September 05, 2008

From: Robert I. Grossman, M.D., Dean and CEO, NYU Langone Medical Center

I am delighted to announce that Catherine Scott Manno, M.D., has been appointed chair of our Department of Pediatrics.

Dr. Manno will join us on November 1 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where she holds the Elias Schwarz Endowed Chair in Pediatric Hematology and serves both as associate chair of clinical activities in the Department of Pediatrics and senior physician in the Division of Hematology.

Dr. Manno holds an A.B. in zoology from Duke University and an M.D. from Hahnemann Medical College, where she earned top awards for both scholastic excellence in pediatrics and overall academic achievement, and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.

She completed her residency in pediatrics at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia and fellowship training in pediatric hematology-oncology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a member of the American Pediatric Society as well as a member of the medical and scientific advisory committee of the National Hemophilia Foundation.

On the faculty at Penn and CHOP since 1988, Dr. Manno has held an array of key administrative roles. She has been president of the executive committee of the medical staff and co-chaired the Clinical Translational Research Center Council, the Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Committee and the Clinical Affairs Committee of the Department of Pediatrics.

She has also served as medical director of the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Center and the Comprehensive Hemophilia Program.

Dr. Manno has been the principal investigator of several clinical research studies in the area of hemophilia, most recently leading a Phase I study of gene transfer into the liver in subjects with hemophilia B. She lectures widely on topics such as gene therapy for hemophilia, neonatal transfusion medicine and bleeding disorders in children—all areas in which she has published widely in peer-reviewed research journals, editorials, chapters and books.

Dr. Manno brings outstanding qualifications and stellar personal attributes to her new position, a pivotal one as we work towards significant expansion of NYU Langone’s children’s health services.

An exceptionally gifted teacher, Dr. Manno has been singled out by her peers at CHOP and Penn, earning among other distinctions the Faculty Teacher of the Year Award at CHOP and at Penn, the Blockley-Osler Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching, the Robert Dunning Dripps Memorial Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education, and The Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Let me also take this opportunity to express deep appreciation to Benard Dreyer, M.D., who has done a truly outstanding job as acting chair, not once but twice—both times during difficult transitions.

Always a luminary in the department and chief of the service at Bellevue, he has been key these past two years to strategizing about the future of children’s services at NYU Langone and developing the commitment to a children’s hospital.

He has also spearheaded the recruitment of several specialists, reinvigorated our pediatric philanthropy, expanded the scope of NYU Pediatrics to other institutions, and served as a strong leader.

The new Hassenfeld Center, the Fink Children’s Ambulatory Care Center, the expansion of the pediatric ED, pediatric gastroenterology and pediatric cardiology—all have been enhanced under his leadership.

Please join me in extending Dr. Manno our warmest welcome, and in thanking Dr. Dreyer for his superb service to our young patients, their families, and our institution as a whole.

Sincerely,

Robert I. Grossman, M.D.
Dean and CEO