Jan. 13, 2011| Two University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) geriatrics professors were honored recently with investitures made possible by two philanthropic Arkansas families.

• Robert R. Wolfe, Ph.D., a professor in the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics, and director of the Center for Translational Research in Aging & Longevity, was the recipient of the Jane and Edward Warmack Chair in Nutritional Longevity.

• Paula M. Podrazik, M.D., an associate professor in the department, was the recipient of the Magalene McKinnon Ingram Professorship in Geriatric Education.

Wolfe and Podrazik were invested during a Jan. 12 ceremony at the UAMS Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute. The investiture was attended by Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., College of Medicine Dean Debra H. Fiser, M.D., and Jeanne Y. Wei, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair at the Reynolds Department of Geriatrics, and executive director of the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging.

“Today’s ceremony honors two outstanding faculty members – Dr. Podrazik and Dr. Wolfe – as well as the generosity of the Ingram family and the Warmacks,” Fiser said. “We thank them for sharing our vision and helping turn that vision into reality.”

Wolfe, who joined the faculty in August 2006, is a world leader in the fields of human metabolism and stable isotope tracer methodology with more than 500 publications and three books to his credit. He has been funded by the NIH throughout his 35-year career and has been among the top 2 percent of career NIH-funded investigators. His annual course in tracer methodology, co-sponsored by the NIH Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center, has had more than 1,000 attendees from 19 countries. He is a member of several government and industry committees responsible for determining dietary protein requirements.

The endowed chair was funded by Jane and the late Ed Warmack, a business and civic leader in Fort Smith and Texarkana. The Warmacks devoted themselves to maintaining a healthy lifestyle through diet, exercise and a positive mental attitude and championed the regimen as a way to improve quality of life.

Podrazik, who joined the faculty in July 2009, is the recipient of numerous teaching awards. She teaches medical students and house staff and is the Geriatrics Fellowship director. She also sees patients in the Thomas and Lyon Longevity Center and the inpatient geriatrics service. Podrazik teaches nationally and has published on improving the quality of clinical care for the hospitalized aging medical patient through education. Her expertise is in curriculum and faculty development and addressing the process and improvement of teaching geriatrics-focused skills in the complex systems of the fast-paced hospital environment.

She is board certified in geriatrics, internal medicine, emergency medicine, and she is certified in hospice and palliative medicine by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

The professorship was endowed by the children of Magalene McKinnon Ingram, who was born in 1912 and grew up in eastern Arkansas. Her husband was the late William Kent Ingram, who served in the Arkansas Senate from 1962 until his death in 1981. Mrs. Ingram has remained active in the West Memphis community through the years.

Those named to an endowed chair or professorship at UAMS are among the most highly regarded scientists, physicians and professors in the academic fields. Endowed chairs at UAMS ensure the ongoing pursuit of educational excellence, world-class patient care and outstanding medical research.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a 540,000-square-foot hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and six institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,836 students and 761 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.