The Wayne State University School of Medicine Alumni Association recognized an outstanding member of the faculty and two graduates during a dinner capping the annual Medical Alumni Reunion & Clinic Day.

The three men were recognized at a reunion dinner following a day of continuing medical education at the School of Medicine. The event allowed members of graduating classes to reconvene and catch up with their classmates.

The awards were presented by Dean Robert M. Mentzer Jr., M.D., and Gregory Zemenick, M.D., president of the Wayne State University School of Medicine Alumni Association.

Michael P. Diamond, M.D., received the 2009 Lawrence M. Weiner Award, which honors outstanding contributions of non-alumni to the School of Medicine through the exceptional performance of teaching, research or administrative duties.

Dr. Diamond is the Kamran S. Moghissi Professor and associate chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and assistant dean for Clinical and Translational Research at the School of Medicine. He became director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at WSU in 1994. He conducted seminal studies that led to the classification (and differentiation) of post operative de novo adhesions from adhesion reformation after open and laparoscopic surgery. He serves as WSU’s principal investigator on the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Cooperative Reproductive Medicine Network grant, and has conducted clinical trails on diagnosis of luteal phase defects and ovulation induction for women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, as well as collaborated in trials examining the effect of organochlorines on male factor infertility and studies examining the effect of testosterone replacement on cognitive function in hypogonadal men. He has served on multiple study sections and special review committees for the National Institutes of Health, as well as international granting agencies. Dr. Diamond has also served on the Obstetrics and Gynecology Device Panel of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health of the Food and Drug Administration.

He is actively involved in enhancing infrastructure and educational opportunities to conduct clinical and translational research at Wayne State University.

The 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Leonard Shlain, M.D., (Class of 1961), and Allan Collins, M.D., F.A.C.P., (Class of 1975). The award is presented annually to alumni who have made outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes, whose contributions to the health field in the broader sense are outstanding or for service to the School of Medicine.

Dr. Collins has more than 25 years of experience in nephrology and end-stage renal disease treatment. His clinical experience and research have focused on acute and chronic care of ESRD patients and prospective and retrospective focused clinical studies on dialysis techniques and associated outcomes. He has also performed extensive work with high-efficiency dialysis and therapy prescription, the technical elements of dialysis, billing systems of ICD-9 and CPT-4 claims elements, and computer systems and operations.

He trained under Dr. Fred L. Shapiro, an innovator in kidney disease care and founder of the Regional Kidney Disease Program, the first program of its kind for dialysis and transplant patients. Dr. Collins served as the RKDP medical director, and assumed responsibility for research operations in 1983.

Building on RKDP data systems and biostatistical support, Dr. Collins and the National Academy of Sciences created a comprehensive ESRD database of demographic, clinical and provider information capable of answering a variety of observational research questions. With a research agenda expanded to include chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, anemia, dementia and other chronic conditions, Chronic Disease Research Group investigators use large public and private pharmaceuticals, claims and clinical databases to analyze healthcare practices and systems, and evaluate their impact on morbidity, survival, quality of life and healthcare costs.

Dr. Shlain, M.D., was a 1961 graduate of the Wayne State University School of Medicine. He was battling brain cancer and could not attend the event at which he was recognized. He died several days after the ceremony.

He was a surgeon and author of three award-winning books: “Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time & Light,” “The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image,” which achieved national bestseller status, and “Sex, Time, and Power: How Women’s Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution,” which also achieved best-seller status.

Dr. Shlain was a keynote speaker for such diverse groups as the Smithsonian, Harvard, Florence Academy of Art, Salk Institute, Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center and the European Union Ministers of Culture.

He was the chairman of laparoscopic surgery at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. He was an associate clinical professor of surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, where he has trained many future surgeons in the techniques of laparoscopic surgery.