Alumni News
To see Reunion photos, click here.
1960s
Keller Carlock, M.D., ‘64, BA ‘60, HS ‘65, received the top regional award for service from the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. A lifelong scout and former Council Camping Chair, he is a member of the Order of the Arrow Vigil, and of the National Eagle Scout Association and has received numerous awards of merit from the organization for his leadership and service.
The University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have established the Richard B. Johnston Jr., M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatrics. Johnston is a member of the VUSM class of 1961 (HS ‘63).
Farhad Ismail-Beigi, M.D., ‘64, HS ‘66, has written an article, “Principles of Healing Illness,” dedicated to his VUSM class on the occasion of its 50th reunion. He wishes to share his accumulated knowledge on his education, teaching of his mentors and his own experiences as a practicing gastroenterologist for the past 43 years. To read the article in full, please click here.
1980s
Capri Fillmore, M.D., ‘89, a board-certified family physician, has joined the staff of Memorial Medical Center.
W. Brian Gibler, M.D., ‘81, professor of emergency medicine at the University of Cincinnati, has been appointed to the board of directors for North Carolina-based life sciences company, Entegrion, Inc.
James Gigantelli, M.D., ‘85, HS ‘86, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, is serving his first term as a member of the American College of Surgeon’s board of regents.
Charles “Chipper” Griffith III, M.D., ‘88, BA ‘84, senior associate dean for medical education at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, has been elected a councilor director on Alpha Omega Alpha’s board of directors for a three-year term.
John Marymount, M.D., ‘86, has been named interim dean of the LSU School of Medicine Shreveport. He was previously chief of orthopaedics.
Christopher Payne, M.D., ‘86, retired after 21 years as the director of female urology and neurourology at Stanford University Medical School. He’s opened a new practice—Vista Urology and Pelvic Pain Partners—in San Jose with his wife, Jeannette Potts, M.D.
David Reagan, M.D., ‘85, Ph.D. ‘82, HS ‘88, chief medical officer with the Tennessee Department of Health, has been named the Tennessee Medical Association Public Health Champion for 2014. The honor recognizes TMA member physicians for outstanding public health contributions across the state.
Eric Rowinsky, M.D., ‘81, has been appointed to the board of directors of BIND Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage nanomedicine platform company.
Lawrence Sanders Jr., M.D., ‘81, an internist and educator in Atlanta, was installed as the president of the National Medical Association during the organization’s 112th Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly in Honolulu.
Lewis Schrager, M.D., ‘81, is a playwright in North Bethesda, Maryland. His play “Fourteen Days in July” opened Aug. 15, 2014, at the Baltimore Playwright Festival and recounts the failed Camp David peace talks of July 2000 between Israelis and Palestinians.
1990s
Yasmine Ali, M.D., ‘01, MSCI ‘07, FE ‘08, is the obesity expert for About.com. She creates reader-friendly content for obesity.about.com, with a focus on public education regarding obesity prevention and management.
Reuben Bueno Jr., M.D., ‘97, has been named chief of pediatric plastic surgery at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and director of the plastic surgery residency program. He comes to Vanderbilt from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
Dale Horne, M.D., Ph.D., FACS, HS ‘98, has joined the Mayfield Clinic and Spine Institute with expertise in minimally invasive techniques, robotic spine surgery, cervical disc replacement, cervical spine reconstruction and spine stabilization.
Mark Hughes, M.D., HS ‘91, will be providing psychiatric services to River Park’s Barboursville School in West Virginia, a residential treatment facility for adolescents with severe to acute psychiatric symptoms.
Tim Lineberry, M.D., ‘91, is the new chief medical officer for Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin for the Greater Green Bay Market.
William Lunn, M.D., FE ‘94, has been named chief executive officer of Tulane Medical Center. Previously, he was chief operating officer of Christus Health-Northern Louisiana in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Joseph Woods IV, M.D., HS ‘92, and his wife, Lara Satterthwaite Woods (BSN ‘83) recently returned from Zambia where he volunteered his plastic surgery services at Zimba Mission Hospital. This was the couple’s 11th medical mission trip serving through Samaritan’s Purse since 2000. (See image #1 in our “Faces and Places” gallery.)
2000s
Jeff Albert, M.D., ‘08, was appointed medical director of oncology services for the Northern Colorado region of Banner Health, where he has been on staff since July 2013. He and his wife, Erin, recently welcomed their first child in June 2014, a son named Parker.
Tiffany Ballard, M.D., ‘10, received a $50,000 research fellowship grant from the Plastic Surgery Foundation to support her work titled “Patient-Centered Care in Breast Reconstruction.” She is a plastic surgery resident at the University of Michigan, with anticipated graduation in June 2017.
Cole Barfield, M.D., ‘09, MBA ‘14, finished his MBA with a health care specialization from Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Business. He is chief medical officer and senior medical adviser for two health care startups in Nashville. He returned to practice as an internist at the Frist Clinic in January. Cole and his wife, Christen, welcomed their third child, Henry Brooks, in June 2014.
Michael Bestawros, M.D., FE ‘13, joined New Mexico Heart Institute. A practicing electrophysiologist, Bestawros completed a seven-year fellowship at Vanderbilt and is a Fulbright Scholar.
Kerry Blaha, M.D., ‘06, and Mike Blaha, M.D., MPH ‘06, welcomed their third child in July. Adriana joins big sisters Krysta and Sienna. Kerry is an anesthesiologist at Union Memorial Hospital, and Mike is the director of clinical research at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease. (See image #2 in our “Faces and Places” gallery.)
Natalie Braggs, M.D., HS ‘08, FE ‘14, has joined CHI Memorial Arthritis and Rheumatology Associates in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is board-certified in internal medicine.
Robert Browning IV, M.D., ‘08, and his wife, Krista, welcomed their second child, Lillian Grace, on Jan. 27, 2014. Browning is an assistant professor of surgery at University of Florida Shands Hospital.
Andy Camarata, M.D., ‘06, received orders to report to Navy Medical Center Portsmouth as a staff radiation oncologist. His family, including his wife, Molly, and daughter, Addy, will be moving to Hampton Roads, Virginia, after he completes the radiation oncology residency at Emory University in June.
Rebecca Cook, M.D., ‘11, is a fourth-year resident at Massachusetts General Hospital and will be staying in Boston for an additional year to serve as pediatric chief resident.
Gus Davis, M.D., ‘11, is chief resident in the Department of Neurology at Washington University in St. Louis.
Marc DeJong, M.D., ‘01, HS ‘04, joined the Springfield Clinic in Springfield, Illinois, as a primary care sports medicine physician, specializing in non-surgical orthopaedics for adults and children.
Bishoy Gayed, M.D., HS ‘07, has joined Chesapeake Urology practice as a urologic oncologist. He serves as the director of urologic oncology at Saint Agnes Hospital.
Laura Green, M.D., ‘02, was awarded the Secretariat Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology for her work on the Committee for Resident Education, including creating an online ophthalmic pathology curriculum, facilitating tablet-based textbooks, and revising their online curriculum. Green practices with LifeBridge Health Krieger Eye Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.
Andrew Gore, M.D., ‘10, recently shot his first hole-in-one at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, on the par-3, 137-yard 17th, known as the “Island Green,” one of golf’s most recognizable and difficult holes. TPC Sawgrass is in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and the 17th hole is where many PLAYERS Championships have been won and lost. (See image #10 in our “Faces and Places” gallery.)
Nikita Gupta, M.D., ‘11, a fourth-year otolaryngology resident at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, and Marc Farris were married on Sept. 13, 2014, in Prospect, Kentucky.
Celeste Ojeda Hemingway, M.D. ‘06, MHPE ‘13, HS ‘10, and Graham Hemingway, MS ‘07, Ph.D., ‘11, welcomed their second child, Archer, on Feb. 9, 2013. Celeste completed her master’s degree in health professions education (MHPE) at Vanderbilt in December 2013 and is a faculty member in the Department of Ob/Gyn at Vanderbilt.
Dustin Hipp, M.D., MBA, ‘13, and his wife Dana, MD ‘13, welcomed their daughter, Cecilia Therese, born Aug. 8, 2014. She joins big sister, Grace, 18 months. Dustin is a second-year pediatrics resident at Baylor/Texas Children’s Hospital, and Dana is a general psychiatry resident at the University of Texas-Houston. (See image #9 in our “Faces and Places” gallery.)
Shih-Kuang Sam Hong, M.D., ‘03, MSCI ‘09, FE ‘06, a board-certified gastroenterologist, has joined St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Ted Katner, M.D., FE ‘14, a board-certified neurologist, practices with Owensboro Health Neurology, serving as medical director of stroke for Owensboro Health Regional Hospital.
Kevin Liaw, M.D., ‘09, is completing a neuroradiology fellowship at Yale-New Haven and was recently elected chief fellow. He completed his chief residency in radiology at the University of Tennessee in winter 2015.
Jessica Lilley, M.D., ‘07, FE ‘13, and Smith Lilley, MDV ‘13, welcomed a daughter, Abigail, to their family in August 2014. She joined big sister, Emelyn. Jessica is a pediatric endocrinologist and the founding physician of a new satellite specialty clinic for Batson Children’s Hospital at the University of Mississippi in Tupelo. Smith is a pastor for Tremont Methodist Church. (See image #3 in our “Faces and Places” gallery.)
Kelly Melvin, M.D., HS ‘05, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, has been selected to receive an Association for Academic Psychiatry Early Career Development Award.
Michael Nichols, M.D., ‘10, HS, is the chief resident in radiology at Vanderbilt, where he will be staying for an interventional radiology fellowship next year. He got engaged in October 2013 to Sarah Craven, a registered nurse at VUMC. (See image #7 in our “Faces and Places” gallery.)
Milton Ochieng’, M.D., ‘08, and his brother Frederick Ochieng’, M.D., HS ‘10, attended the Clinton Global Initiative 2014 where they represented the Lwala Community Alliance. The duo announced their new “Thrive Thru…Five” commitment to working with families in Lwala, Kenya, and the Ministry of Health in Kenya to cut mortality in children under age 5 by 50 percent by the end of 2016 in the Lwala catchment area and ensure 90 percent of infants receive their immunizations. (See image #4 in our “Faces and Places” gallery.)
Lynn O’Neill, M.D., ‘02, is an associate professor of Medicine at Emory School of Medicine and associate program director for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship. She and her husband, James, welcomed daughter, Madelyn Ann, born March 23, 2013. She joins big brother, Luke.
Sanjay Patel, M.D., ‘08, HS ‘13, married Diana Tamboli in December 2013 in Cancun, Mexico. He is finishing a urology oncology fellowship at the University of Chicago, and Diana is finishing her ophthalmology residency at Loyola in Chicago. (See image #5 in our “Faces and Places” gallery.)
Selwyn Rogers Jr., M.D., MPH ‘01, FAC ‘01, a surgeon and public health expert, is the new vice president and chief medical officer for the Health System at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
Chloe Rowe, M.D., ‘03, and her husband, Eduardo, welcomed a daughter, Daphne Eleanor Razo, on Aug. 12, 2014. She joins big brother, Soren, age 2. Rowe lives in New York City and is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College with a faculty practice on the Upper East Side. (See image #8 in our “Faces and Places” gallery.)
Manish Shah, M.D., ‘06, joined Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and Memorial Hermann Mischer Neuroscience Institute at the Texas Medical Center as assistant professor of pediatric neurosurgery at the UT Health Medical School.
Sarah Tiggelaar, M.D., ‘12, BS ‘06, was named chief resident in Family Medicine at Idaho State University. She received the American Academy of Family Practice Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education and was honored at the Annual Assembly in Washington, D.C., in October 2014.
Elizabeth Williams, M.D., HS, and Vaughn Braxton, HS, were married June 14, 2014, at the bride’s home at Lake Murray in South Carolina. Williams is an Ob/Gyn resident, and Braxton is a radiology resident.
Christopher Wootten, M.D., HS ‘07, FAC, has been named director of the pediatric otolaryngology service at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Wootten previously served as interim director.
Andre Churchwell, M.D., FAC, senior associate dean for Diversity Affairs, has written a poem, Gaudeamus Igitur, No. II, an Homage to John H. Stone, MD—Poet, Friend, Humanist, and Cardiologist—and John’s Poem “Gaudeamus Igitur: A Valedictory Address.” (1982) Churchwell read the poem at the medical school’s diversity graduates dinner as part of Commencement 2014.
Let us rejoice in this celebration.
Let us rejoice in this end of a
Beginning and the beginning to a new end.
Let us rejoice that the days of
Healing can now begin.
For in healing our lives are made
More meaningful.
That to heal, we must be constantly
In the moment, human and
Doubly humane.
To read the poem in its entirety, please click here.