The Hellenic Medical Society Honors Dr. Anastasia Anagnostopoulos with the 2016 Dr. Mary Kalopothakes Distinguished Female Physician/Scientist Award

By NEO Magazine on May 1, 2016

On Wednesday, April 6^th, 2016, the Hellenic Medical Society of NY held the 5th annual Dr. Mary Kalopothakes Distinguished Female Physician/Scientist Award Symposium at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC. The Hellenic Medical Society of NY began honoring and recognizing female medical physicians in 2011, under the leadership of then President Dr. Nicholas Mezitis after the concept was proposed by then Vice President Dr. Stella Lymberis. The conference was named after Dr. Mary Kalopothakes at the suggestion of Dr. Stella Lymberis which was unanimously accepted by the Executive Board of the Society. The conference is held annually and features female speakers exclusively and awards a female physician or scientist of Hellenic descent.

This year Dr. Anastasia Anagnostopoulos, M.D., Chair of the Department of Pathology and Medical Director of Laboratories at Saint Francis Hospital, The Heart Center in Roslyn, NY, and Medical Director of Laboratories at the Infusion center of Saint Francis Hospital in East Hills, NY was awarded the Dr. Mary Kalopothakes award which recognizes the accomplishments of women in medicine.

Dr. Anastasia Anagnostopoulos with her members of her family and members of the Hellenic Medical Society Board, PHOTOS: ETA PRESS

Dr. Anagnostopoulos earned her Medical Degree from the University of Athens Medical School. She had an Internship in surgery at the General Hospital of Rethemnon, Crete, before coming to the United States where she completed her training in pathology. She met her husband, a clinical cardiologist in Rethymno, Crete during medical training. Despite a limited knowledge of English when they both came to the US, Dr. Anagnostopoulos was determined to complete her training and practice medicine in the US. She worked hard to learn and master the English language, managing to complete her residency training, meanwhile raising a family of two children. She succeeded to climb the academic ranks in the field of Pathology and held many leadership and administrative titles during her long career.

Dr. Julia Smith, during her speech, PHOTOS: ETA PRESS

Anastasia Anagnostopoulos, M.D., F.C. A. P., FASCP, has had a long illustrative career spanning three decades at St. Frances Hospital. She oversees the Clinical and Anatomical Laboratories and the Blood Bank. She joined the hospital as an Associated Pathologist in 1983, before becoming Director of Laboratories in 1993. Dr. Anagnostopoulos was an Assistant Clinical Professor at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons and is a member of several Committees at St. Francis, including: The Chair’s Committee, the Medical Executive Committee, the Cancer Committee, the Tissue and Procedures Committee, the Continuing Medical Education Committee and the Blood Utilization Committee of which she was the Chair for 20 years.

HMS President George Liakeas with past Presidents George Tsioulias and Spyros Mezitis along with Dr. George Patoulis, President of Athens Medical Association and member of the HMS Board, PHOTOS: ETA PRESS

Dr. Anagnostopoulos is a fellow of the College of American Pathologist (CAP), a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and a member of the Hellenic Medical Society of New York. She is a Certified Pathologist, by the American Board of Pathology. During her keynote lecture, she lectured on lung cancer informing attendees of current guidelines and commendations for this grave illness, outlining the risk factors, early detection, screening guidelines, classification, staging and predictive and prognostic molecular studies of lung cancer.

The Honoree, Dr. Anastasia Anagnostopoulos, PHOTOS: ETA PRESS

During the CME-accredited symposium, Dr. Julia Smith also gave an important lecture on the role of genetic screening for women at increased risk for cancer. Julia A. Smith, M.D., Ph.D. is Clinical Director, Cancer Screening Program Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center Project for Women with Increased Risk for Cancer and Director, NYU and Bellevue Lynne Cohen Foundation & Caring Together. She spoke on the importance of screening patients for atypical cancer family histories and offering a genetic blood test to rule out the possibility of a genetic mutation. Management of these patients varies greatly depending on the result of the test. The event was sponsored by Myriad Genetics.

Mary Kalopothakes was born in Athens in 1859, the daughter of Michael D. Kalopothakes a medical doctor from Athens, Greece, and of Martha Hooper Blackler from Marblehead, Massachussetts, USA. She studied at Greek and American schools and graduated from the Harvard Annex (now Radcliffe College). She is the first Hellenic American female to complete medical training and to practice medicine. HMS NY honors her memory annually via this award recognizing Hellenic women in medicine.

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