Imagine being 30 years old and near death because of a massive stroke. Your family is passionate in their resolve to do everything possible to save your life. However, members of the medical community as well as the facts on your own clinical chart beg to differ. You spend long months in the hospital.

“I was on call every day for this patient,” recalls Jawad F. Kirmani, MD, a New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) assistant professor in the Department of Neurosciences, describing a case he managed before coming to University Hospital (UH). “I’d say to the hospital staff, ‘It doesn’t matter who’s on call, you call me first.’ Other doctors said this patient’s prognosis was going to be bad and that I should let him go.” Kirmani wouldn’t. This is a physician who couldn’t because of his dedicated approach to patient care. As a physician on our UH futuristic Brain Attack Team, he is always willing to try the latest technologies to save lives.

“I made a promise to this family that I would never give up. This patient would crash and then we would resuscitate him. We were not giving up. I’ve seen failures but his was the most amazing success story. It’s been two years and he is completely recovered. In fact, he’s a body builder now,” Kirmani says chuckling because this is a young man who also occasionally balks about not remembering little things. “He’s
recovered almost completely. There are limitations to what we know as doctors and one of the limitations is in our understanding of how amazing the human body can be.”

Kirmani, who has just moved his family from Newark’s Ironbound district to a townhouse right across the street from UH, is passionate about all of his patients. “I live nearby because I love treating them. They are what really keep me going,” insists this young neuro-interventionalist and father of two: ages three years and nine months. “The more I see patients, hear what they say, and understand how a disease process is affecting their lives, the more motivated I am to help. There is so much suffering.” Kirmani stays on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Born and educated in Pakistan, he went to medical school at the Aga Khan University and completed his training here in the U.S. He believes that doctors should be part of the communities in which they practice. “I belong to a part of the world — a third world country — where family is very important… cousins, second cousins, third cousins. In fact, I do believe that we are all part of one big family, that the world is really a big village now and that I’ll remain wherever I’m needed the most. I love Newark.”

Winner of a 2005 American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation Leadership Award, Kirmani was one of only 16 doctors, among 244,530 AMA members, to receive this prestigious recognition. UH’s cerebrovascular program treats more than 400 patients a year. “Our stroke service has exploded exponentially so as soon as I go home, I often get called right back.” Annual grant revenue is expected to grow from $1 million to $2 million and the new Zeenat Qureshi Stroke Center at NJMS has been collaborating on National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical trials as well as with pharmaceutical companies looking for joint research and educational projects. Kirmani has served as the director of a population-based epidemiological study funded by the American Heart Association and has been involved in many lobbying efforts at national and state levels to promote awareness and treatment options for neurological issues. With this award, the AMA “recognized physicians for their emotional input, their passion and dedication to hard work,” he says.

	Laura Byham-Gray, PhD, RD with a dialysis patient

Our University’s clinicians are at the core of a unique academic medical system changing the future for patients in UMDNJ healthcare facilities. What’s more, our clinical affiliates extend the reach of our passion for patient care to more than 700 organizations and some as far away as Zhong Shan Hospital in Shanghai, China.

Ask Laura Byham-Gray, PhD, RD, why she loves her work and the answer — “I know I can make a difference!” —reflects her passion for patient care.

“As clinicians, we have all been touched by our patients. I’m no exception,” explains this assistant professor in the Department of Primary Care at the School of Health Related Professions’ (SHRP) Stratford campus. “There are many patients who have helped shape my values and ideals but none more than the individual who taught me that dying with dignity is more important than all of the medical advances at our disposal. The experience taught me to really listen, to respect and to value the wishes of all patients and that holding a hand is often the best therapeutic treatment option available.”

Last year, UMDNJ clinicians counted more than two million patient visits at our healthcare facilities and through our faculty practices. Individuals and families benefited from the caring touch of UMDNJ researchers, educators and practitioners like Byham-Gray, a dietitian who spent years in clinical practice.

Our dietitians work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals and use their knowledge of food, nutrients and the role of nutrition in the regulation of the body. This is “a dynamic, diverse field that commands a professional to stay current, up-to-date and ready to apply the best research evidence to clinical practice decisions,” says Byham-Gray. “This has always been my ultimate career goal.”

One of more than 2,000 faculty members, Byham-Gray is practicing on a path which began in a freshman zoology course. “The topic area wasn’t of the greatest interest to me but the faculty member was passionate about the material.” Her 18 plus years of experience include specialties in renal nutrition, home care and geriatrics. On her to-do list of wishes is a major grant that would allow her to research the “effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy in chronic kidney disease.” This past year, she published, presented, taught, and was honored on numerous occasions. She credits UMDNJ for establishing the kind of progressive environment that is “supportive of creativity and innovation.”