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Key stroke researcher and benefactor to receive honorary degrees May 20

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Philip A. Wolf, M.D., who is nationally recognized for his research studies into stroke and cardiovascular diseases, and Richard W. Doust, a businessman, philanthropist and war hero, will receive honorary degrees from the State University of New York at the SUNY Upstate Medical University Commencement Sunday, May 20. Commencement will be held at 1 p.m., in the John H. Mulroy Civic Center’s Crouse Hinds Theater, 411 Montgomery St. Wolf will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science degree. Doust will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

“Dr. Wolf has distinguished himself as a researcher who has advanced our knowledge of the cause, prevention and treatment of strokes, the relationship of strokes to the onset of dementia, and most recently, the genetic factors linked to cardiovascular disease,” said SUNY Upstate Medical University President David R. Smith, M.D.

Wolf is professor of neurology and research professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, specializing in epidemiology and preventive medicine, and professor of public health at Boston University School of Public Health. He received his medical degree from SUNY Upstate (then Upstate Medical Center) in 1960.

For more than 35 years, Wolf has been affiliated with the Framingham Heart Study, including serving as co-principal investigator of the study from 1983 to 1989 and as principal investigator from 1989 to the present.

The study was initiated in 1948 to investigate the factors associated with the development of cardiovascular disease by using long-term surveillance of an adult population in Framingham, Mass. Findings from the study contributed to the understanding of the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, including stroke, and demonstrated the value of changing patterns of cigarette smoking, nutritional habits and exercise.

A Syracuse native, Doust is a member of a distinguished family of eight “Doust doctors” who have been affiliated with SUNY Upstate. He serves as chair of the Finance Committee of SUNY Upstate’s Medical Alumni Association and has provided major financial support for various programs that directly benefit students in the College of Medicine. He established SUNY Upstate’s Alfred W. Doust Endowed Program in Otolaryngology to commemorate his father, a 1935 alumnus of SUNY Upstate’s College of Medicine who served as professor and chair of SUNY Upstate’s Department of Otolaryngology from 1946 to 1983.

Doust received his bachelor’s degree from the University of San Francisco in 1966 and his master’s degree in international studies from Golden Gate University in 1982. He served in the Vietnam War as a naval aviator with the U.S. Marine Corps and received the Vietnam Service Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Air Medal for a single mission and the distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight.

He has worked as a licensed stock and commodity broker, operations coordinator for International Aviation Development Company and Pyramid Airlines and as the director of Aircraft Marketing and Air Agreements for World Airways. His current business ventures are in the management of a commercial forest, Tutira Forest LLC, and vineyards located on the north and south islands of New Zealand, respectively.