Dr. Civin's Virtual Investiture Program

CURT I. CIVIN, MD
Curt I. Civin, MD is a pioneer in cancer and
stem cell research who has received
international acclaim for developing a
technique to isolate stem cells from other blood
cells. His groundbreaking discovery of the
CD34 antibody has had a major and enduring
impact in basic research in stem cell and
leukemia biology and has improved stem cell
transplantation for thousands of patients. Dr. Civin accomplished the rare
feat of making multiple discoveries that are used today not only in laboratory
research but also in clinical bone marrow stem cell transplantation and
leukemia diagnosis.
Dr. Civin is currently a principal or collaborating investigator on several peer
-reviewed research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, the
State of Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, and private foundations. Dr.
Civin taught and led research and clinical pediatric oncology and held the
King Fahd Chair in Pediatric Oncology and the Herman & Walter
Samuelson Chair in Cancer Research at Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine for 30 years before becoming founding director for the University
of Maryland’s Center for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine and
Associate Dean for Research.
Throughout his career, he has mentored a large number of talented scientists
to pursue academic careers in translational research. He has lectured around
the world, published more than 250 scientific articles and 40 book chapters,
holds numerous biomedical patents, and has served in leadership positions
for multiple distinguished committees and editorial boards. He has received
numerous honors and awards, including the National Inventor of the Year
Award, Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Return of the Child Award,
American Association of Blood Banks’ Karl Landsteiner Award, Maryland
Stem Cell Research Fund’s John L. Kellerman Memorial Lecture, American
Society of Hematology’s Mentor Award, America’s Top Doctors Award,
American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Fellow Award, and
an Honorary ScD from Amherst College.

WELCOME
Mary Pooton
Associate Dean for Development
University of Maryland School of Medicine
James B. Kaper, MD
Vice Dean for Academic Affairs
James and Carolyn Frenkil Distinguished Dean’s Professor and Chair
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
University of Maryland School of Medicine
REMARKS
E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore
John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and
Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine
DONOR RECOGNITION
E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA
REMARKS
Cindy Orban
Donor’s niece
SPEAKERS
Donald Small, MD, PhD
Kyle Haydock Professor of Oncology
Professor of Oncology, Pediatrics, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, and Human Genetics
Director, Division of Pediatric Oncology
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Kathleen H. Burns, MD, PhD
Chair, Department of Pathology
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Professor of Pathology
Harvard Medical School
Diane Heiser, PhD
Executive Director, Translational Medicine
Prelude Therapeutic
Director, Protein Therapeutics
Valo Health
MEDAL PRESENTATION
E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA
REMARKS
Curt I. Civin, MD
The Philip A. Zaffere Distinguished Professor of Regenerative Medicine
CLOSING REMARKS
James B. Kaper, MD

T
he first endowed professorships were established more than
500 years ago with the creation of the Lady Margaret chairs
in divinity at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The
original endowed chairs were sponsored by Lady Margaret,
countess of Richmond, and grandmother of Henry VIII in 1502.
Subsequently, private individuals began making financial contributions
to establish other endowed professorships and chairs such as the
Lucasian Chair of Mathematics, which Sir Isaac Newton held beginning
in 1669. Professor Stephen Hawking, the internationally renowned
physicist and recipient of the 2010 US Medal of Freedom, was another
prominent holder of this endowed chair.
The honor associated with appointment to an endowed position has
remained unchanged for the last 500 years and is recognized as one of
the highest tributes that an academic institution can bestow upon its
most distinguished faculty. These endowed professorships and chairs
continue to reward exceptional scholars uninterrupted to the present
time.
The Office of Development is charged with securing private gifts to
ensure the School’s tradition of excellence is sustained through robust
research, clinical, and educational programs and initiatives. The
University of Maryland School of Medicine is fortunate to have nearly
85 endowed chairs & professorships in various stages of completion
and held by esteemed faculty members.

PHILIP A. ZAFFERE
Philip A. Zaffere was born in Federalsburg,
Maryland, in 1930. Following his father’s
serious illness, and in spite of being the
younger son, he left college in his second year
to assume responsibility for the family bakery.
He never completed his college education,
instead worked tirelessly, keeping baker’s
hours, with little life beyond the business.
It was his creative, outside-the-box thinking, his relentless ingenuity, his
single-minded conviction that there is always a better, more efficient way
to do everything, that grew a small family bakery into a model of
innovation, with food giants like General Foods relying on his business
for their products. He developed successful formulas for the mass
production of baking crumbs and transformed his family’s company into
Shoreman Food Technologies. Under Mr. Zaffere’s leadership,
Shoreman—which was ultimately sold to the PET Food Corporation in
1988—became the main supplier for nationwide brands such as Stove
Top Stuffing and Mrs. Paul’s frozen foods. While the needs of his
family’s business interrupted his own college studies, Mr. Zaffere
maintained a deep and lifelong curiosity for the sciences and engineering
as well as a commitment to supporting education and his community.
Mr. Zaffere was tenacious in his friendships, making endless phone calls
to check in, to pump a friend for the latest news - or gossip; to make sure
they were well and safe. And if he found a need, he’d take care of it. He
paid for medical insurance for a former employee, set up and paid for an
emergency notification device for several friends, hired a driver to take a
friend to appointments at the Wilmer Eye Clinic. He bought lift chairs for
friends and family with mobility issues. Mr. Zaffere had an almost
endless well of compassion. He passed away in January 2016.

LOUIS F. FRIEDMAN, ESQ AND
PHYLLIS C. FRIEDMAN, ESQ
Louis and Phyllis Friedman have been generous
supporters of the University of Maryland,
Baltimore (UMB) for over 20 years through their
Louis and Phyllis Friedman Foundation, as well as
other foundations they manage.
They have provided impactful philanthropic
support to the Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at the
School of Medicine. They established the Emmert Hobbs Fellowship in Stem
Cell Research Endowment, the Herman & Walter Samuelson Foundation Prize
and Lecture, and the Philip A. Zaffere Endowed Professorship in Regenerative
Medicine for the Director of the Center, Dr. Curt Civin. These momentous gifts
complete an entire umbrella of philanthropy that will continue to catalyze
translational research and economic development in the Center in perpetuity.
The Friedman’s also established the Robert A. Fuld, M.D, ’81 Prize and
Lectureship Endowment in Nephrology at the School of Medicine, named in
honor of their son, who is a nephrologist and a 1981 graduate of the School of
Medicine.
As alumni of the School of Law, they have provided funding to the Erin Levitas
Initiative for Sexual Assault Prevention Endowment, as well as supported the
Capital Campaign Building Fund. They have also supported the School of
Nursing by establishing the Herman & Walter Samuelson Foundation
Scholarship endowment.
Louis and Phyllis Friedman have truly made an impact at UMB by making
foundational contributions to medicine and science. We salute their dedication as
community philanthropists for decades, and we are grateful they have chosen to
partner with us across our mission areas. The University of Maryland, Baltimore
Foundation recognized Louis and Phyllis Friedman for their dedication to higher
education and scientific advancement with the 2021 Distinguished Service
Award.