Awards
GRECC researchers have received dozens of awards and recognitions in 2019, including best paper awards at the American Geriatrics Society, Academy of Geriatric Emergency Medicine, and International Medical Informatics Association meetings. The awards listed below merit special mention:
Election to the National Academy of Sciences
Dr. Al Siu, Bronx GRECC
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a private, nonprofit organization of the country’s leading researchers. The NAS recognizes and promotes outstanding science through election to membership; publication in its journal, PNAS; and its awards, programs, and special activities. Through the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the NAS provides objective, science-based advice on critical issues affecting the nation.
VA’s William S. Middleton Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research
Steven M. Dubinett, M.D. and Michael R. Zile, M.D. (2019)
The William S. Middleton Award (Middleton Award) is the highest honor awarded annually by the Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development Service (BLR&D) to senior VA biomedical research scientists in recognition of their outstanding scientific contributions and achievements in the areas of biomedical and bio-behavioral research relevant to the healthcare of Veterans. Middleton Award recipients have achieved international acclaim for research accomplishments in areas of prime importance to VA's research mission. The Middleton Award was established in 1960, to honor William S. Middleton, M.D., distinguished educator, physician-scientist, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chief Medical Director from 1955 to 1963.
Fulbright Scholar Award
Dr. Bandana Chatterjee, San Antonio GRECC
In September 1945, the freshman senator from Arkansas, J. William Fulbright, introduced a bill in the U.S. Congress that called for the use of proceeds from the sales of surplus war property to fund the “promotion of international good will through the exchange of students in the fields of education, culture and science.” One year later, President Harry S. Truman signed the Fulbright Act into law.
Today, Fulbright is the most widely recognized and prestigious international exchange program in the world, supported for more than half a century by the American people through an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress and by the people of partner nations. The program—working with universities, schools, binational Fulbright commissions, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector—actively seeks out individuals of achievement and potential who represent the full diversity of their respective societies and selects nominees through open, merit-based competitions.
Award for Excellence in Geropsychology Training
The VA Geriatric Scholars Program – Psychology Track, received the 2020 Award for Excellence in Geropsychology Training from the Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs (CoPGTP), an international organization committed to the promotion of excellence in training and to supporting the development of high-quality training programs in professional geropsychology. The Psychology Track was developed as an expansion of the Geriatric Scholars Program, a national VA workforce training program led by Dr. B. Josea Kramer at the Greater Los Angeles GRECC and currently led by Drs. Rachel Rodriguez and Jay Gregg at the Durham VA Health Care System Mental and Behavioral Health Service and Dr. Christine Gould at the Palo Alto GRECC.
