Peter T. Scardino, Chair of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Department Surgery and incumbent of the David H. Koch Chair, was awarded the Barringer Medal from the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons for his distinguished contributions to urology.
Dr. Scardino is a urologist who is an internationally recognized expert in the prognosis, early detection, and treatment of prostate cancer. He and his team have developed nomograms to predict the results of treatment, imaging studies to improve staging, and new techniques that lead to better outcomes after surgery for prostate cancer. He is the principal investigator of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's SPORE in prostate cancer, a large grant from the NCI to support collaborative research between basic scientists and physicians. In 1999 he became the inaugural Chair of the Department of Urology, and he was named to his current position in 2006.
The Barringer Medal was created in 1954 and named in honor of Benjamin S. Barringer, the first Chief of Urology at Memorial Hospital. Dr. Barringer was an early advocate of what is now known as brachytherapy and, in 1915, attempted to treat prostate cancer by placing radium needles within the gland. Previous recipients of the Barringer Medal include two former Chiefs of Urology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering: Willet F. Whitmore, Jr. (in 1976), and William R. Fair (in 1997).
