Praise for new dean of Stony Brook medical school
Stony Brook University announced Tuesday that a highly regarded hematologist, medical educator and scientist - who helped discover a critical blood-forming hormone in the '90s - has been appointed the new dean of Stony Brook's School of Medicine.
Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, 56, chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, for eight years, is set to begin at Stony Brook July 19. He will succeed Dr. Richard N. Fine, dean since 2005, who announced his resignation plans last year.
Kaushansky was also appointed senior vice president of Health Sciences at Stony Brook, and will have "some oversight responsibility" for the university medical center.
Stony Brook president Samuel L. Stanley Jr., a physician himself, said Kaushansky was chosen because of his "tremendous track record at UC San Diego." He cited Kaushansky's recruitment of top faculty, his financial management of the department, while maintaining his own "great research career," and his vision for Stony Brook to better integrate all of the health science disciplines.
Dr. Roy Steigbigel, president of Stony Brook's medical school faculty senate who was on the search committee, called Kaushansky's selection "one of the greatest appointments in the history of the university. He's a well-renowned scientist, academician, educator and administrator. So I think he'll bring our school to new heights."
Kaushansky, in a statement, said he was "absolutely thrilled" to join Stony Brook, and wanted to "move the research, education and clinical missions to a new level."
Dr. Edward J. Benz, president of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, noted Kaushansky's role as "one of the prime discoverers" of a blood-forming hormone, thrombopoietin, that controls the production of blood platelets, which are "critical for the clotting of blood." He called it an advance that led to new treatments for bleeding disorders, and cancer, including ways to counter the toxic effect of chemotherapy drugs.
Dr. David Brenner, dean of UC San Diego's Medical School and vice chancellor for Health Sciences, said Kaushansky "has been an outstanding chairman" and innovator.
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