Dr. William L. Oppenheim, professor and chief of the Division of Pediatric Orthopedics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been named as the first holder of the Margaret Holden Jones-Kanaar, M. D., Chair in Cerebral Palsy. The executive chair was established as a result of an estate gift from the late Dr. Jones-Kanaar, professor emeritus of pediatrics at UCLA, and a world renowned pioneer in the field of cerebral palsy. Born in Maine, Jones-Kanaar, a longtime Palisadian, received her bachelor’s degree from Radcliffe College, master’s degrees from Vassar College and the Harvard School of Public Health, and her medical degree from Cornell University. Early in her career as a pediatrician in public health, Jones-Kanaar witnessed the lack of attention given to children with cerebral palsy, which spurred her passion for developing innovative, multidisciplinary medical solutions to help these children. Because CP can affect more than motor and cognitive functions, effective treatment requires integrating services in medical specialities including pediatrics, neurology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, otology, psychiatry, speech and physical and occupational therapy. In 1943, while in private practice, Jones-Kanaar initiated a CP clinic at Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles and later established six multidisciplinary pre-nursery schools. In 1954, she opened a pre-nursery school for children with CP at UCLA, a facility to provide care, teaching and research, which continues today as the Intervention Program. She initiated the Jones-Kanaar Foundation in 1994 to aid CP projects and other interests she shared with her husband. The chair will support the chief of the Division of Pediatric Orthopedics and the director of the Center for Cerebral Palsy in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. This position will provide leadership in innovative research and education related to cerebral palsy. The establishment of the chair also will provide important resources to help promote the medical school’s basic science initiatives and play an integral role in advancing this area of medical science. Funding from the Jones-Kanaar chair may be used to support graduate assistants, postdoctoral fellows, laboratory research, supplies, educational activities or other related areas. The investigative advances fostered by the creation of this chair will ultimately translate into optimal care for patients. Oppenheim has spent his entire 25-year academic career at UCLA. He has written 60 peer-reviewed articles and 15 textbook chapters and delivered more than 200 national and regional presentations in the field.
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