WARFIELD M. FIROR, A&S 1917, Med 1921, a professor of surgery at the School of Medicine and acting surgeon-in-chief of the hospital from 1939 to 1941, was best known for his pioneering work on tetanus toxin and its effect on the spinal cord. In recognition of his research on endocrine glands, Dr. Firor was honored with a gold medal from the American Medical Association. He chaired the American Board of Surgery and was a founding member and chairman of the Joint Conference Committee on Graduate Training in Surgery in the United States. In 1980, the university awarded Dr. Firor an honorary doctorate. Dr. Firor died in 1988 at the age of 91.
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Warfield M. Firor Professor in Surgery
School of Medicine
Established in 1969 by the estate of Alice Larson Fink in honor of Warfield M. Firor
Held by Pamela A. Lipsett
PAMELA A. LIPSETT is the Warfield M. Firor Endowed Professor of Surgery. The previous chairholder, R. Robinson Baker, MD, concluded his tenure as the Warfield M. Firor Professor of Surgery in June 2008, upon retirement.
Dr. Lipsett has served as program director of general surgery since 2005 and as professor of surgery and nursing and assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine since 2003. She is the program director of the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship and co-directs the surgical intensive care units. She also currently serves as chair of the Student Assessment and Program Evaluation Committee for the School of Medicine.
Dr. Lipsett received her BA from Regis College in 1979 and completed a MPHE in medical education in 2010 at the University of Illinois. Her degree focused on “Generalizability Theory and Qualitative Analysis to Reduce Variance in Multisource Feedback to Residents,” and was awarded the Best Thesis of 2010. She received her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1984. She then went on to do her residency in general surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital from July 1985 to June 1990. From 1989 to 1990, Dr. Lipsett served as assistant chief of service for the Johns Hopkins Department of Surgery and received the Faculty Advanced Training Specialty Certificate in gastrointestinal surgery. From 1990 through 1999 she held a staff surgeon position at Bayview Medical Center. She is board certified in general surgery with a special certificate in surgical critical care.
As an intensivist for more than 20 years, Dr. Lipsett has played an integral role in several clinical trials and government-supported grants, as well as investigator-initiated studies. Her scientific interests include phase II and III trials of agents for critically ill patients including sepsis, prevention and management of nosocomial infection, the perioperative management of the critically ill surgical patient, antibiotic management, hand hygiene, outcomes, cost effectiveness, and quality of life in the critically ill. In addition, her educational research has focused on assessment and program evaluation.
Dr. Lipsett has 117 published articles in peer reviewed journals. She has 36 published book chapters, as well as 121 abstracts. She has also served as a lecturer, provided clinical and continuing medical education instruction and has mentored many undergraduate students, research and postdoctoral fellows, residents, medical students and nurses. She is the recipient of several educationally based awards including the George J. Stuart Award (1994, 1999), The Johns Hopkins Professor’s Award, and a Certificate of Appreciation from the School of Nursing.
Dr. Lipsett served as the president of the Society of Critical Care Medicine from 2011-12, and the Surgical Infection Society (2012-13). She is also a member of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, a Fellow of American College of Critical Care Medicine, and the Association for Women Surgeons.
Pamela Lipsett is an exemplary leader of a number of surgical, intensive care, resident, fellowship and critical care programs. She is a motivating and inspirational mentor to many students and colleagues–a driven and creative investigator and a top-notch surgeon.