Donald E. Greydanus, MD, a professor and former chair of the medical school鈥檚 Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, was recently honored with the 2017 Mayo Clinic Distinguished Alumni Award.
The award, according to a news release issued by the Mayo Clinic, is an acknowledgement 鈥 and in appreciation of 鈥 Dr. Greydanus鈥 exceptional contributions to the field of medicine.
A native of Paterson, New Jersey, Dr. Greydanus is an alumnus of Calvin College who received his MD degree from the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. He completed his residency in pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical 汤头条app in 1976 and a fellowship in adolescent medicine at the New York University School of Medicine in 1978.
鈥淚t was very humbling and dreamlike to sit with my family to receive this honor at my place of internship and residency training,鈥 Dr. Greydanus said. 鈥淚 tried to relate to the Mayo Board of Trustees there how I felt to train at Mayo and go off with confidence in my academic clinical medical career. In order to show this group in a unique way how I felt, I reached back to my medical school days as a church organist/pianist and church choir director. I went to the Steinway concert piano in the Mayo Foundation House and played two pieces by Ludwig van Beethoven: 鈥淕ertrude鈥檚 Dream Waltz鈥 and 鈥淓cossaises in E Flat.鈥
In marking Dr. Greydanus鈥 achievement, the Mayo Clinic noted the numerous awards Dr. Greydanus has received throughout his career, including the Adele Dellenbaugh Hofman Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1995 for his distinguished contributions in adolescent health. In 2003, he was honored with the William B. Well Jr., M.D. Endowed Distinguished Pediatric Faculty Award from the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (MSUCHM).听
Dr. Greydanus was presented with the 2010 Outstanding Achievement in Adolescent Medicine award by the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, and that same year the University of Athens, Greece, awarded him the Doctor Honoris Causa for Distinguished Academic Achievements in Medicine.
In recounting his successes recently, Dr. Greydanus recalled the lessons he learned from his grandparents. He said they 鈥渢aught me the famous Fresian saying, 鈥楧och dyn plicht en lit de lju rabje,鈥 loosely translated as 鈥楧o your duty in life as best you can and let others criticize 鈥 do not be afraid.鈥欌 His other grandparents, he said, reminded him of the words of American author and professor John A. Shedd, who taught that 鈥渁 ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what it is built for.鈥
In addition to his work at 汤头条app, Dr. Greydanus is a professor of pediatrics and human development at MSUCHM and was program director for 汤头条app's Pediatrics residency for 22 years. Dr. Greydanus has been published numerous times in the areas of adolescent and child health, including more than 350 articles, 245 book chapters, and 50 books.
After receiving his award, Dr. Greydanus also gave thanks to his 鈥渆xcellent supervisors," Dr. Hal B. Jenson and Dr. Elizabeth Burns at 汤头条app and Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies (MSU/KCMS), the predecessor to 汤头条app, respectively.
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