image: Charles C.J. Carpenter, M.D., winner of the 2007 Robert H. Williams, M.D., Distinguished Chair of Medicine Award. view more
Credit: Robin Blossom, Lifespan.
Providence, RI – Charles C.J. Carpenter, MD, founder of the Immunology Center at The Miriam Hospital and professor of medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, was recently honored for more than 50 years of excellence in internal medicine as the recipient of the Robert H. Williams, MD, Distinguished Chair of Medicine Award. The award is given by The Association of Professors of Medicine (APM) and was presented to Carpenter at the APM Winter Meeting in early March.
The Williams award is presented annually by the APM, the national organization of departments of internal medicine at medical schools and affiliated teaching hospitals. It is given to a distinguished physician who has demonstrated outstanding leadership as a current or former chair of a department of internal medicine.
In the nomination letters submitted by his peers and former students, Carpenter is hailed for being "one of the giants in American medicine" with a "bedside demeanor that has endeared him to generations of younger and older colleagues." They point to his belief that his patients and students are at "the center of his universe" referencing the ease at which he gives out his home number to patients, makes house calls, or comes to the hospital in the middle of the night to see one of his patients in the emergency department. Characteristic of his devotion to his medical students, Carpenter has published extensively, but has allowed many of his most widely quoted papers to be first authored by students.
Known more recently for his research and care for patients with HIV, Carpenter's interest in infectious disease began as a student and teacher of cholera in the 1960's. In 1962, he started the Johns Hopkins Cholera Research program in Calcutta, India where he demonstrated the value of antibiotics and defined the fluid requirements essential for the treatment of cholera. The advances his group made in oral rehydration therapy in developing countries were quickly adopted around the world.
Carpenter remained active in cholera research for the next decade both in Calcutta and as a professor of medicine at John Hopkins University and physician-in-chief at Baltimore City Hospital. Subsequently, Carpenter joined the faculty of Case Western Reserve University where he developed the first division of geographic medicine within a department of medicine serving as a model for many U.S. academic institutions.
Arriving in Providence in 1986, Carpenter was named physician-in-chief at The Miriam Hospital and professor of medicine at Brown University. Within a year, he established the Immunology Center at The Miriam Hospital under the belief that all individuals battling HIV deserved access to the very best care available. The Center quickly became a major clinical research and education center for medical students, residents and fellows, as well as healthcare professionals from developing nations.
In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, Carpenter was one of the first to see how the virus was not only affecting gay men, but also how it was spreading within prisons and becoming prevalent in women. In 1987, he initiated a unique program in which Brown University faculty/Miriam Hospital physicians assumed responsibility for all HIV care in the Rhode Island state prison system. This program now includes elective rotations for medical students, resident physicians, and subspecialty fellows.
Research remains a primary focus for Carpenter and he is the director of one of the 18 Centers For AIDS Research (CFAR) in the country, headquartered at The Miriam Hospital in collaboration with Tufts and Brown University. In addition, he is the principal investigator for the SUN study, a national, multi-site project that is the first longitudinal study to attempt to understand the natural history of HIV in the era of effective treatment.
Carpenter has enormous international stature and is a member of the International AIDS Society panel, a group comprised of 17 of the world's leading physicians who every two years author international guidelines published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on how to best administer antiretroviral treatment. Carpenter served as chairman of the first panel in 1995 and held the position through 2001.
Carpenter's teaching efforts reach far beyond Rhode Island as he frequently makes trips to India, Vietnam, Kenya and Cambodia to help institute and facilitate HIV drug treatment programs and education.
His expertise and guidance continues to be recognized at the highest levels as he was recently asked by Congress to chair the Treatment Subcommittee to evaluate the effectiveness of the $15 billion President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
The Williams' award adds to Carpenter's long list of accolades ranging from local to international honors - one of the most notable being the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star, given to him by the Emperor of Japan in 1998 for his contributions to the Japan-Unites States Cooperative Medical Science Program.
Carpenter resides in Barrington, RI, with his wife Sally.
The Miriam Hospital (www.miriamhospital.org) is a not-for-profit hospital affiliated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a founding member of the Lifespan health system. Founded in 1926 by the Miriam Hospital Women's Association, The Miriam offers particular expertise in cardiology; oncology; and HIV/AIDS treatment, research and prevention. Nationally recognized as a top hospital in cardiovascular care, The Miriam is home to the only Women's Cardiac Center in the region and only JCAHO-certified Primary Stroke Center in the state. The Miriam Hospital has been awarded Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Services three times and is committed to excellence in patient care, research and medical education.