Five UM School of Medicine Physicians Invited to Join the American Clinical and Climatological Association

The University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) is proud to announce that five distinguished physician-leaders, Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD, Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, Bert W. O’Malley, MD, Rodney J. Taylor, MD, MPH, and Bradley A. Maron, MD, have been invited to join the American Clinical and Climatological Association (ACCA), one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious medical honor societies.

As new members of the society, they join a select group of 250 national and international leaders in medicine. Membership in the ACCA is in recognition of outstanding physicians on the basis of their leadership and excellence in their chosen field, who have demonstrated a high level of integrity and professionalism and who yearn to nurture a spirit of warmth, diversity and friendship.

These five leaders’ election to the ACCA underscores the leadership of UMSOM and the University of Maryland Medical Center and the University of Maryland Medical System in academic medicine and their deep commitment to advancing science and improving human health.

The American Clinical and Climatological Association was organized in 1884 by a group of physicians and scientists who set about to improve medical education, research and practice in this country. Its initial concern was with tuberculosis and its treatment by residence in a suitable climate. Throughout its long history, the association has expanded its interests to all scientific and clinical aspects of medicine and its specialties as well as epidemiology, preventive and environmental medicine, while retaining a continuing interest in the influence of global climate changes on health and disease.

The annual meetings of the ACCA provide an opportunity for members to present and have critical discussions on the most recent progress in medicine in terms of research, practice and teaching. The meetings also serve to reaffirm the values and the principles of the association.

About the Inductees

Dr. Rodney J. Taylor serves as the Bruce and Isobel Cleland Chair of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Chief of Otorhinolaryngology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. His clinical and research expertise centers on the comprehensive management of patients with head and neck cancer, as well as skull base and sinus disease. As a prominent physician-scientist his research mission has advanced the understanding of which patients benefit most from antibody-based therapies for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. For his impacts in medicine, Dr. Taylor has been consistently recognized as a Top Doctor by U.S. News & World Report, Baltimore Magazine, and Black Enterprise. In 2019, he also received the Student National Medical Association’s Faculty of the Year Award, honoring his dedication as a mentor, exemplary physician, and community advocate.

Dr. Bradley A. Maron serves as the Melvin Sharoky MD Professor of Medicine, Senior Associate Dean for Precision Medicine and Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at UMSOM. He also serves as the Co-Director of the University of Maryland-Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC) located in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Maron is a widely recognized physician-scientist in the growing fields of precision medicine, network medicine, and computational data analysis with research work focusing on understanding novel molecular mechanisms involved in the pathobiology of cardiovascular disease. For his excellence in the field, he is the recipient of the Excellence in Tutoring Award, Eleanor and Miles Shore Scholar in Medicine fellowship, Chair’s Research Award, and Distinguished Master Clinician Award and Master Clinician Award from Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Currently a provisional member of the society, Dr. Maron is set to become an active member of the ACCA upon presenting at next year’s annual meeting.

Dr. Mohan Suntha serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and the Marlene & Stewart Greenebaum Professorship of Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. As President and CEO, he leads efforts across UMMC, UMMS, and UMSOM to advance strategic priorities that leverage the system’s size and expertise—ensuring that innovation and discovery translate into compassionate, patient-centered care for the people of Maryland. As a distinguished clinician and researcher, Dr. Suntha has developed a national reputation for his work focusing on the treatment of patients with complex head, neck, and esophageal cancers. For his leadership and dedication to delivering high-quality healthcare for Marylanders, he has received several honors, including recognition among the Baltimore Business Journal’s Top 10, five consecutive Baltimore Magazine Top Doctor distinctions, and the Ulman Cancer Fund Hope Award.

Dr. Bert W. O’Malley is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Maryland Medical Center, Executive Vice President for Academic Health and a Professor of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at UMSOM. He is internationally renowned as the co-inventor and developer of a series of novel robotic surgical procedures called Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS), a groundbreaking advancement in Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) surgery that enables surgeons to remove cancers and benign lesions from the throat through a minimally invasive robotic approach. Dr. O’Malley additionally co-founded the first human robotics head and neck surgery program and skull base surgery program in the world and was co-principal investigator (CoPI) of the first Institutional Review Board-approved clinical trial for robotic surgery in his specialty. Under his leadership, UMMC programs have earned national distinction, including U.S. News & World Report rankings of #36 in Ear, Nose & Throat and #45 in Cancer.

Dr. Mark T. Gladwin is the 31st Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Vice President for Medical Affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean. As a leading heart, vascular, and lung physician-scientist, he has published more than 500 manuscripts, which have had a significant impact on the fields of vascular and nitric oxide biology. Throughout his career, he has been deeply committed to the care and development of new treatments for patients with sickle cell disease. He has served as a PI on major multicenter phase II clinical trials, including the DeNOVO trial of NO therapy for acute pain crisis in patients with sickle cell disease, the Walk-PHASST trial of sildenafil for pulmonary hypertension secondary to sickle cell disease, STERIO-SCD, and the current SCD-CARRE blood transfusion trial. For his outstanding achievements in science and academic success, he has received numerous awards including the US Public Health Service Achievement Award, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Award for Mentoring, the NIH Clinical Center Director’s Award for Science, the NIH Merit Award in recognition for accomplishments in both basic and clinical sciences in the use of nitrite and NO in clinical applications, the Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishments from the American Thoracic Society, was named an American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist, and received the ATS Assembly on Pulmonary Circulation Leadership Award.