Gore joins vascular, endovascular leaders to honor physicians receiving annual recognition

“We congratulate all of the very deserving nominees for their collaboration with peers and industry with a goal of improving patient performance”

W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) joined with leaders from across the vascular and endovascular community to honor a distinguished group of eight physicians receiving the 2010 Pioneers in Performance Awards—an annual recognition for physicians demonstrating an unrelenting dedication to advancing endovascular therapy and minimally invasive treatment options for patients worldwide. Those awarded have demonstrated through their work a strong and ongoing commitment to improving both clinical and patient performance through active collaboration.

The 2010 nominees were selected by past award recipients in four categories that correspond with different aspects of clinical collaboration. Through popular vote on pioneersinperformance.com, the broader medical community chose to award the following winners who were recognized at a special ceremony on Thursday, November 18 in the Gore Pavilion during the VEITHsymposium in New York:

Category: Commitment to Ongoing Learning

• Jacques Busquet, MD - Coordinator of Vascular and Endovascular Service in the Cardio-Vascular Department of the Clinique Chirurgicale Val d'Or - Saint Cloud
• Barry Katzen, MD - Founder and Medical Director of Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute

Category: Dedication to Sharing Knowledge with Peers and Patients

• Timothy A.M. Chuter, MD - Professor of Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery and Director, Endovascular Surgery Program at University of California at San Francisco
• Zvonimir Krajcer, MD - Program Director for Peripheral Intervention at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital and Texas Heart Institute

Category: Dedication to Creating Consensus within the Medical Community

• Zvonimir Krajcer, MD - Program Director for Peripheral Intervention at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital and Texas Heart Institute
• Johannes Lammer, MD - Head of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology and Vice-Chairman of the Department of Radiology at the Medical University Vienna

Category: Dedication to Analysis of Clinical Outcomes (Tie in Voting Resulted in Three Winners)

• William A. Gray, MD - Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Director of Endovascular Services at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center
• Roy Greenberg, MD - Vascular Surgeon in the Departments of Vascular Surgery and Thoracic and Cardiothoracic Surgery in the Sydell and Arnold Miller Heart & Vascular Institute
• James S.T. Yao, MD, PhD - Vascular Surgeon and Professor Emeritus of Surgery at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine

Frank J. Veith, MD, a recipient of the award last year, commented, "Those honored by the Pioneers in Performance awards are innovators, critical thinkers, scholars and educators. They are leaders in our field who have focused their time and dedication to the effort of training in endovascular techniques and advancing important research. Most importantly, they embody world class excellence in both open and endovascular surgery and are improving patient outcomes through their collaborative activities."

"We congratulate all of the very deserving nominees for their collaboration with peers and industry with a goal of improving patient performance," said David Abeyta, Business Leader, Gore. "We have chosen to underwrite the Pioneers in Performance awards program because performance through collaboration is a core value shared by Gore. We hope that the 2010 honorees will continue to inspire these values in others for years to come."