MMS Member News and Notes

Hubert I. Caplan, MD (Tufts University School of Medicine, 1955; residency: Tufts-NEMC/Boston VA, internal medicine and rheumatology), was recognized by the Charles River District Medical Society for his service on the board of trustees that began in 2003. During this time, the trustees elected Dr. Caplan to represent them annually on the MMS Committee on Administration and Management, which oversees matters related to the Society’s offices. Dr. Caplan, a rheumatology and internal medicine specialist, has been an active member of the medical staff at Newton-Wellesley Hospital for over 50 years.

Athar N. Malik, MD, PhD (Harvard Medical School, 2015; residency: Massachusetts General Hospital), was awarded a 2019–2020 Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation (NREF) Research Fellowship Grant. Sponsored by the NREF, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the grant will support Dr. Malik’s project, “Development and characterization of a mouse model of midbrain compression to explore neural circuits underlying coma and consciousness.” Dr. Malik is a resident physician in neurosurgery at MGH and does research at Harvard University.

Ashley Matthew (UMass Medical School, 2020), received the HOPE scholarship from the Biomedical Science Careers Program, which supports academically outstanding students, particularly African American, Hispanic American, and American Indian/Alaskan Native students, in biomedical careers. Ms. Matthew, who is enrolled in the MD/PhD program at UMass Medical School, accepted the two-year grant award at the “Evening of Hope” celebration held at the Westin Copley Place Boston.

Kristian R. Olson, MD, MPH, DTM&H (Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Health) (Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 1998; residency: Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital), received a 2019 Excellence in Humanitarian Services Award from the Society of Hospital Medicine. The award recognized his many contributions to global health care delivery, among them his co-creation of the Augmented Infant Resuscitator device, which enables birth attendants to achieve sufficient ventilation in less than half the time and maintain it 50 percent longer. Dr. Olson is the director of the Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies (CAMTech), based at Mass General Global Health, and is also a member of the Core Educator Faculty in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. CAMTech’s open innovation platform has empowered people with the tools to solve their own medical challenges in India, Uganda, and increasingly in the United States.

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH (Duke University School of Medicine, 2004; residency: University of Cincinnati Medical Center), was chosen as editor-in-chief of NEJM Journal Watch Emergency Medicine. Dr. Raja joined the NEJM Journal Watch Emergency Medicine editorial board in 2013, and as editor-in-chief will oversee a publication with more than 500,000 monthly readers from 178 countries. Dr. Raja is executive vice chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Radiology at Harvard Medical School.

Meme T. Tran, MD (UMass Medical School, 2019; residency: UMass Memorial Medical Center), received UMass Medical School’s “29 Who Shine” award for 2019. The award honors one student at each Massachusetts community college, state university, and UMass campus for his or her community service work and exemplary academic achievements. As a medical student, Dr. Tran served as a youth coordinator with the Worcester Refugee Assistance Project, held numerous leadership positions at UMMS, and volunteered at the Worcester Senior Center. Governor Charlie Baker honored Dr. Tran and the other award winners earlier this month at the state house.