In the presence of faculty, family, and friends, NYU Langone Medical Center honored three faculty members for lifetime achievements in clinical excellence, education, and science at the 14th annual Dean’s Honors Day Ceremony. In addition to those receiving Master Scholar Awards, faculty members were honored for their appointments to endowed chairs and department chairs, were recognized for their service as chairs, for receiving tenure or promotions, and extramural and intramural distinctions.

Members of NYU Langone’s senior leadership and the 2015 Master Scholar Awardees attend the Dean’s Honors Day ceremony.

“The three individuals honored today perfectly embody our mission to serve, teach, and discover,” said Robert I. Grossman, MD, Saul J. Farber Dean and CEO. “Through their passion, service and innovation our institution continues to soar.”

This year's Master Awards honorees include:

Master clinician: Robert A. Press, MD, PhD, senior vice president and vice dean, chief of hospital operations and clinical professor of medicine

Through his clinical practice and leadership, Robert A. Press, MD, PhD, has improved the lives of countless patients. He is a renowned infectious disease specialist with an expertise in treating patients with surgical infectious diseases.

His contributions to the growth of NYU Langone include the implementation of Value Based Management, an initiative to address the challenge of providing the best quality care at the most affordable price. To achieve this goal, he directed clinical and corporate teams that planned and implement organizational changes rooted in evidence-based care protocols and improved administrative efficiency.

Additionally, Dr. Press created and implemented a wide variety of programs and initiatives designed to streamline hospital operations, including: collaborating with nursing leadership to develop the Partners in Quality program for nurses and doctors; strengthening the Infection Control and Prevention Program; and establishing the appointment of medical directors to oversee coordination of patient care.

Dr. Press has authored numerous peer-reviewed papers and chapters on topics related to infectious diseases, and he has served on numerous advisory committees. Currently, he is a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American Society of Microbiology, and is the former president of the Infectious Diseases Society of New York.

Master educator: Marc M. Triola, MD, associate professor of medicine and associate dean for educational informatics

A talented educator, admired mentor, and a visionary innovator, Marc Triola, MD, is leading the charge in personalized medical education. He is the founding director of the Institute for Innovations in Medical Education (IIME), a group that focus on addressing the challenges of medical education and creating new models for training world-class physicians.

He has created several novel educational technologies now used across NYU School of Medicine today, including the Virtual Microscope. His research focuses on changes in medical education, driven by technological advances, big data and learning analytics. He serves as the director of the Health Care by the Numbers curriculum, a program of education that uses authentic clinical data to align the curriculum with the future demands of clinical practice.

In addition to his work in the classroom, Dr. Triola serves on multiple state and national committees on educational technology for the healthcare profession, and his first textbook, Biostatistics for the Biological and Health Sciences, was published in 2005.

Master scientist: Jef D. Boeke, PhD, professor of biochemistry and molecular pharmacology

Jef D. Boeke, PhD, is the founding director of the Institute for Systems Genetics and professor of biochemistry and molecular pharmacology at NYU Langone. Known for his pioneering work on mechanistic and genomic aspects of retrotransposition, Dr. Boeke heads a laboratory that develops new technologies in genetics, genomics, and synthetic biology.

His research made headlines around the world with a discovery hailed by Scientific American as one of the Top Ten of 2014 when he and his team synthesized the first functional chromosome in yeast, an important step in the emerging field of synthetic biology, designing microorganisms to produce novel medicines, raw materials for food, and biofuels.

Currently he heads the Center for Systems Biology of Retrotransposition and is leading an international team to synthesize an engineered version of the yeast genome called Sc2.0, the first synthetic eukaryotic genome.

The Valentine Mott Founders Award: Paolo Fresco

In addition to the Master Awards, The Valentine Mott Founders Award was conferred on Trustee Paolo Fresco. The award, named for the father of modern surgery and co-founder of NYU School of Medicine, is presented to an individual who has shown exceptional support for the clinical, research, and education missions of the Medical Center.

Paolo Fresco has been a trustee of NYU Langone since 2013. A visionary philanthropist, Mr. Fresco has been essential to the institution’s development and expansion, pledging to establish the Marlene and Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders. The first of its kind, the Fresco Institute will advance the understanding of, treatment for, and education underlying Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders, and build vibrant connections between scientists in the United States and in Mr. Fresco’s native Italy.

In addition to his work on behalf of NYU Langone, Mr. Fresco is deeply involved with various charitable initiatives. He supports an array of educational, art, and cultural institutions.

Media Inquiries

Robert Magyar
Phone: 212-404-3591
robert.magyar@nyumc.org