Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees Elects Officers, Recognizes Named Professors

Friday, February 16, 2007

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.— The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees today elected its officers and recognized four named professors.

Re-elected to new terms were Denis Cortese, M.D., president and CEO; James Barksdale, board chair; Nina Schwenk, M.D., vice president; Jeff Bolton, chief financial officer; and Jon Oviatt, secretary. Shirley Weis was elected vice president, succeeding Robert Smoldt.

The board also recognized at its dinner Thursday evening four named professors, the highest academic distinction for a faculty member.

Piero Rinaldo, M.D., Ph.D., was awarded the T. Denny Sanford Professorship of Pediatrics, which was established in 2005 to honor an exceptional professor working in pediatric research or education. The Sanford Professor will be significantly involved in providing leadership and support for a unique collaboration between Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Mayo Clinic in pediatric research, practice, and education. Sanford is the founder of Premier Bankcard, a leading issuer of credit cards.

Dr. Rinaldo joined Mayo Clinic's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (DLMP) in 1998. He has served as chair of the divisions of Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology (2001-2003) and Laboratory Genetics (2003-present) and currently is the DLMP's vice chair of business development. His research interests are the study of inborn errors of metabolism as the cause of pediatric sudden and unexpected death and the application of tandem mass spectrometry to population screening of genetic disorders. His current primary focus is the expansion and quality improvement of newborn screening programs, and he has been the architect of an innovative public-private partnership among the Minnesota Department of Health, the University of Minnesota, and Mayo Clinic, known as the "Minnesota model" of newborn screening.

Matthew Ames, Ph.D., was awarded the Sandra J. Schulze Professorship, one of two professorships established by The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation in 2005. The professorship recognizes outstanding physicians and scientists who are internationally renowned for their work in cancer research and novel therapeutics. Richard M. Schulze grew up in St. Paul, Minn. He is founder and chairman of Best Buy Co., Inc., president of The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, and chairman of the Best Buy Children's Foundation.

Dr. Ames joined the Mayo faculty in the departments of Oncology and Pharmacology in 1979, and holds the academic rank of professor of Pharmacology in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. He served as chair of the Division of Developmental Oncology Research (Department of Oncology) for 15 years and is currently chair of the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. He was director for research at Mayo Clinic Rochester for seven years.

Dr. Ames' research focuses on the development of more effective agents for the treatment of malignant diseases. Areas of emphasis include defining mechanisms of action of novel anticancer agents, characterization of preclinical and clinical pharmacology of anticancer agents, and the role of inheritance (genetic variability) in patient responses to anticancer agents (cancer pharmacogenetics). Dr. Ames is co-leader of the Developmental Therapeutics Program at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and director of the Cancer Center Pharmacology Shared Resource.

Randall Roenigk, M.D., was awarded the Robert H. Kieckhefer Professorship in Dermatology, which was established in 1974 by Robert H. Kieckhefer of Prescott, Ariz., through funding from the J. W. Kieckhefer Foundation. Robert Kieckhefer was a close friend of Mayo dermatologist Robert R. Kierland, M.D., and established the professorship in his honor.

Dr. Roenigk has served in his current leadership role as professor and chair of the Department of Dermatology at Mayo Clinic Rochester since 2000. Prior to that, he was chair of the Department of Dermatology at Mayo Clinic Arizona. In 1986, he joined the consultant staff of the Department of Dermatology in Rochester to start the Division of Dermatologic Surgery, including Mohs micrographic surgery, and to direct resident education in this subspecialty. In 1990, he established a new fellowship program in dermatologic surgery. His research and clinical practices focus on cutaneous oncologic surgery, Mohs micrographic surgery, reconstructive surgery, and cosmetic procedures of the skin.

Dr. Roenigk has been a member of the Board of Directors and an officer of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, the American Academy of Dermatology, and the American Dermatological Association. He is chair of the Residency Review Committee for Dermatology of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Dermatology.

Robert Diasio, M.D., was awarded a William J. Mayo, M.D., and Charles H. Mayo, M.D., Professorship. This is one of four such professorships established in 2004 to celebrate the Mayo brothers' commitment to learning and teaching.

Dr. Diasio became the director of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center on Sept. 1, 2006. He also holds the positions of consultant and professor of molecular pharmacology and experimental therapeutics. Dr. Diasio previously was chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, director of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham (UAB), and was associate director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Diasio has received continuous funding from the National Cancer Institute since 1978 and is the recipient of the highly competitive MERIT Award. He serves on the editorial boards of several medical journals, including Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Clinical Colorectal Cancer. His clinical interest is in the area of gastrointestinal oncology. His basic research interest has been focused mainly in the area of biochemical, molecular, and clinical pharmacology of anticancer agents, with a particular interest in antimetabolites; oligonucleotide therapy for gene modulation; and, more recently, targeted therapy approaches.

Named professorships at Mayo Clinic represent the highest academic distinction for a faculty member. Faculty are appointed to a professorship through nomination and endorsement of their peers and then confirmed by Mayo Clinic senior leadership. Appointed individuals are recognized for distinguished achievement in their specialty areas and service to the institution. The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees confers the named professorship in person at a board meeting. Named professors hold the appointment for the duration of their active Mayo Clinic careers. Upon an incumbent's retirement, a new professor is appointed. The professorship remains in perpetuity.

These professorships are named in honor of the benefactors. The gift funds, which may be unrestricted or focused on a specific medical area, are held in endowment. All income from the endowed professorships supports Mayo Clinic programs in medical education and research.

The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees, a 30-member group of public representatives and Mayo physicians and administrators, is responsible for patient care, medical education and research activities at Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.

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