School Notes: School of Medicine
March/April 2011

Yale’s picks to beat cancer: a pair of aces

On December 13, the university announced that Joseph Schlessinger, a world-renowned scientist with an unparalleled track record of identifying molecular targets for novel anticancer drugs, was named the first director of the university’s new Cancer Biology Institute, one of five major interdisciplinary research initiatives located on Yale’s West Campus. Just a week before, Thomas J. Lynch Jr. ’82, ’86MD, director of the Yale Cancer Center (YCC), broke the news that YCC has appointed Roy S. Herbst ’84, ’84MS, who has also had a distinguished career in the development of new cancer therapies, as chief of medical oncology at Smilow Cancer Hospital and associate director for translational research. Schlessinger, whose appointment is effective immediately, will retain his positions as chair and William H. Prusoff Professor of Pharmacology at the School of Medicine, dividing his time between the medical campus and West Campus. Herbst comes to Yale in March 2011 from MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas in Houston, where he is professor of medicine, chief of the section of thoracic medical oncology, and Barnhart Family Distinguished Professor in Targeted Therapies. This appointment marks his return to Yale, where he received his undergraduate and master’s degrees.

Associate dean wins top honor in medical education

Rosemarie L. Fisher, professor of medicine and pediatrics and associate dean for graduate medical education, has received the Dema Daley Founders Award, the highest honor bestowed on medical educators by the Association of Program Directors of Internal Medicine. The award honors a member of the internal medicine community recognized internationally as an educator, innovator, and leader. Fisher has spent 35 years on the School of Medicine faculty, including 12 as director of graduate medical education at Yale–New Haven Hospital (YNHH)—a role in which she oversees all residency programs—and seven as associate dean. She is the former program director for the Department of Internal Medicine’s residency program.

As a member of the YNHH Nutrition Support Team, Fisher has focused her research on the role of nutritional support such as intravenous feeding in gastrointestinal diseases. She received her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1971 and completed a residency in internal medicine at Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center in New York City. She completed fellowships in gastroenterology at both the Royal Free Hospital in London and at Yale. Fisher is board-certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine. In 2006, Fisher was one of two people to win the first Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, which honors excellence in overseeing residency programs.