Alumni News
1950s
Wike Scamman, MD’57, and his wife, Diana, were honored at a reception celebrating his retirement. The 85-year-old pathologist served for many years as laboratory and medical director of several northeast Kansas community hospitals and at one time served as the Shawnee County coroner.
1960s
Gordon Gill, MD’63, HS’64, BA’60, chairs the San Diego steering committee of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest learned societies in the country. Gill is emeritus professor of Medicine and of Cellular Medicine and former dean of Science at the University of California San Diego.
Robert Carey, MD’65, FE’72, dean, emeritus, and professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, was co-chair of the 2017 American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults unveiled at the AHA Scientific Sessions in Anaheim, California, in November 2017. This was the first comprehensive hypertension guideline since JNC-7 in 2003.
Frank Black, MD’67, has written a memoir, “Happiness is a Fat Gecko – The Life and Times of a Missionary Doctor,” that details his years in Tanzania in a bush hospital.
Ray Burk, MD’68, HS’70, FAC’14, retired in 2014 as emeritus professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt.
1970s
Joseph Beavo Jr., PhD’70, is the recipient of the 2018 Julius Axelrod Award in Pharmacology given by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
Steve Goldstein, MD’70, BA’66, is semi-retired. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Echocardiography in 2015 and has been invited to speak at the World Congress of Echocardiography in Bulgaria in 2018.
Bob Mahley, MD, PhD’70, HS’71, who first began studying the apoE protein at Vanderbilt in Virgil LeQuire’s lab, reports that the protein offers a promising target for defeating Alzheimer’s disease and is the basis for a startup biotech company, E-Scape Bio, Inc., which recently raised $63 million in startup funding.
Aubrey Hough Jr., MD’70, HS’75, was promoted to inaugural university system professor at the University of Arkansas Medical System, a title conferred by the board of trust on individuals considered important participants in research and intellectual life. His undergraduate alma mater, Hendrix College, awarded him an honorary Doctor of Sciences degree in 2016. In February 2017, he retired from the Mae and Anderson Nettleship Endowed Chair in Oncologic Pathology.
Dan Dillon Jr., MD’72, HS’77, BA’68, is an assistant professor of Neurosurgery in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Georgia and is the director of the Stroke Program and the Neurosciences Center at Aiken Regional Medical Center in Aiken, South Carolina.
Ben Kibler, MD’72, FE’74, HS’77, BA’68, has authored the book “Disorders of the Scapula and Their Role in Shoulder Injury: A Clinical Guide to Evaluation and Management” (co-edited by Aaron Sciascia). Jed Kuhn, MD, FAC, and Brent Morris, MD, HS’13, contributed chapters to the book.
Cynthia Bowman, MD’74, is a pathology laboratory director in the Baystate Health System in Springfield, Massachusetts. She and her husband, David, are the new grandparents of a baby girl.
R. Bruce Williams, MD’75, HS’77, BA’71, was inaugurated as the 35th president of the College of American Pathologists (CAP). He has been a CAP member for 40 years, holding leadership roles in the organization for the last 25.
Joe Little, MD’77, HS’80, BA’72, reports that his daughter, Elizabeth Little, BA’07, finished a pediatric residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital in 2016. She is working for an Alaskan native healthcare cooperative in Anchorage, representing the fourth generation of Vanderbilt physicians in the family and the third to practice pediatrics: Ernest Goodpasture, MD, FAC’55, BA’1908, Joseph Little, MD’43, FAC’69, BA’40, and Joseph Little III, MD, HS’80.
Sue Andrews, MD’78, is the medical director of the Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic, a not-for-profit medical facility established by and for the community of Beersheba Springs, Tennessee.
Ann Price, MD’78, HS’81, FAC, BA’71, has been named to the board of directors for Siloam Health, a charitable clinic for the uninsured.
1980s
Winn Chatham, MD’80, received the Distinguished Clinician Scholar Award from the American College of Rheumatology at the 2017 ACR Annual Scientific Session.
Wayne Poll, MD’81, was named CEO of Enlyton Ltd., effective October 2017. Poll is founder of Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc., a venture capital firm in central Ohio.
Craig Morgan, MD’81, of Huntington, West Virginia, made a gift to establish the Willard J. Morgan and Craig M. Morgan Graduate Studies Endowed Scholarship through the Southeast Missouri University Foundation. The scholarship honors his father and acknowledges his service to the university.
Brad Meyers, MD’81, BA’76, has been promoted to colonel in the United States Air Force. He joined the 115th Medical Group of the 115th Fighter Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard in 2011, and for the past six years has served on the CERFP, a Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security domestic disaster response force.
Russ Howerton, MD’83, HS’84, was named senior vice president at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, effective July 2017. He previously served as the chief medical officer of its Integrated Health System.
William Stuck, MD, HS’84, retired after 31 years of service to medicine and cardiology, most recently with Columbia Heart in Columbia, South Carolina. He plans to pursue his interests in travel, running and hiking.
Chris Payne, MD’86, was elected chair of the Worldwide Fistula Fund board of directors. He joined the organization in 2012, providing leadership as the organization expands work into new regions of the developing world.
Timothy Givens, MD’87, FAC’09, BA’83, was named vice chair for clinical operations for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, effective Sept. 1, 2017. He lives in Denver with his wife, Patricia, formerly chief nursing officer at Monroe Carell Jr., Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Marshall Summar, MD, HS’88, FE’90, FAC’10, BA’81, is the director of the newly formed Rare Disease Institute at Children’s National Medical Center and runs the National Organization for Rare Disorders’ first Rare Disease Clinical Center of Excellence. His wife, Karen Summar, MD, MSCI’08, FAC’09, is the health policy director for Sen. Chuck Grassley.
David Lowry, MD’88, was appointed chief medical officer at Caldwell UNC Health Care in Lenoir, North Carolina, effective August 2017.
Rob Schreiner, MD, HS’89, is executive president of Marietta, Georgia-based WellStar Health System and president of WellStar Medical Group with 100 physicians and 1,150 providers. Schreiner is a pulmonary and critical care physician with more than 20 years of executive-level experience.
David Adcock, MD’89, FE’02, has been named director of the Joseph M. Still Burn and Reconstruction Center’s Laser and Reconstruction program at Merit Health Central in Jackson, Mississippi.
Cliff Bogue, MD, HS’89, has been appointed chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Yale, effective Aug. 1, 2017. Bogue is professor of Pediatrics (critical care) and had been serving as interim chair since 2015.
1990s
Ted Ruff, MD’90, has joined the medical staff of St. Anthony Shawnee Hospital in Midwest City, Oklahoma.
Rick Barr, MD, HS’91, MSCI’02, FAC’10, was named chair of the Department of Pediatrics and associate dean for child health in the UAMS College of Medicine, as well as pediatrician-in-chief for Arkansas Children’s, effective Oct. 1, 2017.
G. Lee Bryant Jr., MD’92, HS’98, is president of Allergy & ENT Associates of Middle Tennessee and chairman of the board of trustees for TriStar Summit Medical Center. He is a clinical instructor for the physician assistant program at Trevecca Nazarene University.
Nicola Francalancia, MD, HS’94, a cardiac surgeon, has joined Southcoast Physicians Group in Fall River, Massachusetts, as a member of the Cardiovascular Services program. Previously, Francalancia was a member of Chicago-based Cardiac Surgery Associates and chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, Illinois.
Mary Taylor, MD, HS’94, FE’98, MSCI’05, FAC’11, was named chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, effective Dec. 1, 2017. Taylor is the first woman to hold the post.
Liz Stephens, MD’94, is the medical director for Providence Endocrinology East and West in Portland, Oregon, and medical director for Diabetes Education, associate director of CME at Providence Portland Medical Center. She and her husband, Peter, have two children, ages 10 and 12.
Murali Chakinala, MD’94, was promoted to professor of Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, where he’s been on faculty for more than 15 years.
Henry Wilson, MD’96, recently completed a two-year term as president of the Virginia Society of Plastic Surgeons. Under his leadership, the VASPS has co-sponsored important Virginia health regulations promoting patient safety in office-based surgery and ethical promotion of board certification.
Brian Edkin, MD, HS’97, has joined Southcoast Physicians Group in Swansea, Massachusetts, as the medical director of the Total Joint Program. He previously specialized in adult hip and knee disorders at Tennessee Orthopaedic Clinics in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Ted Teknos, MD, FE’97, was named president and scientific officer of University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio, effective Oct. 1, 2017.
Sharon Barwise, MD, HS’98, a psychiatrist with VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare Mental Health in Nashville, has been named a 2017 Top Doctor Awards recipient.
Todd Baker, MD’98, whose daughter, Julianne, was born during his fourth year of medical school, reports that she is now a pre-med student at Johns Hopkins University. Baker is looking forwarding to celebrating his class’s 20th reunion in the fall.
Jim Lavelle, MD’99, associate professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and medical director of the surgical intensive care unit at the Denver VA Medical Center, and his wife, Heather, and their daughter Emma welcomed a son, William, to the family in January 2017.
2000s
Kevin Joseph, MD’01, has been named chief medical officer for Cincinnati-based TriHealth. He will continue as the system chief quality officer.
Adrienne Carmack, MD, HS’03, joined Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center hospital and clinics in Longview, Texas, specializing in urology.
Robin Hemphill, MPH’04, FAC’08, has been named chief quality officer and safety officer at Virginia Commonwealth University Health.
Theresa Larson, MD’05, joined Cedar Valley Eye Care in Waterloo, Iowa, as a staff ophthalmologist.
Celeste Hemingway, MD’06, HS’10, MPH’13, BS’02, has been appointed program director for the Obstetrics and Gynecology residency program at Vanderbilt, and she has also been selected as an oral board examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Robert Riviello, MD, MPH, HS’06, director of global surgery programs, associate surgeon, Division of Trauma, Burns and Surgical Critical Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and instructor in Surgery, Harvard Medical School, was selected to receive a $1 million endowed gift from the Steven C. and Carmella R. Kletjian Foundation to support his work in improving surgical care in developing nations.
William Yi, MD’09, has joined TriStar Medical Group Southern Hills Surgical Consultants in Nashville. Yi specializes in treatment of diverticulitis, gallstones, gastric ulcers and cancers of the breast, stomach and colon.
Elizabeth Bigger, MD, HS’09, joined the Massachusetts General Cancer Center at Emerson Hospital as a hematology/oncology physician.
10s
Courtney Schadt, MD’07, HS’11, is the residency program director for the Division of Dermatology at the University of Louisville, chief of Dermatology at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Louisville and a member of the Graduate Medical Education Accreditation Subcommittee for the University of Louisville School of Medicine. She has three children: Charlie, Reyn and Freddie.
Michael Young, MD’09, HS’12, FE’15, will complete his final year of interventional cardiology training at Massachusetts General Hospital in June. His wife, Eileen Duggan, MPH’14, HS’16, will be completing her two-year training program as the Stuart and Jane Weitzman Pediatric Vascular Anomalies Fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital. She will then start her pediatric surgery fellowship in Montreal. Their daughter, CeCe, turned 3 in February.
Tiffany Ballard, MD’10, a plastic surgeon with Ann Arbor Plastic Surgery, and Rajesh Rao, MD, a retina surgeon, welcomed daughter Sri Lakshmi Grace on March 9, 2017.
Marlon Joseph, MD’11, and Kara Brown, MD’11, welcomed their son, Julian Brown, on July 3, 2017.
Vinod Varki, MD’11, BS’07, has joined Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, as a medical oncologist, specializing in solid tumor malignancies, multiple myeloma and lymphomas.
Asmitha Sathiyakumar, MD’12, BS’08, has joined Harbin Clinic Spine & Pain Management in Rome (Georgia) as an anesthesiologist.
Brad Lindell, MD’12, and his wife, Karen Lindell, JD’12, welcomed a daughter, Cora Lillian, on Oct. 27, 2017. Lindell is a PICU fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Brandon Perry, MD, HS’13, FE’15, has joined Holy Cross Medical Group in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is board certified in internal medicine and endocrinology and previously served as assistant professor in Clinical Medicine at Vanderbilt.
Scott Hagan, MD’13, a primary care physician at the Seattle VA, and Anna Hagan, MD’13, a hospitalist at Harborview Medical Center, welcomed their first child, Penny Jane, Sept. 20, 2017. VMAA sponsored a VUSM young alumni dinner in Boston on Oct. 18, 2017, at the home of Grace Ho, MD’14.
Althea Shelton, MD, MPH’16, welcomed a son, Nathan Ryker, born Feb. 26, 2017.
Kensey Pease, MD’16, and Nick Saltarelli, MD’16, were married July 1, 2017, at the bride’s family home in Ojai, California. They live in Indianapolis where both are residents at Indiana University, she in meds/peds and he in emergency medicine.
Clark Kensinger, HS’17, FE’14, received the President Award for Exemplary Teaching at the American College of Surgeons meeting in October 2017 from ACS president, Barbara Bass, MD.