Congratulations to our
New Emeritus Faculty!
Clara Franzini-Armstrong, Ph.D.
Dr. Franzini- Armstrong obtained her University training in Italy, and her doctorate in Biological Sciences was granted by the University of Piza in 1960. Over the next few years Postdoctoral studies took place in the USA and in the UK, and was undertaken with some of the most prominent Cell Biologists and Physiologists of the time.
Her scientific and academic career developed further at the University of Rochester and Duke University. She joined Penn in 1975 as an Associate Professor. In the late ‘80s and mid ‘90s she undertook sabbatical research in Paris, at the Hopkins Marine Station, and at Stanford University. Clara initiated the Cell Biology and Biochemistry graduate course and directed and taught in the Medical Histology course for 25 years. She has mentored the laboratory research training of undergraduate, graduate, and scores of postdoctoral students, many of whom went on to highly successful scientific careers.
Her scientific contributions are found in an extensive array of publications focusing on the ultrastructure of muscle cells, and the research for which she made seminal contributions lies in the identification of structural features essential for understanding the physiology of how muscle excitation leads to muscle contraction. The unraveling of the ultrastructural membranes and molecules that control the movements of ions during muscle activity, and the modeling of how the system of cellular structures actually works in concert with each other, has established much of the foundation for our current understanding of muscle action. Clara has also co-authored two editions of “Myology”, a comprehensive treatment of normal and diseased muscle.
Clara’s scientific contributions have been recognized Nationally and Internationally and they are too numerous to list here. Suffice to say that in 1995 she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. In retirement, Clara remains an active and funded researcher, and a valued member of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, and the Pennsylvania Muscle Institute.
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Paul Aitkins, M.D.
Paul was clearly in New York frame of mind since all his University Education between 1959 and 1970 was at various institutions in New York state, and this included medical school and residency in New York City. His medical training was completed with a Fellowship in Allergy and Immunology here at HUP.
In 1974 he was appointed to the Department of Medicine and became a Professor of Medicine in 1987. He has directed numerous Allergy and Immunology Programs at HUP, the old Philadelphia General Hospital, The Presbyterian Medical Center, the Veterans Administration Hospital, and for our medical satellite at Radnor.
He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, a past President of the Philadelphia Allergy Society, and has served on the Editorial Board and as Editor, of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. He was a regular consultant to various NIH panels and review committees, and lectured regularly in the Delaware Valley and nationally on issues in Allergy and Immunology.
His extensive teaching responsibilities were realized through Direction of the Allergy and Immunology Programs, the Chronic Uticaria Program, and the Rhinosinusitus Program here at HUP. In these capacities he mentored the training of countless Residents over the years.
A review of Paul’s extensive bibliography reveals research not only describing, in great detail many allergic clinical conditions, but delving into the underlying mechanisms of allergic reaction, and efforts to identify effective treatments. His papers are clearly published in collaboration with faculty colleagues and a large array of Residents and Fellows over the years. His research was supported by numerous NIH and foundation awards.
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Malcolm Ecker, M.D.
Malcolm received his medical training and did his internship here in Philadelphia, and then completed a surgical residency in Boston. He was a general surgeon for the Air Force in the mid ‘60s eventually returning to complete a residency in Orthopedic Surgery in New York City.
In 1969 he returned to Philadelphia and entered private practice, operating out of Germantown Hospital. However, he was associated with the University as an Attending at the old Philadelphia General Hospital. In 1975 he accepted a position as an Attending at CHOP with a focus of interest on the treatment of scoliosis. At the same time he was given an academic appointment in the Department of Orthopedics at the University. During the ensuing years he worked up through the academic ranks and gained a reputation as an outstanding clinician.
In 1997 he merged his practice into the faculty practice of CPUP, and was appointed to the Full-Time faculty. Throughout his time at Penn he taught and supervised medical students, residents and fellows, gaining a reputation as an excellent educator.
Malcolm has served as the Chair of the Scoliosis Research Society and was the Educational Chair for the Association for Arthritic Hip and Knee Surgery. Locally, he has served as the Chairman of the Philadelphia Orthopaedic Society and the Philadelphia Rheumatism Society. He has also been an Associate Editor of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, where he continues as a reviewer.
Malcolm’s scholarly activities have focused on topics related to many aspects of scoliosis, total knee replacement, and other issues in Orthopedics. He has published extensively in peer reviewed clinical journals and written book chapters synthesizing many clinical issues. He has also presented scientific exhibits and made many meeting presentations.
Today Malcolm remains active in seeing outpatients at CHOP, continues to supervise residents in surgery in the out-patient clinic at the Philadelphia VA Hospital. An interesting slide light revealed in his biographic sketch was the fact that he is currently enrolled as a part-time student in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Penn. He is working toward a Masters Degree in Computer and Information Technology and intends to complete it in the spring of 2009.
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Dupont Guerry, M.D.
The vagaries of life fated Dupont to be a physician, but you would not know this from his initial tertiary education at Yale, where he majored in English. After University he taught middle school science and English in Taiwan. However the salient themes of his life continually guided him back to medicine.
Following Medical School, internship, residency, and research at the NIH, he came to Penn as a Hematology Fellow and stayed with the University for more than three decades. Dupont noted that the reasons for this were the way the Medical School was integrated within the University, the mentorship and collegiality of outstanding colleagues, the time to care for patients, the attention to teaching, the quality of the students, the encouragement of research, intellectual and fiscal space to evolve and change research directions, the “lovely” urban park that is the University, the “dynamism of Philadelphia, the binding of the suburbs to the city, and the “flowering” of his family!
Dupont’s scholarship came to focus on melanoma, for which he became a recognized researcher and clinician. He addressed issues related to the immunobiology of tumor progression, the precursor states of the tumor, the application of therapy to primary and metastatic disease, the identification and the development of risk factors with predictive models for identifying those at high risk for developing melanoma. This research led to an extensive biography of peer reviewed papers and book-length guides for patients. His research through the years was supported by NIH and Foundation grants.
He served the educational missions of the SOM in the development of the Curriculum 2000 Program, and in directing the Hematology-Oncology Fellowship program. Dupont has been honored with prizes for “Teaching Excellence in Oncology” and the “Courage to Teach award” from the ACGME. He states that the most fun teaching, however, was in discussing Shelley’s book “Frankenstein” with incoming Freshman in 1993.
Dupont also served as Medical Faculty Senate Chair between 1996 and 1997 affecting some important policy changes to the school, and this is just a small example of what was extensive committee service to the School and University. In his new found Emeritus status Dupont still is active in the School and serves as Associate Editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Sean Kennedy, M.D.
Sean was clearly in a Boston frame of mind having remained there for his undergraduate, medical school, and residencies in Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology. Indeed, this was followed by Fellowship training in Critical Care at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1988 Sean was recruited to Penn.
Sean has served as the Medical Director of the HUP Operating Rooms and was the Chief of Anesthesia at the VA Medical Center. In this latter capacity he re-established an academic Anesthesia Service at the VA appointing a full compliment of Anesthesiologists, all with Penn Faculty appointments. He points with pride to the fact that Penn Residents again rotate through the VA service, and that it has become a very competitive slot for Senior Residents.
Sean has been a good citizen at Penn serving on numerous committees of the University and School. He was Chair for many years of the Safety and Security Committee, and has served on the Public Safety Advisory board, and on the Curriculum and Clinical Evaluations Committees of the School of Medicine.
He was the Director of the Medical Student Core Anesthesia Course, and in 2005 Medical Students honored his teaching with the “Penn Pearls” award. During the course of his career he has provided substantial training to Anesthesia Residents and Fellows.
He has been a good citizen nationally, serving for over 24-years as an oral examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology, as part of Residency Review Committees for the Council of Graduate Medical Education, and as President of the American Association of Clinical Directors. He is intimately involved with the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research.
Sean has authored many peer reviewed articles and book chapters, most all of which have focused on the application of anesthesiology in the operating room, the underlying biologic principles of anesthesiology, and the role of the anesthesiologist in specific surgical procedures.
Sean remains active in the School, though his efforts in maintaining his antique automobile collection are placing increasing demands on his time!
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Gilberto Pereira, M.D.
Gilberto received his education in Brazil, and in 1969 he completed a Pediatric Residency in the capital, Brazilia. Between 1970 and 1973 he undertook a second residency in Pediatrics at institutions in Chicago, and this was followed by a two year Neonatology Fellowship in Denver.
In 1976 he was made an Associate in Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1978 Gilberto began working up the academic ladder culminating in his promotion to Full Professor at CHOP and Penn in 1999.
Gilberto served as Director of the Infant Translational Unit and at one time was the Division Chief on Neonatology at CHOP. He has served as the President of the Philadelphia Perinatal Society and was given an honorary award from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Throughout his career he has been a reviewer for some of the most prestigious journals in Pediatrics. At CHOP and Penn he was the Director, Chair, or member of a whole host of committees concerned with Neonatal of Pediatric issues. He has lectured regionally and nationally on a regular basis on issues related to feeding regimens and nutrition in neonatal and pediatric patients.
During the course of his career Gilberto became a recognized national expert on issues related to nutrition, feeding and growth in premature, neonatal and pediatric patients and non-patients. His extensive bibliography in Peer-Reviewed Papers, Reviews, Chapters and Books, almost exclusively address issues related to these topics.