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University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 12, No. 9
Feb. 29, 2008
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To view an archived version of Online News on the UW
Medicine Web site, visit:
http://www.uwmedicine.org/Global/NewsAndEvents/somnews/index.htm
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This week’s news:
* John D. Chase, former dean of the UW School of Medicine: 1920 - 2008
* Endowed faculty positions created in Divisions of Gerontology and Dermatology in the Department of Medicine
* Bill Zagotta receives Cole Award in Membrane Biophysics for his work on ion channels
* Autism expert Bryan King to speak March 5 as part of Medical Lecture Series at the Seattle Public Library
* Seattle Magazine conducting annual survey of metro area's top doctors
* Medical Education Research and Scholarship Forum scheduled for Monday, March 3
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JOHN D. CHASE, FORMER DEAN OF THE UW MEDICAL SCHOOL: 1920 - 2008
John D. Chase, a longtime physician and administrator in the Veterans Affairs system and former dean of the UW School of Medicine, died Feb. 14 in Fredericksburg, Texas. He was 87.
Chase joined the UW faculty in 1978 as a professor of medicine and associate dean. He became acting dean of the medical school in 1981 upon the departure of Robert L. Van Citters, and was appointed dean in 1982. He stepped down from the deanship later that year due to health reasons, and served as dean emeritus.
Chase was born in Detroit in 1920, and completed his undergraduate degree in 1942 at Wabash College in Indiana. He earned his medical degree in 1945 from Western Reserve University Medical School, and after finishing his internship at Wayne State University hospital, he served in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps from 1946 to 1948. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Wayne State and was a National Heart Institute teaching fellow there. Chase later served for five years in the Army Reserve Medical Corps.
After completing his medical education, Chase worked as a physician for the Veterans Administration, now the Department of Veterans Affairs. He served at VA hospitals in Vancouver and Tacoma, Wash.; Houston; Oklahoma City; and at the VA central office in Washington, D.C. Chase held many different leadership positions there, including chief of staff at the hospital in Houston, chief of medical service at the hospital in Tacoma, and chief medical director at the VA central office. He was on the faculty of many medical schools during his career, including the University of Oregon, Baylor University, the University of Oklahoma, and George Washington University. He joined the UW after retiring from the VA system.
Chase also helped lead several professional groups, including the National Advisory Council of the National Heart and Lung Institute, advisory committee of the National Library of Medicine, the board of governors of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, the board of trustees of the American Hospital Association, and the board of delegates of the American Medical Association. He was a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Chest Physicians and a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine. Chase received many honors during his medical career, including the VA Meritorious Service Award and Exceptional Service Award, the Wayne State University Distinguished Service Award, the AAMC Special Recognition and Award for Contributions to Medical Education. In 1981, he was elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
In 1992, AMSUS, the Society of the Federal Health Agencies (formerly the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States), established an award in Chase's honor. The John D. Chase Award for Physician Executive Excellence is now presented each year to a senior physician in the federal health agencies who has shown sustained outstanding performance and leadership in an executive position. The federal health agencies include the armed services, the U.S. Public Health Service, and the VA system.
Chase moved to Texas in 2001 to be closer to his son, Robert, and daughter-in-law, Judith, of Fredericksburg. He volunteered in the community at the Good Samaritan Center and as an usher at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. Chase also pursued his hobby as a pilot, remaining active in the local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association. At the age of 82, he built and flew an RANS S-7S aircraft.
In addition to his son and daughter-in-law, Chase is survived by his two grandsons, Tyler Chase of Wichita, Kan., and Justin Chase of Littleton, Colo.; three great-grandsons, Connor, Jack, and Cooper; and a brother, Robert Chase of Frankfort, Mich. Funeral services were held earlier this month in Fredericksburg. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Good Samaritan Center, Hill Country Memorial Hospice, the Boy Scouts of America, or to the charity of one’s choice.
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DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE ESTABLISHES TWO ENDOWED FACULTY POSITIONS
Two new endowed faculty positions have been created in the UW School of Medicine, in the Division of Dermatology and the Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine in the Department of Medicine.
The Division of Dermatology has created the John E. Olerud Endowed Professorship for Dermatology Training, established with a $500,000 contribution by UW faculty member John Olerud and his wife, Lynda. Olerud is the George F. Odland Professor of Medicine and head of the Division of Dermatology. With further support, the Olerud endowed professorship will become an endowed chair. To contribute to that goal, contact Steve Hettinga at UW Medicine Development, hettinga@u.washington.edu or 206-897-1887.
The Divison of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine has created the William E. Colson Endowed Chair in Gerontology, to be awarded to the head of the division, currently Itamar Abrass, UW professor of medicine. The endowed chair was established in memory of Colson, with gifts totaling $1.5 million from anonymous donors.
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ZAGOTTA RECEIVES COLE AWARD IN MEMBRANE BIOPHYSICS
Bill Zagotta, UW professor of physiology and biophysics and investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has received the Kenneth S. Cole Award in Membrane Biophysics. The award was presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the Biophysical Society, held earlier this month in Long Beach, Calif.
The award, given annually by the society's Membrane Biophysics Group, recognizes Zagotta's major contributions to research on the structure and function of ion channels, especially cyclic nucleotide-gated channels.
Cole was an American biophysicist whose seminal studies of the squid giant axon in the mid-1930s demonstrated that membrane conductance increased during propagation of an action potential. J. Walter Woodbury, former UW professor of physiology and biophysics, was instrumental in establishing the Cole award. Bertil Hille, UW professor of physiology and biophysics, shared the award with Clay Armstrong in 1975. In addition, five former students and postdoctoral fellows of the UW Department of Physiology and Biophysics have received the Cole award.
Zagotta may be reached at zagotta@u.washington.edu
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SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY MEDICAL LECTURE WILL COVER AUTISM DISORDERS
The latest event in the UW Medicine-sponsored Medical Lecture Series at the Seattle Public Library will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., next Wednesday, March 5. UW faculty member Bryan King will speak about autism at the lecture, which will be held in the Microsoft Auditorium at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle.
King will discuss the increase in diagnoses of autism, our understanding about what causes disorders in the autism spectrum, and some promising approaches to treatment. King is a UW professor and vice-chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Seattle Children's Hospital, and principal investigator of the UW's Autism Center of Excellence and Autism Treatment Network.
The library lecture is free and everyone is welcome, with no registration required. Parking in the Central Library garage will be available for a $5 special-event rate. Doors will open at 6 p.m. For more information, call the library at 206-386-4636 or visit the Seattle Public Library's Web site at: http://www.spl.org
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SEATTLE MAGAZINE CONDUCTING TOP DOCTORS SURVEY
Seattle Magazine is conducting its eighth annual top doctors survey. The magazine is mailing the survey in late February to 10,000 physicians in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties. UW faculty members who receive the survey are encouraged to fill it out and return it by the deadline, Monday, March 17.
The magazine creates the list of the area's top doctors by asking thousands of doctors in King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties to name the physicians they would seek out for themselves or a loved one in 63 specialty areas, regardless of hospital, clinic, or health plan affiliation. The results will be published in Seattle Magazine's September issue.
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MEDICAL EDUCATION FORUM SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY
The UW School of Medicine will hold the second meeting of the Medical Education Research and Scholarship Forum on Monday, March 3, from noon to 1:15 p.m. in Room 354 of the South Campus Center. Glen Tamura, UW assistant professor of pediatrics, will discuss faculty evaluations of medical student write-ups.
The forum is a new group for faculty, students, staff, residents and fellows interested in medical education and interested in discussing research and curriculum. The forum typically meets at noon on the first Monday of each month, and lunch is provided.
For more information or to see upcoming forum meetings, visit:
http://uwmededforum.blogspot.com/
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Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu
Online News is copyright 2008. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.
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