Northwell Health announced several new endowed chairs and professorships representing diverse specialty areas across the organization at its fourth annual Celebration of Excellence event, held recently in New York City. The event brought together philanthropists, physician-scientists and educators to recognize the partnership between Northwell’s benefactors and the clinical experts who are shaping the future of health care through excellence in academic medicine.
Endowment support is an integral part of Northwell’s Outpacing the Impossible campaign, a comprehensive fundraising effort to fuel innovation to advance health care and support Northwell’s promise to the people it serves. Northwell announced last month that it reached the campaign’s $1 billion goal and was extending it to raise an additional $400 million by December 2024. To date the campaign has raised $187 million for endowment, and support from donors has created 18 endowed professorships and chairs.
“Endowment is vital to the health system because it promotes excellence in medicine, improves teaching, supports groundbreaking research and accelerates new discoveries,” said Michael J. Dowling, Northwell’s president and chief executive officer. “We are grateful for both the clinicians and the donors who support them in this important work.”
Endowed gifts provide financial stability in perpetuity, which allows Northwell to make strategic investments to propel new research and advance medicine in areas where it’s needed most. Endowed professorships and chairs carry significant prestige in the scientific, academic and medical fields.
“Health care is constantly evolving, and it’s the vision and investment of our donors that enable Northwell to drive the solutions that save lives,” said Brian T. Lally, Northwell’s senior vice president and chief development officer. “Endowment is a critical element of Northwell’s unparalleled ability to meet the needs of its communities.”
The newly installed Northwell professors and chairs and the benefactors who support them are:
- Frank A. Chervenak, MD, MMM, has been appointed to the Hugh R. K. Barber, MD, Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology, established in 1999 by the Hugoton Foundation. Chervenak serves as chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwell’s Lenox Hill Hospital and chair of the department at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, where he is also associate dean for international medicine. An accomplished physician-scientist, Dr. Chervenak has published 395 papers in peer-reviewed journals and coauthored or coedited 45 books. His research interests include ultrasound and ethics in obstetrics and gynecology and physician leadership. Since 2011, Dr. Chervenak has been a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and has also been awarded 12 honorary doctorates from international universities.
- Daniel M. Sciubba, MD, MBA, has been named the inaugural Lucille and Milton Cohn Professor of Neurosurgery, established by the Cohn family. Dr. Sciubba serves as the senior vice president of neurosurgery at Northwell Health, chair of neurosurgery at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, co-director of the Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Northwell, and chair of neurosurgery at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. A national leader in neurosurgery, Dr. Sciubba is an expert in spine surgery and has made spine surgery a particular area of focus, with emphasis on spine tumors and spinal deformity including scoliosis, kyphosis and spondylolisthesis.
- Matthew J. Weiss, MD, MBA, FACS, has been named the inaugural Eli B. and Mollie B. Cohen Family Professor of Surgical Oncology, established by the Pyramid Foundation. Dr. Weiss is the deputy physician-in-chief and director of the surgical oncology program at the Northwell Cancer Institute. He also serves as a professor of surgery and oncology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and a professor at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. As a board-certified surgeon who specializes in diseases of the pancreas and liver, Dr. Weiss is an international leader in both liver and pancreas surgery and has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications in the field.
In addition, generous benefactors funded two new endowed positions to attract top talent to Northwell:
Robin and Jack Ross endowed the Robin and Jack Ross Chair in Bioelectronic Medicine and Neuroimmunology. This new recruit will lead the Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and further secure Northwell’s position as the global leader in this field of medicine.
Bob and Janet Perro have established the Robert and Janet Perro Professor in Cancer Research and the Robert and Janet Perro Laboratory in Cancer Research at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Once recruited, this world-class researcher will expand cancer expertise and collaborate with leaders across Northwell’s Cancer Institute and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories to translate research innovations into the best treatment options for patients.
“Philanthropy changes the future of medicine because it allows us to recruit the most talented clinicians, researchers and educators and empower them to be bold in propelling the innovation needed to improve health care for all,” said David Battinelli, MD, executive vice president and physician-in-chief for Northwell Health and dean and Betsey Cushing Whitney Professor of Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
To learn more about endowment support and Northwell’s Outpacing the Impossible campaign, visit https://give.northwell.edu/endowment.
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