Milestones
Dr. Murphy named chair
Dr.
Ana Alvarez Murphy, founding director of the Division of Reproductive
Medicine and Infertility at Emory University School of Medicine, is the new
chair of the MCG Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Dr. Murphy, who joins the MCG faculty June 1, also has been named the first director of the MCG Women’s Health Center of Excellence, a multidisciplinary center she will help develop to provide total health care to women.
“Dr. Murphy is an internationally known investigator in the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility and has developed an innovative and highly successful division at Emory University,” said Dr. Steve Schwab, interim dean of the MCG School of Medicine. “She has exceptional academic, business and clinical skills and will lead and further develop a great department.”
“The recruitment of Dr. Murphy underscores our commitment to providing the Augusta community with the finest technology, techniques, family-focused care and facilities in the specialized area of women’s health,” said Don Snell, president and chief executive officer of MCG Health, Inc. “We are going to put together a women’s health program like no other in the Augusta area, from standard services to unique specialties. Dr. Murphy’s experience and leadership will make that possible.”
Dr. Murphy replaces Dr. Lawrence D. Devoe, who has served as chair for more than a decade. Dr. Devoe will remain on the faculty after he retires as chair this summer.
Strengthening clinical programs will strengthen educational and research activities, said Dr. Murphy whose own research to better understand and treat endometriosis and fibroids are good examples of the type of translational studies encouraged nationally and on the MCG campus. Her laboratory studies showing how oxidative stress contributes to both conditions have already led to a pilot study in women with endometriosis.
During her tenure at Emory, she helped develop a Division of Research within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology that focused on such translational studies.
She is a grant reviewer for the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for studies of the male and female reproductive systems and secured a Program Project Grant on endometriosis from the institute. She is a consultant to the institute on edometriosis and to the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine on antiprogestins.
Dr. Murphy is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor and completed residency and fellowship training at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Mr.
Mitchell hired
Bryan Mitchell has been named Health Careers Opportunity Program project coordinator.
He will oversee the day-to-day functions of an $899,439 federal grant awarded to MCG’s Office of Educational Outreach and Partnerships to expand pipeline programs designed to increase the number of underrepresented minority and disadvantaged health care providers in the state.
The pipeline programs include a summer science camp for third through eighth-graders, a six-week JUMP SMART program to help high school students with science, math and Preliminary SAT preparation and a two-year program to help prepare college students for the national Medical College Admission Test.
“Mr. Mitchell will play a pivotal role in providing leadership to our Health Careers Opportunity Grant,” said Wilma Sykes-Brown, assistant dean for educational outreach and partnerships in the MCG School of Medicine. “His strong science background will serve as a role model for the students targeted by the grant. Moreover, his experience and commitment will enhance the overall mission of the Office of Educational Outreach and Partnerships.”
Mr. Mitchell comes to MCG from Augusta’s Paine College, where he was assistant professor of biology for three years.
Mr. Mitchell’s previous appointments include analytical laboratory analyst at Austin Industries/Prayon Inc. – an Augusta industrial construction and maintenance company – and editorial assistant of the American Journal of Human Genetics in Atlanta. He has interned at the Pfizer Global Research and Development program in New London, Conn., and was a Stanford Linear Accelerator Center scholar at Stanford University in Menlo Park, Calif.
Mr. Mitchell earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Fort Valley State University, a master’s degree in biology from Clark Atlanta University and is pursuing his master of divinity degree from Erskine Theological Seminary in Due West, S.C.
Obituaries
Susie Huff, a retired licensed practical nurse, died Dec. 18, at age 84. Ms. Duff served
MCG for six years. Survivors include daughters Frances E. Huff and Renita Blair; sons Aaron Huff Sr., William Huff Sr., Gerald Huff Sr., Lawrence Huff Sr., Kenneth Huff Sr.; 16 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, nine nieces and six nephews.
Eleanor Holden, a retired clerk in the Department of Surgery, died Jan. 8, at age 91. Ms. Holden served MCG for 14 years. A native of Augusta, Mrs. Holden was a member of Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church, Linus Foundation, Georgia Power Ambassadors and MCG Retirees Association. Survivors include sons John William Holden Jr. and James R. Holden; sisters Catherine Gibbs and Sarah Brown; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church, 1330 Monte Sano Ave., Augusta, GA 30904 or Medical College of Georgia Children's Medical Center, 1446 Harper St., Augusta, GA 30912.
Otelia Gardenhire, a retired patient care assistant in the Department of Orthopedics, died Jan. 15, at age 69. Ms. Gardenhire served MCG for 33 years. Born in Plum Branch, S.C., Ms. Gardenhire was a 1954 graduate of Mims High School. She was a member of Pine Grove AME Church. Survivors include son Adrian Gardenhire; daughter Glennis G. Davis; brother Charles Wiggleton and four grandchildren.