06-05-2022 Hall of Fame - Flipbook - Page 26
26 Baltimore Sun Media | Sunday, June 5, 2022
BALTIMORE SUN’S 2022
BUSINESS AND CIVIC HALL OF FAME HONOREE
E. ALBERT REECE
S
ince his early years as a little boy growing up in Spanish Town,
Jamaica, well before he was known for his colorful bow ties,
E. Albert Reece had varied interests, ranging from classical
music to cricket and soccer. But there was one constant all
along for this son of a schoolteacher and a homebuilder — his
interest in the world of medicine.
“From an early age I was intrigued by the power of healing,
restoration and wellness that medicine provided,” said Dr.
Reece, who retired at the end of the 2022 academic year as
the dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine
and executive vice president of the institution’s medical affairs.
In interviews through the years, he frequently recalls the power that physicians
of his childhood, who still made house calls, seemed to wield. They’d come into a
person’s home and make them well after just a few questions and a prescription.
“Wow, this guy’s good,” he would think to himself.
Dr. Reece completed high school in Jamaica, then earned a General Certificate
of Education with honors from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, opening the door to universities worldwide. Dr. Reece chose America, where
he received bachelor’s degrees from Andrews University in Michigan and Long
Island University. He then earned a medical degree from New York University
School of Medicine. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology
(OB/GYN) at Columbia University and then a postdoctoral fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine, known as perinatology, at Yale University School of Medicine,
in New Haven, Connecticut.
At Yale, he would also transition
to working in academia, taking
positions as an assistant, then an
associate, professor of OB/GYN.
He was then recruited by Temple
University in Philadelphia to chair
the medical school’s OB/GYN
department.
“The habit of curiosity, which I
had as a child, increased over the
years,” Dr. Reece said. “Therefore, academia, which emphasizes research and education, was
a natural and logical fit.”
While he always dreamed of
being a doctor, Dr. Reece said his
“love for science and research
evolved” over time. “I became
increasingly engaged in research
as a way to investigate, understand,
decipher and unravel the mysteries
of health and disease and to find
the answers,” he said.
While at Temple, Dr. Reece
pioneered a technique to identify fetal birth defects through an
“embryofetoscopy,” which allowed
for the direct visualization of a
developing embryo or fetus. He
would focus much of his research
throughout his career in this area,
with a particular focus on maternal
diabetes and its effects.
After a decade at Temple —
during which he also managed to
earn a Ph.D. in biochemistry from
The University of the West Indies
and an MBA from Temple’s Fox
School of Business & Management
— Dr. Reece served as vice chancellor and dean of the School of Medicine at University of Arkansas until
2006, when he began his tenure at
the University of Maryland School
of Medicine.
He is widely credited with driving the school forward.
He doubled research funding
(to nearly $600 million) and clinical revenue (to $351 million);
expanded clinical practice locations to 60 from 6; and overhauled
the medical education curriculum.
Under his leadership, the university also has invested in research
of infectious diseases, cancers and
neurosciences, and in research that
led to the first successful transplant
of a pig heart into a human without
rejection.
Overall, he has developed a
research culture at the school of
medicine, which continues after
his retirement.
His next step is to head the new
Center for Birth Defects Research
there, continuing his investigation
of anomalies caused by maternal
diabetes.
“He has this genuine, sincere
commitment to serve medicine, to
make medicine greater in its capability to care for people,” said Ralph
Snyderman, chancellor emeritus
for Duke University and former
chair of the University of Maryland
School of Medicine Scientific Advisory Council. “He’s the real deal.
He is a deeply committed, effective
leader who really cares.”
As a leader, diversity and equity
have become key to Dr. Reece’s
work and legacy. Under his tutelage, Maryland’s School of Medicine increased diversity efforts
through programs such as the
Cultural Transformation Initiative,
which worked to improve racial
and gender equity at the school.
Dr. Reece’s determination and
strong work ethic has served as an
inspiration to others, even in hard
times, when funding was difficult
to come by.
“I have been inspired by Dr.
Reece’s unwavering commitment
when the outlook was not always
positive. When federal research
dollars were less plentiful, Dr.
Reece persisted,” said Michael
Cryor, CEO of the Cryor Group
and former board chair of the
University of Maryland School of
Medicine. He called Dr. Reece a
treasure.
“The University of Maryland,
the city of Baltimore and the state
of Maryland have every reason to
celebrate his service and to wish
him well in his future endeavors,”
Mr. Cryor said.
“He has this genuine,
sincere commitment to
serve medicine, to make
medicine greater in its
capability to care for
people. He’s the real deal.”
— Ralph Snyderman, chancellor
emeritus for Duke University and
former chair of the University
of Maryland School of Medicine
Scientific Advisory Council
AT A GLANCE
Age: 72
Hometown: Spanish Town,
Jamaica, West Indies
Current residence: Lutherville
Education: General Certificate of
Education, Cambridge University;
bachelors’ degrees from Andrews
and Long Island universities; doctor
of medicine degree from New York
University School of Medicine;
doctor of philosophy degree from
The University of the West Indies;
master’s of business administration
degree from the Fox School of
Business and Management Temple
University. (2001)
Careerhighlights: assistant professor
ofOB/GYN,attending perinatologist
and directorofthe Diabetes-inPregnancy Study Unit atYale University
School ofMedicine; chairman for
the department ofObstetrics and
Gynecology and directorofthe Division
ofMaternal-Fetal Medicine atTemple
University School ofMedicine; vice
chancellorand dean ofthe University
ofArkansas College ofMedicine
and professorformedical sciences;
distinguished professor,dean and
executive vice president formedical
affairs,University ofMaryland School
ofMedicine.
Civic and charitable activities: Board
memberofthe LaskerFoundation and
the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra;
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra CEO
Search Committee.
Family: Married to Sharon Reece;
three daughters, one granddaughter.