Current Releases
Jefferson Surgeon Receives Outstanding Performance Award From American College Of Surgeons Commission On Cancer
(Published 2-26-2010) Adam Berger, M.D., a Cancer Liaison Physician (CLP) at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, recently
received an Outstanding Performance Award for going above and beyond the scope of the normal duties of serving as a liaison
between the hospital’s cancer program and the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC). As a Cancer Liaison,
he is serving a three-year appointment and is among a national network of over 1,600 volunteer physicians who are responsible
for providing leadership and direction to establish, maintain and support their facility’s cancer program. CLPs are an integral
part of cancer programs accredited by the CoC. Dr. Berger is an associate professor in the Department of Surgery at Jefferson
Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, and is a member of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson
The New Jefferson Vascular Center Offers Multi-disciplinary Approach to Treating Vascular Disease Under One Roof
(Published 2-24-2010) The new Jefferson Vascular Center (JVC) at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital offers an integrated,
multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis, management and treatment of vascular diseases (diseases of blood vessels) and
thrombotic (blood-clotting) disorders all under one roof. Millions of adults in the United States develop thrombotic disorders
every year so having a state-of-the-art center with all the clinical and diagnostic tools in one localized area provides the
best possible treatment options for patients.
Jefferson Celebrates Year One of Groundbreaking National Quality Improvement Effort
(Published 2-22-2010) As hospitals across the United States strive to operate efficient and effective emergency departments
(EDs) in the face of today’s increasingly strained health care environment, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) celebrates
its early successes in Urgent Matters, a groundbreaking effort to reduce ED overcrowding, which involves just six hand-selected
hospitals across the country, including TJUH.
Jefferson’s Chair of Medicine Authors New Book Addressing the Challenges Facing Academic Medical Centers
(Published 2-18-2010) Arthur Feldman, M.D., Ph.D, Magee Professor and Chairman, Department of Medicine at Jefferson Medical
College, has written a new book, Pursuing Excellence In Healthcare: Preserving America’s Academic Medical Centers, one of
the first textbooks since the works of Abraham Flexnor in 1910 to take a comprehensive look at the issues facing academic
medicine. Dr. Feldman reviews the economic, demographic and cultural aspects which threaten healthcare in general and academic
medical centers (AMCs) in particular, but also provides a framework for change that can enhance the ability of AMCs to survive.
This framework is based on careful evaluation of the most successful AMCs but also on lessons that can be learned from business
and industry. The book has received praise and endorsements from leading experts in the field of academic medicine and nationally
prominent health educators including members of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
Inflammation Marker Related to Obesity is Elevated in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer
(Published 2-3-2010) The levels of an inflammatory chemokine were significantly elevated in patients with pancreatic cancer
who were extremely obese, according to research conducted by scientists at the Jefferson Pancreatic, Biliary and Related Cancers
Center. They presented their data at the 5th Annual Academic Surgical Congress, held in San Antonio.
Jefferson Receives American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Gold Performance Achievement Award
(Published 1-18-2010) The American Stroke Association recently awarded Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s (TJUH) stroke
program its Get With The GuidelinesSM–Stroke (GWTG–Stroke) Gold Performance Achievement Award at the association’s International
Stroke Conference 2009. The award recognizes TJUH’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care
by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to evidence-based guidelines.
Danielle Duffy, M.D., Joins the Jefferson Heart Institute
(Published 1-13-2010) Cardiologist Danielle Duffy, M.D., has joined the Jefferson Heart Institute. She has also been named
an assistant professor of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and joins the faculty after
completing her fellowship in cardiovascular diseases at Jefferson.
Engineered Tobacco Plants Have More Potential as a Biofuel
(Published 12-31-2009) Researchers from the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories at Thomas Jefferson University have identified
a way to increase the oil in tobacco plant leaves, which may be the next step in using the plants for biofuel. Their paper
was published online in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
Christopher C. Dodson, M.D., Joins Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Rothman Institute
(Published 12-14-2009) Orthopedic Surgeon Christopher C. Dodson, M.D., has joined the Rothman Institute at Jefferson. He
has also been named an assistant professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University
and joins the faculty after a fellowship in Sports Medicine and Shoulder Services at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New
York.