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Patricia M. Hansen, Director,
Communication & Public Affairs
732-235-6307, hansenmp@umdnj.edu
Alumni and Friends Invited to Scholarship Gala
- Honorees include the Honorable Thomas H. Kean -
Gala Invitation, Honorees and Alumni Class Celebratio
Tickets and Directions to The Heldrich Purchase ticket(s) or make a donation online.
Sponsorship & Ad Journal Reservations
Read about last year's successful Gala Why are Scholarships Important?
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New Brunswick, NJ – UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Foundation for Healthcare Advancement will host their annual Student Scholarship Gala, welcoming alumni and friends to celebrate and raise funds in support of medical education, on Saturday, April 27, 2013, at 7:00 pm, at The Heldrich in New Brunswick. The event was hugely successful in 2011 and 2012 and to date thirty-nine $10,000 scholarships have been awarded to Robert Wood Johnson Medical School students.
“The Scholarship Gala brings together alumni, faculty and friends of the medical school, to support our medical students who are being challenged by increasing tuition rates,” said Peter S. Amenta, MD, PhD, dean of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “Last year's Gala was a grand success bringing together more than 340 people, including alumni, physicians, and presidents of our hospital affiliates from around New Jersey all while raising funds to provide financial assistance to the next generation of physicians."
Three exemplary individuals will be honored at the Gala for their dedication to promoting medical and scientific education, research, philanthropy, patient care and community health.
The Honorable Thomas H. Kean, former president, Drew University, and Governor of New Jersey (1982-1990) will receive the Meritorious Service Award for his leadership and dedication to advancing higher education, science and environmental stewardship in New Jersey. Environmental policies and scientific goals established by Governor Kean while in office laid the foundation for the creation of two world-class institutes at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School: The Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute and the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine.
Grace Chang, MD, MPH '82, professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and Medical Director, Detoxification and Residential Substance Abuse Treatment, Department of Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award for her achievements as a physician scientist to improve the identification and modification of prenatal alcohol use and alcohol use by women with health problems exacerbated by risky drinking. Dr. Chang also is being recognized as an educator, advancing the training of medical students, residents and fellows, and underlying the importance of mental health treatment in public healthcare.
John B. Kostis, MD, professor of medicine, director of the Cardiovascular Institute and associate dean for Cardiovascular Research at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, will receive the Honorary Alumni Award his work in advancing cardiovascular research and treatments. Dr. Kostis is renowned internationally for developing and pioneering integrative strategies to prevent, treat and cure heart disease. He has earned more than $30 million in research grants and created the Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition System (MIDAS), which includes more than 25 years of data on more than 500,000 people in New Jersey who have had a heart attack. MIDAS enables Cardiovascular Institute faculty to identify important trends in cardiovascular diseases and achieve better clinical outcomes for patients.
“In an age of increasing tuition costs in medical schools across the country, it is more important now than ever to support physicians of the future,” said George F. Heinrich, MD, vice chair and CEO of the Foundation for Healthcare Advancement. “This Gala will provide us with a wonderful opportunity to show these future doctors that we encourage their efforts as they work toward realizing their own dreams of helping those in need.”
Tickets for the Gala and sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Ginny Rutkowski, development coordinator at the Foundation for Healthcare Advancement, at vrutkowski@njhf.org or 908-731-6596.
About UMDNJ-ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL
As one of the nation’s leading comprehensive medical schools, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school’s principal affiliate, they comprise one of the nation's premier academic medical centers. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.
As one of the eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with 2,800 full-time and volunteer faculty, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 20 basic science and clinical departments, hosts centers and institutes including The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Camden, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. To learn more about UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, log on to rwjms.umdnj.edu. Find our fan page at www.Facebook.com/RWJMS and follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/UMDNJ_RWJMS.
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