Carmen Puliafito

Carmen Anthony Puliafito (born 1951)[1] was an American ophthalmologist and academic administrator. From 2007 until March 2016, he was dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Carmen Puliafito
Born
Carmen Anthony Puliafito

1951 (age 71–72)
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Children3
Academic background
EducationHarvard University (AB, MD)
University of Pennsylvania (MBA)
Academic work
DisciplineOphthalmology
Sub-disciplineOptical coherence tomography
InstitutionsUniversity of Miami
University of Southern California
Dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC
In office
2007 – March 2016
Preceded byBrian E. Henderson
Succeeded byRohit Varma (interim)

In 2017, the Los Angeles Times revealed that Puliafito had engaged in parties with young recreational drug users and prostitutes, including at the Keck School's offices, and that Puliafito had smoked methamphetamine at these events.[2]

Early life and education

Born and raised Buffalo, New York, Puliafito received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1973 and a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School in 1978.[3] He completed a residency in ophthalmology and a fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Puliafito also earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[4]

Career

Puliafito was appointed dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC in December 2007.[5] Before that, he had been director of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, and chair of the department of ophthalmology.[4] The institute has regularly been ranked as the best eye hospital and vision research center in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. In 2012, he was 21st of the highest-paid research university executives in the United States.[6] While dean, he served on the board of the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.[7]

In March 2016, Puliafito resigned as dean of the Keck School of Medicine, and USC professor Rohit Varma was appointed interim dean.[8] After leaving USC, he took a role as chief of strategic development with a pharmaceutical company called Ophthotech that was developing new drugs for eye diseases; he was laid off along with 80% of the staff in December 2016 when two phase III clinical trials produced negative results.[9][10]

Puliafito's California medical license was revoked based on disciplinary orders on August 17, 2018.[11]

Research

Puliafito was one of the inventors of optical coherence tomography;[12] for this work, James Fujimoto, Eric Swanson and Puliafito received a Rank Prize for Opto-Electronics in 2002.[12] In 2012, Fujimoto, Swanson, and David Huang, with Puliafito and Joel Schuman, received an António Champalimaud Vision Award from the Champalimaud Foundation.[13]

Puliafito participated in research into the use of bevacizumab for the treatment of retinal disorders.[14][15][16][17]

2017 Los Angeles Times report

The Los Angeles Times reported in July 2017 that while Puliafito served as dean and USC professor, he "kept company with a circle of criminals and drug users who said he used methamphetamine and other drugs with them."[9] The reporters reviewed video and photographs of Puliafito engaging in these activities in hotel rooms, apartments, and the dean's office.[9] According to the newspaper, a 21-year-old prostitute had overdosed while taking drugs with Puliafito in a Pasadena hotel room on March 4, 2016; the article included a recording of a conversation between a 911 operator and Puliafito. The report said that police had found methamphetamine in the room.[9] Three weeks later, on March 24, 2016, Puliafito resigned as dean of the Keck School of Medicine. Nothing was said about the incident; he said he was resigning because he wished to "return to academic ophthalmology and pursue some identified opportunities in healthcare."[8]

Immediately following the publication of the 2017 Los Angeles Times report, USC announced that Puliafito had been placed "on leave from his roles at USC, including seeing patients."[18]

In July 2022, Paul Pringle, the reporter who first uncovered and reported the story of Puliafito's activities, published a book Bad City: Peril and Power in the City of Angels. It describes his year-long struggle to get the story published over the objections of his superiors at the Times, who did not want to offend USC. Pringle's investigation of the case began with the March 2016 incident, but the paper refused to publish it. He and colleagues persisted, continuing to research the case until the report was finally published in July 2017, long after Puliafito had resigned as dean.[19][20]

Personal life

Puliafito and his wife, Janet Pine, had three children. A psychiatrist, Pine met Puliafito while they were students at Harvard Medical School.[21]

References
  1. Blain, Charles (2002). Lasers: A Guide to the Book Literature. Nova Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59033-225-2.
  2. "An overdose, a young companion, drug-fueled parties: The secret life of USC med school dean". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  3. IBBO-International Biography and Bibliography of Ophthalmologists and Visual Scientist (A-Z). Wayenborgh Publishing. 2018-11-30. ISBN 978-90-6299-896-8.
  4. Carmen Puliafito named new dean of the Keck School of Medicine. University of Southern California. Accessed February 2015.
  5. USC Press Release. Dec 5 2007. USC Installs Dr. Carmen Puliafito as New Dean of the Keck School of Medicine
  6. Alex Philippidis (Nov 18, 2013). "25 Top-Paid Research University Leaders". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Accessed February 2015.
  7. "Board of Trustees". Children's Hospital Los Angeles. 9 April 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015.
  8. Maamoon, Noorhan (25 March 2016). "Dean of Keck School of Medicine of USC resigns". Daily Trojan. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
  9. Pringle, Paul; Ryan, Harriet; Elmahrek, Adam; Hamilton, Matt; Parvini, Sarah (July 17, 2017). "An overdose, a young companion, drug-fueled parties: The secret life of USC med school dean". Los Angeles Times.
  10. Adams, Ben (January 17, 2017). "Ophthotech cuts to hit around 80% of staffers after phase 3 failures". FierceBiotech.
  11. "California Board Of Medicine".
  12. [s.n.] (May 2002). New Products. Optometry & Vision Science 79 (5): 279–280. Accessed February 2015.
  13. 2012: Williams & Fujimoto, Huang, Puliafito, Schuman, Swanson. Champalimaud Foundation. Accessed February 2015.
  14. Michels S, Rosenfeld PJ, Puliafito CA, Marcus EN, Venkatraman AS. (2005). Systemic bevacizumab (Avastin) therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration twelve-week results of an uncontrolled open-label clinical study. Ophthalmology 112:1035–47.
  15. Rosenfeld PJ, Moshfegi AA, Puliafito CA. (2005). Optical coherence tomography findings after an intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (Avastin) for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers & Imaging 36: 331–5.
  16. Rich RM, Rosenfeld PJ, Puliafito CA, et al. (2006). Short-term safety and efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Retina 26: 495–511.
  17. Moshfegi AA, Rosenfeld PJ, Puliafito CA, et al. (2006). Systemic bevacizumab (Avastin) therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: twenty-four-week results of an uncontrolled open-label clinical study. Ophthalmology 113: 2002–11.
  18. Adam Elmahrek, Sarah Parvini, Paul Pringle & Matt Hamilton, Former USC medical school dean no longer seeing patients; Pasadena police discipline officer, Los Angeles Times (July 17, 2017).
  19. "An overdose, a young companion, drug-fueled parties: The secret life of a USC med school dean". Los Angeles Times. July 17, 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  20. Benner, Katie (July 13, 2022). "Book review: U.S.C. Sex Scandals and the Paper That Tried to Cover Them Up". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  21. "Carmen Puliafito named new dean of the Keck School of Medicine". USC News. 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
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