McKusick, Dietz Honored

Colleagues and friends, including many former protégés and several Nobel laureates, have created the Victor A. McKusick Professorship in Medicine and Genetics at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, honoring one of the institution's most renowned and beloved figures.

Hal Dietz, M.D., director of the William S. Smilow Center for Marfan Syndrome Research, and professor of pediatrics, medicine, molecular biology and genetics at Hopkins since 1992, was named the first McKusick professor of medicine and genetics in a ceremony at Johns Hopkins on June 29, 2004. A member of the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Hopkins, Dietz has "followed in the footsteps of Victor McKusick by his seminal research and clinical studies" and is "internationally recognized for his scientific knowledge, clinical acumen and educational contributions," according to Edward D. Miller, M.D., dean of the Hopkins medical faculty.

"The NMF is grateful that these two esteemed clinicians and researchers have dedicated their professional careers to the Marfan community. We are proud to have them serve as valuable members of our Professional Advisory Board and appreciate all they have done, and continue to do, to improve the lives of those with the Marfan syndrome," said Carolyn Levering, NMF President and CEO.