[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9852]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DR. RICHARD GAMELLI

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to the important 
work of the president of the American Burn Association, Dr. Richard 
Gamelli of the Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, as he 
approaches the end of his distinguished service in that position. Under 
Dr. Gamelli's leadership, the American Burn Association has worked 
tirelessly to improve the first line of defense: the prevention of burn 
injuries.
  The ABA encourages and supports burn-related research, education, 
care, rehabilitation, and prevention through a variety of programs and 
publications, including the production of the leading peer-reviewed, 
scientific journal in the burn field, the Journal of Burn Care & 
Rehabilitation. During Dr. Gamelli's tenure, the ABA has worked to 
improve emergency response systems and to incorporate burn care into 
our Nation's disaster preparedness systems in light of new threats to 
the United States. Under Dr. Gamelli's guidance, the ABA has expanded 
its reach and established its position at the forefront of its field. 
Many physicians, nurses, and health care workers who are members of the 
ABA are currently on the front lines, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan 
and treating America's injured soldiers.
  As professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at the Loyola 
University Medical Center, Dr. Gamelli has dedicated his life to 
advancing clinical treatment of burn victims, accident and trauma 
victims and others whose medical needs are among the most difficult and 
dire a doctor ever sees. As a teacher he has provided guidance to high 
school students, college students, medical students, residents, 
graduate students, colleagues and others, encouraging them always to 
strive for excellence and look for new answers. As a researcher he has 
helped his department secure funding for more than 20 years from the 
National Institutes of Health. He is nationally and internationally 
recognized for his research and has authored more than 150 scientific 
articles, 23 book chapters, and 8 books.
  In 1997 and 2000 Dr. Gamelli was named by Chicago Magazine as one of 
``Chicago's Top Doctors,'' and in 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989 and 
1990, he was named Professor of the Year by the medical students at 
Loyola. He was selected by the faculty council of Loyola University 
Chicago as the 2002 member of the year for his excellence in teaching, 
research, patient care and service. In light of his extraordinary 
record of achievement, his alma mater, Saint Michael's College, 
inducted Dr. Gamelli into the inaugural class of its Alumni Academic 
Hall of Fame in 2002.
  Having served the ABA admirably, Dr. Gamelli recently stepped down as 
ABA president at this year's annual meeting. I want to take this 
opportunity to acknowledge and thank Dr. Gamelli for his distinguished 
service and for his ongoing contributions to the American people and 
the medical community, and I wish him all the best in the future.

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