Lasker Award

Gregg Semenza, M.D., Ph.D., whose discoveries on how cells respond to low oxygen levels could result in treatments for illnesses ranging from cancer to diabetes, is among three researchers to receive the 2016 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award. The Lasker Foundation recognized Semenza, along with co-winners William Kaelin Jr., M.D., of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Peter Ratcliffe of Oxford University, for the “discovery of essential pathways by which human and animal cells sense and adapt to the presence of oxygen. Semenza is best known for his groundbreaking discovery of hypoxia-inducible factor 1, or HIF-1, the protein that switches genes on and off in cells in response to low oxygen levels. He is a member of the Institute for Cell Engineering, the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

New Senior Director for the Johns Hopkins Health System

Angelo Mojica, Ph.D., has been named the senior director of food and culinary services for the Johns Hopkins Health System. Mojica will provide leadership to all food services departments and be responsible for integration of the food service operations among each of the six affiliate hospitals. He will oversee the health system’s food service supply chain initiative and work collaboratively across the system to improve patient satisfaction and employee engagement for food services operations. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Mojica was responsible for all food service and clinical nutrition operations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  

Damon Runyon Awards

Daniel Goldman, Ph.D.; Michael Koldobskiy, M.D., Ph.D.; and Cara Rabik, M.D., Ph.D., all oncology fellows, each received a four-year, $248,000 award to support their basic science research. One award is a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Fellowship. The two others are Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Fellowship Awards. Goldman, who studies the process of protein synthesis, often misregulated in cancer, received the Runyon research foundation fellowship. Koldobskiy, who studies the way cancer cells rely on epigenetic modifications, the chemical marks that modify a gene’s expression without changing its genetic sequence, and Rabik, who examines how mutations in the WT1gene result in acute myeloid leukemia, each received a Runyon-Sohn fellowship. Runyon was a famed newspaperman and author who died of cancer in 1946. The Sohn Conference Foundation was founded in 1995 and is dedicated to the treatment of pediatric cancer and other childhood diseases. It honors the memory of Ira Sohn, an investment trader on Wall Street, who died of cancer at 29.

Blue Distinction Center Honors

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has designated Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center as a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement. Earlier this year, Howard County General Hospital was designated a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care, a new honorific under the Blue Distinction Specialty Care Program, which recognizes health care facilities nationwide for demonstrating expertise in delivering quality care safely, effectively and cost-efficiently.

Quality Innovation Awards

Howard County General Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center have received the Virginia Health Quality Center Quality Innovation Award for improving patient care and reducing hospital-acquired infections in 2015. Granted to the top 10 percent of hospitals in Maryland and Virginia, the award is based on patient safety and service scores. The evaluations used data from the Targeted Assessment for Prevention, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems.

Comprehensive Stroke Center

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center has been issued a full designation as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS). This five-year designation comes after the Medical Center’s successful completion of a MIEMSS Comprehensive Stroke Center site survey.

Filipina Women’s Network Award

Eloiza Domingo-Snyder, director of diversity, inclusion and cultural competency for Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Health System, was named one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women by the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN). The honor, in the FWN’s Builder Award category, recognizes Domingo-Snyder’s exceptional impact at a large workplace. 

EAST BALTIMORE

Steven Cohen, M.D., director of medical education for the pain management division at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, recently received the distinguished service award from the Military Health System Research Symposium. Cohen, a retired U.S. Army colonel, received the award in the research category of pain management. The honor recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the advancement of military health system research.

Richard Huganir, Ph.D., professor and director of the Department of Neuroscience, has been elected president of the Society for Neuroscience, the world’s largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. Huganir is also director of the Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute and co-director of the Brain Science Institute.

Lillie Shockney, R.N., M.A.S., professor and administrative director of the Johns Hopkins Breast Center, recently received The Folio: Top Women in Media Award. It recognizes her role as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Oncology Navigation and Survivorship, as well as her work for other journals, her books and her online writing.

JOHNS HOPKINS BAYVIEW MEDICAL CENTER

Shannon Hatzigeorgalis, R.N., a labor and delivery nurse, has received Johns Hopkins Bayview’s 2016 Nurse of the Year Award. Hatzigeorgalis joined the Johns Hopkins Bayview staff 18 years ago as a certified medical assistant and became a nurse nine years ago.

Laura Jaweed, D.P.T., has been named manager of the Joint Replacement Program. In her new role, she will work closely with the joint replacement surgeons, administrators and the director of nursing. Jaweed previously served as the director of physical therapy and occupational therapy at Boston Children’s Hospital.

SUBURBAN HOSPITAL

Greta Cuccia, R.N., B.S.N., C.E.N., clinical director of the Emergency Department, has received the first DAISY Nurse Leader Award for creating a compassionate environment in which skillful care thrives. The award, presented by Suburban Hospital’s nursing council on professional development, was created by the DAISY (diseases attacking the immune system) Foundation, established in 1999 by the family of a terminally ill patient whose nursing care touched them greatly.

Marketing and Communications

Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Health System have received a total of 27 Digital Health Awards—ranging from Gold to Silver, Bronze and Merit—from the Health Information Resources Center. The recognitions honored online publications, articles, videos and other informational materials. The center is a national clearinghouse for professionals who work in consumer health fields.