BALTIMORE, Aug. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean, E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that Baltimore Real Estate Developer and Philanthropist, Howard S. Brown, has extended his long-time support of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), with a significant $2.5 million gift, bringing his total gifts over the years to $6.5 million.

Mr. Brown chose to name this distinguished professorship, the Thomas M. Scalea, MD Distinguished Professor of Trauma Surgery, in honor of Thomas M. Scalea, MD, the Honorable Francis X. Kelley Distinguished Professor in Trauma Surgery, in gratitude for the skilled and compassionate care Dr. Scalea provided for Mr. Brown's daughter, the late Ms. Esther Ann Brown Adler. Dr. Scalea is an internationally recognized innovator and leader in trauma care, enhancing and developing programs, processes and protocols that are recognized as best practices in the field. He has led the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center as its Physician-in-Chief for more than two decades. It is the only free-standing trauma center in the nation and the best-known center in the world, caring for more than 8.000 critically injured patients annually with a 96% survival rate. In addition, Dr. Scalea has led the most coveted and competitive fellowship programs in the country for trauma care training and provided time-sensitive critical care medicine to every patient in need of immediate care.

"I am humbled by Howard's generosity in establishing this distinguished professorship. He is truly one of Shock Trauma's most loyal supporters," said Dr. Scalea, who is the director of the Program in Trauma, and Physician-in-Chief, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, and System Chief for Critical Care Services, University of Maryland Medical System. "This professorship will empower us to attract and retain our new Chief of Trauma, an outstanding trauma expert and leader who will help inspire and mentor students and trainees, expand the frontiers of knowledge, make important discoveries through innovative research and provide expert clinical care."

Mr. Brown, who is Chairman of David S. Brown Enterprises, said, "I have always believed in taking an active part in the development of both the business and philanthropic community of Baltimore. Dr. Scalea is a selfless hero serving our community. His humanistic care has made an indelible impact on many families including mine. I am pleased to have this opportunity to honor him."

The newly created endowment is the seventh endowed professorship within the School of Medicine's Program in Trauma, and it will be awarded to the new Chief of the Trauma Division, David Thomas Efron, MD, who joins the UMSOM faculty on September 1, 2020. For the past 10 years, Dr. Efron has served as Chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine. As a nationally recognized trauma researcher, he has made landmark findings in the regulation of inflammatory mediators of septic and post-injury states. He is particularly focused on the role that statins may play to reduce inflammation during trauma especially with regard to potential translational research from the bench to the bedside.

Mr. Brown's gift is the latest in a series of significant gifts he has made to the University of Maryland, Baltimore. These include his $1.5 million gift in 2007, which established the first trauma research professorship in the United States, the David S. Brown Professorship in Trauma, named in honor of Mr. Brown's late father. Mr. Brown also gifted $1.5 million to the Francis King Carey School of Law, his father's alma mater. In addition to his support for UMB, he also donated $1 million to the University of Maryland Medical Center in honor of his parents, David S. and Sara Brown.

"Endowed professorships in medicine are among the ultimate and most distinguished forms of tangible affirmation that the School of Medicine may give to its most accomplished faculty. Thanks to Howard Brown's loyal generosity, the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Program in Trauma will continue to be a national and international resource that attracts the best and brightest experts who will advance trauma and critical care here in Maryland and around the world," said UMSOM Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, University Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor. "This will further enforce our strength in taking on the most critical and challenging cases and employing path-breaking science to advance trauma care."

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 45 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.2 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has more than $540 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 student, trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System ("University of Maryland Medicine") has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact more than $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu

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SOURCE University of Maryland School of Medicine