aspiring young scientists, even as young
as high school students. Because I have known several of them
personally before their time in Marlene�s lab, I can attest
to the inspiration that her own dedication and enthusiasm
have provided, motivating these younger colleagues to achieve
their fullest potential in scientific careers.�
Hannan chairs the Department of Health Policy,
Management and Behavior in the School of Public Health, and
is a member of the Department of Public Administration and
Policy in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs. He is
acclaimed nationally and internationally for bringing evidence-based
medicine to the attention of practicing clinicians, and as
a leading expert in the country on health care quality and
outcomes.
In his letter of nomination, Levin wrote:
�[Dr. Edward Hannan] was one of the first investigators to
demonstrate the inverse relationship that exists between volume
and outcome as they relate to specific surgical procedures,
both cardiac and non-cardiac, as well as to cardiac interventions.
Thus, he proved that safer surgery and fewer complications
from high-risk cardiovascular procedures occur in those institutions
where physicians perform a higher volume of these complex
procedures. More recently, he designed the methodology for
and co-authored a Journal of the American Medical Association
article, �Mortality in Medicare Beneficiaries Following Coronary
Artery By-Pass Graft Surgery in States with and without Certificate
of Need Regulation.� His discovery documents, for the first
time, that states which regulate the number of hospitals allowed
to perform cardiac surgery, and thus have greater numbers
of cases per hospital, also have better outcomes.�
Hannan earned his Ph.D. in industrial engineering
and operations research from the University of Massachusetts.
He has been appointed a full fellow of the American College
of Cardiology, a rare honor for a non-physician.
He is a nationally renowned researcher whose
work has led to tangibly better outcomes of care for those
undergoing cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment because
of his unique mathematical and methodological skills. While
attracting annual external funding that exceeds $2.6 million,
he is at the same time an excellent teacher with a strong
service record. His courses are highly sought after by graduate
students. Hannan is also known for mentoring graduate students,
and teaching them how to read the literature in medicine and
healthcare delivery. An excellent department chair, he is
greatly valued by young faculty members as a mentor who can
assist them in strategies to design their own research agendas.
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