AURORA, Colo. (Sept. 19, 2006) – E. David Crawford, MD, a researcher and professor at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, was recently honored as health care provider of the year by the Denver Business Journal’s Champions in Health Care Awards. Two other UCDHSC faculty members were finalists for the awards, Stuart Kassan, MD, clinical professor of medicine, as Physician of the Year and Spero Manson, PhD, professor of psychiatry and head of the American Indian and Alaska Native Program, as Lifetime Champion.
The Champions in Health Care awards honor those who have made outstanding contributions to the medical community. Awards were given in seven categories: lifetime champion, community outreach, innovator, manager, nurse, physician and provider. UCDHSC Faculty members were represented in three of these categories.
Crawford was awarded for his significant accomplishments in the promotion of early detection of prostate cancer. He has dedicated himself to raising awareness of the benefits of early detection. By founding the Prostate Education Council, which later evolved into Prostate Cancer Awareness Week, he has been able to realize his goal of making free to low-cost screenings available to the public.
Prostate cancer is most effectively treated when detected in the early stages. When Crawford began his work with the program, most cases of prostate cancer were presented late, thereby diminishing the chance for successful treatment. Since the program’s inception, presentations of advanced prostate cancer have dropped by 60 percent.
Crawford looks forward to his future research endeavors, which include imaging techniques to specifically target the cancer for treatment rather than the entire prostate.
Crawford is a board-certified specialist in urology, and professor of surgery, urology, and radiation oncology. In addition to these positions, he serves as chair of the Urologic Oncology Section, and is director of the Clinical Cancer Unit at UCDHSC.
Beyond this award, Crawford has won $45 million in research grants, and two Freddie Awards for best medical videos. He has authored or coauthored more than 450 published medical articles, and edited five textbooks on urologic oncology. Additionally, he has appeared on Good Morning America, the Today Show, and NBC Nightly News.
The University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center is one of three universities in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver and Aurora, Colo., the center includes schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry, a graduate school and a teaching hospital. For more information, visit the Web site at www.uchsc.edu or the UCDHSC Newsroom at http://www.uchsc.edu/news.