Two at Children's win top Presidential awards
Two Children's Hospital Boston physicians are among 58 investigators nationwide, and just six in Massachusetts, to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the government's highest honor for professionals beginning independent research careers. Catherine Gordon, MD, MSc, was recognized for her work on anorexia nervosa and bone loss in young women, and Kenneth Mandl, MD, MPH, for his development of automated biosurveillance systems to monitor the health of populations in real time. They were among 12 up-and-coming researchers nominated by the National Institutes of Health for the award, presented June 13 at a White House ceremony that included a half-hour visit with President George W. Bush.
Gordon, from the Divisions of Adolescent Medicine and Endocrinology, is evaluating whether hormone treatment can increase bone density in adolescent girls and young women with anorexia, who are at risk for osteoporosis and fractures. Her award also acknowledges her community work on pediatric bone health in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and as director of Children's Bone Health Center. "I'm thrilled that pediatric osteoporosis has been recognized," Gordon says. "The government hopes these awards will inspire young people to go into science, and as a pediatrician, that's what you want to hear."
Mandl is an attending physician in the Division of Emergency Medicine and an investigator in the Children's Hospital Informatics Program. He has led the development of an automated biosurveillance system that automatically monitors for disease outbreaks in real time, using clinical data from hospitals and clinics. The system has been deployed to monitor population health across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the DPH.
