CTSA faculty member receives state’s top academic honor

Distinguished Professor Medal.

Curtis is one of just 29 SUNY faculty members across the 64-campus system to join the distinguished professor ranks in 2016.

Published August 31, 2016 This content is archived.

Anne B. Curtis, MD, was named a State University of New York (SUNY) Distinguished Professor, it was announced in May.

The award is the highest faculty achievement in thestatewide SUNY system.

Anne B. Curtis, MD.

Anne B. Curtis, MD

Curtis is the Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and chair of UB’s Department of Medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, president and CEO of UBMD Internal Medicine, and she serves on the board of the Buffalo Translational Consortium, the governance organization for the CTRC.

She is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading experts on heart health and cardiac devices. Her specialty is clinical cardiac electrophysiology, which deals with arrhythmias and implantable devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators. An internationally renowned clinical investigator and scholar, her pioneering research has transformed the evaluation and treatment of heart disease patients worldwide.

The rank of distinguished professor is an order above full professorship. Curtis was one of six UB faculty members who received the state’s designation in May. Only 29 SUNY faculty members across the 64-campus system were appointed to the distinguished professor ranks this year by the SUNY Board of Trustees.

Among her other accomplishments, Curtis was awarded the 2012 Walter Bleifeld Memorial Award for Distinguished Contribution in Clinical Research in Cardiology from the International Academy of Cardiology and, in 2015, she was named one of the 100 most powerful women in Western New York by Business First, a Buffalo newspaper.

Curtis joined the UB faculty in 2010 as the inaugural Mary and Charles Bauer Professor, chair of the Department of Medicine, and president and CEO of UBMD Internal Medicine. She is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and Heart Rhythm Society, of which she is also a former president.

She earned her medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Rutgers University.

“The SUNY distinguished faculty are truly the best of the best,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher at the time of the announcement. “Through innovative instruction, unique research opportunities and engaging applied learning opportunities they deliver a top-quality higher education for our students that is second to none.