Skip to main content

Philanthropist and Real Estate Developer, Howard S. Brown Makes $2.5 Million Gift to UMSOM in Honor of Renowned Trauma Surgeon and Leader, Thomas M. Scalea, MD

August 06, 2020 | Joanne Morrison

Mr. Brown’s Gift Memorializes his Daughter, Esther Ann Brown Adler, and Establishes the Thomas M. Scalea, MD Endowed Distinguished Professorship in Trauma Surgery

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that Baltimore Real Estate Developer and Philanthropist, Howard S. Brown, has extended his long-time support of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), with a significant $2.5 million gift, bringing his total gifts over the years to $6.5 million.

Thomas M. Scalea, MD, FACS, MCCMMr. Brown chose to name this distinguished professorship, the Thomas M. Scalea, MD Distinguished Professor of Trauma Surgery, in honor of Thomas M. Scalea, MD, the Honorable Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professor in Trauma Surgery, in gratitude for the skilled and compassionate care Dr. Scalea provided for Mr. Brown’s daughter, the late Ms. Brown Adler.

Dr. Scalea is an internationally recognized innovator and leader in trauma care, enhancing and developing programs, processes, and protocols that are recognized as best practices in the field. He has led the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center as its Physician-in-Chief for more than two decades.  It is the only free-standing trauma center in the nation and the best-known center in the world, caring for more than 8.000 critically injured patients annually with a 96% survival rate. In addition,  Dr. Scalea has led the most coveted and competitive fellowship programs in the country for trauma care training and provided time-sensitive critical care medicine to every patient in need of immediate care.

“I am humbled by Howard’s generosity in establishing this distinguished professorship. He is truly one of Shock Trauma’s most loyal supporters,” said Dr. Scalea, who is the director of the Program in Trauma, and Physician-in-Chief, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, and System Chief for Critical Care Services, University of Maryland Medical System. “This professorship will empower us to attract and retain our new Chief of Trauma, an outstanding trauma expert and leader who will help inspire and mentor students and trainees, expand the frontiers of knowledge, make important discoveries through innovative research and provide expert clinical care.”

Mr. Brown, who is Chairman of David S. Brown Enterprises, said, “I have always believed in taking an active part in the development of both the business and philanthropic community of Baltimore.  Dr. Scalea is a selfless hero serving our community. His humanistic care has made an indelible impact on many families including mine. I am pleased to have this opportunity to honor him.”

David Thomas Efron, MDThe newly created endowment is the seventh endowed professorship within the School of Medicine’s Program in Trauma, and it will be awarded to the new Chief of the Trauma Division, David Thomas Efron, MD, who joins the UMSOM faculty on September 1, 2020.  For the past 10 years, Dr. Efron has served as Chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

As a nationally recognized trauma researcher, he has made landmark findings in the regulation of inflammatory mediators of septic and post-injury states. He is particularly focused on the role that statins may play to reduce inflammation during trauma especially with regard to potential translational research from the bench to the bedside.

Mr. Brown’s gift is the latest in a series of significant gifts he has made to the University of Maryland, Baltimore. These include his $1.5 million gift in 2007, which established the first trauma research professorship in the United States, the David S. Brown Professorship in Trauma, named in honor of Mr. Brown’s late father. Mr. Brown also gifted $1.5 million to the Francis King Carey School of Law, his father’s alma mater. In addition to his support for UMB, he also donated $1 million to the University of Maryland Medical Center in honor of his parents, David S. and Sara Brown.

“Endowed professorships in medicine are among the ultimate and most distinguished forms of tangible affirmation that the School of Medicine may give to its most accomplished faculty. Thanks to Howard Brown’s loyal generosity, the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Program in Trauma will continue to be a national and international resource that attracts the best and brightest experts who will advance trauma and critical care here in Maryland and around the world,” said Dean Reece, who is also University Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor.  “This will further enforce our strength in taking on the most critical and challenging cases and employing path-breaking science to advance trauma care.”

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest-growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 45 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.2 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic, and clinically-based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has more than $540 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 students, trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact of more than $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu

Contact

Office of Public Affairs
655 West Baltimore Street
Bressler Research Building 14-002
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-1559

Contact Media Relations
(410) 706-5260

Related stories

    Friday, May 17, 2024

    Gov. Moore Signs Significant Funding Bills Securing the Future of Trauma Care for Marylanders

    Dozens of Shock Trauma team members, trauma survivors, and supporters traveled to the state capital yesterday to support Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Senate President Bill Ferguson, and House Speaker Adrienne Jones as they signed a consequential bill into law expanding annual funding for Maryland’s renowned statewide trauma system. It will ensure access to world-class trauma care for Marylanders well into to the future.


    Wednesday, July 20, 2022

    University of Maryland School of Medicine Faculty Member Featured on NBC Nightly News Special Report on Gun Violence in America

    A University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) faculty member was featured in a prestigious national news program over the weekend highlighting the lifesaving critical care medicine practiced at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). In an extended segment called “One Night in America” that comprised half of the evening newscast for NBC Nightly News and additional coverage on MSNBC, a reporter was embedded in the trauma center from Saturday evening, July 16, into Sunday morning to document emergency trauma cases caused by gun violence. Reporters were also embedded in three other major cities showing different perspectives including police response to shootings and community support from a local street pastor.


    Wednesday, January 19, 2022

    World-Renowned University of Maryland School of Medicine Trauma Surgeon and Physician-Scientist Celebrates 25th Anniversary

    As the Honorable Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professor of Trauma Surgery and Director of the Program in Trauma at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and Physician-in-Chief of the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), Thomas M. Scalea, MD, FACS, MCCM, has pioneered advances to trauma care for patients in the United States and around the world. He has cared for tens of thousands of Marylanders critically injured in motor vehicle collisions, falls and violent attacks, traveled to China and Haiti to render assistance to earthquake victims, helped train thousands of U.S. Air Force personnel and worked alongside military physicians in war-torn Afghanistan. He has steered Maryland’s highest-level trauma center through two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.


    Monday, October 15, 2018

    University of Maryland School of Medicine Scientists Receive Prestigious UMB Founders Week Awards

    Several experts at the UMSOM received prestigious awards commemorating the UMB 2018 Founders Week. Among them, Karen Kotloff, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, was named "Researcher of the Year" for her extensive work in infectious diseases in the U.S. and developing countries. The MARS team – Steven I. Hanish, MD, Visiting Associate Professor of Surgery, Thomas M. Scalea, MD, FACS, FCCM, The Honorable Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professor in Trauma Surgery, and Deborah Stein, MD, MPH, FACS, FCCM, The R Adams Cowley, MD Professor in Shock and Trauma– were named "Entrepreneurs of the Year" for their liver dialysis device called the Molecular Absorbent Recirculating System (MARS).


    Friday, March 30, 2018

    Stop the Bleed Team at Shock Trauma Center Trains Campus Leaders

    The University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center provided special training today on methods to control bleeding as part of the “Stop the Bleed” campaign, a national effort to teach basic bleeding control.


    Wednesday, October 26, 2016

    Researchers Develop System to Classify Gunshot Wounds and Other Similar Injuries to the Head

    Every year, more than 32,000 Americans die from gunshot wounds. A significant proportion of these deaths involve head wounds. Despite this massive public health burden, researchers know little about the variables that determine whether a victim of these injuries will live or die.


    Monday, January 04, 2016

    R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Showcased in Discovery Life Series - Shock Trauma: Edge of Life

    Discovery Life’s new unscripted docudrama series Shock Trauma: Edge of Life follows a team of medical professionals at the world-renown University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center (“Shock Trauma” UM School of Medicine (SOM) faculty physicians and trauma surgeons, alongside University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) residents, fellows, nurses, patient care technicians, and an array of specialists, perform lifesaving medical care in the first and highest volume trauma center of its kind in the United States.