In a bid to address a physician shortage, hospitals in upstate New York will seek to recruit New York City doctors at a job fair slated to take place this week.

The Where to Practice open house, set for September 28, is sponsored by the Greater New York Hospital Association. So far, more than 30 hospitals and health care organizations are scheduled to attend the event, which aims to attract medical residents. Earlier this year, the Paterson administration launched a loan forgiveness program, Doctors Across New York, under which residents receive loan forgiveness in exchange for working in underserved communities.

Harlem Hospital Breaks Ground on Patient Pavilion

Harlem Hospital Center has broken ground on a new patient pavilion, part of a $319 million modernization project for the public hospital.

Plans for modernization of the 272-bed facility, by the architectural firms HOK NY and Jack Travis Associates, call for demolishing four older hospital buildings, renovating three buildings, and constructing a 300-car garage.

Murals commissioned in the 1930s by the Federal Works Progress Administration that were longtime fixtures at the hospital will be installed in the new 150,000-square-foot patient pavilion.

Pharmaceutical Industry’s ‘Nobel Prize’

The winners of the pharmaceutical industry’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize, the Prix Galien USA Award, will be announced in New York City this week.

A ceremony, scheduled to take place September 24 at the American Museum of Natural History, will honor scientific and clinical research that has paved the way for newly developed medicines. Awards for Best Pharmaceutical Agent and Best Biotechnology Product, chosen from 24 finalists, will be announced at the event. The Population Council and the scientist Sheldon Segal will receive a the Prix Galien USA 2008 Pro Bono Humanum Award for leading a coalition that developed implantable hormones.

City College Appoints Professor of Biomedical Engineering

The City College of New York has appointed Dr. Mitchell Schaffler as the Wallace Coulter and presidential professor of biomedical engineering at its Grove School of Engineering.

Dr. Schaffler also will serve as director of a research consortium among CCNY and several hospitals, the New York Center for Biomedical Engineering. The Grove School is the only public school of engineering in New York City.

Previously, Dr. Schaffler — who served as co-director of the center — was the director of orthopedic research at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He will continue to teach at Mount Sinai as an adjunct professor.

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Receives Grant To Study Lung Disease St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center has received a five-year, $2 million grant to study lung disease.

The gift, from the Carson Family Charitable Trust, will benefit the James P. Mara Center for Lung Disease. The funds will fund new programs in smoking cessation and patient education. About 100 patients received treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2007. St. Luke’s-Roosevelt, in Manhattan, is part of the Continuum Health Partners network that includes Beth Israel Medical Center and Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn.esolomont@nysun.com