Published July 20, 2010 This content is archived.
John M. Canty Jr., MD, Albert and Elizabeth Rekate Chair in Cardiovascular Disease, received the 2010 State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities.
The award honors the work of those who engage actively in scholarly and creative pursuits beyond their teaching responsibilities.
Canty is recognized internationally for his research, which has led to novel approaches to repair diseased heart muscle and grow new blood vessels, as well as ways to better identify patients at risk of developing sudden cardiac arrest.
In addition to the Rekate Chair, he serves as director of UB’s Center for Research in Cardiovascular Medicine, chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine in the school.
Canty also heads the Cardiovascular Disease Group in UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences.
Mary Anne Rokitka, PhD, associate dean for biomedical undergraduate education, received the 2010 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service.
The award honors professional staff performance excellence “both within and beyond the position.”
A clinical professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Rokitka has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on such subjects as environmental physiology and life in space.
She has served as director of the Hospital Nursing Program; assistant to the vice president for health sciences; acting dean of the Division of Undergraduate Academic Services; associate dean of the Undergraduate College; and assistant dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
She also is the recipient of the First Annual Dr. Mary Anne Rokitka Award and the Charles W. Shilling Award from the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society.