PHILADELPHIA—Three faculty members in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have been selected to receive awards from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the professional organization of all 151 accredited U.S. medical schools and nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems nationwide. The winners of the awards will be honored at Learn Serve Lead 2018, the AAMC annual meeting, in Austin, Texas on Sunday, Nov. 4.
David A. Asch, MD, MBA, will receive the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation David E. Rogers Award, given for “major contributions to improving the health and health care of the American people;” Gail Morrison, MD, is one of four recipients of the Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award; and Stanley Plotkin, MD, will receive the AAMC’s Award for Distinguished Research in the Biomedical Sciences.
David A. Asch, MD, MBA
David A. Asch, MD, MBA
Asch is the executive director of the Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, the John Morgan Professor of Medicine and Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Perelman School of Medicine, and a professor of health care management and operations, information and decisions at the Wharton School.
He is a national pioneer in combining economic analysis with moral and psychological theory and marketing in the discipline known as behavioral economics. His research focuses on understanding and improving how physicians and patients make medical choices, including personal health behaviors such as diet, exercise, and smoking; adopting new drugs and other medical technologies; and purchasing health and life insurance. Techniques he studies include the use of financial rewards, elements of choice architecture commonly referred to as ‘nudges,’ and social incentives that facilitate improved health outcomes. From 1998 to 2012, Asch was executive director of Penn’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. Throughout his career he has supported the care of veterans—in 2001 creating the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ national center to support vulnerable populations and reduce racial disparities. He has also directed some of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) flagship human capital programs at the University of Pennsylvania, including the RWJF Clinical Scholars Program and the RWJF Health & Society Scholars Program.
Asch is the author of more than 350 published papers. He has received numerous awards for his research and teaching, both nationally and at Penn, and is a past recipient of the Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award. He is an elected member of the Association of American Physicians and the National Academy of Medicine. Asch received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, his medical degree from Weill-Cornell Medical College, and his MBA in health care management and decision sciences from the Wharton School. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.
Read more about Asch's work from the Leonard Davis Institute.
Gail Morrison, MD
Gail Morrison, MD
Morrison, a nationally recognized innovator and leader in medical education, is the William Maul Measey President's Distinguished Professor in Medical Education and former long-time Senior Vice Dean for Medical Education. For decades she has led research, development, and implementation of medical school curriculum changes at Penn and across the nation.
She developed the award-winning, interdisciplinary Perelman School of Medicine curriculum which is structured with major ideas grouped by theme, rather than by academic discipline (medical education “without walls”), and technology-driven, with all lectures available via online video (the virtual classroom). Integration of basic sciences and clinical experience, a technique now heavily replicated throughout medical education, is another hallmark of her work.
Morrison also focuses on improving medical student diversity and opportunities for success and has championed the “MD plus” degree, emphasizing additional accreditation, ranging from a Wharton MBA to a certificate in global health. Today, more than half of the 2018 Penn class are “MD plus” graduates. As part of their own efforts to implement curriculum reform, numerous U.S. and international medical schools have sent delegations to Penn to learn about the processes she has developed.
Morrison currently is focused on transforming medical education on the internet, both for the Penn community and those outside of the institution. Efforts include an online class on the business of medicine—a collaboration with the Wharton School; online anatomy classes for post-baccalaureate and graduate students to strengthen their scientific background for health sciences careers; and continuing education for working physicians and other health care providers.
Morrison received her medical degree from Penn and her undergraduate degree in biology and chemistry from Boston University. In addition to her recognition from the AAMC, previously Morrison has been the recipient of other notable education and teaching awards including the Lindback Teaching Award from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the CDIM’s Outstanding Education Program Development Award, the Daniel C. Tosteson Award for Leadership in Medical Education from the Carl J. Shapiro Institute for Education and Research, and the Perelman School of Medicine’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Stanley Plotkin, MD
Stanley Plotkin, MD
Plotkin, an emeritus professor of Pediatrics at Penn, is a legend in the field of vaccine research and development. Among his advances is the attenuated RA27/3 rubella virus vaccine, licensed in the United States in 1979 and today used worldwide. In pregnant women, the rubella virus can cause congenital rubella syndrome in the fetus, leading to serious birth defects. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Plotkin’s vaccine led to the eradication of rubella in the United States and the Western Hemisphere. Today’s well known MMR vaccine comprises the RA27/3 vaccine and vaccines for measles and mumps.
During the 1980s and 1990s Plotkin and colleagues produced a vaccine for rotavirus, which causes severe diarrhea in infants and young children. He has also played a leading role in the development and application of other vaccines including vaccines for humans against rabies, varicella and anthrax. Plotkin has written and edited hundreds of articles and several books, including Vaccines, considered the standard reference on the topic. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the French Legion Medal of Honor and the Sabin Foundation Medal.
Plotkin earned his bachelor's degree from New York University and his medical degree at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, completing his medical training at Penn Medicine.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.