Dr. Lorenz, MD, MBA, FACS, is currently Medical Director of Payment Reform for the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He has held this post since Auqust, 2011, and is specifically responsible for oversight regarding the costs of medical care for patients with life-threatening illnesses. In addition to these critical administrative duties, he is an active surgeon specializing in the treatment of head and neck cancers, airway reconstruction, and laryngeal paralysis.
Prior to his current assignment, Dr. Lorenz served as the Chief Medical Officer at the Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi from 2008-2011. The clinic is a new state-of- the art hospital/clinic located in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. As Chief Medical Officer, he was responsible for the establishment of his institution's initial international venture.
In •1998, Dr. Lorenz was a member of a team that performed the world's first laryngeal transplant. He continues, fourteen years later, to be the primary physician responsible for monitoring the patient who is representative of the longest surviving transplantation of any organ system. His article, co-authored, describing the treatment and scientific basis regarding the surgery was published .in 2001, in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Lorenz graduated from Columbia High School in 1988, thereafter enrolling and graduating from Yale University in 1992 with a B.S. degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. He continued his progress in education by completing his M.D. at the University of Rochester, New York where he graduated in 1996 with Honors. His formal education, degree-wise, was completed in 2010, when he was awarded an MBA, with distinction, from the London Business School.
Dr. Lorenz's impressive professional accomplishments are many and varied. His commitment to excellence and to those whose lives and well-being have been entrusted to him is overwhelming evidence of the dedication with which he has dedicated his life. Further evidence. of an outstanding career is the numerous awards and honors which he has deservedly earned and been awarded. Other than his degrees, he has been recognized since the year 2000 with a plethora of citations affirming his leadership role in his profession. Among some of the many acknowledgements of his passion for his chosen vocation are: membership in Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and awards in a variety of competitions recognizing his acumen and talent in the field of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Lorenz has also authored and co..a. uthored numerous articles and papers in regards to his area of specialization. Testimony to his professional standing and the respect which he commands from his associates and colleagues. is illustrated by the demand placed up on him as an instructor; panelist; and presenter in a vast array of symposiums and courses of study.
In a relatively brief period of time Dr. Lorenz has come to be recognized as the "go to man" in his field of concentration. His willingness to share his expertise and provide imaginative leadership has made him a source of inspiration as well as admiration from his peers.
It is therefore, with the utmost pride that in recognition of Dr. Robert R. Lorenz's outstanding' achievements the East Greenbush Education Foundation welcomes him as a member of the Columbia High School Alumni Hall of Fame.