Two CLFS Alumni Ranked Among America’s Leading Doctors

Two alumni of the University of Maryland College of Chemical and Life Sciences were recognized by Black Enterprise magazine for being among "America's Leading Doctors." The magazine named 140 physicians responsible for saving millions of lives through the revolutionary treatment of diseases, from cancer and diabetes to heart attacks and HIV/AIDS. Many of these doctors have been responsible for major medical breakthroughs and have participated in the creation of drugs that have vastly improved the quality of life for patients.

Cardiologist Winston H. Gandy, M.D. ('82, B.S., Chemistry) directs the The Atlanta Cardiology Group (ACG) at St. Joseph’s Hospital and is recognized for his expertise in echocardiography, a procedure that takes “moving pictures” of the heart with sound waves. He was instrumental in getting the city of Atlanta to place defibrillators in Hartsfield International Airport. Additionally, he was one of the founding board members of the American Cardiovascular Research Institute.

Oncologist Ramona F. Swaby, M.D., ('90, B.S., Zoology), is an Associate Member of the Department of Medical Oncology and Attending Physician at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Dr. Swaby’s research focuses on hormone receptors and resistance to hormone therapies. She also investigates molecularly targeted therapies for breast cancer.

You can read a related article Black Enterprise Unveils America's Leading Doctors at the Baltimore Examiner.

Alumnus Joseph Rodricks, M.S. ’63, Ph.D. ’68, Honored for Contributions in Environmental Health and Risk Assessment

Alumnus Joseph V. Rodricks, M.S. ’63, Ph.D. ’68 (Department of Chemistry), was honored at the Ninth Annual Alumni Association Awards Gala on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center.

Rodricks is an expert in the field of toxicology and risk analysis, and has directed and conducted hundreds of studies examining the health and environmental risks of chemical products, processes, pollutants and wastes. For nearly three decades, he has consulted for manufacturers, government agencies and the World Health Organization, and served on 15 boards and committees of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.

He served as deputy associate commissioner, health affairs, and toxicologist, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for 15 years, and is a Visiting Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. He has produced 200 publications and lectured nationally and internationally. His experience includes chemical products and contaminants in foods, food ingredients, air, water, hazardous wastes, the workplace, consumer products and medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Rodricks is the author of Calculated Risks (Cambridge University Press), a nontechnical introduction to toxicology and risk analysis that won an award from the American Medical Writers Association.