[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 23, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO DR. FRANCINE R. KAUFMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 23, 2016

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Francine R. (Fran) 
Kaufman, renowned pediatric endocrinologist, author, consultant, 
professor, researcher, and corporate officer in the medical field of 
diabetes. Dr. Kaufman is being honored by The Executives of the Los 
Angeles Jewish Homes at their 19th Annual Circle of Life Gala, for her 
extraordinary contributions in the medical field.
  Born in 1951, Fran grew up in Chicago with her parents and two 
siblings. According to Fran, she believes she decided to become a 
doctor when she was about four years old, under the direction of her 
father, who was a physician. After attending Northwestern University, 
she obtained her medical degree from Chicago Medical School, 
specializing in Pediatric Medicine with a sub specialty of 
Endocrinology and Metabolism.
  In 1980, Dr. Kaufman was appointed as an Instructor in Clinical 
Pediatrics at the University of Southern California (USC); in 1997 she 
became Professor of Pediatrics at USC; and in 2001 she accepted the 
position as the Head of the Center of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and 
Metabolism at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Currently, Fran is the 
Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Global, Medical, and Health 
Affairs at Medtronic, Inc., a Distinguished Professor Emerita of 
Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and at Children's 
Hospital Los Angeles.
  Some of Fran's professional volunteer positions include serving as a 
Delegate to the World Health Organization Assembly in Switzerland, a 
California Delegate to the Healthy School Summit in Washington, D.C. 
and the California Task Force on Childhood Obesity. In addition, she 
was President of the American Diabetes Association, Chair of the Youth 
Consultative Section of the International Diabetes Federation, Chair of 
the National Diabetes Education Program, a member of the Advisory 
Council of the Diabetes Branch of the National Institutes of Health, 
and is currently a member of the National Association of Medicine, 
among other organizations.
  Dr. Kaufman has received numerous awards, including the Juvenile 
Diabetes Research Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, the American 
Association of Diabetes Educators Living Legend Award, the McGovern 
American Medical Writers Award, the California Public Health Advocacy 
Award, and the Charles Siegel Disability Rights Legal Center Award of 
Loyola Law School. Consistently included in the annual ``Best Doctors 
in America'' list, she has been recognized by the California State 
Senate and the Los Angeles City Council for her health advocacy 
efforts, and nominated by former Congressman Henry Waxman as a Local 
Legend of Medicine. She is also a member of Phi Kappa Phi, USC's 
honorary society, and was awarded their Undergraduate Writers 
Humanitarian Award. In 2009, she received a Telly Award for starring in 
and authoring Diabetes: The Global Epidemic, the Discovery Health 
Documentary.
  Dr. Kaufman is married to Dr. Neal Kaufman, MD. She and her husband 
have two sons, Adam and Jonah, and four grandchildren, Maya, Dylan, 
Logan and Cassia.
  I ask all Members to join me in recognizing Dr. Francine R. Kaufman 
for her significant contributions to the medical field for more than 
three decades.

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