K. Daniel Riew, M.D., has been named the Mildred B. Simon Distinguished Professor and Ken Yamaguchi the Sam and Marilyn Fox Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton joined Larry J. Shapiro, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, in announcing the appointments.
“For years, Sam and Marilyn Fox have been among Washington University’s most loyal and dedicated supporters, as was Mildred Simon,” says Wrighton. “We are deeply indebted to them for their longstanding generosity and many years of devoted service. The Fox’s extraordinary generosity in the creation of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts really was more than we could have hoped for, but now they have gone beyond that and endowed this distinguished professorship demonstrating once again that they are the very embodiment of the generosity of spirit that has made Washington University the world-class institution it is today.”
“The School of Medicine is very grateful for the generosity of Sam and Marilyn Fox and of Mildred Simon, and these distinguished professorships are indicative of their commitment to our institution.” Shapiro says. “These gifts not only will help support the great work being done by Drs. Riew and Yamaguchi, they also will help ensure the continued growth and success of our Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.”
The Sam and Marilyn Fox Distinguished Professorship was created this year by Mr. and Mrs. Fox. The Simon Distinguished Professorship was established in 1998 through a bequest from Mildred B. Simon.
Richard H. Gelberman, M.D., head of orthopaedic surgery since it became a department in 1995 and the Fred C. Reynolds Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, says the creation of endowments such as these are vital to the School of Medicine’s goal of both recruiting and keeping top-quality researchers and clinicians.
“Very few medical centers combine a top-10 hospital with an outstanding medical school as we do here in the partnership of Washington University School of Medicine with Barnes-Jewish Hospital,” Gelberman says. “In a special way, Drs. Riew and Yamaguchi have a similar kind of partnership, working together closely since both were orthopaedic surgery residents. And it’s fitting that two physicians who have played such a key role in our department’s growth be recognized together for their accomplishments and given such critical support to continue their work.”
Riew is co-director of the Spinal Research Fellowship, chief of Cervical Spine Surgery and director of the recently constructed Orthopaedic Cervical Spine Institute in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He joined the faculty in 1995.
Yamaguchi, who once was an orthopaedic surgery resident with Riew, also came to Washington University in 1995. He is chief of the Shoulder and Elbow Service in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Desloge, Mo.-native Sam Fox graduated from Washington University in 1951 with a degree in business administration. In 1976, he founded Harbour Group Ltd., a privately held company that has achieved a remarkable record of success in acquiring and building high-quality companies. He has served as chairman and chief executive of the company ever since, and he has earned a position as one of St. Louis’ most prominent business and civic leaders.
Washington University has benefited greatly from Sam Fox’s leadership and involvement. He is a lifetime member of the Board of Trustees and serves on the Board’s executive committee. He also chaired the public phase of the Campaign for Washington University, which raised more than $1.5 billion in gifts and commitments. In recognition of his generosity and outstanding record of service, the University has named the new Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts in his honor.
Fox serves on the boards of many institutions, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the St. Louis Muny Opera, the Saint Louis Zoo and Civic Progress. He is chairman of the St. Louis Area Council Boy Scouts of America, former president of the board of commissioners of the Saint Louis Art Museum and a lifetime member of the museum’s board of trustees. He was head of the successful 2003 United Way of Greater St. Louis campaign, and he is chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Republican Jewish Coalition.
Marilyn Fox also has taken an active role in many organizations, including the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, Webster University, the Missouri Historical Society and the Variety Club. In 1992, she was elected the first female president of the Jewish Community Center, and she led a successful $17 million campaign for the JCC satellite facility in Chesterfield, Mo.
“I have firsthand experience with the talent and dedication of Dr. Yamaguchi, Dr. Riew and the other members of this department that Dr. Gelberman has assembled so brilliantly,” Fox says. “It’s a privilege for Marilyn and me to provide some additional support.”
Simon was an active philanthropist who was especially generous to Washington University School of Medicine. Born in Newport, Ark., Simon settled in St. Louis with her husband, Herbert Simon. He was an executive of J. Simon and Sons, a business founded in 1899 by his father, Jacob Simon. Herbert Simon died in 1940 at the age of 55.
Mildred Simon died in 1998 at the age of 105, leaving a significant bequest to the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. The gift also endowed two other professorships, one in honor of Jerome J. Gilden, M.D., who earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees from Washington University, cared for Mildred Simon when she broke her hip in her 60s and became a personal friend for the rest of her life.
Mildred Simon’s generosity to Washington University also established the Herbert and Mildred Simon Scholarship Fund benefiting art and architecture students. She was also a devoted member of Temple Israel, where a Scholar-in-Residence Fund bears her name.
Riew, now the Mildred B. Simon Distinguished Professor, received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University. He completed residencies in internal medicine at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, and in orthopaedic surgery at George Washington University Hospital, where he met Yamaguchi. They were residents in the same class and have remained great friends ever since.
“I would not be here if it weren’t for Ken because while he was interviewing for a job here, he suggested to Dr. Gelberman that I be hired,” Riew says.
Riew also did fellowships in congestive heart failure research at Cornell Medical Center, in biomechanics research at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, and in spine surgery at Case Western Reserve University under Henry Bohlman, M.D.
Riew’s research involves finding ways to preserve motion in neck surgery patients. In recent years, that pursuit has involved investigating artificial disc replacement in addition to the more traditional fusion surgery. Clinically, he is one of only a handful of spine surgeons in the world who limits his practice to only cervical spine operations.
Riew is a board member of the Cervical Spine Research Society and chairman of its Instructional Course Committee. He has won numerous awards, including the C. Richard Bowman Award from Cornell Medical Center for “human warmth, scientific endeavor and dedication to medicine,” the Ames Award from Harvard College for character and leadership, and the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Caring Spirit Award. The author of more than 70 scientific manuscripts, he has won a number of outstanding research awards for both basic and clinical science from the Cervical Spine Research Society, the North American Spine Society and the Scoliosis Research Society. He has been listed in America’s Top Doctors as well as The Best Doctors in America for the last several years.
After earning his medical degree from George Washington School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., Yamaguchi completed a residency in orthopaedic surgery at George Washington Hospital and a fellowship in shoulder and elbow surgery at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.
Yamaguchi’s clinical interests include arthroscopic treatment of rotator cuff disorders, shoulder instability and elbow arthritis. Additionally, he performs a large number of shoulder and elbow total joint replacements, and he has been listed in America’s Top Doctors and The Best Doctors in America for several years.
“New technology and minimally invasive techniques mean we can do so much more than once was possible to restore function in the shoulder and elbow,” says Yamaguchi, now the Fox Distinguished Professor. “Shoulder surgery used to involve a large incision and a recovery period with significant pain and disability, but it’s quickly becoming shorter and less painful for most patients.”
Involved in several professional societies, Yamaguchi recently was elected to the board of directors of the AAOS. He will serve the academy as member-at-large. He is an active member of the American Society of Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (serving as a member-at-large of its executive committee), American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy Association of North America, American Orthopaedic Association and Orthopaedic Research Society. He also has held positions on the AAOS research committee and scientific program committee.
Yamaguchi is an author of more than 100 publications and has given numerous scientific presentations nationally and internationally. He is an editorial reviewer for the American Journal of Sports Medicine and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, and an associate editor for Techniques in Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. He also is the former associate editor of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and currently deputy editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons section on upper extremity, shoulder and elbow.
The recipient of various awards and honors throughout his career, Yamaguchi was selected to complete the American Orthopaedic Association’s prestigious John J. Fahey Memorial North American Traveling Fellowship, was recognized with the Thomas M. Coffman Career Development Award from the Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation and received the Palma Chironis Teaching Award from Washington University’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He also recently received a National Institutes of Health grant to study rotator cuff disease.
Washington University School of Medicine’s full-time and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.