NewsWise.com
June 9 2010
Dr. Art Sedrakyan to Lead New Comparative Effectiveness Program at WCMC & HSS
Released: 6/9/2010 3:35 PM EDT
Source: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical
Center/Weill Cornell Medical College
Dr. Art Sedrakyan Joins Weill Cornell Medical College and Hospital for
Special Surgery to Lead Comparative Effectiveness Initiative
Studies to Focus on Benefits of Cardiothoracic and Orthopedic Devices
for Patients
Newswise ‘ A leading authority in comparative effectiveness research,
Dr. Art Sedrakyan has been appointed director of a new collaborative
program in comparative effectiveness research (CER) based in the
Department of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College. The
program’s research portfolio will initially focus on devices, drugs
and alternative approaches for the management of orthopedic conditions
and cardiovascular diseases, with the intent of using this to build a
comprehensive program in comparative effectiveness research for the
entire medical center.
The initial partners for this program are Hospital for Special Surgery
(HSS), the Weill Cornell Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and the
Dean’s Office at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Sedrakyan’s
primary faculty appointment is in the Department of Public Health at
Weill Cornell Medical College. He holds joint appointments in the
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and the Research Division of HSS.
As a result of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, $1.1
billion of new federal funding has been designated for comparative
effectiveness research, which involves studies aimed at identifying
which treatments provide the greatest benefit to different patient
groups, ultimately to improve care for all patients.
Known for his medical, academic, research and regulatory expertise,
Dr. Sedrakyan previously served as a medical officer and
commissioner’s fellow at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center
for Devices and Radiological Health, and as senior service officer and
senior adviser at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ) Center for Outcomes and Evidence. (The FDA and AHRQ are
divisions of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.)
While at AHRQ, Dr. Sedrakyan was the program officer working with the
Weill Cornell Department of Public Health and HSS on the institutions’
Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERT) grant, which
supports research into the outcomes and cost-effectiveness of medical
and orthopedic
devices. He also initiated the Effective Healthcare Cardiovascular
Consortium that conducted and funded some of the first linkages of
national cardiovascular and
administrative databases and collaborative outcomes studies.
“Comparative effectiveness research is essential both to improve
health care quality and address the issue of spiraling costs in ways
that incorporate clinical perspectives and concerns,” says Dr. Alvin
I. Mushlin, chairman of the Department of Public Health and the
Nanette Laitman Distinguished Professor of Public Health and professor
of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, public health
physician-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell
Medical Center, and principal investigator on the Weill Cornell/HSS
CERT grant. “I have had the pleasure of working closely with Dr.
Sedrakyan and am confident that his extensive experience and
successful track record make him the ideal choice to lead this
initiative.”
“We are extremely fortunate to have someone of the stature of Dr.
Sedrakyan to lead this joint research endeavor,” says Dr. Steven
Goldring, chief scientific officer and St. Giles Chair at Hospital for
Special Surgery, and professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical
College. “Under his leadership, our two institutions have the
opportunity to collaborate and demonstrate our commitment to clinical
research and quality outcomes to improve patient care.”
“I am very pleased that Dr. Sedrakyan will be leading this important
and timely new joint initiative,” says Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., the
Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College. “I
personally look forward to our planned work together in the field of
lipid-lowering therapy, and I wholeheartedly support the mission of
the entire collaborative program.”
“I am honored to be given this appointment by these two extraordinary
institutions,” says Dr. Sedrakyan. “This is a wonderful opportunity
since comparative effectiveness research is increasingly being
recognized as vital to the improvement of health care by the federal
government as well as the medical and scientific communities.”
Dr. Sedrakyan received his medical degree from the Yerevan State
Medical University in Yerevan, Armenia, and completed a residency in
cardiac surgery in a combined program between the Institute of
Surgery/Armenia and the St. Joseph Medical Center in Patterson, N.J.
He received a doctor of science degree in cardiovascular
medical/surgical sciences from the National Research Center of Surgery
of the Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow, Russia, followed by a
Robert Wood Johnson postdoctoral fellowship in epidemiology and public
health at the Yale University School of Medicine. In 2008 he was
awarded a Ph.D. in health policy and management from the Bloomberg
School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to his
appointments at the Department of Health and Human Services, he held
faculty positions at the Royal College
of Surgeons of England and London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine. He was also a Methodology Adviser to the National
Collaborating Center for Acute Care, part of the National Institute
for Clinical Excellence in the U.K. He has received numerous honors
and published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. His professional
memberships include the Evidence-Based Surgery Workgroup of the
Society of Thoracic Surgery and the Council of Epidemiology and
Prevention of the American Heart Association.
Hospital for Special Surgery
Founded in 1863, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is a world leader
in orthopedics, rheumatology and rehabilitation. HSS is nationally
ranked No. 2 in orthopedics, No. 3 in rheumatology and No. 24 in
neurology by U.S.News & World Report (2009), has received Magnet
Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses
Credentialing Center and has one of the lowest infection rates in the
country. From 2007 to 2010, HSS was a recipient of the HealthGrades
Joint Replacement Excellence Award. A member of the
NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and an affiliate of Weill
Cornell Medical College, HSS provides orthopedic and rheumatologic
patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital at New York Weill
Cornell Medical Center. All Hospital for Special Surgery medical staff
are on the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College. The hospital’s
research division is internationally recognized as a leader in the
investigation of musculoskeletal and autoimmune diseases. Hospital for
Special Surgery is located in New York City and online at
Weill Cornell Medical College
Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University’s medical school
located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research,
teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of
medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists
of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research
from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body
in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and
prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and
education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as
Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the
historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College
is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill
Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances — including the
development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of
penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in
the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson’s
disease, and most recently, the world’s first successful use of deep
brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured
patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides
comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill
Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with
the Methodist Hospital in Houston, making Weill Cornell one of only
two medical colleges in the country affiliated with two U.S.News &
World Report Honor Roll hospitals. For more information, visit
From: A. Papazian