NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Iroquois Steeplechase and its 501(c)3 organization, the Volunteer State Horsemen’s Foundation, have selected Steven Webber, M.B.Ch.B, of Nashville as its 2016 honorary co‐chair of the 75th Iroquois Steeplechase to be held May 14.
As the pediatrician‐in‐chief of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Dr. Webber was nominated to represent the hospital and its long‐standing relationship with the race for his work to improve the lives of children in our region through Vanderbilt Children’s missions of clinical care, discovery and education of the next generation of pediatricians.
“Each year, we look for an individual who cares deeply about the Iroquois Steeplechase’s mission and beneficiary. Dr. Webber has made a major impact in the pediatric medical community, and we’re honored that he will support the race in this way,” said Dwight Hall,
chairman of the Volunteer State Horsemen’s Foundation.
For more than seven decades, the Iroquois Steeplechase has captivated thousands of spectators from near and far with its traditions, pageantry and the energy of the sport. For 35 of those years, patrons of the race and its Horsemen’s Foundation have also supported the event’s official beneficiary: the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
“It is a great honor to serve as co‐chair for this event, especially as it celebrates its 75th anniversary,” Dr. Webber said. “The Iroquois Steeplechase is part of Nashville’s fabric, but more importantly, it supports an amazing community cause that serves all the children of
our region. We are deeply grateful for the long‐term partnership with Iroquois, its sponsors and its patrons.”
Dr. Webber currently serves as the chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and is the James C. Overall Professor of Pediatrics, as well as pediatrician‐in‐chief of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
A native of the United Kingdom and a graduate of the University of Bristol Medical School, Dr. Webber acted as the chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology, co‐director of the Heart Institute and medical director of the Thoracic Transplantation Program at the University of Pittsburgh and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, prior to joining Vanderbilt University in 2012.
Dr. Webber’s major interests involve the care of infants and children with end‐stage heart failure, including those undergoing mechanical support and thoracic transplantation. He has served as president of both the Pediatric Heart Transplant Study and the International Pediatric Transplant Association (IPTA). He recently served as chair of the Thoracic Committee of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), and has also served on the board of directors of the American Society of Transplantation and of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.
He is a widely published author of more than 200 peer‐reviewed publications, and is the editor‐in‐chief of the journal Pediatric Transplantation.In addition, he is co‐editor of Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation, PostTransplant Lymphoproliferative Disorders and Solid Organ Transplantation, all of which are medical textbooks.
For more information about the Iroquois Steeplechase, its 75th anniversary and its relationship with the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, go to www.iroquoissteeplechase.com.