Iftekhar Ahmed, M.D.

Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed has achieved the kind of success that earns deserved praise. Director of the Research Medical Center stroke center, Ahmed recently helped earn an elite recognition for the Kansas City hospital. In early

February, Research Medical Center was awarded certification for the stroke center from the Joint Commis-sion on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). With the certification, Research joins only six other healthcare facilities nation- wide as a primary stroke center. The recognition means that Research meets the highest standards for stroke prevention and treatment with strict internal and external standards.

While Ahmed is pleased at the recognition, he finds special satisfaction in what it means. One example involved the center's treatment of a woman who had a stroke while shopping at a local mall. The incident tells much about what motivates this neurologist.

"She was only 41 and was doing some shopping when she had a massive stroke and was partially paralyzed," Ahmed explained. "When they brought her in, she couldn't even speak. In someone that young, it's very hard to watch that. But we got her treatment going and within six to eight hours, she had recovered 100 percent. That is really satisfying."

Such recovery was not possible for stroke victims even a few years ago. Although few in Kansas City may realize it, work by Ahmed at Research is one of the reasons for the improvement. Educated in New York, Ahmed has worked in Kansas City for 25 years. Previously chief of neurology at Trinity Lutheran, he has focused on pharmaceutical and therapeutical stroke treatments for more than 13 years. He is also published international in scientific journals.

Ahmed was obviously proud of Research's recent designation, and noted that it is indicative of the high standards at the institution. Strokes are the nation's third most common cause of death with 700,000 fatalities each year.

Ahmed has three grown children, all attending college. He labels himself as an avid jogger, although in a good week he logs 30-45 miles.

David Franz, PhD, DVM

Although he spends most of his time in laboratories and offices, David Franz in many ways is on the front lines of the war on terrorism.

Appointed in November as Chief Bio-logical Scientist for Midwest Research Institute (MRI), Dr. Franz is considered an international expert on bio-defense. In addition to his work with MRI, he also spends time as director of Kansas State University's National Agricultural Biosecurity Center (NABC). That appointment is in collaboration with Midwest Research Institute.

A Kansas native, Dr. Franz is a retired Army Colonel who served in the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. He is a former Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md. Franz served as chief inspector on three U.N. special commission biological warfare inspection missions to Iraq. He also served as a member of a British/American team that visited Russia in support of bio- logical weapons negotiations.

Prior to joining MRI, Franz had been vice president of a chemical and biological defense division of Southern Research Institute, an affiliate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Franz attended Tabor College prior to transferring to K-State where he completed his undergraduate studies. He then earned a DVM degree from K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine and a Ph.D. in physiology from the Baylor College of Medicine.

Franz is a member of the Dean's Advisory Council of the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine.

He serves on an extensive list of national-level advisory committees. Among those are three National Academy of Sciences committees. He chairs the committee for research with Russian biological institutes; and he co-chairs the committee on advanced sensors. Franz served as a member of the committee that just released the report entitled, "Biotechnology Research in the Age of Terrorism: Confronting the Dual Use Dilemma."

Franz's work with MRI is part of the organization's status as a biodefense hub for the Midwest region, which protects Americans against bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases.