21
December
2008
|
01:00 AM
America/Los_Angeles

Cedars-Sinai Alumni Association Honors Two Noted Cardiologists As It Celebrates 50 Years

Los Angeles - Dec. 21, 2008 – The accomplishments of two noted cardiologists were highlighted earlier this month as the Cedars-Sinai Alumni Association celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Skirball Cultural Center.

The association honors one or two alumni each year at the annual business meeting and dinner. The 2008 Alumni of the Year are Howard N. Allen, M.D., and Yzhar Charuzi, M.D. Past association presidents also were honored, and the founding president, Jose A. Nessim, M.D., made a brief presentation.

Allen is former director of both the Cardiac Care Unit and the Cardiac Noninvasive Laboratory at Cedars- Sinai Medical Center. He is also the founding director of the hospital’s Pacemaker Evaluation Center, the first of its kind in the region. He has helped train hundreds of medical students, interns, residents and cardiology fellows.

He previously served as president of the American Heart Association’s Greater Los Angeles Affiliate and is past president of the Cedars-Sinai Alumni Association. He has been program director for Cardiology Grand Rounds for the past three decades.

Charuzi, a consultant cardiologist at the medical center, is best known for his leadership in supporting research fellowships at Cedars-Sinai for talented physicians – including many from Israel – in cardiology, stroke research and pediatric genetics. Many of the research fellows Charuzi has helped train have become international leaders in their fields, advancing scientific knowledge as well as the prevention and treatment of heart disease.

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Cedars-Sinai Alumni Association,” said Greg Orshansky, M.D., president of the association. “It is a symbolically important time to remember alumni and to acknowledge their accomplishments and contributions, such as those of the two cardiology leaders we are honoring this year.”