Two faculty named Distinguished University Professors - 06/02/06

COLUMBUS - An internationally recognized expert in leukemia and an acclaimed inorganic chemist received The Ohio State University's highest faculty honor at Friday's meeting (6/2) of the university's Board of Trustees.

The title of Distinguished University Professor was conferred by trustees on Dr. Clara D. Bloomfield, professor and holder of the William Greenville Pace III Endowed Chair in Cancer Research in the College of Medicine's Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, and Malcolm H. Chisholm, Distinguished Professor of Mathematical and Physical Sciences and professor of chemistry. Each will receive an additional annual budget of $10,000 from the Office of Academic Affairs for three years to support their academic work and will become members of the President's and Provost's Advisory Council.

Bloomfield is well known for her work on the discovery of new cancer treatments and the discovery and use of cytogenetic and molecular markers to diagnose, select treatment for and predict response of patients with leukemia or lymphoma. Her research has helped patients live longer, receive the least possible toxic therapy, and, in many cases, be cured of certain types of blood-related cancers. Notably, her pioneering clinical research in adult leukemia and lymphoma found that acute leukemia, a previously fatal disease, could be treated and cured using chemotherapy.

An elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, Bloomfield has received multiple awards for her research including the major clinical research awards of the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Bloomfield joined Ohio State in 1997 as director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and deputy director of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James). She relinquished her administrative duties in 2003 to return to research as her major activity. Ohio State created a new program, the OSU Cancer Scholar Program, and named her the charter Cancer Scholar, a position that allows her to spend most of her time on research although she remains the senior adviser to the OSUCCC - James.

She received her M.D. from the University of Chicago and held medical faculty positions at the University of Minnesota, the State University of New York at Buffalo and Roswell Park Cancer Institute before joining the Ohio State faculty.

Chisholm is a researcher whose interests bridge the divide between disparate fields of chemistry, linking metallic compounds to organic ones and developing new polymers and "smart" materials for a multitude of uses. One current focus centers on the harnessing of new polymers from renewable resources, such as corn, negating dependence on petroleum compounds.

He has been elected to the National Academy of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a fellow of the Royal Society of London, which awarded him its Sir Humphrey Davy Medal in 1999, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Chisholm earned his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from London University (England) and held faculty positions at the University of Western Ontario, Princeton University and Indiana University before joining Ohio State's faculty in 2000 as part of the Department of Chemistry's Selective Investment Program.

The Distinguished University Professor title is awarded permanently to no more than three exceptional faculty per year. Honorees are nominated by their colleagues, both at Ohio State and internationally, and outside evaluators are invited to assess each nominee's academic accomplishments. Since the professorships were first awarded in 1987, only 33 faculty members have received the title.