Nominations from Richard H. Karas, MD, PhD Chief Scientific Officer, Attending Physician and Molecular Cardiology Research Institute Executive Director and Susan Blanchard, Vice President of Research Administration
Excerpts from Dr. Karas’s Nomination:
“Dr. Fanburg is an incredible example of the tripartite mission of Tufts Medical Center. He is a master clinician who takes exceptional care of patients, and in addition, he is a superb scientist and a devoted and dedicated teacher.
“The fact that he has sustained these complicated and demanding roles for over 50(!) years speaks volumes about his contributions and talents. The fact that he has been continuously funded by the NIH for over 50 years is an amazing record of success, and the fact that he was just re-funded again, in this extremely tight funding climate is a truly remarkable achievement. He has been a true pioneer of novelty and cutting edge clinical care and research and teaching here at Tufts Medical Center.”
Excerpts from Susan Blanchard’s Nomination:
“Dr. Fanburg started his career at Tufts Medical Center in 1960 as a medical resident, then chief medical resident, working under Dr. Sam Proger. He received his first NIH award in approximately 1964: a 10-year Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. He has been continuously funded with NIH funding ever since!
“Dr. Fanburg received repeatedly funded NIH Training Grants for 25 years and during this time trained over 50 MD and PhD pre- and post-doctoral awardees. He has been generating innovation in his field for 50 years and has published over 230 research articles in top peer-reviewed journals. In addition to being a prolific and successful grant and scientific article writer, Dr. Fanburg has dedicated his career to customer service. Dr. Fanburg has been serving our students, trainees and patients since the 1960s. We estimate that he has cared for 50,000 patients in that time with 5,000 - 10,000 coming as referrals due to his known expertise in a niche disease known as “sarcoidosis.” Over the years he has lectured to over 3,000 medical students and has trained more than 100 physicians. Additionally, Dr. Fanburg established the Pulmonary Division as its first Chief and managed the first ICU at Tufts Medical Center.
“Dr. Fanburg also has an incredible historical view of Tufts Medical Center and I have encouraged him to speak with Pat Hayward who is spearheading a legacy project for Tufts Medical Center. When asked how Tufts has changed, he stated “It’s grown a lot” and illustrated this with an excerpt from Joseph E. Garland’s book from the early 1960s, describing the then-New England Medical Center staff physician listing that fit on two pages, perhaps 50 doctors."
