Class Notes
1950s
Gerald E. Stone, BA’54, MD’57, HO’58, celebrated his 67th wedding anniversary to author/poet Lois Greene Stone. They have 15 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Their son and their oldest grandchild are physicians, and another grandchild is a fourth-year medical student. Their family also includes a nurse and a CPA. Stone studied under the inventor of the artificial kidney machine and initiated the procedure in 1963 for those with chronic kidney disease who lived in western New York.
1960s
Phillip Gorden, BA’57, MD’61, VUSM Distinguished Alumni Award recipient in 1990, was honored with the Vanderbilt Diabetes Center Lifetime Achievement Award during the May 2023 Diabetes Day, which was sponsored by the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center. Gorden retired in 2021 after 55 years of service with the National Institutes of Health.
1970s
Gary Stiles, MD’75, HO’75-’78, co-curated with Katherine Carter the newly launched exhibition ‘Churchill in Punch: A Cartoon Biography’ based on the new book “Churchill in Punch” (Unicorn Publications 2022) by Stiles. The exhibit recently opened in Washington, D.C., at the Churchill Center.
Iverson Bell, MD’77, semiretired after serving as psychiatry residency training director for 13 years at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and 17 years at Morehouse School of Medicine, was honored by the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training by having a fellowship named after him.
Bill Crump, MD’79, published a compilation of his life’s work, “Finding Meaning in Work: Musings of a True Generalist,” which summarizes his life as a family physician performing surgical and endoscopic procedures, helping to design the space station, and doing the very early work on telehealth with NASA.
1980s
Thomas Hunt III, MD’86, HO’86, has been selected to serve as Lee Health’s new vice president and chief physician executive of musculoskeletal medicine.
Kevin Churchwell, MD’87, president and CEO of Boston Children’s Hospital, gave the Chapman Lecture as part of the Flexner Deans’ Lecture Series in April 2023. Titled “The Importance of EDI for Medical Education in the Hospital Setting,” his presentation focused on Boston Children’s six-point Declaration for Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity.
Charles Griffith III, BA’84, MD’88, was named dean of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, effective July 2023. He had served as acting dean of the college since July 2021. After graduating from VUSM, Griffith moved to Lexington, Kentucky, to complete his residency at UK in internal medicine and pediatrics. In 1991, he became chief resident, before earning a master’s degree in public health. In 1994, Griffith joined the health care enterprise at UK as a physician and the College of Medicine as an assistant professor, eventually earning tenure as a professor.
1990s
William Cooper, MD’91, FE’95, HO’96, MPH, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy and associate dean for Faculty Affairs for VUSM, was named interim chair of the Department of Pediatrics, effective in February. Cooper succeeds Steven Webber, MBChB, MRCP, who departed VUMC to serve as dean and executive vice chancellor for University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Yolanda Becker, MD’92, has joined the organ procurement organization, LifeGift, as vice president and chief medical officer. Becker will provide clinical operational leadership and medical direction and will serve as a clinical resource for tissue recovery operations. Becker also will serve as a resource for clinical quality systems monitoring and ongoing service quality development.
Thomas Boeve, MD’93, returned to SageWest Health Care in Fremont County, Wyoming, in June 2023. He provides services for both children and adults with conditions related to the ear, nose and throat.
Dominique (Nikki) Walton Brooks, MD’93, published her first fiction novel, “Homecoming Chaos,” in November 2023, which is available on her website (authordwbrooks.com) and on Amazon.
Wonder Puryear Drake, MD’94, FE’99, has been named professor of Medicine, senior associate dean for Faculty Affairs, and director of the inaugural Sarcoidosis Center of Excellence at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Marya Strand, MS, MD’97, was named chair of the newly formed Department of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine and inaugural chair holder of the Thomas R. & Mary Lynn Crowley Endowed Chair in Neonatology and Maternal Fetal Medicine at Akron Children’s.
Tami Stone Iorio, A&S’94, MD’98, HO’01, was inducted into The Bull Dog Alumni Association Hall of Fame at Columbus North High School in Indiana. Iorio is a physician and partner at Northside Pediatrics Associates and serves as the Bartholomew County historian. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
2000s
Julie B. Damp, MD’01, HO’04, FE’07, FACC, is the next vice chair of the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session. Damp is a professor of Medicine in cardiovascular medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where her clinical focus is cardio-obstetrics, echocardiography and nuclear cardiology. She is also program director for the Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship at VUMC and prior assistant director of the Vanderbilt Educator Development Program.
Bill Heerman, MD’08, MPH’14, HO’12, FE’14, associate professor of Pediatrics, has been named chief of the Division of General Pediatrics at Vanderbilt. Heerman, who has spent his entire career at Vanderbilt, was selected following a national search.
Megan E. Johnson, MD’09, HO’14, a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon and the medical director of Ambulatory Care at Scottish Rite for Children, has been appointed program director for the Dorothy & Bryant Edwards Fellowship in Pediatric Orthopedics and Scoliosis. The Edwards fellowship is one of the oldest and largest fellowships in the country and has an alumni base of nearly 200 surgeons. Johnson will be responsible for attracting candidates from diverse backgrounds and training them to be skilled clinicians and surgeons.
Brenessa Lindeman, MD’09, has been elected to the American Board of Family Medicine board of directors, serving a five-year term from 2023-2028. Lindeman is an associate professor and vice chair of Education in the Department of Surgery, section chief and fellowship director for Endocrine Surgery, and assistant dean for Graduate Medical Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She was the VUSM Founder’s Medalist for the Class of 2009.
2010s
Eli Zimmerman, MD’10, HO’11, has been named associate dean for Student Affairs at Feinberg School of Medicine, effective Jan. 1. In his new role, Zimmerman — who was previously associate vice chair for education and an associate professor of Neurology at VUSM — will work with medical students to ensure Feinberg’s mentorship, wellness and support systems meet their needs.
Logan E. St. Cyr, MD’18, FE’23, has joined the staff at Terrebonne General Health System in Houma, Louisiana, as a Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care Specialist. She is board-certified in internal medicine and board-eligible in palliative care.
2020s
Nicholas Tingquist, MD, FE’23, won the 2020 Christ Hackler Award for Excellence in Medical Ethics from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Tingquist, a VUMC fellowship-trained, board-certified surgeon, joined UAMS in October 2023 as an assistant professor in the College of Medicine’s Division of Thoracic Surgery.
Faculty Notes
Jordan Berlin, MD, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, has been named director of Vanderbilt’s Division of Hematology and Oncology. The appointment was effective Jan. 1, but Berlin had served as interim director for six months prior.
Eden Biltibo, MD, MS, assistant professor of Medicine, is one of the first recipients of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation’s Scholars Program, an initiative launched in 2022. She will receive $100,000 per year for four years to support her career development and research on daratumumab dosing.
Sam S. Chang, MD, MBA, is one of the American Urological Association’s 2024 award recipients who will be recognized at the organization’s annual meeting in May in San Antonio. The AUA has chosen him for the Hugh Hampton Young Award, which is presented annually to an individual for outstanding contributions to the study of genitourinary tract diseases.
Michael DeBaun, MD, MS, MPH, professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, vice-chair of Clinical Research and Translational Research, and holder of the J.C. Peterson, MD Chair in Pediatrics, has received the Paragon Award for “Innovative Improvements to Clinical Care or Healthcare Delivery” from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
John (Jed) Kuhn, MD, MS, Kenneth D. Schermerhorn Professor of Orthopaedics and chief of shoulder surgery, has been named president of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons.
Keith Obstein, MD, MPH, professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and professor of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, has received the inaugural Innovator of the Year Award from the Brock Family Center for Applied Innovation in recognition of his achievements in developing and commercializing a magnetic, flexible colonoscopy system with the potential to provide a safer alternative to standard colonoscopy.
C.J. Stimson, MD, JD, assistant professor of Urology and senior vice president of Value Transformation in the VUMC Office of Population Health, has been named executive vice president for Population Health. His appointment was effective Jan.1.
Peggy Valentine, EdD, Vice President of Allied Health Education, has been named a 2024 Women of Influence by the Nashville Business Journal. Valentine is recognized as a 2024 Trailblazer among 40 community and business leaders. Valentine joined VUMC in 2021 to design, pilot and expand training pathways to create a new allied health workforce in the greater Nashville area.