Gold Headed Cane Award Recipient - 2010
Dr. Slavin receives Gold Headed Cane Award
Raymond G. Slavin, MD, MS, FACAAI (Emeritus), St. Louis, Mo., was elected by ACAAI Fellows to receive the 9th Annual Gold Headed Cane Award, presented at the ACAAI Annual Meeting Convocation in Phoenix on November 13, 2010.
This prestigious award honors an ACAAI Fellow who has demonstrated the highest standards of scientific excellence and integrity. Eligible candidates must be a Fellow of the College for at least 20 years.
Dr. Slavin holds several appointments at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, in St. Louis, Mo., including director, Division of Allergy & Immunology, since 1965; director, Allergy Lab Research, since 1965; professor of internal medicine, since 1973; and professor of microbiology, since 1978.
He was president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 1983, and chaired numerous committees including the Conjoint Board Review Committee. He served on the Board of Directors of the ABAI, 1979-85, and was a member of the ACGME Residency Review Committee, Allergy and Immunology, 1984-87. He also was on the Board of Directors of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, 1985-87, served as its chairman, 1985-87, and was founder of the St. Louis Chapter, 1980.
Past winners of the Gold Cane Award are: Harold S. Nelson, MD., FACAAI, Denver; Joseph A. Bellanti, MD, FACAAI, Washington, D.C.; Edward J. O’Connell, MD, FACAAI (Emeritus), Rochester, Minn.; Elliot F. Ellis, MD, FACAAI (Emeritus), St. Petersburg, Fla.; John C. Selner, MD, FACAAI (Deceased), Denver; Phillip L. Lieberman, MD, FACAAI, Germantown, Tenn; Betty B. Wray, MD, FACAAI, Augusta, Ga; Donald W. Aaronson, MD, JD, MPH, FACAAI, Chicago; and Emil J. Bardana, Jr., MD, FACAAI, Portland, Ore.
The award serves as an inspiration to younger doctors and encourages them in family, social, civil, religious and professional life to cultivate character that earns the respect and good will of colleagues and the profession at large.
The tradition of the Gold Headed Cane started in 1689, with Dr. John Radcliffe, who had a particular interest in asthma as the personal physician to King William III, an asthmatic. Dr. Radcliffe began the tradition of passing the cane to a successor whom he considered to be the greatest physician of his time.