Class Notes
1950s
Gerald Stone, M.D., ‘57, HS ‘58, and his wife, Lois, welcomed their first great-grandchild on May 8. The first of their 15 grandchildren, David Clay, M.D., BA ‘09, shares the same birthday. Stone continues to do locum tenens and stays active in the medical community in Rochester, New York.
1960s
Antonio Gotto, Jr., M.D., ‘65, has been appointed Class II director at Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., with a term of office expiring in 2015. Esperion is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing first-in-class, oral, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol-lowering therapies.
John Hutcherson, M.D., ‘60, HS ‘66, was honored in May by Central Methodist University with the Distinguished Alumni Award.
Stephen Kutner, M.D., ‘65, is the medical director emeritus for Jewish Healthcare International. The non-profit organization is dedicated to enhancing the quality of, and access to, health care services for communities in need throughout the world. Kutner is also the founder and CEO of Project Vision, Inc., a non-profit vision care organization that provides consulting, training and support to communities in Israel and internationally with limited access to eye care.
Harold “Hal” Moses, M.D., ‘62, HS ‘65, FAC, the Ingram professor of Cancer Research at Vanderbilt University, is the recipient of the 2014 Vanderbilt University Distinguished Alumni Award. He is a professor of Medicine and Pathology, acting chair of Cancer Biology and director emeritus of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), where he was the founding director. He is also the founding and current director of the Frances Williams Preston Laboratories at VICC. He lives in Nashville with his wife, Linda.
1970s
Richard Davidson, M.D., ‘72, HS ‘71, retired after nearly 30 years of service to the University of Florida College of Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine and Health Science Center. Most recently he served as the associate vice president for inter-professional.
James Fletcher Jr., M.D., ‘76, celebrated 40 years of marriage to his wife, Cindy. He is now retired from medical practice, and continues to preside over the family farm business and enjoys their six grandchildren.
Sandra Hassink, M.D., ‘78, is president-elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She will begin her yearlong term on Jan. 1, 2015. Over the past 20 years, Hassink has held several leadership roles with the Academy and is internationally recognized as an expert in child obesity prevention.
Mark Houston, M.D., ‘74, HS ‘77, has partnered with Thorne Research, Inc., and the Hypertension Institute to launch TruCardia, a new venture providing novel nutritional supplements and educational programs to support and promote cardiovascular health.
Ben Kibler, M.D., ‘72, FE ‘74, HS ‘77, was named a Top Doctor in North America by a consumer-oriented website, Orthopedics This Week.
Bob Mahley, M.D., ‘70, Ph.D., ‘70, HS ‘71, received a Wellcome Trust (UK) Award to advance Alzheimer’s disease drug discovery. His research focuses on the apoE protein, a major genetic risk factor for the disease.
Patrick Maxwell, M.D., ‘72, FAC ‘00, has been named to the ALPHAEON Corporation’s board of directors. Maxwell is a clinical professor of plastic surgery at California’s Loma Linda University and Vanderbilt University.
Lawrence Pass, M.D., HS ‘79, a cardiothoracic surgeon, has been appointed to TriStar Centennial Medical Center’s board of trustees for a three-year term.
Peter Rawlings, M.D., ‘79, a board member for the Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti, recently traveled to Haiti where he volunteered in the Positive Deviance clinic that teaches moms about nutrition with the local resources and monitors the children’s growth and development.
David Stephens, M.D., HS ‘74, FE ‘81, has been appointed chair of the Department of Medicine at Emory University, where he is the vice president of research in the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center.
Dan Winstead, M.D., ‘70, has stepped down as chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Tulane after 27 years, but will continue to be on the faculty part-time. He and his wife, Jenny, enjoy spending time with their grandchildren, now 2 and 5.
1980s
Ray Dufresne Jr., M.D., ‘80, HS ‘87, is moving into a slower phase after 25 years in the Department of Dermatology at Brown where he developed the first Mohs surgery unit in Rhode Island. He plans to taper his responsibilities over the next few years and retire to Cape Cod with his wife, Laura.
Charles Holloway, M.D., HS ‘87, was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Radiology at a formal convocation ceremony in Washington, D.C., in April.
Daniel Foley, M.D., HS ‘83, retired from Rutland Regional Medical Center after 31 years of delivering babies. He and his wife, Laurie, will provide medical services to northwest Nepal in October and Richard Margolin, M.D., HS ‘87, has joined CereSpir, Inc., as vice president of Clinical Development. The company is developing CHF 5074, a first-in-class microglial modulator, as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
Robert Means Jr., M.D., ‘83, FE ‘89, was named dean of Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University and president of the Medical Education Assistance Corporation, which oversees Quillen ETSU physicians and other clinical services for the College of Medicine.
Michael Pietro, M.D., ‘85, a board-certified general surgeon at PeaceHealth St. Joseph and Peace Island, was recently named a Physician of Excellence for 2014, honored by his colleagues for his leadership, dedication and skilled, compassionate care.
Rob Schreiner, M.D., HS ‘89, has joined Huron Healthcare practice as a managing director, focusing on helping hospitals and health systems with population health management, coordinated care across the continuum, and effective hospital-physician alignment.
Jonathan Truwit, M.D., HS ’86, FE ’89, has been named Enterprise Chief Medical Officer for Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin, and professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Thomas Wilson, M.D., ‘87, has been named a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Wenzel Spine, a medical device company focused on providing minimally invasive alternatives to traditional spinal fusion.
1990s
Al Aly, M.D., FE ‘89, HS ‘92, has been appointed president of the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation.
Elizabeth Cato, M.D., ‘92, was named chief medical officer for Community Health Alliance, Tennessee’s health insurance co-op.
William Cooper, M.D., ‘91, MPH ‘97, HS ‘96, FE ‘95, FAC, professor of pediatrics and health policy at Vanderbilt, has been named associate dean for faculty affairs and will serve as director of the Vanderbilt Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy.
Eric Emerson, M.D., ‘90, a board-certified plastic surgeon with Piedmont Plastic Surgery and Dermatology, recently became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Patrick Frias, M.D., FE ‘99, was elected to serve on the Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth’s board of directors. Frias is chief of the Children’s Practice Group, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Scott Gibbs, M.D., ‘92, was appointed chief of otolaryngology at the VA Medical Center in Huntington, West Virginia. He is also the division chief at the Marshall University School of Medicine in the Department of Surgery.
Chris Iorio, M.D. ‘98, HS ‘01, and Tami Iorio, M.D., ‘98, HS ‘01, are both in private practice in Columbus, Indiana. Chris also practices intensive care medicine at Columbus Regional Hospital. Tami published her third book about the local history of Columbus. They have four children and enjoy hiking and vacationing in the western United States.
Scott Murkin, M.D., ‘92, who practices family medicine in North Carolina, spent most of his life in Illinois farm country. His grandmother and aunt were quilters and he used to help his grandmother cut out patterns. He is now an accomplished quilter, teaching the skill throughout the Southeast.
Vanderbilt’s Robert Miller, M.D., and Bonnie Miller, M.D., were in the Blue Ridge Parkway Folk Center recently, and toured a quilt show and purchased one of Murkin’s quilts.
Thomas Rushton, M.D., HS ‘92, has joined the staff of St. Mary’s Medical Management in Huntington, West Virginia. Rushton is board certified in infectious diseases and internal medicine.
Christopher Stanley, M.D., ‘94, a board-certified urogynecologist, has been named medical director of the Halifax Health-Center for Female Pelvic Medicine.
Robert Steele, M.D., ‘93, has been named chief strategy officer at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. Previously, he was president of Mercy Hospital Springfield, Missouri.
Bill Sutter, M.D., ‘90, HS ‘94, FE ‘95, has been named to the Maury Regional Medical Center Advisory Board for a three-year term that began in March.
2000s
Wes Abadie, M.D., ‘03, HS ‘04, was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was named assistant professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
Sanmit Basu, M.D., ‘06, has been appointed assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
Naveen Beth, M.D., ‘04, MBA ‘04, achieved board certification in EMS subspecialty in January. He continues to serve as EMS director for Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare in Utica, New York, as well as associate medical director for the Emergency Department.
Walter Clair, M.D., FAC, was named vice president of Harvard’s Board of Overseers for the 2014-2015 academic year.
Nicole Hames, M.D., ‘12, and Brad Lindell, M.D., ‘12 are two of the three newly selected chief residents at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Stuart Hannah, M.D., ‘00, is serving as program director for the Baraboo Rural Training Track Family Medicine Residency for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Family Medicine.
Dominika Heusinkveld, M.D., ‘00, MPH, was appointed director of diabetes treatment and prevention services at Tuba City Regional Healthcare Center on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.
Jenny Held, M.D., ‘14, and Kevin Held were married on Sept. 1, 2012, at Christ the King Catholic Church in Nashville.
Jon Kropski, M.D., ‘08, HS ‘11, FE, and Julie Kropski, Ph.D., ‘10, FE, welcomed a son, Matthew Jackson, born Nov. 16, 2013.
Judy Liu, M.D., ‘00, has joined the staff of Munson Healthcare as a specialist in vitreoretinal surgery. She practices at Associated Retinal Consultants in Traverse City, Michigan.
Ryan McGrath, M.D., ‘14, and Ashlee Inman were married on April 5, in Tucson, Arizona.
Saint Thomas Health in Nashville has added Brett Parker, M.D., HS ’13, FE ’14, to Saint Thomas Neurology Specialists and Michael Milam, M.D., MPH, BS ’96, HS ’05, to Saint Thomas Gynecologic Oncology Specialists.
Rob Peck, M.D., ‘03, has been working in Mwanza, Tanzania, for the past seven years since completing his combined Medicine and Pediatrics residency in Boston in 2007. He was appointed senior lecturer at the newly established Weill Bugando School of Medicine in Mwanza and a research fellow at the Tanzanian National Institute of Medical Research. Rob lives in Mwanza with his wife, Elizabeth, VUSN ‘01, and their five children, two of whom are adopted from Tanzania.
Mayur Patel, M.D., ‘02, MPH ‘12, FAC , and Anna Person, M.D., FAC, were married Oct. 13, 2013, at the Grand Wailea Resort in Maui, Hawaii. Person is an assistant professor of medicine, and Patel is an assistant professor of surgery.
Jim Phillips, M.D., FE ‘12, was honored as the 2013 Critical Medicine Teacher of the Year, Critical Care Medicine Anesthesiologist of the Year, and Critical Care Medicine Surgical Intensive Care Unit Staff of the Year at the Cleveland Clinic.
Justin Piasecki, M.D., ‘02, is a board-certified plastic surgeon at Harbor Plastic Surgery in Gig Harbor, Washington. In May he launched Piasecki, MD, the first skin care line to use a unique organic protein in its products—sericin silk—in an effort to create younger looking skin and prevent skin cancer.
Naveen Seth, M.D., ‘04, MBA ‘04, achieved board certification in EMS subspecialty in January. He continues to serve as EMS director at Faxon St. Luke’s Healthcare in Utica, New York.
Anjali Shah, M.D., ‘11, HS ‘14, is going to the Medical University of South Carolina for a GI fellowship in advanced endoscopy.
Nicholas Smith, M.D., ‘14, and Rachel Gosine were married on March 9, in Miami, Florida.
Mercy Udoji , M.D., ‘07, is an assistant professor in the Anesthesiology Pain Management Department at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.