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appeared 14 June 1999
Washington Receives Prestigious UCSF Alumnus
Award
 Eugene Washington, chair of UCSF obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive
sciences and a 1976 UCSF School of Medicine graduate, was recently named the 1999 UC San
Francisco School of Medicine Alumnus of the Year. Washington received the award May 8
during the School of Medicine's homecoming lecture series.
The award, the highest honor provided by the UCSF Alumni-Faculty Association, recognizes
the services and activities of outstanding UCSF School of Medicine alumni.
"The honor bestowed upon Gene as the 1999 Alumnus of the Year is well-deserved in
recognition of a career that exemplifies the best of UCSF," said Michael V. Drake,
UCSF vice chair of ophthalmology and senior associate dean for admissions and external
programs, who is a close colleague and friend of Washington's.
Since his graduation from UCSF, Washington has achieved an outstanding record as an
internationally known physician, scientist, teacher, leader and humanitarian. In addition
to chairing the ob/gyn department, Washington is also the director of the UCSF Medical
Effectiveness Research Center for Diverse Populations. The center focuses on research that
aims to improve the health of minority and underserved populations. He is also the
principal investigator of the UCSF Stanford Evidence Based Practice Center and of the UCSF
Women's Reproductive Health Research Career Development Center.
Washington came to UCSF as a medical student in the fall of 1972 where he excelled
academically and quickly became a leader among his peers. He developed a strong interest
and became heavily involved in public health and educational issues. While a student at
UCSF, Washington found the time to attend the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley where
he received his MPH degree in 1975. In 1976, he graduated from UCSF and moved to New York
to become an intern at the US Public Health Service Hospital.
He went on to Harvard's School of Public Health where he was a resident in preventive
medicine from 1977 to 1979, receiving a Masters of Science degree in 1978. He then began a
career as an epidemiologist and international scholar at the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) where he focused on the relatively obscure area of infectious and sexually
transmitted diseases (STD) in young women; at the time, this was a rather bold career
move. The social mores and politics of the public health community were such that many
people were reluctant to acknowledge that young women were sexually active and thus at
risk for developing STDs. Washington was successful in developing the first comprehensive
CDC STD Treatment Guidelines and national guidelines for preventing and managing
infections with chlamydia.
He later conducted a series of studies which lead to the development of national
prevention and management policies for pelvic inflammatory disease, with his research
being published as five articles in the same Journal of the American Medical Association
(JAMA) issue.
An accomplished epidemiologist and health policy scientist, Washington returned to
clinical medicine in 1986 when he began a residency in gynecology and obstetrics at
Stanford University. During residency, he continued his productive research career by
publishing several peer reviewed articles.
After completing his clinical residency, Washington returned to UCSF in 1989. Seven years
later, he became the newest and youngest department chair in the UCSF School of Medicine.
As the new chair of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, he
began to reconfigure and strengthen the education, research and clinical components of the
department, as well as write and collaborate on numerous funded research projects.
In addition to conducting his own research, Washington has served as the research
supervisor for more than thirty medical students, residents and postgraduate fellows
during the last five years. He also serves in leadership positions on more than a dozen
committees, has an active patient practice, and teaches residents, medical students and
fellows.
Outside of UCSF, Washington is an involved father and member of his community. He and his
wife, Marie, have three children. He is also a leader in his church and has been honored
for his contributions to the Bay Area community.
Links:
UCSF Department of Obstetrics,
Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Institute of Medicine Selects
Four from UCSF (1997)
Center Examines Health Care in
Minority Populations
Source: Abby Sinnott, News Services |
