Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Physician Named as First Pediatrician Ever to Receive Prestigious National Award from CCFA


Hartford, Conn. (PRWEB) January 10, 2013

Jeffrey S. Hyams, MD, Head of the Division of Digestive Diseases, Hepatology and Nutrition at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut, has been given the Scientific Achievement in IBD Clinical Research Award by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA). Dr. Hyams is the first pediatrician to ever receive this national recognition.

“It is our privilege to recognize Dr. Hyams,” said James Lewis, MD, MSCE, Chair of the CCFA’s National Scientific Advisory Committee and Professor of Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania. “He joins the illustrious ranks of medical leaders we honor each year for their efforts to aid Americans suffering from these debilitating, incurable diseases.”

The CCFA awarded Dr. Hyams with this honor for having made significant contributions to understanding Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and helping to improve the quality of life for the 1.4 million Americans affected by these diseases during the 2012 Scientific Achievement Awards at their annual Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Conference in Florida. He was nominated by the medical and research community for his exceptional dedication to the field of IBD.

“Through his groundbreaking research and advanced clinical care, Dr. Hyams is pioneering new ideas and developing next generation techniques and treatments that will impact the health of children not just in Connecticut, but everywhere,” said Paul Dworkin, MD, Physician-in-Chief and Executive Vice President of Community Child Health at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at University of Connecticut School of Medicine.

Last April, Dr. Hyams was awarded a $ 10.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a 5-year study of the effects of standardized therapy for children with ulcerative colitis, which is currently in progress. He has authored or coauthored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and is the co-editor of Pediatric Gastrointestinal Diseases: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Management. He has been honored by the University of Connecticut School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics for his teaching skills and has been consistently named as a top doctor nationwide for his work.

About Connecticut Children’s Medical Center

Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, the region’s only academic medical center dedicated exclusively to the care of children, is committed to improving children’s physical and emotional health through family-centered care, research, education and advocacy. Named one of America’s Best Children’s Hospitals by U.S. News and World Report, Connecticut Children’s offers a full range of quality pediatric services at its hospitals in Hartford and Waterbury, Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) in Hartford and Farmington, Specialty Care Centers in Fairfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Hartford and Shelton and 11 other practice locations.

For more information, visit http://www.connecticutchildrens.org and connect on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/connecticutchildrens.