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Albany Medical College Recognizes Faculty’s Outstanding Contributions

ALBANY, N.Y., June 3, 2009—Three Albany Medical College faculty were recently recognized with induction into the College’s prestigious Sosa Academy of Medical Sciences. James R. Drake, Ph.D., professor in the Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, David Jourd’heuil, Ph.D., associate professor in the Center for Cardiovascular Sciences, and Ceshi Chen, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Center for Cell Biology and Cancer Research, were bestowed the honor at the College’s 171st commencement ceremonies May 21 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Drs. Drake and Jourd’heuil were inducted with the Outstanding Mentor Award, and Dr. Chen was presented the New Teacher Award. According to Vincent Verdile, M.D., dean of Albany Medical College and executive vice president for health affairs at Albany Medical Center, membership in the Sosa Academy is selective, and is intended to recognize educators’ outstanding contributions.

“These three faculty members exemplify the mission of the Sosa Academy through their exceptional efforts in teaching both students and other faculty,” said Verdile. “It is our hope that through induction in the Academy, they can continue to provide advocacy and support for fellow faculty educators, ensuring that our students are trained by the very best.”

Named for former faculty member and founder of Albany Med’s cardiac catheterization lab, Julio Sosa, M.D., the Sosa Academy was founded in 2003 with a $1.5 million gift from local entrepreneur and founder of Namic, USA, of Glens Falls Phillip Morse, who had worked with Sosa on several improvements to medical technology and was impressed by his mentorship. The Academy’s goal is to stimulate curriculum development and reform, to reward faculty through extramural funding for educational activities, and to emphasize the patient-doctor relationship. Twenty-eight fellows have been inducted since the program’s inception.

Albany Medical College, founded in 1839 as one of the nation’s first private medical schools, trains medical students and provides continuing medical education programs for area physicians. In addition to medical degrees, the College also offers master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral programs in the basic sciences as well as master’s programs for nurse anesthetists, physician assistants and bioethicists.

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