MCW/Marquette Medical Alumni Association honors award recipients
Each year, the MCW/Marquette Medical Alumni Association selects alumni for its highest honors to acknowledge their contributions to improving health through medicine, science and other means. On October 22, the Alumni Association honored five 2020 award recipients at its virtually-held recognition meeting.
VIEW THE 2020 VIRTUAL ALUMNI ASSOCATION AWARD RECOGNITION EVENT HERE
2020 Award Recipients
Allen W. Cowley, Jr., PhD, was named Honorary Alumnus of the Year.
Dr. Cowley has been a member of the MCW community for almost 40 years. In 2019, he stepped down as Chair of Physiology and the James J. Smith & Catherine Welsch Smith Professor of Physiology. His leadership in the department continues as the Harry & Gertrude Hack Term Professor. His research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1971, during which time he has mentored more than 50 fellows and students in his laboratory, resulting in over 325 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Cowley is an international leader in cardiovascular research. He has made seminal observations that have advanced our understanding of hypertension. As President of the American Physiological Society, he was responsible for the launching of the Journal of Physiological Genomics in 1999 in a determined effort to unite the genomic and physiological sciences in the identification of functional relevance of genomic research.
The Department of Physiology has long been a national leader in graduate education. Under Dr. Cowley’s leadership, our graduates have become very successful scientists in universities, pharmaceutical companies and government.
Marlene D. Melzer-Lange, MD ’75, GME ’78, was named the Medical School Alumnus/Alumna of the Year.
For more than 40 years, Dr. Melzer-Lange has treated the urgent healthcare needs of youths as a pediatric emergency medicine specialist and faculty member at MCW. Since 2001, she has served as medical director of Project Ujima, a collaborative community effort led by MCW and Children’s Wisconsin to end firearm and assault violence among children and adolescents in Milwaukee.
Dr. Melzer-Lange’s success has been attributed to her exceptional ability to build partnerships by understanding the culture and challenges faced by community leaders and linking nontraditional partners to address a critical community need. Project Ujima is the longest standing hospital-based violence prevention program and is seen nationally as the "gold-standard" in violence prevention programming. Project Ujima is one of six founding members of the National Network of Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs.
Dr. Melzer-Lange has always been an advocate for the underserved in our local community but with a national reach. In her many roles as physician, innovator, leader and mentor, her mission always has been to be a champion for others.
Neil R. Guenther, MD ’83, GME ’86 ’88, received the Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Guenther is an anesthesiologist and joined the Alumni Association Board in 2013. Dr. Guenther is the Alumni Association’s longest-serving president – having served two one-year terms and stepping in to do so at a time of transition. He led the Alumni Association Board with vision and purpose. During his term as president, ENGAGE, our exclusive online alumni platform, was launched, as was the monthly alumni e-newsletter. Additionally, the Alumni Association strategic goals were identified during his term with a vision to serve as a proactive and relevant resource to our alumni, fostering a lifetime connection to MCW and to the alumni community in support of the institution’s mission.
Steven E. Larson, MD ’75, GME ’78, FEL ’80, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Dr. Larson is an infectious disease specialist who served communities in California and has worked extensively in the area of HIV care on a global scale. In addition, he has volunteered in southeast Asia to assist refugees – delivering babies, treating tuberculosis patients, teaching residents about infectious disease. Dr. Larson served the 40,000-plus members of the California Medical Association as their president in 2015 and 2016.
Jeffery D. Molkentin, PhD ’94, was named the Graduate School Alumnus/Alumna of the Year.
In 1997, Dr. Molkentin joined faculty of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He is currently the director of the division of molecular cardiovascular biology, executive director of the Heart Institute and professor of pediatrics. His laboratory's research centers on understanding the molecular mechanisms of heart and skeletal muscle disease.
In 2008, Dr. Molkentin became the fourth Ohio resident ever appointed as an investigator by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, one of the top honors in the U.S. scientific community and an ongoing source of research funding. He has made international contributions to stem cell therapy for the heart.
In addition, Dr. Molkentin has mentored more than 30 trainees who have successfully launched scientific careers and built their own laboratories.
Make Your Nominations for the 2021 Awards!
Distinguished Service
Graduate School Alumnus or Alumna of the Year
Honorary Alumnus or Alumna
This award is presented to non-alumni whose commitment to MCW is unwavering and whose continued support of the college’s education, research, patient care and community engagement efforts are pervasive and demonstrable.