SEPT. 19, 2005 | “Success is not an event, but a process.”

Graham Greene, M.D., made this observation Sept. 13 before a crowd of friends and colleagues gathered to witness his investiture as the inaugural Robert Woods Bass Chair in Genitourinary Oncology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

“If you love your career and what you can do for your patients, the sky’s the limit,” Greene said, noting that he tries to instill an attitude in his medical students that if they love, care for and nurture their patients, the patients will in turn do the same for them. “I am amazed at the awesome potential of the people of Arkansas and of UAMS,” Greene said.

Funding for the endowed chair came from more than 60 friends and family members of Robert Woods Bass, an Arkansas native who died of cancer Dec. 30, 2000. Bass attended the University of Arkansas where he graduated with a degree in business administration. After college, he served in the U.S. Army as a commissioned officer with the 1^st Battalion, 34^th Armored Division at Fort Lewis, Wash.

Bass then returned to Little Rock and began his career with Dabbs Sullivan Trulock Company as a stockbroker. At the time of his death, he was senior vice president of Morgan Stanley. His widow, Joan Anderson Bass, and their three sons; Robert Woods Bass Jr., Logan Anderson Bass and Walker Farley Bass; attended the investiture with their families.

“As the only genitourinary oncologist in the state of Arkansas, I’ve been worried through the years that Dr. Greene would leave UAMS. He is an outstanding member of our faculty. I have referred many patients to Dr. Greene who report back to me about the excellent and compassionate care he provides,” said Dr. James Y. Suen, M.D., director of the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (ACRC) at UAMS.

UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., noted that in addition to honoring both Greene and Bass, the endowed chair will make it possible for UAMS to recruit additional highly regarded physicians and researchers. “It’s true that we have many beautiful buildings on the UAMS campus, such as the Stephens Spine and Neurosciences Institute where we are gathered today. What the buildings truly are, however, are homes for talented people such as Dr. Greene,” Wilson said.

In collaboration with clinical scientists at the ACRC, Greene has worked to ensure that men in Arkansas have access to state-of-the-art treatment for prostate cancer, including real-time brachytherapy. This advanced form of radiation therapy, available in Arkansas only at UAMS, has fewer complications than traditional radiation therapy because it can more precisely target the cancer and protect surrounding healthy tissue.

Recognized as a leader in promoting early detection of prostate cancer through screening and education, Greene supported the passage of the Arkansas Prostate Cancer Act of 1999 and helped found the Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Greene also has developed nerve-sparing surgical techniques for radical prostatectomy and orthotopic ileo-neobladders (a form of urinary diversion) and has collaborated to develop new methods of treating advanced renal cell carcinoma. He is widely regarded for his treatment of testicular cancers and metastatic disease.

An endowed chair is the highest academic honor a university can bestow on its faculty. A chair can honor the memory of a loved one or may honor a person’s accomplishments. It is supported with gifts of $1 million or more.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,200 students and 660 residents and is the state’s largest public employer with almost 9,000 employees. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $4.3 billion a year.

UAMS centers of excellence are the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute.

Links on This Page

Graham Greene, M.D.:

http://www.acrc.uams.edu/directory/bio.asp?id=22