Jacobs School Distinguished Alumni Awards
Each year we present a Distinguished Medical and Biomedical Alumnus/a Award to an MD, PhD, Resident and Volunteer of our school who is recognized nationally or internationally for his or her outstanding contributions to medicine and the biomedical sciences, the arts or the humanities. This event takes place annually during Reunion Weekend.
In 2024, the Distinguished Health Sciences Alumni Award is added to build upon collaborative efforts in health sciences and look for additional ways to honor our accomplished alumni who have a variety of experiences in medicine/health in general. Criteria for this award celebrates an esteemed alumnus from our five health sciences schools, renowned globally for their exceptional contributions to academic medicine, health care, and research. Their remarkable achievements bring distinction and pride to our health sciences community.
We are proud to recognize our Distinguished Medical and Biomedical Alumnus/a for their outstanding accomplishments and the distinction they bring to our school!
Renier J. Brentjens, MD ’96, PhD
Deputy Director and Chair of Medicine
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Brentjens earned an MD/PhD from the University at Buffalo, completed a residency at Yale New Haven Hospital, and a fellowship at MSKCC. During his fellowship, he initiated studies on autologous T cells modified to target the CD19 antigen. As a principal investigator, he translated these studies to treat patients with CD19+ tumors. His ongoing research focuses on developing CAR T cells to overcome the tumor microenvironment and expanding CAR technology to target other malignancies. In September 2021, Dr. Brentjens joined Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center to advance cell and immune cancer therapies.
David S. Kountz, MD ’85, MBA
Chief Academic Officer
Hackensack Meridian Health
David S. Kountz, MD, MBA, MACP, is Vice President, Chief Academic Officer and Designated Institutional Official for Graduate Medical Education, Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), an 18-hospital network in New Jersey. He also serves as Professor of Medicine and Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM). In his roles Dr. Kountz oversees the education of over 900 residents and fellows in more than 90 GME programs at 5 HMH hospitals, as well as responsibilities for simulation laboratories, library services, and continuing professional development.
A native of San Francisco and raised in the Bay Area and Long Island, New York, Dr. Kountz is a practicing internist at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Dr. Kountz earned his AB at Princeton University, MD at SUNY/Buffalo School of Medicine and MBA from Georgian Court University.
Prior to joining (then) Meridian Health in 2007, Dr. Kountz served on the faculties of Hahnemann University School of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Kountz was one of the founding deans of the HMSOM when it matriculated its first class in 2018. He continues to serve as a small group facilitator in Human Dimension, a longitudinal course focused on social determinants of health. Dr. Kountz has devoted much of his career to student advancement and mentorship, organizing programs for high school and college students to make them aware of opportunities in health care. Dr. Kountz has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, editorials and abstracts, many focused on hypertension and related disorders in underserved populations. He has served as an investigator on more than 20 peer-reviewed grants. Dr. Kountz is a Master Educator from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He is the 2019 recipient of the Community Service Leader Award from the Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Foundation and the 2023 recipient of the Ethel Weinberg, MD Award for leadership in Academic Medicine from the Alliance for Independent Academic Medical Centers. He is a former Chair of the Steering Committee of the AAMC Group on Resident Affairs and is a current member of the NBME Council and the ACGME Institutional Review Committee. In 2021 he was elected to Mastership in the American College of Physicians.
Dr. Kountz and his wife Maria live on the Jersey Shore, about an hour from their two sons and one very spoiled and adored granddaughter.
Elinor R. Schoenfeld, PhD ’88
Research Professor and Associate Vice Chair of Research
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University