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Four Honored with 2004 Outstanding Alumni Awards

Memphis, Tennessee (November 1, 2004) -- Four individuals were recently presented with 2004 Outstanding Alumni Awards from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine during the Fall Alumni Weekend in Memphis. This award gives special recognition to graduates who have distinguished themselves in their medical practice, their profession, and in their communities.

 

Albert J. Grobmyer III, MD, FACS

During his career, Dr. Albert Grobmyer has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to organized medicine. A member of the Tennessee and American Medical Associations, he served as president of the Memphis Medical Society and the Memphis Surgical Society. Dr. Grobmyer was a founding member and president of the St. Francis IPA Board and president of the St. Francis Hospital medical staff.

In representing the physician community, Dr. Grobmyer has given testimony before Tennessee Gubernatorial Tort Reform and U.S. Senate Committee hearings. Currently, he holds membership on several committees related to healthcare improvement for Tennesseans and serves on the Public Affairs Committee of the UT National Alumni Association. He is the chief executive officer of the Center for Healthcare Quality, Tennessee’s federally directed Quality Improvement Organization.

A 1962 UTHSC College of Medicine graduate, Dr. Grobmyer completed a tour of duty as a surgeon for the United States Public Health Service, returning to Memphis where he had a general surgical practice for thirty years.

 

Roberto C. Heros, MD

Dr. Roberto Heros was born in Havana, Cuba, but left the country following communist takeover in 1960. It was then that he became a U.S. paratrooper platoon commander in the Bay of Pigs invasion and was held captive for two years. Upon his release, he attended medical school at UTHSC where he graduated top in his class in 1968.

Later he moved to Pittsburgh, where he served as an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1980 he returned to Massachusetts General Hospital and moved through the academic ranks at Harvard to reach full professorship in 1989, at which time he moved to the University of Minnesota. From there he went to the University of Miami in 1995, where he served as professor, co-chairman and program director of the Department of Neurosurgery, as well as founding director of the University of Miami International Health Center.

Dr. Heros has authored or co-authored four textbooks and has published approximately 120 refereed articles and 70 textbook chapters dealing with cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, experimental cerebral ischemia and skull base surgical approaches. He was founding chairman of the Neurovascular Committee of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies and is past president of the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons and the American Association of Neurological Surgery.

 

Howard R. Horn, MD

With a rich background in academic medicine, Dr. Howard Horn joined the UTHSC faculty in 1985 after already having served as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, the Brigham Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital.

A 1964 UTHSC College of medicine graduate, he was named the L.W. Diggs Alumni Professor of Medicine in 1990. During his tenure at UTHSC, he has held numerous titles, with the most recent ones being assistant vice president for clinical affairs and interim vice chancellor for health affairs. 

An international expert in the field of coronary artery disease, exercise, and vascular biology, he holds fellowships in the American College of Physicians, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association. For many years he served Tennesseans as senior medical director for the State of Tennessee Medicare Quality Improvement Organization. He has also been a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners, the International Vascular Biology Working Group, and many other organizations. Dr. Horn has authored numerous publications, served on several editorial boards, and has been awarded 19 teaching awards from UTHSC.

          

Russell Wayne Mayfield, MD, ’50

Having served as a general practitioner in Bells, Tenn. from shortly after graduation until retirement, Dr. Russell Mayfield has delivered approximately 1,000 babies, provided minor surgeries, treated simple fractures and a variety of illnesses, as well as maintained a large nursing home practice and made house calls.

A 1950 UTHSC College of Medicine graduate, he is a board certified diplomat and Fellow of the American Academy of Family Practice. Professionally active, he is a member of the West Tennessee Consolidated Medical Assembly, the House of Delegates, the Tennessee Medical Association and the American Medical Association. Dr. Mayfield served on staff at St. Mary’s Hospital in Humboldt, Methodist Healthcare - Brownsville Hospital, and is currently on staff of the Jackson - Madison County Hospital in Jackson, Tenn.

In May 2003, the Tennessee Medical Association presented him with the Outstanding Physician’s Award. An active community leader, Dr. Mayfield has served the Crockett County Board of Health for more than16 years. Additionally, he has served as a role model for high school students and UT residents, volunteered to teach others to read, organized a Boy Scout Troop, and developed a “sensory garden” at Bells Elementary School.

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