Jerome Klein, MD
Jerome Klein, MD

The Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence was established in 2010 to commemorate Klein’s 50 years of service to Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine/BMC and is presented annually to a physician who shares Dr. Klein’s attributes, including clinical and research excellence, leadership, and dedicated commitment to education and mentoring.

The award will be given annually in December to a physician who shares Dr. Klein’s attributes, commitment and dedication specifically through the following characteristics:

  • an outstanding mentor
  • high standards and expectations
  • clinical and/or research excellence
  • leadership with a positive attitude
  • supportive of colleagues and other healthcare providers

Award Recipients

Isidore Berenbaum, MD

2023 - Isidore Berenbaum, MD
Dr. Isidore "Izzy" Berenbaum has devoted more than 43 years to the patients and staff at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Berenbaum has a long-standing reputation of providing compassionate care, a thoughtful presence, and an enduring desire to serve the needs of others. Dr. Berenbaum was honored for his dedication to BMC patients, support of faculty and staff, and commitment to mentoring and education.

 

 


Richard Babayan, MD

2022 - Richard Babayan, MD
Richard Babayan, MD, has been named the 2022 recipient of the Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. Throughout his career, Dr. Babayan has been an innovator. He was an early adopter of both endourology and robotic surgery, including being the first to perform a robotic prostatectomy in Boston. He is a founding member of the Endourological Society and has been actively involved in minimally invasive therapies within the field of urology. His clinical interests include benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate cancer, urologic oncology, and endourology.

 

 


ken grundfast

2021 - Kenneth Grundfast, MD
Kenneth Grundfast, MD, has been named the 2021 recipient of the Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. Throughout his 22 years at BMC, Grundfast has served numerous roles at both BMC and the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, including chair of otolaryngology, lead of BMC’s physician training for patient experience, assistant dean of student affairs, an academy medical educator, and chair of the faculty appointments and promotions committee. In addition, he has served on 32 committees on the medical campus and a wide variety of committees in his specialty societies, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, 37 book chapters, and two books.

 

 


emelia benjamin2020 - Emelia Benjamin, MD
Emelia Benjamin, MD, has been named the 2020 recipient of the Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. She has devoted her academic life to Boston Medical Center, Boston University and the Framingham Heart Study, and has published over 600 original publications, many of which are seminal. Dr. Benjamin is also well-known throughout BMC as a mentor and strong patient advocate.

 

 


Dr. Peter Burke2019 - Peter Burke, MD
Peter Burke, MD, Chief of Acute Care & Trauma Surgery, has been named the 2019 recipient of the Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. Dr. Burke joined the faculty at BMC and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine in 1999 and later became leader of Trauma & Critical Care and a professor of medicine in 2008. His strong clinical reputation is complemented by a breadth of research, including 107 original publications and two (R01 and R21) NIH research projects. Most recently, Dr. Burke was named founding director of the Boston Trauma Institute Research Think-Tank, which seeks to integrate our best trauma practices with clinical and basic research.

Dr. Angela Jackson2018 - Angela Jackson, MD
Angela Jackson, MD, has been named the 2018 recipient of the Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. Dr. Jackson is an Associate Professor of Medicine, practices as a general internist in our Primary Care practice and has had a remarkable career locally and nationally. In her 30 years on this medical campus, Dr. Jackson has made an indelible impact on education, training, mentoring and clinical care. She has constantly moved effortlessly between BMC and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and she continues to do so with a deep commitment to our patients and our mission. Read more   

Dr. Robert Witzburg2017 - Robert Witzburg, MD
Robert Witzburg, MD, has been named the 2017 recipient of the Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. Witzburg is the associate dean and director of admissions and professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and professor of health policy and management at BUSPH, and a general internal medicine physician at BMC. Read more

Dr. Thea James2016 - Thea James, MD
Dr. Thea L. James, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vice President of Mission, and Associate Chief Medical Officer, for receiving the 2017 Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. Read more

Dr. Michael Klein2014 - Michael Klein, MD
Michael Klein, MD, a clinical professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and an attending cardiologist and Director of the BMC Electrocardiology Laboratory, is the recipient of the 2015 Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. Read more

Dr. Edward Alexander2013 - Edward Alexander, MD
Edward Alexander, MD, professor of medicine and physiology at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and a nephrologist at Boston Medical Center (BMC), has been named the 2013 recipient of the Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. Read more

Dr. Edward Bernstein2012 - Edward Bernstein, MD
Edward Bernstein, MD, vice chair of academic affairs and professor of emergency medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and an emergency medicine physician at Boston Medical Center (BMC) has been named the recipient of the 2012 Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. Read more

Dr. Lewis Weintraub2011 - Lewis Weintraub, MD
The recipient of the 2011 Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence at BMC, Dr. Weintraub was a Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine faculty member and BMC attending hematologist for more than 40 years. He served as chief of hematology from 1977 until 2003, continuing on the faculty as leading hematologist and hematology teacher. Read more

Dr. Jerome Klein2010 - Jerome Klein, MD
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine professor of pediatrics Jerome Klein, MD has been recognized by Boston Medical Center with the establishment of The Jerome Klein Award for Physician Excellence. Read more