Michael J. Alexander, M.D., has been appointed as the director of the Neurovascular Center in the Department of Neurosurgery and director of the multidisciplinary Neuroendovascular Center. Prior to joining Cedars-Sinai, Dr. Alexander successfully directed the Duke University Neurovascular Center, building one of the largest Endovascular Neurosurgery practices in the country over the past seven years.

Stuart B. Dubin, M.D., will retire from the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, effective October 1. Dr. Dubin came to Cedars-Sinai in 1981 as director of the Division of Clinical Chemistry, a position he has held with distinction since that time. Most recently, under Dr. Dubin and Dr. Sergio Farber's leadership, the Department of Pathology & Laboratory successfully implemented a robotic front end automation system, the first in Los Angeles and one of only a few in the U.S.

Leo A. Gordon, M.D., associate director of Surgical Education, addressed the members of the United States Naval Trauma Training Center at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center on July 9. Dr. Gordon discussed the M+M Matrix, the Department of Surgery's patient safety curriculum. After reviewing the history of the morbidity and mortality conference, Dr. Gordon outlined methods of converting this conference into an ongoing patient safety educational curriculum.

Surasak Phuphanich, M.D., has joined Cedars-Sinai as director of the Neuro-Oncology Program in the Department of Neurosurgery and Division of Neurology. Dr. Phuphanich's clinical and research interests are drug discovery and delivery with a focus on promising new targeted therapeutic agents. He completed his neurology residency at the University of Illinois Hospital, Chicago, and his clinical research fellowship in neuro-oncology at the Brain Tumor Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Francisco.

Megan Reuter, M.D., has joined the Cedars-Sinai Emergency Physician Group as an emergency medicine physician. Dr. Reuter recently completed Emergency Medicine training at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC, where she was a chief resident during her fourth and final year. She spent her senior year as the medical director for George Washington's EMS group as a mini-fellowship project in pre-hospital care.

William H. Slattery, M.D., had his article entitled "Hearing preservation surgery for neurofibromatosis Type 2-related vestibular schwannoma in pediatric patients" published in the April 2007 issue of the journal Neurosurgery. Dr. Slattery is an attending physician and director of Clinical Studies at the House Ear Institute.

Hanlin L. Wang, M.D., Ph.D., has joined Cedars-Sinai as director of Gastrointestinal Pathology. Dr. Wang was previously an associate professor of Pathology & Immunology at Washington University and Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. After obtaining his doctorate at the Mayo Clinic and completing his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Tennessee, he completed his residency and gastrointestinal and hepatic fellowships at the University of Chicago Hospitals. He is well published in gastrointestinal pathology and is emerging as a national expert in the field.