Distinguished Graduate Award

The winners of the 2009 Distinguished Graduate Award are Mark T. Groudine, MD’74, GR’76 and Nicole Lurie, MD’79. Biolgraphies and photographs of the winners will be posted shortly. The 2008 recipients are listed below.

Established in 1982, the Distinguished Graduate Award honors highly accomplished alumni for their outstanding service to society and to the profession of medicine, and for their notable accomplishments in either biomedical research, clinical practice or medical education. The awardee’s achievements must have resulted in national or international recognition previously. Honorees are selected by a panel of physicians from Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, previous honorees and others. The award is presented annually during Medical Alumni Weekend and represents the highest honor bestowed upon graduates of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

To nominate an alumnus for this award, please send a letter of nomination, along with the nominee’s CV to:

Penn Medicine
Office of Alumni Development and Alumni Relations
3535 Market Street
Suite 750
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3309

2008 - Dennis A. Ausiello, M’71

Dennis A. Ausiello is the physician in chief of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Jackson Professor of Clinical Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is an internationally recognized scientist who has made significant contributions to epithelial biology in the areas of membrane protein trafficking, ion channel regulation, and signal transduction.

Dr. Ausiello graduated cum laude with a degree in biomedical sciences from Harvard College in 1967. After graduating from the School of Medicine in 1971, he completed his residency in medicine and a fellowship in nephrology at MGH. He remained there and later became chief of nephrology (1984-1998). In 1996, Massachusetts General Hospital named him physician in chief. Dr. Ausiello also served as director of the M.D./Ph.D. program at Harvard Medical School and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology until 1999.

In addition to his clinical and laboratory achievements, Dr. Ausiello is a great supporter of scientific education for medical students and residents. He oversees the training of more than 150 house officers, 500 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and dozens of students at Harvard Medical School. This desire to improve their education led to the creation of the Harvard initiative in Patient-Associated Science: Training, Education, Understanding, and Research (PASTEUR), a program designed to introduce Harvard medical students and select Harvard undergraduates and graduate students to the challenges and opportunities of patient-oriented research, and to cultivate the development of the next generation of physician-scientists.

Dr. Ausiello has received two MERIT awards from the National Institutes of Health. In 1999 he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and in 2003 he became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has been a leader of national academic organizations, including president of the prestigious Association of American Physicians, which is considered the most distinguished body of academic physicians in the United States.

A widely published author, Dr. Ausiello has written numerous articles, book chapters and textbooks and currently serves as the co-editor of the "Cecil Textbook of Medicine," now in its 23rd edition. He has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe on health subjects, including human genetics, clinical trials and the relationship between the academy and industry.

Understanding the need for partnerships between the academy and industry, Dr. Ausiello also serves in a variety of advisory roles. He is a member of the board of directors of MicroCHIPS, a drug-sensing and delivery company. In addition, he serves as an adviser to the chair of the board of TIAX, a company with interests that range from health and nutrition to energy.

Dr. Ausiello enjoys sea kayaking and is an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox.

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2008 - Walter J. Gamble, M’57

Walter J. Gamble is an emeritus senior associate in cardiology and emeritus professor of pediatric cardiology at the Children’s Hospital of Boston, and serves on the board of directors of Pathfinder International, a reproductive health organization founded by his father, Dr. Clarence J. Gamble. Dr. Walter Gamble has served on the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Board of Trustees since 2002, and is considered among Penn Medicine’s most distinguished supporters, particularly for his commitment to scholarship funding.

Dr. and Mrs. Gamble both graduated from Milton Academy High School in Milton, Massachusetts. Mrs. Gamble graduated from Radcliff College in 1954. Dr. Gamble attended the Institute auf dem Rosenberg, in St. Gall, Switzerland, and received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1953. After his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania in 1957, he obtained a rotating internship at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. Dr. Gamble served his pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia from 1959 to 1961. He fulfilled research fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania, the Children’s Hospital of Boston, and the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Gamble built an illustrious career in academic medicine at the Harvard Medical School, beginning as an assistant in pediatrics in 1964 and becoming an assistant professor of pediatrics in 1970. He was named associate professor of pediatrics in 1974, and remained in this position until 1996, when he attained emeritus status. Throughout his time teaching at the Harvard Medical School, Dr. Gamble also held hospital appointments at the Children’s Hospital of Boston. He was named senior associate in cardiology in 1969, and became emeritus in 1996.

As a member of the board of directors at Pathfinder International, Dr. Gamble advances the organization’s ambitious mission. The group helps provide access to quality family planning and reproductive health services, globally. They seek to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS, and advocate for sound reproductive health policies in the United States and abroad. Dr. Gamble is a lifetime trustee with the Museum of Science in Boston. He and his wife, Anne, are both trustees with the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest independent environmental research organizations.

In addition to his work with the School of Medicine Board of Trustees, Dr. Gamble has been involved in several other leadership positions within the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Medical Alumni Advisory Council (MAAC) and joined the Penn Medicine Campaign Cabinet in 2006. He is also a member of the Cardiovascular Institute Leadership Council within the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Dr. Gamble is best known at Penn for his remarkable contributions in support of scholarships at the School of Medicine. He and his wife established the 21st Century Endowed Scholars Program in 1992 to help further Dr. Gamble’s goal of making the School of Medicine a tuition-free institution. Currently, the 21st Century Endowed Scholars Program supports more than 40 medical students, offering them full tuition benefits. In addition to these gifts, Dr. Gamble and his wife have contributed to several other scholarship funds at Penn Medicine, including his medical class scholarship.

In 2005, Dr. Gamble was recognized with the Alumni Award of Merit, presented by the University of Pennsylvania to its most dedicated alumni volunteers. He was also honored for his commitment to Penn Medicine’s alumni relations program and development efforts with the Alumni Service Award in 2001.

His father, Dr. Clarence J. Gamble was an assistant professor at the School of Medicine from 1924 to 1939. Dr. Gamble and his wife have three sons, Robert, Bradley and James, as well as six grandchildren.

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2008 - Craig B. Thompson, M’77

In 2006, Dr. Craig B. Thompson became director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania and associate vice president for Cancer Services of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. He is widely known for his groundbreaking cancer research and has made major contributions to the understanding of the genes that regulate cell development and survival.

Dr. Thompson earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, and his medical degree from the School of Medicine. He received clinical training in internal medicine at Harvard University and in medical oncology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute at the University of Washington. In 1987, Dr. Thompson joined the faculty of the University of Michigan as an assistant professor in medicine and associate investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He moved on to the University of Chicago in 1993, as a professor of medicine, investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and director of the Gwen Knapp Center for Lupus and Immunology Research. While at Knapp, he made great advances in cancer research. Based on his work, future cancer treatments could be designed to block the ability of cancer cells to survive, and thus limit tumor size and prevent the cancer from spreading.  His efforts to further understanding of how cell development and survival is regulated may also generate preventive treatments for individuals predisposed to cancer.

Dr. Thompson’s research has pioneered the study of the Bcl-2 family of oncogenes, or cancer-causing genes, and their role in regulating cell survival. In addition, Dr. Thompson is actively involved in the utilization of animal models and technologies to test the importance of individual genes in the development of cancer.  Members of the Thompson research team continue to work on developing novel biomolecules to treat immunologic and neoplastic disorders.

In 1999, Dr. Thompson returned to Penn as scientific director of The Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, chair of the Department of Cancer Biology, and professor of medicine. He has also served as deputy director of Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center since joining Penn.  In 2006, he assumed his current title at the Cancer Center.

Dr. Thompson currently serves as chair of the Medical Advisory Board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, vice chair of the GM Cancer Research Prize Committee, a member of the Lasker Prize Jury, and as an associate editor of Cell, Science, Immunity, and Cancer Cell.

Dr. Thompson holds a number of patents related to immunotherapy and apoptosis, and is a founder of two biotechnology companies.  He is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology.  He has been elected to the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the American Association of Physicians. In 2005, Dr. Thompson was selected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a prestigious honor bestowed on only four cancer scientists that year.

Dr. Thompson is married to Tullia Lindsten, M.D., Ph.D., who currently serves as a research associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. They have two children, Kajsa and Niklas.

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Distinguished Graduate Award Recipients