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The J. Edson Pontes, MD, Endowed Chair in Andrology honors two individuals: Dr. Pontes, its namesake (pictured left), and Dr. Dhabuwala, its recipient. The
School of Medicine has received a $1.5 million gift for an endowed chair
in the Department of Urology. The intention of the donor, who wishes to
remain anonymous, is to honor department chair, Dr. J. Edson Pontes, and
to further research and academic pursuits in men’s medicine. Named The
J. Edson Pontes, MD, Endowed Chair in Andrology, the endowment will
support research in male diseases, especially the reproductive organs. In
2000, Dr. Pontes marked his 10th year as department chair.
Born in Brazil, he received his undergraduate and medical education at
the Federal University of Ceara. Dr. Pontes first came to the United
States in 1966, interning at Detroit’s Grace Hospital. Following a
surgical residency at Wayne State University, he served on the School of
Medicine faculty for seven years. Leaving Michigan during the 1980s, he
held two positions as head of urologic oncology, first at the State
University of New York at Buffalo and its Roswell Park unit and
subsequently at the Cleveland Clinic. Since 1990, when he returned to
the School of Medicine, he has served as chair of the urology department
and as specialist-in-chief at the Detroit Medical Center. Dr.
Pontes has compiled a distinguished academic record of publications and
professional accomplishments. A founding member of the Society of
Urologic Oncology, he is respected internationally for the quality of
his research, especially in the area of prostate cancer. He has played a
prominent role in Wayne State University President Irvin Reid’s global
initiative to expand the university’s presence around the world. As an
academic administrator, Dr. Pontes is widely admired by his department
faculty, whose members cite his “charismatic, and consistently upbeat
leadership style and engaging personal qualities.” Chirpriya
Dhabuwala, MD, associated with the School of Medicine for nearly 25
years, will be the first to hold the Pontes chair. A professor of
urology, Dr. Dhabuwala was educated at Bombay University in his native
India and in the United Kingdom. From 1977 until 1981, he received
advanced medical training at Wayne State, completing a surgical
fellowship and a residency in urology. Among Dr. Dhabuwala’s research
interests are environmental factors impacting male fertility and
treatment of post surgical prostate cancer patients, areas he describes
as “relatively unrecognized” until recent years. Adding that he is
gratified by his selection as the Pontes chair, he cites Edson Pontes’
stature as “an internationally-known medical scientist, an excellent
administrator and a good man -- an exemplary individual with whom I have
enjoyed working.”
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