Newsroom

In recognition of his distinguished contributions in preventive medicine, epidemiologist Dr. Lewis Drusin of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center has been selected by the American College of Physicians to receive the prestigious James D. Bruce Memorial Award, one of 17 awards in internal medicine for 2008.

The convocation ceremony will take place on May 15, 2008, at the annual meeting of the American College of Physicians in Washington, D.C.

Past recipients include such notables as Nobel Prize winner Dr. Jonas Salk (polio vaccine), Dr. Donald Henderson (smallpox) and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell's Dr. Walsh McDermott, who served as a mentor to Dr. Drusin.

Dr. Drusin is professor of clinical medicine and professor of clinical public health at Weill Cornell Medical College, and attending physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, where he was formerly director of the Division of Epidemiology.

"We want to extend our congratulations to Dr. Drusin, whose career-long contributions to preventive medicine make him very deserving of this special honor," say Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, and Dr. Herbert Pardes, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Drusin has made outstanding contributions to the prevention and study of nosocomial infections and sexually transmitted diseases, publishing more than 50 papers and book chapters. At Weill Cornell, he directs a program placing Public Health and Community Medicine clerkship students in field locations, and has helped establish an endowment that offers international rotations to medical students. He served as president of the American Venereal Disease Association (now the American STD Association), and he has held prominent roles in many international scientific congresses and study groups relating to sexually transmitted diseases. Since 1995, he has served as the main representative of the International Union Against Sexually Transmitted Infections to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London and one of only two American honorary life members of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV.

He earned his undergraduate degree at Union College (Schenectady, N.Y.) and received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College (now Weill Cornell Medical College). Dr. Drusin also holds an M.P.H. from the Columbia University School of Public Health.

"I am deeply honored to be considered among such esteemed company," says Dr. Drusin. "It is exiting when you make your career choices according to what's fun to do, and then you find out later that other people have appreciated what you've done."

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical College, the medical school of Cornell University. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, education, research and community service. Weill Cornell physician-scientists have been responsible for many medical advances—from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, the first indication of bone marrow's critical role in tumor growth, and, most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally-conscious brain-injured patient. NewYork-Presbyterian, which is ranked sixth on U.S.News & World Report's list of top hospitals, also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion. Weill Cornell Medical College is the first U.S. medical college to offer a medical degree overseas and maintains a strong global presence in Austria, Brazil, Haiti, Tanzania, Turkey and Qatar. For more information, visit www.med.cornell.edu.