Newswise — New Brunswick, NJ – Jeanne Ferrante, MD, MPH, associate professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has been selected by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (SFTM) to receive the 2013 STFM Best Research Paper Award.
The international competition is designed to acknowledge the best research published by an SFTM member in a peer-reviewed journal. Awards are based on the quality of research, as well as its potential impact. This year, the Society is recognizing Dr. Ferrante for her work with collaborators at University of South Florida and Harvard University regarding Medicare beneficiaries with colon cancer.
In the study, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, Dr. Ferrante and her team examined the relationship between primary care utilization and colorectal cancer screenings, the stage at which Medicare beneficiaries are diagnosed, mortality resulting from colorectal cancer, and all causes of mortality. The study indicated that Medicare beneficiaries with colorectal cancer had better outcomes (earlier stage at diagnosis, lower colorectal cancer mortality, and lower overall mortality) if they had a greater number of visits to primary care physicians before their diagnosis—underscoring the importance of adequate access to primary care providers, particularly for Medicare beneficiaries.
“We congratulate Dr. Ferrante on her selection for this prestigious award,” says Alfred F. Tallia, MD, MPH, professor and chair, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “She joins a long list of prominent researchers who have been honored since the award’s inception.”
A resident of Morristown, Dr. Ferrante also is a member of The Robert Wood Johnson Medical Group—the faculty practice of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School—and has been a member of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey faculty since 2001. She joined Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 2007. She was director of the Postdoctoral Health Services Fellowship Program in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and is currently the director of the New Jersey Primary Care Research Network. She is particularly interested in the areas of cancer prevention and women’s health and focuses her research on obesity and cancer screenings in primary care, as well as promoting and demonstrating primary care’s role in improving health outcomes and decreasing disparities.
During her tenure at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Dr. Ferrante was chair of the cancer control committee at the University Hospital, Newark; coordinator for community outreach for the University Hospital’s Cancer Program; a member of the Cervical Cancer Workgroup, Task Force on Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer in New Jersey; and a member of the New Jersey Obesity Prevention Task Force.
Previously, she served as director of predoctoral education at University of South Florida, and director of the High Risk Breast Cancer Clinic at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute.
After earning her medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University, Dr. Ferrante completed her residency at Franklin Square Hospital in Baltimore and served in the United States Air Force during Desert Storm. She completed fellowship trainings at Duke University School of Medicine, University of Missouri, and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. She received her master’s degree in public health from UMDNJ-School of Public Health.
Dr. Ferrante will receive her award at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Spring Conference in Baltimore, May 1-5.
About UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical SchoolAs one of the nation's leading comprehensive medical schools, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school's principal affiliate, comprise one of the nation's premier academic medical centers. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.
As one of the eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, with 2,800 full-time and volunteer faculty, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 22 basic science and clinical departments, hosts centers and institutes including The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Camden, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. To learn more about Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, visit rwjms.umdnj.edu. Find us online at www.Facebook.com/RWJMS and www.twitter.com/RWJMS.
RSS