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May 16, 2012

VA Investigators Receive Honors at SGIM's Annual Meeting

Several VA Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) investigators were honored during the 2012 annual meeting of the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) held from May 9-12, 2012. The SGIM is the leading national organization of general internal medicine physicians working in U.S. academic medical centers, and its focus is to promote research and education aimed at improving healthcare for the whole patient.

The Robert J. Glaser Award

The SGIM's highest honor, the Glaser Award, is given to an individual for outstanding contributions to research, education, or both, in generalism in medicine. The 2012 award was presented to Stephan D. Fihn, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the Office of Analytics and Business Intelligence VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and Head of the Division of General Internal Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System.

Dr. Fihn is the former director of HSR&D's Center for Outcomes Research in Older Adults, and a general internist. His research interests extend to quality of care (particularly in the outpatient setting) and health measurement.

Outstanding Junior Investigator of the Year

The SGIM's Outstanding Junior Investigator Award is presented to an individual whose early career achievement and overall body of work has made a national impact on generalist research. The 2012 recipient was Rebecca Sudore, M.D., HSR&D Career Development Awardee with the VA HSR&D Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) to Improve Care for Veterans with Complex Comorbid Conditions at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Dr. Sudore is also an Assistant Professor In-Residence in the Division of Geriatrics at University of California, San Francisco, and a hospice and palliative care attending physician. Her research focuses on the intersection of limited health literacy, geriatrics, end-of-life care, and medical decision-making.

Opening Plenary Abstract Presentations

Several VA HSR&D investigators contributed to two of the abstracts presented during the opening plenary session:

• Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.; Kevin Volpp, M,D,, Ph,D,; and Laurie Norton, M,A, of HSR&D's Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion contributed to A Randomized Controlled Trial of Financial Incentives to Promote Weight Loss among Obese Employees.
• Sundar Natarajan, M.D., M.Sc., contributed to Association between Food Insufficiency and Mortality: Joint Effective with Income on All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality.

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