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SUNY honors Sharon Brangman, M.D., as Distinguished Service Professor

SYRACUSE, N.Y.-- Sharon Brangman, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of geriatrics at Upstate Medical University, has received the Distinguished Service Professorship from SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher.

The Distinguished Service Professorship is granted to individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary service at SUNY and in their community, as well as through regional and state outreach. Appointment constitutes a promotion to the State University’s highest academic rank, and it is conferred solely by the State University Board of Trustees.

Upstate’s interim president, Gregory L. Eastwood, M.D., praised Brangman’s selection for the honor. “I have known Sharon Brangman over 20 years and my admiration and affection for her is still growing,” he said. “I marvel at her combination of work ethic, modest demeanor, and remarkable accomplishments. She is a leader who leads by doing and inspiring and she makes me proud to be at Upstate.”

Brangman has spent more than 25 years on the Upstate faculty. In that time, her influence has extended far beyond the Upstate campus. In 2010-11, Brangman served as president of the American Geriatric Society (AGS). In 2011-12, she served as chair of the ACS board of directors. She served as an expert panelist at the White House Conference on Aging and Agenda Development and was a member of the National Advisory Committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s project Building Health Systems for People with Chronic Illnesses. She is a fellow of the American Geriatrics Society and American College of Physicians, and has been named one of the “Best Doctors of the North East Region.

It is her work at Upstate that brings Brangman the most joy. “I am very honored to receive this recognition at this time in my career. It is especially gratifying to be acknowledged for doing work that I enjoy so much. I appreciate the support I have received over the years from colleagues, friends and my family,” she said.

Brangman says her primary motivation has always been to improve medical care for older adults. “Over the years I have come to realize that as much as I enjoy direct patient care, there are many other factors that relate to good medical care for my patients. This spurred my work on geriatric education, research and working on local and national policies that all impact my patients,” she said.

In addition to professor of medicine and chief of geriatrics, she heads Upstate’s Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program and directs the Central New York Alzheimer’s Disease Assistance Center.

Brangman earned her undergraduate degree at Syracuse University, medical degree at Upstate Medical University in 1981, and completed her residency and fellowship at Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center in 1984 and 1988, respectively. Brangman was appointed to the faculty at Upstate in 1989.

Brangman resides in Dewitt with her family.

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