Pierce E. Scranton Jr., MD, who received a “Finalist” award in the Fiction/Thriller category from USA BookNews.com, an independent literary review organization, for his new novel, Death on the Learning Curve, a story of the events that constitute a young surgical resident’s training.

Elliot Menkowitz, MD, who has been appointed chairman of the board of advisors to Doctor’s Advocate, a prepaid legal fee program formed to protect healthcare providers from frivolous medical liability lawsuits; Dr. Menkowitz is also the company’s founder and medical director.

Daniel Pratt, a professor at the University of British Columbia and a member of the Orthopaedic Educators Course faculty, who has received the 2008 3M National Teaching Fellowship, widely recognized as Canada’s most prestigious university teaching award.

New officers for the Cervical Spine Research Society (CSRS) were recently elected at the CSRS annual meeting: Thomas A. Zdeblick, MD, president; Ronald I. Apfelbaum, MD, past president; Todd J. Albert, MD, president-elect; John G. Heller, MD, vice president; Sanford E. Emery, MD, MBA, treasurer.

Alfred Atanda, MD, the recipient of the J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society (JRGOS) 2008 International Traveling Fellowship, which provides opportunities for JRGOS members to visit and work in a country in need of orthopaedic care. Dr. Atanda was born and raised in New Jersey; his family, however, is originally from Ghana, West Africa.