Dean Marsha Rappley, MD, announced the recipients of the 2008-2009 College of Human Medicine (CHM) Faculty and Academic Staff Awards at a reception in the MSU Life Sciences Building, May 13, 2009. Two faculty members from the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development were honored with the William B. Weil, Jr., MD, FAAP, Endowed Distinguished Pediatric Faculty Award.
Dilip R. Patel, MD, Professor, was introduced by Helen D. Pratt, PhD; while Yakov M. Sigal, MD, Assistant Professor, was introduced by Maria Patterson, MD, PhD. The two awards were presented by Dr. Weil himself.
Nigel S. Paneth, MD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology and Pediatrics, was also recognized for his role as a mentor to junior faculty.
Dilip R. Patel, MD
Dr. Patel is a Professor and a full-time faculty member in the Pediatric Residency Program in the MSU Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies (KCMS). He is also Adjunct Professor in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology at Western Michigan University.
He graduated from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, India, and completed a pediatric residency and a fellowship in Ambulatory Pediatrics at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in Adolescent Medicine and Sports Medicine at the Raymond Blank Children’s Hospital and MSU KCMS.
Dr. Patel is board certified in Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine, Sports Medicine, Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, and Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics and is a medical consultant to the State of Michigan, Department of Community Health, Children’s Special Health Care Services. He is ex-officio American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) board member of the Michigan Chapter and co-chairs the planning committee for the annual Developmental Disabilities Conference held every year in East Lansing. He recently served on the Workgroup for the State of Michigan Perinatal Regionalization Guideline Development. Dr. Patel has chaired and moderated scientific sessions at national and international meetings and courses including AAP, American College of Sports Medicine, Pediatric Academic Societies, and the Society for Adolescent Medicine.
He has edited or co-edited several journal special symposia publications and has published 200 articles and book chapters. Dr. Patel is the co-guest editor of two special issues on Developmental Disabilities of the Pediatric Clinics of North America and is the co-editor/author of Course Manual of Adolescent Health, Essential Adolescent Medicine, Behavioral Pediatrics 3rd edition, Pediatric Diagnostic Examination, Pediatric and Adolescent Psychophamacology, Pediatric Practice: Sports Medicine, and Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology and Sexuality. He also serves on the editorial board for the AAP Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Self-Assessment Program. Dr. Patel received the 2010 Society for Adolescent Medicine Adele D. Hoffmann Visitor Professorship in Adolescent Medicine and Health.
Yakov Sigal, MD
Dr. Sigal is an Associate Professor in the Department. He received his medical degree from Gorky Medical School in Novgorod, Russia, and did his residency at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. He also serves as the Director of Clinical Operations, Pediatric Residency Outpatien Clinic, Ingham County Community Health Department Well Child Clinic, and the Medical Director of the Medical Home Clinic for Chronically Ill Children, Michigan State University, which is supported by Ingham County.
He is also the Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Program. Dr. Maria Patterson wrote in her nomination letter “Dr. Sigal has chosen such intense responsibilities at this juncture in his own career because he cares about the program and about its individual residents.” He has personally interviewed all incoming resident candidates. Dr. Sigal meticulously tracks all new and pending ACGME regulations and meets with faculty about standardizing the evaluation process. Dr. Patterson adds, “It is fair to say that he fulfills all these roles over and beyond what is expected.”
In 2008, he receive both the 2008 American Academy of Pediatrics CATCH Grant in recognition of the medical home work and the Residency Faculty Teaching Award. Dr. Sigal serves on numerous committees for the Department, College, University, and local hospitals.