Newswise PHILADELPHIA--Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH, the executive vice dean for Institutional Affairs in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, was recently presented with a National Award for Career Achievement and Contribution to Clinical and Translational Science at the Translational Science 2013 meeting in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Strom was named a 2013 Career Distinguished Investigator for his outstanding contributions to translational science from clinical use into public benefit and policy. A nationally-recognized leader in clinical research training and clinical epidemiology, Dr. Strom focuses heavily on the field of pharmacoepidemiology, which is the application of epidemiologic methods to study drug use and effects in populations. He is known as a founder of the field of pharmacoepidemiology, and a pioneer in using large automated databases for research.

As one of many specific contributions, his work was also pivotal in getting the American Heart Association and American Dental Association to reverse 50 years of guidelines, and recommend against use of antibiotics to prevent infective endocarditis, instead of recommending for this widespread practice. Since 10 percent of patients have these conditions and the typical patient undergoes dental care twice yearly, this resulted in a large proportion of the population no longer needing frequent antibiotics.

The awards committee for the Translational Science 2013 annual meeting is made up representatives from Association for Clinical and Translational Science and the American Federation for Medical Research (ACTS/AFMR). This is the fourth year ACTS/AFMR has acknowledged distinguished investigators and educators who have had national impact by virtue of contributions to clinical and translational science. Three awards were presented this year, including translation from bench research to patient application and translation from early clinical use to applicability for widespread clinical practice.

In addition to his responsibilities as executive vice dean, Dr. Strom is also the George S. Pepper Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and a professor of Medicine and Pharmacology.

Dr. Strom earned a BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University in 1971, and then an MD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1975. From 1975 to 1978 he was an intern and resident in Internal Medicine, and from 1978 to 1980 he was a National Institutes of Health fellow in Clinical Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco. He simultaneously earned an MPH in Epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley. He has been on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine since 1980.

He was also the founding Director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB) and founding Chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology. The mission of the CCEB is to improve the health of the public by linking epidemiology, biostatistics, and clinical medicine. The CCEB that he created at Penn includes over 550 faculty, research and support staff, and trainees. CCEB research currently receives nearly $49 million/year in extramural support.

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Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

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Penn Medicine Vice Dean Receives Prestigious Translational Science Award for Contributions to Public Health and Policy