Reporter Dec 11 2015

Arthur Wheeler, M.D., and his wife, Lisa, pose with the portrait of Wheeler that was unveiled at a special reception last week honoring his career accomplishments and service to VUMC.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Ono Pharmaceutical Group, an international company based in Japan, have signed a drug discovery agreement.

The Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) is recognizing Joseph Smith Jr., M.D., professor of Urologic Surgery, with the Huggins Medal, its highest honor, for his lifetime contributions to the progress in treatment for patients with genitourinary neoplasms, which are tumors or cancer of the reproductive organs and the urinary system.

Scott Baldwin, M.D., director of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology, recently was awarded the American Heart Association’s Helen B. Taussig Memorial Lecture, considered one of the most renowned invited lectures in the United States.

René Gifford, Ph.D., associate professor of Hearing and Speech Sciences, received the 2015 Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) at the group’s national convention, which was held last month in Denver.

Brandi Besheres, R.N., left, who works in the Critical Care Tower, and her good friend, McCauley Gatliff Robbins, who works in Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos’ office, were returning home from a day of shopping recently when Robbins’ baby, Reagan, experienced respiratory distress and struggled to breathe.

Justin Balko, Pharm.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology, has been named a member of the 2016 class of Pink Tie Guys by the Greater Nashville Affiliate of Susan G. Komen, a nonprofit organization dedicated to breast cancer research and patient support.