Alexander Townes Named Master of American College of Rheumatology
ATLANTA – Alexander S. Townes, MD; professor of medicine, emeritus, at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine was named a Master of the American College of Rheumatology at a session of the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting, on November 7 in Atlanta.
The member designation of Master is conferred by the board of directors of the College on ACR members, age 65 or older, who have made outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology through scholarly achievement and/or service to their patients, students and profession.
Dr. Townes, a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, completed residency training in internal medicine at Vanderbilt and Johns Hopkins Hospitals. He received his training in rheumatology as a fellow in the connective tissue division at Hopkins under the direction of Lawrence E. Shulman, MD, PhD, and in immunology with Abraham Osler, MD. Continuing as faculty at Hopkins, he reached the rank of associate professor and served as the head of rheumatology at the Baltimore City Hospital. During his tenure at Baltimore City Hospital he authored many book chapters on autoimmune disease, gout and rheumatoid arthritis in addition to his scientific publications. In 1972, he moved to the University of Tennessee Medical School as professor of medicine in rheumatology and served as the chief of the medical service at the Memphis VA Medical center. Returning to Vanderbilt in 1987 as chief of staff at the Nashville VA Medical Center, he continued also with his clinical work and research. He retired in 2002 and was named emeritus professor of medicine at Vanderbilt where he continues to treat patients at the VA Rheumatology Clinic and participates in curriculum planning and evaluation and interview of student applicants at Vanderbilt.
The American College of Rheumatology is an international professional medical society that represents more than 8,000 rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals around the world. Its mission is to advance rheumatology. The ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting is the premier meeting in rheumatology. For more information about the meeting, visit www.rheumatology.org/education. Follow the meeting on twitter by using the official hashtag: #ACR2010.
