George Naff, M.D.

George B. Naff, M.D. first arrived in Cleveland in 1957 after receiving his M.D. degree from the University of Virginia. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency and Research fellowship at Case Western University before joining the faculty as an instructor in Medicine in 1964. His career in Cleveland has been marked by extraordinary service to the Medical Service at the Cleveland VAMC and Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. A true triple threat, Dr. Naff's career has been marked by success as a researcher, administrator, and clinician-teacher. Dr. Naff's laboratory career focused on the mechanisms of natural resistance to infection, in particular the role of various components of complement in the inflammatory response. His laboratory was funded for years by grants form the national Institutes of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs. These research efforts resulted in 41 peer-reviewed publications in such prominent journals as the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Infection and Immunity and the Journal of Immunology. His national stature was reflected in his service on the Committee on the Immunology of Cancer Cause and Prevention at the National Cancer Institute, as well as his service on the editorial board of Infection and Immunity. He was promoted to tenured Professor of Medicine at Case Western University in 1979.

George has been tireless in his dedication to the institutions with which he has been affiliated, twice serving as the Acting Chief of Medical Service at the VA, once as Acting Chair of the Department of Medicine at University Hospitals and Case Western University, ten years as the Director of the Core Clerkship in Internal Medicine, as Chairman of the School of Medicine Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure, and as the Vice Chairman for Faculty Affairs for the Department of Medicine.

More than anything else, Dr. Naff distinguished himself as the consummate clinician and teacher. He has been named the Teacher of the Year for the Case Western Reserve Department of Medicine and shared the Inpatient Teacher of the Year Awards for the Department of Medicine on multiple occasions and as recently as 2001. His intellectual rigor and diagnostic brilliance are combined with a gentlemanly manner and a personal and intellectual integrity that make him the most sought after and respected teacher in the Department. In short, he is the consummate role model for young physicians.

Although recently retired, Dr. Naff continues to serve in educational and administrative capacities for the Medical Service at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center and at University Hospitals-Case Medical Center including Teaching Rounds with the medical students and Morning Report with the Internal Medicine Residents.