Peck to speak at medical school Commencement

William A. Peck, MD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Health Policy at Washington University in St. Louis, will be the keynote speaker at Washington University School of Medicine’s 2012 Commencement.

The ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. May 18 in the Ferrara Theater at the America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, Mo.

Peck was the first person to serve simultaneously as dean of the School of Medicine and as executive vice chancellor for medical affairs. In these positions, coupled with his role as president of the Washington University Medical Center, the School of Medicine became one of the nation’s leading centers for medical research and academic clinical practice. It also emerged as the most academically select medical school in the nation.

Peck

Under his leadership, the medical school established the Center for Advanced Medicine, which houses outpatient clinics, the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center and markedly expanded its research programs and facilities.

Since stepping down as dean and establishing the Center for Health Policy in 2003, Peck has become a nationally recognized leader in health policy, with a particular emphasis on in the disparities in access to care, rising costs, workforce shortages and errors and inefficiencies in providing medical care.

Prior to his deanship, as a renowned endocrinologist, Peck wrote more than 100 scientific publications, including original research in bone and mineral metabolism. His major scientific contributions include the development of the first method to study directly the structure, function and growth of bone cells. He also demonstrated the mechanisms that allow hormones to regulate bone cell function and examined of the causes of osteoporosis. He was featured on national media, including PBS’ McNeil Lehrer Report, ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS Morning News.

He is a member of the Institute of Medicine (of the National Academies of Science), past chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges and received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Rochester, among many other awards.

For information about other Commencement ceremonies and receptions within the School of Medicine, visit the Commencement 2012 Schedule of Events.