By KATE O'NEILL

Dr. Stephen Lowry Appointed
Senior Associate Dean for Education

Stephen F. Lowry, MD, professor and chair, Department of Surgery, has been appointed senior associate dean for education. Dr. Lowry, who will continue to chair the Department of Surgery, says he looks forward to working with his colleagues on the senior management team: “Each of us has passion, not just for our specific area, but for the medical school’s goals in undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education.”

Preparation for reaccreditation is an immediate goal, says Dr. Lowry. “During the coming year, we will analyze all aspects of our teaching mission in an effort to optimize our educational effectiveness and competitiveness.

“To ensure academic excellence and professional competence, we must become a true electronic community,” he adds. “Preparing our trainees to become lifelong learners by accessing and integrating information has become a very high priority.”

Dr. Lowry joined the RWJMS faculty in 1997. One of his most significant achievements as chair has been the creation and development of the division of surgical sciences. Dr. Lowry’s research team, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has focused on gaining molecular-level understanding of inflammation and surgical infection.
His pioneering work was rewarded in 2003, when he received the Flance-Karl Award from the American Surgical Association in recognition of his research contributions to the field of surgery. In 2005, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Dr. Izaguirre Appointed Director of Information Technology

In a newly created RWJMS position as director of information technology, Alexander Izaguirre, PhD, is working to improve and enhance information systems throughout the medical school. By consulting with the four senior associate deans in education, research, community health, and clinical affairs he is advancing the medical school in each mission area.

Dr. Izaguirre initially focused on information technology needs at the Child Health Institute of New Jersey and helped develop demonstrations of patient-centered treatment at the Clinical Skills Center. He looks forward to acquiring, developing, and deploying new IT services designed to meet the needs of RWJMS.

Dr. Izaguirre earned his PhD in viral immunology at the UMDNJ-Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. As a graduate student, he co-founded a computer consultant firm supporting the biomedical community, with clients including the Department of Microbiology and Pathology at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School (NJMS).

Prior to joining the RWJMS staff, he worked with the senior associate dean for research at NJMS and with the director of the NJMS-University Hospital Cancer Center, where he developed the first storage solution built exclusively for research.