Academy Senior Advisor Alan R. Fleischman, MD, Named Medical Director of March of Dimes Foundation

NEW YORK CITY, Aug. 14- Alan R. Fleischman, MD, a Senior Advisor to The New York Academy of Medicine since 2004 and Senior Vice President for Medical and Academic Affairs from 1994 to 2004, has been named Senior Vice President and Medical Director of the March of Dimes Foundation. In his new role, Dr. Fleischman will oversee the medical and clinical initiatives of the March of Dimes, one of the nation’s leaders in maternal and infant health. He will assume his new responsibilities on October 1, 2007.

At the Academy, Dr. Fleischman has been responsible for initiatives in urban health, education, public policy, ethics, and public health. He is currently Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Clinical Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He is also Chairman of the Federal Advisory Committee and Ethics Advisor to the National Children’s Study being conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

“This position is a natural evolution of my commitment to enhancing the health of the public, which is the expressed and real mission of The New York Academy of Medicine,” Dr. Fleischman said. “I will now continue that goal, focusing on particularly the health of women, infants and children. Knowing that I come from a pediatric and neonatal background, this is very consistent with my life plan and goals, and I’m very pleased to be part of another very important and prominent organization.”

Dr. Fleischman, a pediatrician by training, came to the Academy in 1994 to join then-President Jeremiah A. Barondess, MD, in rejuvenating the organization and building a research-intensive commitment to enhancing urban health, simultaneously creating educational programming and advocacy initiatives. By significantly increasing the size and quality of the staff and expanding the budget, they were able to create an environment from which serious evidence-based research emerged.

While Dr. Fleischman has been instrumental at the Academy in organizing a rich roster of stimulating lectures and conferences, administering scientific awards, and directing the Center for Urban Bioethics and the Institutional Review Board, he does not consider those to be his most significant accomplishments, he said. “What I’m most proud of is assisting in recruiting the first-rate professional staff that we have here at the Academy of Medicine,” he said.

“Dr. Fleischman’s enormous contributions to the Academy during his tenure will be fundamental building blocks for the Acadmey’s future,” said Academy President Jo Ivey Boufford, MD. “He has our thanks and respect.”

Born in New York City, Dr. Fleischman graduated from the City College of New York and earned his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He continued his education in pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and completed a fellowship in perinatal physiology at the National Institutes of Health and through a Royal Society of Medicine Scholarship at Oxford University in England. He joined the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in 1975 and served as director of the Division of Neonatology until 1994.

Dr. Fleischman has written extensively in the field of neonatal and fetal physiology with a research emphasis on nutrition. He has also written, taught, and lectured about many aspects of the developing field of bioethics. His work has resulted in over 100 scholarly publications, and he is the co-author of the 1996 book, Pediatric Ethics ??? From Principles to Practice. In addition, he currently serves as the co-chair of the March of Dimes National Bioethics Committee and a fellow of the Hastings Center in Garrison, New York. Dr. Fleischman is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research, the American Pediatric Society, the Ambulatory Pediatrics Association, and the American Public Health Association, and a Fellow of the Academy.

“As a physician and expert in public health policy, especially in the area of newborn health, Dr. Fleischman shares the March of Dimes dedication to helping every baby get a healthy start in life,” said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish language Web site at nacersano.org.

Founded in 1847, The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. Our research, education, community engagement, and evidence-based advocacy seek to improve the health of people living in cities, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. The impact of these initiatives reaches into neighborhoods in New York City, across the country, and around the world. We work with community based organizations, academic institutions, corporations, the media, and government to catalyze and contribute to changes that promote health. Visit us online at www.nyam.org.

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Posted on August 14, 2007

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