Medical Alumni Society Honors Six Physicians

Awards honor doctors who have made outstanding contributions to their communities.

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (May 16, 2007) -- The University of Minnesota's Medical Alumni Society board has chosen six exceptional physicians to receive one of its three awards: the Harold S. Diehl Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award and the Early Distinguished Career Award. The awards will be formally presented on Friday, Sept. 28, 2007, as part of the Medical School's Alumni Reunion Weekend.

The Harold S. Diehl Award is the Medical Alumni Society’s most prestigious award for lifetime achievement. It is granted to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Medical School, the University and the community. It was established in honor of the Medical School’s fifth dean, Harold Sheely Diehl, M.D. This year’s Diehl Award recipients are:

• John P. Delaney, M.D., Ph.D.
  Delaney, Class of 1955, is being honored for his commitment to his patients, students and colleagues through his work at the University of Minnesota. Delaney became a faculty member in the Department of Surgery in 1965, earned his Ph.D. in physiology from the University in 1966, and today is a professor emeritus. Over the years, he also became a leading breast and endocrine surgeon at the University while serving as a role model for residents and his peers. Colleagues revere Delaney as a “surgeon’s surgeon” who conducts his work and life with integrity.

• A. Stuart Hanson, M.D.
  Hanson, Class of 1963, is being honored for his tireless devotion to improving the health of his community, especially through tobacco-cessation and violence-prevention efforts. A career pulmonologist now at Park Nicollet Clinic in St. Louis Park, Hanson has advocated for a smoke-free Minnesota for two decades and is currently board president of the Minnesota Smoke-Free Coalition. He also has served as president of the Minnesota Medical Association and has been an inspirational mentor to many young physicians.

• Fred A. Lyon, M.D.
  Lyon, Class of 1957, is being honored for his decades of service to the University’s Medical School and the community. Lyon began serving the school early as president of his class. Now he is an emeritus clinical associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health as well as a mentor to students and a member of the Minnesota Medical Foundation’s board of trustees. He also has been a respected consultant in his field and an advocate for reproductive freedom. Colleagues say his generous spirit has contributed to his many accomplishments.

The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes University of Minnesota Medical School alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their local, regional or national community through medical practice, teaching, research or other humanitarian activities. This year, two physicians will receive this honor:

• Marvin Goldberg, M.D.
  Goldberg, Class of 1953, recognized music’s soothing effects on hospital patients and staff alike and founded the Health Sciences Orchestra in 1994. Currently an associate professor of radiology and a violinist, Goldberg has helped provide faculty and staff in the University’s Academic Health Center with a musical outlet to help ease the stresses of their professional lives while entertaining audiences at a variety of University venues. In addition to his musical endeavors, Goldberg has been involved with teaching medical students and residents at the University for the past 50 years.

• Karen Olness, M.D.
  A member of the Class of 1961, Olness has been a longtime leader in improving children’s health around the world. She was a quietly effective “doctor without borders” before the now well-known international medical relief group was organized, volunteering her services in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North and South America. In Minnesota, Olness developed the first developmental-behavioral pediatrics program in the Midwest. She also co-founded Minnesota International Health Volunteers and the all-volunteer group Health Frontiers. She is currently a professor of pediatrics, family medicine and global health at Case Western Reserve University.

The Early Distinguished Career Award honors a physician for his or her exceptional accomplishments within 15 years of medical school graduation. This year’s recipient is:

• John Y. Song, M.D., M.P.H., M.A.T.
  Song, a member of the resident alumni Class of 1994, is being honored for his commitment to caring for underserved and disadvantaged populations. An assistant professor of medicine and member of the University’s Center for Bioethics, Song founded the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic, a free clinic that serves homeless people in Minneapolis’s poorest neighborhood. Song leads the clinic’s students and volunteers who strive to provide compassionate, nonjudgmental and culturally appropriate care to patients. He also practices at the Community-University Health Care Center and is an acknowledged leader in developing an interprofessional bioethics curriculum at the University.

The Medical Alumni Society (MAS) serves as a link between the University of Minnesota Medical School and its alumni. MAS provides valuable support to current medical students and medical school alumni throughout the year. MAS has been staffed by the Minnesota Medical Foundation since 1986 and is a constituent of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. Learn more at www.mmf.umn.edu/alumni.

Contact: Emily Heagle, Medical Alumni Society, 612-624-9161