[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 90 (Monday, June 5, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S7707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   TRIBUTE TO DR. HIRAM C. POLK, JR.
 Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Dr. Hiram 
C. Polk, Jr., Hiram is chairman of surgery at the University of 
Louisville, and this week he will be inducted into the Royal College of 
Surgeons of Edinburgh, Scotland as an honorary fellow.
  The Royal College of Surgeons is the oldest surgical college in the 
world and is also the most renowned. The induction as an honorary 
fellow is the highest honor awarded by the college. This tribute is 
unquestionably one that Hiram should be proud of, because the college 
only gives out five or six awards in one year to the best surgeons 
around the world.
  Hiram was also asked to deliver the Lister lecture at the college's 
annual meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland on May 26, 1995, making him the 
first American to give the Lister lecture. Hiram is also one of only 13 
people to ever deliver the lecture. He joins an impressive list of past 
lecturers which include two Nobel Prize winners. His speech will focus 
on his work to understand and control infection after trauma, research 
he has worked extensively on at the University of Louisville for more 
than a decade.
  Hiram received his medical degree from Harvard University in 1960, 
and 11 years later he accepted a position at the University of 
Louisville. At the age of 35, Hiram was named chairman of surgery at 
the university, making him one of the youngest surgery department 
chairmen in the Nation.
  His research on surgery infection began in 1969, and he says it still 
has a long way to go. He best describes his work in a recent article 
from the Courier Journal, ``you keep hoping for a breakthrough. But in 
fact * * * you're crawling your way up the Washington Monument one step 
at a time.'' And you can bet, Hiram will continue his research on 
surgical infections for years to come.
  Mr. President, I commend Dr. Hiram C. Polk, Jr., for his outstanding 
service to the University of Louisville and to the entire medical 
community. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the hard work 
of this outstanding Kentuckian and to congratulate him on his induction 
as an honorary fellow into the Royal College of Surgeons.


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