Bruce C. Kone
Encyclopedia
Bruce C. Kone, M.D. is an American
professor, nephrologist, administrator, and molecular biologist. He is currently professor of medicine
at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
, he was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He attended Pine Crest Preparatory School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was a scholar-athlete awardee, All-American swimmer, and selected to the Athletic Hall of Fame and the Arete Society. In 1979, he received his A.B. in English (cum laude) and captained the varsity swimming team at Princeton University
. He then completed his M.D.
(Honors in Research) at the University of Florida College of Medicine
in 1983, a residency in internal medicine
at the Johns Hopkins Hospital
, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and a nephrology
fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital
, Harvard Medical School
.
Kone held faculty positions at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (1989–91) and the University of Florida College of Medicine
(1991–95) before joining the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 1995. He was selected by Nobel Laureate Ferid Murad
to be the inaugural chief of the division of clinical pharmacology (1998–99). Kone then went on to be director of the division of renal diseases and hypertension (2000–06), vice chairman (2000–03) and then chairman (2004–07) of the department of internal medicine (2004–07), and inaugural holder of The James T. and Nancy B. Willerson Chair (2001–07) at that institution. He also served as the chief of nephrology (2000–06) and of internal medicine (2004–07) at Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center Hospital and chief of the section of nephrology at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (2000–06). In 2007, at the age of 49, he became the youngest medical school dean in the United States when he was appointed the Folke H. Peterson/Dean's Distinguished Professor and eighth Dean of the University of Florida College of Medicine
. As dean, he played a lead role in establishing a partnership between the University of Florida and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute and Shands HealthCare
for cancer care and research, and recruited an internationally regarded leader in cancer care and research, Joseph V. Simone, M.D., to lead the University of Florida and Shands Cancer Center. Kone also championed new clinical quality, access, and safety initiatives. During his tenure as dean, the number of clinical specialties at the UF-affiliated Shands Teaching Hospital recognized in the U.S. News and World Report rankings of "America's Best Hospitals" increased from 7 to 11, Shands Healthcare was selected for the Governor's Sterling Award for performance excellence, the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute was established, and state funding to the University of Florida for medical education increased for the first time in seven years. Kone also championed diversity and gender equity, expanding the Office of Minority Affairs, appointing the first African-American as chairman of a department at the University of Florida College of Medicine, and appointing women to endowed professorships department chair, and associate dean positions.
In May 2008, University of Florida president J. Bernard Machen abruptly "relieved" Kone of his duties as Dean of the University of Florida College of Medicine
amid controversy regarding Kone's decision --- publicly supported by Machen --- to override the medical selection committee and admit the son of a politically active physician who was personally recommended by Governor Charlie Crist and State Senate President Ken Pruitt,
which was disclosed when medical selection committee members illegally breached the accepted student's confidentiality to the press, and Kone's objections regarding "deals" that had been struck by his predecessor C. Craig TIsher, M.D. and senior administrative officials to rehire senior administrators who had completed the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP), in particular the continued employment in an endowed position of senior associate dean Robert W. Watson, M.D. Kone defended his decision to override the medical selection committee in public statements, and in a letter to the editor of Academic Medicine. The University of Florida investigated the DROP matter and concluded that senior UF officials violated the spirit of a University policy by receiving DROP payouts to retire and then be rehired without searches for other candidates, in some cases also receiving perks such as bonuses and raises. The report also concluded that Kone's refusal to honor the Watson agreement prevented violation of law. On June 18, 2009, Florida Governor Crist signed into law the "Double-dipping Reform Bill" to prevent state employees from simultaneously collecting retirement benefits and a salary. On June 30, 2009, Kone resigned from the University of Florida to return to the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and received a settlement award of $517,000 from the University of Florida Board of Trustees.
, the American College of Physicians
, the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, the American Society of Nephrology
, and the American Heart Association
, and a member of the American Clinical and Climatological Association He received an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association
, and has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health
for his kidney research since 1986. He was President of the Southern Society of Clinical Investigation, and a member of the Leadership Council on the Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease of the American Heart Association.
He has served as an associate editor of Clinical and Translational Science
, and a member of the editorial boards of the American Journal of Physiology: Renal Physiology, the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Kidney International, the American Journal of Medicine
, and the World Journal of Biological Chemistry. Kone has served on the Florida Tobacco Education and Use Prevention Advisory Council of the Florida Department of Health, the Board of the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System Physicians of Texas, Houston, Texas, and was President and Chairman of the University of Florida Proton Therapy
Institute. He is a member of the Public Policy Committee of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology. He was selected by his peers to "Best Doctors in America 2005-2010 and to Marquis "Who's Who In America" and "Who's Who in the World" in 2009 - 2011, and "Who's Who in Science and Engineering" in 2010 and 2011. Kone is also recognized as a highly ranked competitive swimmer in United States Masters Swimming, being named All-American in 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professor, nephrologist, administrator, and molecular biologist. He is currently professor of medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
History
A naturalized citizen of the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He attended Pine Crest Preparatory School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was a scholar-athlete awardee, All-American swimmer, and selected to the Athletic Hall of Fame and the Arete Society. In 1979, he received his A.B. in English (cum laude) and captained the varsity swimming team at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. He then completed his M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
(Honors in Research) at the University of Florida College of Medicine
University of Florida College of Medicine
The University of Florida College of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Florida. It is part of the J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center, with facilities in Gainesville and Jacksonville...
in 1983, a residency in internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
at the Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...
, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and a nephrology
Nephrology
Nephrology is a branch of internal medicine and pediatrics dealing with the study of the function and diseases of the kidney.-Scope of the specialty:...
fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital is the largest hospital of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts. It is directly adjacent to Harvard Medical School of which it is the second largest teaching affiliate with 793 beds...
, Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
.
Kone held faculty positions at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (1989–91) and the University of Florida College of Medicine
University of Florida College of Medicine
The University of Florida College of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Florida. It is part of the J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center, with facilities in Gainesville and Jacksonville...
(1991–95) before joining the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 1995. He was selected by Nobel Laureate Ferid Murad
Ferid Murad
Ferid Murad is an Albanian-American physician and pharmacologist, and a co-winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He is also an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo.- Life :...
to be the inaugural chief of the division of clinical pharmacology (1998–99). Kone then went on to be director of the division of renal diseases and hypertension (2000–06), vice chairman (2000–03) and then chairman (2004–07) of the department of internal medicine (2004–07), and inaugural holder of The James T. and Nancy B. Willerson Chair (2001–07) at that institution. He also served as the chief of nephrology (2000–06) and of internal medicine (2004–07) at Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center Hospital and chief of the section of nephrology at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (2000–06). In 2007, at the age of 49, he became the youngest medical school dean in the United States when he was appointed the Folke H. Peterson/Dean's Distinguished Professor and eighth Dean of the University of Florida College of Medicine
University of Florida College of Medicine
The University of Florida College of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Florida. It is part of the J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center, with facilities in Gainesville and Jacksonville...
. As dean, he played a lead role in establishing a partnership between the University of Florida and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute and Shands HealthCare
Shands HealthCare
Shands HealthCare is a medical network in north-central Florida, named in 2007 to the U.S. News & World Report list of the nation's top 50 hospitals.-History:William A. Shands was a Florida state Senator, elected from the 32nd District in the mid-1940s...
for cancer care and research, and recruited an internationally regarded leader in cancer care and research, Joseph V. Simone, M.D., to lead the University of Florida and Shands Cancer Center. Kone also championed new clinical quality, access, and safety initiatives. During his tenure as dean, the number of clinical specialties at the UF-affiliated Shands Teaching Hospital recognized in the U.S. News and World Report rankings of "America's Best Hospitals" increased from 7 to 11, Shands Healthcare was selected for the Governor's Sterling Award for performance excellence, the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute was established, and state funding to the University of Florida for medical education increased for the first time in seven years. Kone also championed diversity and gender equity, expanding the Office of Minority Affairs, appointing the first African-American as chairman of a department at the University of Florida College of Medicine, and appointing women to endowed professorships department chair, and associate dean positions.
In May 2008, University of Florida president J. Bernard Machen abruptly "relieved" Kone of his duties as Dean of the University of Florida College of Medicine
University of Florida College of Medicine
The University of Florida College of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Florida. It is part of the J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center, with facilities in Gainesville and Jacksonville...
amid controversy regarding Kone's decision --- publicly supported by Machen --- to override the medical selection committee and admit the son of a politically active physician who was personally recommended by Governor Charlie Crist and State Senate President Ken Pruitt,
which was disclosed when medical selection committee members illegally breached the accepted student's confidentiality to the press, and Kone's objections regarding "deals" that had been struck by his predecessor C. Craig TIsher, M.D. and senior administrative officials to rehire senior administrators who had completed the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP), in particular the continued employment in an endowed position of senior associate dean Robert W. Watson, M.D. Kone defended his decision to override the medical selection committee in public statements, and in a letter to the editor of Academic Medicine. The University of Florida investigated the DROP matter and concluded that senior UF officials violated the spirit of a University policy by receiving DROP payouts to retire and then be rehired without searches for other candidates, in some cases also receiving perks such as bonuses and raises. The report also concluded that Kone's refusal to honor the Watson agreement prevented violation of law. On June 18, 2009, Florida Governor Crist signed into law the "Double-dipping Reform Bill" to prevent state employees from simultaneously collecting retirement benefits and a salary. On June 30, 2009, Kone resigned from the University of Florida to return to the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and received a settlement award of $517,000 from the University of Florida Board of Trustees.
Honors
Kone is a Fellow of the AAASFellow of the AAAS
Fellow of the AAAS is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected annually by the AAAS Council for "efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications [which] are...
, the American College of Physicians
American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is a national organization of doctors of internal medicine —physicians who specialize in the prevention, detection, and treatment of illnesses in adults. With 130,000 members, ACP is the largest medical-specialty organization and second-largest physician group in...
, the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, the American Society of Nephrology
American Society of Nephrology
Founded in 1966, the American Society of Nephrology is the world’s largest professional society devoted to the study of kidney disease. Composed of 11,000 physicians and scientists, ASN promotes expert patient care, advances medical research, and educates the renal community...
, and the American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
, and a member of the American Clinical and Climatological Association He received an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
, and has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
for his kidney research since 1986. He was President of the Southern Society of Clinical Investigation, and a member of the Leadership Council on the Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease of the American Heart Association.
He has served as an associate editor of Clinical and Translational Science
Clinical and Translational Science
Clinical and Translational Science is a peer-reviewed medical journal published six times per year by Wiley-Blackwell. It is an official journal of the Society for Clinical and Translational Science and the Association for Patient Oriented Research. The journal was established in 2008 and is edited...
, and a member of the editorial boards of the American Journal of Physiology: Renal Physiology, the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Kidney International, the American Journal of Medicine
American Journal of Medicine
The American Journal of Medicine is the official medical journal of the Association of Professors of Medicine, publishing original clinical research in internal medicine of interest to physicians in academia and in community based practice...
, and the World Journal of Biological Chemistry. Kone has served on the Florida Tobacco Education and Use Prevention Advisory Council of the Florida Department of Health, the Board of the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System Physicians of Texas, Houston, Texas, and was President and Chairman of the University of Florida Proton Therapy
Proton therapy
Proton therapy is a type of particle therapy which uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often in the treatment of cancer. The chief advantage of proton therapy is the ability to more precisely localize the radiation dosage when compared with other types of external beam...
Institute. He is a member of the Public Policy Committee of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology. He was selected by his peers to "Best Doctors in America 2005-2010 and to Marquis "Who's Who In America" and "Who's Who in the World" in 2009 - 2011, and "Who's Who in Science and Engineering" in 2010 and 2011. Kone is also recognized as a highly ranked competitive swimmer in United States Masters Swimming, being named All-American in 2010.