William A. Peck, MD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Medicine, director of the Center for Health Policy and former dean of the School of Medicine, will present “Health Care in America: Transforming the Citadel,” for the Weidenbaum Center Forum at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 11, in Whitaker Hall, Room 100 on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis.
Peck will provide insight into the changing health care system in America.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Health Policy, the event is free and open to the public.
Under Peck’s leadership, the School of Medicine emerged as the nation’s most academically selective medical school.
A renowned internist, Peck is known for his research on bone and mineral metabolism. He has written more than 100 scientific publications about bone cell function and the causes of osteoporosis.
He developed the first method for directly studying the structure, function and growth of bone cells and determined mechanisms by which hormones regulate bone function.
Peck was the founding president of the National Osteoporosis Foundation and has served in leadership positions of several other national organizations, including the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
He has served as an adviser to such organizations as the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
His numerous awards and honors include a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Career Program Award, the Washington University Clinical Teacher of the Year Award and the FDA Commissioner’s Award. He also received an honorary degree in 2000 from his medical school alma mater, the University of Rochester, and is listed in Who’s Who in America.
Peck earned a bachelor’s degree with honors from Harvard College in 1954 and a medical degree with honors in 1960 from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He was an intern and resident at Barnes Hospital and completed two fellowships in metabolism, one at the university and the other at the NIH.
He spent 10 years on the faculty at Rochester before joining the School of Medicine in 1976 as the John E. and Adaline Simon Professor of Medicine, co-chairman of the Department of Medicine and physician-in-chief at Jewish Hospital.
Peck later became the first person to serve as both dean of the medical school and executive vice chancellor for medical affairs.