BOSTON, November 6, 2004 - Four medical school faculty members from across the nation have been recognized by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) for their tireless efforts to provide the nation's next generation of doctors with an outstanding educational experience. Established by the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) medical honor society, the Robert J. Glaser AOA Distinguished Teacher Award was presented tonight at a special ceremony during the Annual Meeting of the AAMC. The 2004 award recipients are:

Linda S. Costanzo, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Physiology
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Richmond, Virginia

Dr. Costanzo's trademark skill is to make very complex concepts seem relatively simple in her lectures, in her conversations with peers, and in her best-selling physiology text. Students applaud her ability to sense where they may experience challenges with physiology course material. In recognition of these and other talents, she has received awards every year since 1985 from students, the medical school, or the university. In 1999, she became the first recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award, VCU School of Medicine's highest honor for teaching.

Since 1989, Dr. Costanzo has used her teaching skills to assist students in preparing for Step 1 of the national United States Medical Licensing Examination, a multi-component test all medical students must pass in order to obtain a license to practice medicine upon graduation. Not only does she hold an eight-hour marathon physiology review, she also offers to meet with students individually to construct detailed study schedules based on their strengths, weaknesses and test concerns.

Outside the classroom, Dr. Constanzo has served for 15 years on the medical school's admissions committee. She makes it a policy to serve as an advisor to each of the applicants she interviews once they are accepted and enrolled in the school.

Dr. Costanzo received her A.B. in chemistry from Duke University in 1969 and later earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center. She started her teaching career at Cornell University Medical College as an assistant professor of physiology. She has been on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University since 1981.

Arthur F. Dalley, II, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Nashville, Tennessee

Although Dr. Dalley is an internationally renowned professor of gross anatomy, his primary interest is in his students' achievements. His scholarly pursuits include the study of teaching methods in anatomy textbooks and atlases and in anatomy courses, particularly in clinical applications and the use of imaging technology. He serves as the editor or co-editor of numerous anatomy atlases and textbooks, several of which include interactive CD-ROMs. Two of his works have been translated into six languages, and his international lectures have taken him to South Africa, Nepal, Austria, and across North America.

Not only have Dr. Dalley's students responded to his enthusiasm for education, his Vanderbilt faculty peers honored him in 2000 with the School of Medicine Peer Award for Excellence in Teaching. "Art Dalley is a master teacher," said one of his nominators for this award. "He has dedicated his career to the education of medical students in their first semester, teaching a subject he loves to students who are apprehensive, insecure, and intimidated…his great sense of humor and his unmatched concern for students help them overcome their anxieties, gain confidence, and adjust to the academic and professional demands of medicine."

Dr. Dalley earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Utah in 1970, where he later earned a doctoral degree in philosophy and anatomy. He began his teaching career at Creighton University School of Medicine, where he taught for 23 years; he joined the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1998.

Steven L. Galetta, M.D.
Professor, Department of Neurology
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Over the past 16 years, Dr. Galetta has won virtually every University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) teaching award for which he has been eligible. He is recognized by both medical students and residents as an outstanding teacher in the classroom and at the patient's bedside. Colleagues note his unselfish encouragement of students and residents to become involved in clinical research; students and trainees under his direction served as the primary-authors on more than half of his published research papers.

Dr. Galetta's talent for teaching has been a primary factor in influencing large numbers of medical students to enter the field of neurology and the university's neurology residency program. After becoming director of the residency program in 1997, the number of UPenn medical students who chose to pursue neurology residencies increased by 47 percent; many of those students chose to stay on at UPenn for those residencies in order to continue their training under Dr. Galetta's direction.

Dr. Galetta received his B.A. from University of Pennsylvania in 1979 and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1983. He completed a residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and a one-year fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami. He then re-joined the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine as a faculty member and has been with the school ever since. He also serves as director of the division of neuro-ophthalmology.

Charles H. Griffith, III, M.D., M.S.P.H.
Associate Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Lexington, Kentucky

Dr. Griffith has received more teaching awards and recognitions than any other faculty member in the history of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. In the 11 years he has served as director of the internal medicine clerkship, the course has been awarded the school's Clerkship Excellence Award eight times.

Although he teaches several courses, Dr. Griffith develops a personal relationship with all of his students. As a result, he serves as informal counselor and advisor to half of each graduating medical school class. He is the only medical school faculty member to be selected by the students as "honorary class member" on more than one occasion; he has received this title four times. He has received the school's Clinical Golden Apple teaching award, which is selected by students, eight times.

Dr. Griffith earned a B.A. in 1984 and an M.D. in 1988 from Vanderbilt University. He completed his residency and fellowship at the University of Kentucky, where he also earned a graduate degree in public health. He then stayed on at the university to join the medical school faculty in 1994. His research examines how medical education influences patient outcomes, notably patient satisfaction and procedural efficiency. He has also studied medical education outcomes and the relationship between student examination performance and resident teaching characteristics.

The Robert J. Glaser AOA Distinguished Teacher Award is named for long-time AOA executive secretary Robert J. Glaser, M.D. This award was initiated in 1988 to provide national recognition to outstanding faculty members who have distinguished themselves in medical student education.

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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