Seven faculty members appointed to endowed positions

Robert Cowan, MD, clinical professor of neurology and neurological sciences, was appointed the Betty Higgins Family Foundation Director, effective April 24. He directs the Stanford Headache Program. His interests include patient education, patient-provider communication and chronic daily headaches.

This position was established by Betty Higgins and her daughter, Patricia Higgins. Betty is president of the Wings of Freedom Foundation and Patricia is the founder and trustee of the Wintercreek Foundation. The directorship was created to support headache research and treatment.

Christopher Gardner, PhD, professor of medicine, was appointed the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor, effective June 15. His research in nutrition and diet aims to develop strategies for individuals and communities to improve their access to and consumption of healthy foods.

The professorship was established with a gift from Francesca and Carl Samuel Rehnborg and the C.F. Rehnborg Disease Prevention Fund. It was created to support research in disease prevention and honors John Farquhar, MD, a Stanford professor of medicine and of health research and policy, emeritus, who was the first holder of the C.F. Rehnborg Professorship.

Keith Humphreys, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, was appointed the Esther Ting Memorial Professor, effective June 15. His research focuses on treatment and public policy affecting addiction and psychiatric disorders.

The professorship was established by George Ting, MD, and the Esther Ting Foundation Fund, which was named for his daughter who died at age 18 due to complications from addiction. It is intended to support efforts to increase understanding and treatment of addiction, particularly among adolescents. 

Dennis Lund, MD, professor of surgery, was appointed the Elizabeth Wood Dunlevie Professor, effective June 15. He is the associate dean of the faculty for pediatrics and obstetrics and the chief medical officer at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. 

The professorship was established by Bruce Wall Dunlevie in honor of his wife, Elizabeth Wood Dunlevie. Elizabeth, a board member of Packard Children’s, is a longtime supporter of children’s health. The professorship is intended for a faculty member serving in a leadership position in pediatric clinical affairs.  

Anthony Oro, MD, PhD, professor of dermatology, was appointed the Eugene and Gloria Bauer Professor of Dermatology, effective June 15. His research uses stem cells to understand tumor evolution and tissue regeneration, and his clinical interests include genetic skin diseases, hair biology and non-melanoma skin cancer. He is the associate director of the Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine and co-director of the Child Health Research Institute.

The professorship was established with funds from anonymous donors to the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, the Stanford Medical Center Development’s Biomedical Innovation Initiative and a gift from Eugene Bauer, MD, the former dean of the School of Medicine and former chair of dermatology. The position was created to support many of the translational medicine efforts that Bauer began. 

Bali Pulendran, PhD, professor of pathology and of microbiology and immunology, was appointed the Violetta L. Horton Professor, effective June 15. His research focuses on understanding how the immune system senses microbes and viruses and then programming immune responses against them as part of the effort to design vaccines.

The professorship was created to support a faculty member whose research examines poliomyelitis or similar viral diseases. Violetta L. Horton lived in La Jolla and died in 1958. 

Leslee Subak, MD, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology, was appointed the Katharine Dexter McCormick and Stanley McCormick Memorial Professor III, effective June 15. Her research uses multidisciplinary approaches to treat incontinence in women.

The professorship is the third established using funds from a 1969 gift from Katharine Dexter McCormick in honor of her husband, Stanley, to support women who study or teach medicine or engage in medical research. Katharine co-founded the League of Women Voters in 1919 and contributed to the efforts to develop an oral contraceptive for women.