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Summer 2014

Baylor grads challenged: “Become doctors of the planet”

Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the world’s leading experts on economic development and the fight against poverty, told Baylor College of Medicine’s 2014 graduates to “become doctors of the planet” in addition to being medical doctors and scientists.

“Please care for the world’s poor, the world’s unstable and suffering crisis zones, and the physical Earth itself, with the same rigor, professional care and moral commitment that you will apply to your patients,” Sachs said. “You join the healing arts at a moment that the world needs your skills, passion and virtue.”

Sachs addressed 172 graduates from the medical school and 41 from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, as well as their family, friends and Baylor leaders, faculty and staff at the Commencement Ceremony in the Jesse H. Jones Hall for Performing Arts.

Zheng Ma, medical school class president, addressed the audience on behalf of the medical school class and Julienne Leigh Cloud Cartsens gave remarks on behalf of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences graduating students.

At the ceremony honorary degrees were presented to Lester Smith, Adam Walmus, Dr. Peter Palese and Sachs, and a Distinguished Service Award went to Dr. Frank Kretzer. Dr. Alicia Monroe, Senior Dean of Education and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Faculty Development, presided at the commencement ceremony.

Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute as well as Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development and Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, said as a clinical economist, the most important thing he has

alUmnI newslInK

mUral on dIsplay

Medical students from the class of 2016 and physician assistant and nurse

anesthesia students from the class of 2014 contributed to this mural at the end

of their anatomy lab training under the direction of Francis L. Kretzer, Ph.D. Each

student wrote a special message to their “first patient” in honor of the men and women

who donated their bodies to the Willed Body Program at Baylor College of Medicine. The

mural is now on display in the Office of the President at Baylor College of Medicine.

college worKs QUIcKly to address process concerns

raIsed In lcme report

Recently, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education granted Baylor College of Medicine full accreditation, with probationary

status. Baylor has strong finances, excellent student outcomes and a positive learning environment. We received this designation because

we did not provide enough detail, updated procedures or sufficient data to document consistency on 14 standards related to processes

and policies.

Provost Alicia Monroe, M.D., and I already have addressed seven of these deficiencies and are in the process of addressing three others. Action plans

for the remaining four are in development. The LCME will issue an opinion on the success of our remediation in February 2016. You can monitor our

progress at: https://www.bcm.edu/education/overview/accreditation/lcme.

Baylor College of Medicine remains one of the top medical schools in the nation and the best in Texas. Please contact me at president@bcm.edu if you

have any questions.

stUdent cornerIn honor of dr. frank Kretzer

Each month, Student Corner highlights the accomplishments of Baylor’s medical, graduate and allied health students. This month, however, Student Corner is dedicated to a Baylor faculty member who perhaps has had a greater impact on students than any other—Dr. Frank Kretzer.

After 38 years at Baylor, Dr. Kretzer, Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of Anatomical Sciences, has announced that he will not be returning to teach next year due to health issues. Students recently organized a celebration for Kretzer, where they reflected on what this legendary teacher and mentor has meant to them.

The poignant event was attended by students, alumni, faculty, deans and others and included brief speeches, music, a video that served as one of the lighter moments, and the presentation of a book of letters to Kretzer. Students frequently referenced one of Dr. Kretzer’s favorite phrases, “Positively Elegant,” and sold T-shirts bearing the words. They talked about his passion, enthusiasm and mentorship, inside the classroom and out.

Here is one student’s reflections on Dr. Kretzer:

Matthew Burstein, a former teaching assistant to Kretzer and an M.D./Ph.D. student at Baylor who just completed his graduate degree:

“I think the ‘special ingredient’ that has made Dr. Frank Kretzer so beloved over the years is his vivacity. Students at BCM quickly find that this quirky histology professor explodes with energy at every lecture. He takes the most uninspired material and then enthusiastically elevates it into theatre—shouting, pacing, and drawing parallels to architecture, history, life, and love. As first years we would often walk out of the auditorium pondering what we had just witnessed, but unsurprisingly as fourth years we can recall the content of those lectures with great clarity. Whether Frank accomplished this by design or accident is unknown, but he is unarguably the most effective lecturer at the heart of the basic sciences curriculum.

“Frank’s involvement with the student body never ended with the lecture hall. I worked with him for three years as a Histology TA and over that period watched him connect with hundreds of students. He learned their faces, their names (and even nicknames), their home institutions, and often their challenges and aspirations. He offered his characteristic advice and motivation to students who needed the extra push. I was one of those students who owe him a great debt for his interest and help.”

More reflections on Dr. Kretzer can be read on the Baylor student blog, Progress Notes.

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Baylor grads challenged

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learned is “we need to have the same care and respect for

societies as doctors must have for their patients.”

Sachs praised Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School

of Tropical Medicine at Baylor, for his work and for helping him

understand that “pandemics could be controlled and at low cost.”

Kretzer, Director of Anatomical Sciences at Baylor, was recognized with

the Distinguished Service Award.

“Over the last 38 years he has formed the foundation and shaped the careers of

an entire generation of physicians trained here,” Monroe said. “He embodies everything

it means to be an educator and his teaching style can be summed up in two words …

positively elegant.”

Smith, of The Lester and Sue Smith Foundation, was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of

Humanities in Medicine.

He has served on the Baylor College of Medicine board since 2004 and has been “a tremendous advocate

for the College. He has raised community awareness of the College’s bladder, prostate and breast cancer

research and treatment programs with spirited events and successful fundraising campaigns,” said Monroe.

Walmus, Director of the DeBakey Veterans Medical Center, also was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Humanities

in Medicine.

“Throughout his years at the DeBakey VA, Mr. Walmus has been a remarkable supporter of our education, patient care

and research programs,” Monroe said. “Our trainees who rotate through the DeBakey VA have the privilege of caring for veterans

in a facility with the highest standards of quality care.”

Palese, Chair of Microbiology and Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, was presented the honorary

degree Doctor of Letters in Medicine.

He is an internationally recognized microbiologist who pioneered the field of reverse genetics for negative-strand RNA viruses, allowing the

introduction of site-specific mutations into the genomes of these viruses, Monroe said. “This revolutionary technique has significant implications for

understanding and preparing for infectious disease pandemics.”

Sachs also was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Letters in Medicine.

“His work on ending poverty, promoting economic growth, fighting hunger and disease, and promoting sustainable environmental practices, has taken him to

more than 125 countries with more than 90 percent of the world’s population,” Monroe said.

dr. Kretzer addresses the crowd at a special reception

For more information about alumni programs at Baylor College of Medicine, please contact alumni@bcm.edu or 1-844-BCM-ALUM (226-2586).

ailments, what it felt like collapsing in his driveway years later, the ride through the streets of Tokyo in the back of an

ambulance, his energy levels before and after receiving an LVAD, which kept him alive for 15 months, and his subsequent

heart transplant.

“I was in end-stage heart failure; I’d run out of options. I really thought I was nearing the end. That was 17 months after I left the

White House and before I got the ventricular assist device,” said Cheney, “Most of the things that saved my life didn’t exist in 1978,

when I had my first heart attack.”

Cheney also met with Dr. Denton Cooley, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Surgery at Baylor and president emeritus and founder of the

Texas Heart Institute. Cooley is the physician President George W. Bush turned to concerning medical advice when vetting Cheney for the position

of vice president.

Two awards were also given to some of Baylor’s pioneering surgeons.

The Distinguished Faculty Award was given to Dr. O.H. “Bud” Frazier, Professor of Surgery in the Division of Transplant and Assist Devices, to recognize him

on his 1,000 left ventricular assist device surgeries along with his many other accomplishments. Frazier also directs the Texas Heart Institute’s Center for Cardiac

Support.

The DeBakey Surgical Award was presented to Dr. Kenneth L. Mattox, Distinguished Service Professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Chief of Staff/Chief of

Surgery at Harris Health System’s Ben Taub Hospital. He is recognized throughout the world as an innovator in trauma care. He helped develop the internationally renowned Ben

Taub Hospital Emergency Center and Trauma Center.

To view a slide show of the event, please go the Baylor College of Medicine’s Department of Surgery Facebook photo album.

Bradshaw’s BooKshelf

This month’s installment of Bradshaw’s Bookshelf highlights a book that is based in Houston. Dr. Peter

Olsson’s “A Boyish God” was a finalist in the 2013 Beverly Hills Book Awards. The novel focuses on understanding

the psyche of a schoolboy who deeply needs therapy. Olsson graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in

1967 and is a retired psychiatrist/psychoanalyst.

“Pete’s first novel is an antidote to his scholarly and scary non-fiction books: ‘Malignant Pied Pipers of Our

Time’ and ‘The Making of Homegrown Terrorists.’ Three interesting and complex characters are a nun, a psychiatrist and a cop. They

work together to prevent the ‘making of a homegrown terrorist.’ It is a fascinating and, for me, therapeutic tale,” said Bradshaw.

Aside from being exceptional healthcare providers and scientists, many of our alumni also have a talent for writing fiction. This feature

highlights some of our alumni fiction authors and their books as recommended by Dr. Major Bradshaw, former Dean of Student Affairs

and Education who is currently Physician Advisor to the Office of Philanthropy and Alumni Relations.

If you’ve written a piece of fiction that you’d like Dr. Bradshaw to recommend to your fellow Baylor College of Medicine alumni, please contact Dipali Pathak at

pathak@bcm.edu.

dick cheney tours the deBakey library & museum

save the date!Reunion for M.D. classes ending in 5 or 0 is May 1-3, 2015, with Alumni Awards Dinner April 30.

symposIUm teaches from patIent and doctor perspectIves

The halls of the Cullen building were buzzing with guests as the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery Alumni Symposium & 20th Congress of the Michael E. DeBakey International Surgical Society got underway last month. Along with the many medical professionals from across the country was one special guest who spoke about his experience from a different perspective —that of a patient. His story was particularly unique since he helped to run the United States for eight years, all while living with heart disease.

Vice President Dick Cheney shared his 35 year-long battle with cardiovascular disease with the nearly 400 guests of the two-day event that focused on a wide range of surgical topics. The conference brought together leading physicians to share their knowledge and expertise with alumni and visiting medical professionals.

“With new research and collaborations, the field of surgery is changing and it is important to stay up to date on the improving techniques and technology that benefit patients today,” said Dr. Todd Rosengart, Professor and DeBakey Bard Chair of the Department of Surgery at Baylor. “We were honored to have such a diverse group of presenters sharing their knowledge and expertise with guests, many of which were Baylor alumni joining us from 20 states.”

Rosengart, along with Dr. Ernesto R. Soltero, President of the Michael E. DeBakey International Surgical Society, were Co-Directors for the conference.

Cheney spoke from the perspec tive of a patient. He talked about his first tingling in his left pinky that led him to a doctor and began his medical journey of heart

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