College of Medicine Awards Top Honors

CINCINNATI—A physician, a researcher and a local businessman were recognized Saturday, May 24, 2008, with the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine’s top honors

Jack Gluckman, MD, professor and chairman emeritus in the department of otolaryngology, and Litsa Kranias, PhD, chairman and professor in the department of pharmacology and cell biophysics, received Daniel Drake Medals—the college’s highest honor awarded to distinguished living faculty and alumni.

Joseph Pichler, PhD, former CEO of Kroger Co., was presented with the Dean’s Community Service Award, an honor created in 2007 to recognize those who have demonstrated remarkable service to the college through committee service, motivating others to serve the institution or continued involvement in and support of university activities.

Daniel Drake Medals

Jack Gluckman, MD

Jack Gluckman, MD, UC professor of otolaryngology, was born and raised in South Africa and attended medical school at the University of Cape Town. After completing his otolaryngology residency in Johannesburg and Cape Town in 1973, he joined the faculty at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town and subsequently entered private practice for a number of years in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

In 1977 he moved to Cincinnati for a fellowship in head and neck oncologic surgery and remained on the faculty at UC. He became a tenured professor in 1985 and was named chairman of the department of otolaryngology in 1991—a post he held through 2004. Gluckman has served in many leadership roles in the College of Medicine and at University Hospital, including associate dean for clinical affairs and chief of the medical staff.

Nationally he has been a member of multiple academic societies and has served on the board of directors of the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the American Head and Neck Society and the Council of the Triologic Society. He was regional secretary to North America, Mexico and the Caribbean for the International Federation of Otolaryngologic Societies from 2001 to 2003.

Gluckman has served as president of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and vice president of the Triologic Society. He is a director of the American Board of Otolaryngology. In 1993, the American Cancer Society awarded him a professorship of clinical oncology. He has published 10 textbooks and more than 290 scientific papers.

Gluckman is editor of Current Opinions in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and was editor-in-chief of the Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Recertification Study Guide. He has also been on the editorial boards of many journals and has received numerous awards, including presidential citations from the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the American Head and Neck Society, the Triologic Society and the Board of Governors of the Academy. He was also awarded the Semon Medal from the University of London for academic achievement and the Chevalier-Jackson Award from the American Broncho-Esophagologic Association.

Evangelia (Litsa) Kranias, PhD

Litsa Kranias, PhD, Hanna Professor of Cardiology and chair of the department of pharmacology and cell biophysics at UC, is the leader of an internationally recognized program in molecular cardiology.

A 1966 Fulbright Scholar, Kranias received her doctorate in molecular biology and biochemistry from Northwestern University. She joined the UC College of Medicine in 1978 as assistant professor of pharmacology and cell biophysics.

Kranias has distinguished herself with many notable research discoveries and contributions in molecular cardiology, with special emphasis in heart failure. Her pioneering research defined the role of calcium cycling genes in the control of heart function and identified novel targets for heart failure treatment. Kranias was also the first to identify human mutations in calcium cycling genes and to show that these may predispose to arrhythmias and heart failure. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the past 28 years, often with multiple awards. She has received the prestigious Research Career Development Award as well as a Method of Extension in Time Award from the NIH.

Kranias has published more than 250 scientific articles and has been invited to organize, chair and speak at numerous scientific meetings throughout the world. She has also received many national and international awards and honors. These include the UC Faculty Achievement Award, the George Rieveschl Jr. Award for Distinguished Scientific Research, the American Heart Association Samuel Kaplan Award and the Janice Pfeffer Award from the International Society of Heart Research. In 2004, Kranias was named a Distinguished UC Research Professor.

Kranias has mentored many young scientists and has served as an exemplary role model for young women in science. She has played a critical and supportive role for the professional development of several female scientists in the United States and Europe. Within her research group, she has directly mentored more than 55 young scientists, some of whom did their PhD thesis research in her lab while others received postdoctoral training by her. More than half of her trainees have been women scientists.Kranias was named one of Cincinnati’s “2007 Leading Women” for women’s advocacy.

Dean’s Community Service Award

Joseph Pichler, PhD
Joseph Pichler, PhD, is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has an MBA and a PhD from the University of Chicago. He retired as chairman of the board of the Kroger Co. in June 2004. He served as chief executive officer of the Kroger Co. from 1990 to 2003, chief operating officer from 1986 to 1990 and executive vice president from 1985 to 1986. 

Pichler taught at the University of Kansas School of Business from 1965 to 1980 and served as dean from 1974 to 1980. From 1968 to 1970, he served as special assistant to the assistant secretary for manpower, U.S. Department of Labor.

The businessman is a member of the board of directors of Macy’s Inc. and is a member of the Business Council. He served as vice chair of the board of the Food Marketing Institute from 1995 to 1997 and was inducted into the Grocery Hall of Fame in 2003.

He has been involved in numerous civic and charitable activities, is an emeritus member of the board of trustees of Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Miss., and a former member of the boards of Catalyst and of the Salvation Army School for Officers Training. 

Pichler is cofounder of the Greater Cincinnati Scholarship Association, chair of the Xavier University Board of Trustees, an advisory member of the Cincinnati Opera, a member of the advisory board of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Salvation Army, a former chair of the Cincinnati Business Committee, chair of the UC College of Medicine Community Advisory Board, and vice chair of the Cincinnati City Center Development Corporation (3CDC). He chairs the 3CDC Work Group to Develop Over-the-Rhine. From 2001 to 2003, Pichler served as co-chair of the Economic Inclusion Committee of Cincinnati CAN.

Pichler is coauthor of Inequality: The Poor and the Rich in America (Wadsworth Publishing), coeditor of Ethics, Free Enterprise, and Public Policy (Oxford University Press), and author of numerous professional articles in the areas of labor relations, economics and ethics. He holds honorary degrees from Chatfield College and the Art Academy of Cincinnati and was named a Great Living Cincinnatian for community leadership by the Cincinnati Regional Chamber for 2008.