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M ATC H H Y S T E R I A

W H AT N OT TO W E A R

C L A S S N OT E S

12TH & MARSHALL NEWS FROM THE HEART OF THE MCV CAMPUS

E WELCOM TO OUR RAL I N AU G U ISSUE

School of Medicine

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FROM THE DEAN

Jerome F. Strauss III, M.D., PH.D.

12th & Marshall Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2014 Published twice a year by the Alumni and Development Office of the School of Medicine on Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia Campus.

Letters to the Editor along with reader comments and suggestions are welcome; please write to us at P.O. Box 980022, Richmond, VA 23298-0022 or MedAlum@vcu.edu.

DEAN Jerome F. Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D. ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR DEVELOPMENT Tom Holland EDITOR Erin Lucero

Welcome to the first issue of 12th & Marshall.

When I arrived on the MCV Campus in 2005, it felt like I was joining a family. So it only seems right—and perhaps even overdue—that we launch a publication for our alumni (medical school, graduate school and housestaff ) as well as faculty and friends of our medical school. We hope that it serves as a family album, chronicling the life of our school, our students, our faculty and—importantly—our alumni.

I want this new magazine to be a direct connection to our alumni. We aim to share information that is meaningful to you—whether it be news from campus or news from a classmate. You’ll have to let us know if we deliver on that.

Every day I see evidence that our traditions continue to be lived out and celebrated here on the MCV Campus. Some are unmistakable: the White Coat Ceremony, the gross anatomy lab (now renovated), Take Offs. Others are more subtle. They may happen late at night, or when everyone else has left for the day. Clinical lessons at the bedside. A mentor’s patience in reviewing a manuscript—for the fifth time. A house call to an elderly patient in one of Richmond’s neighborhoods. And our students’ never-ending efforts to care for our community—both locally and globally.

But it’s only through the lives of our graduates that those values can be carried beyond the confines of the MCV Campus. Recently we heard from an alumnus who’s on faculty at another medical school. One of the things he enjoys is teaching the medical students who come through his department. He makes a point of coaching them in how to build rapport with patients, look them in the eye, learn about their families and answer their questions directly. Qualities he honed on the MCV Campus.

I hope we’ll hear from you, too—whether you are near or far. Tell us the stories of your accomplishments and challenges, news of weddings and children. Tell us what MCV has meant to you. So that we can all share it —as a true family would.

The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine or the VCU School of Medicine.

Articles, artwork and photography may be reprinted only with prior permission.

Jerome F. Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D. Dean, School of Medicine Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, VCU Health System

We’d love to hear from you!

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Lisa Crutchfield, Eleana Legree, Janet Showalter PHOTOGRAPHERS Lawrence Green, Allen Jones, Tom Kojcsich, Nancy Parker, Lindy Rodman, Kevin Schindler, VCU University Marketing GRAPHIC DESIGN Scout Design

© Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014.

LET US KNOW > Your latest news > Stories you’d like to see covered in future issues > What you think of this new magazine You can get our attention at http://go.vcu.edu/MedAlum via email at MedAlum@vcu.edu or snail mail at P.O. Box 980022, Richmond, VA 23298-0022

12TH & MARSHALL NEWS FROM THE HEART OF THE MCV CAMPUS

ON CAMPUS Class of 2018 ......................................................................... 2 Cadavar Rounds .................................................................... 4 New Chair of Surgery Named ............................................... 8

FEATURES The Original Golden Apple Retires ...................................... 14 What Not to Wear ................................................................. 16 Alumna Takes on DC Advocacy Position ............................. 18 Match Hysteria ................................................................... 20 Friday Night Lights ............................................................ 26 Tackling Concussions ......................................................... 29

CLASS NOTES Catch up with Your Classmates .......................................... 30 Piece of the Past ................................................................. 44 3 Tips from the MCV Foundation ....................................... 46 In Memoriam ...................................................................... 48 Through Your Eyes ........................................................... 51

Cover: The 216 members of the Class of 2018 in the moments after their official White Coat Photo was taken on the east side of the historic Egyptian Building.

Cover photography: Kevin Schindler

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ON CAMPUS

The Latest from Students, Faculty, and the School

CLA SS OF 2018 At Roll Call in August, Dean of Medicine Jerry Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D., told the 216 incoming students that they are part of a great tradition of healers who’ve studied on the MCV Campus. He also pointed out that they are a historic class: the largest ever admitted and chosen from the largest applicant pool in the school’s history.

C L AS S S TATS

109

Females

107 Males

7,830

Total Applications

1,024

3.65

Total Interviews

30

216

Average GPA Average MCAT

Matriculants

B U T TH AT' S NOT TH E W H OL E S TORY: The Class of 2018 includes ... > A Green Beret and a ballerina. > A former chef, a flight paramedic and a fan of really bad sci-fi movies. > Plus a Peace Corps volunteer, a pilot and a pair of ice hockey players. > Two marathoners, a trio of scuba divers and a quartet of ER medical scribes. > Travelers – across the country on a bike, in Europe with a backpack and to far-flung corners of the globe. > And then there's the ambidextrous collector of antique cameras.

24.4

Average Age

30

States + Canada are represented

109

from Virginia

35

from California Allen Jones; Kevin Schindler

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A TASTE OF H OME

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t’s been a sweet ride for Cathy Kravetz, better known around the MCV Campus as the Brownie Queen.

Since her husband took on medical student education for the anesthesia department about 10 years ago, Cathy has baked a pan of brownies nearly every week for his students, and often the residents as well.

That’s more than 500 pans of brownies, or 15,000 single brownies, over the years.

But on July 1, Robert Kravetz, M.D., retired from his position as associate professor in anesthesiology.

And Cathy Kravetz hung up her royal crown.

“I used to think it was my wonderful teaching skills that the students liked so much,” Robert Kravetz said.

“But now I know it’s the brownies. I joke all the time that it’s a requirement for graduation to have at least one.”

Priya Venugopal, M’14, says she ate her share.

Venugopal, who began her residency at the Medical College of Georgia this past summer, was initially surprised by the weekly brownies but, like her classmates, came to expect—and savor—them.

“It’s just one of many unique things about MCV,” she said. “It truly is very much like family here. Medicine can be so hectic, so it was nice to take a break to appreciate life’s special moments.”

Allen Jones, VCU University Marketing

Cartoonist David J. Bromley is accustomed to putting physicians-in-training through their paces as an actor in the medical school's Standardized Patient Program. He's also taught drawing classes in the VCU School of the Arts and “The History of Cartoon Drawing” in the VCU Honors College.

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C A DAVER ROU N DS

On the MCV Campus, medical students still spend time in intensive dissection of 20 different regions of the body. But now, Course Director M. Alex Meredith, Ph.D., has found a way to push the traditional gross anatomy course into the clinical realm. If the lab doesn't look – or smell – quite as you remember it, that's thanks to a $7-million renovation that provided a new ventilation system among other improvements.

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n an era when some other medical schools have dropped or limited the gross anatomy lab, it’s more pertinent than ever on the MCV Campus.

Just as in years past, first-year medical students learn from their “first patient.” But now they have an unprecedented opportunity to expand beyond their anatomical observations. For the first time, they can send suspicious tissue biopsies to the pathology lab and even submit the cadaver itself for a full body CTscan. In return, as first-year sleuths, they’re asked to assemble a plausible clinical picture of the cadaver from their different observations.

It’s called Cadaver Rounds.

“Each cadaver is different and has a different medical life history,” says M. Alex Meredith, PhD’81, course director and professor of anatomy and neurobiology. “Studying the cadaver has been so valuable in helping students develop a visual picture of the body’s 3-D structure and to see the body’s variability. Now, we are pushing those observations further to estimate – from discovered things like scars, shunts, implants, tumors and the like – what that person’s health profile was like and how those problems may have impacted their lives.”

Working in teams, the students dissect the cadaver with intensive study of 20 different regions of the body. Along the way, they make daily logs of important anatomical or pathological findings as well as suspected medical problems from scars, implants and tumors.

Meredith points out “Some clinical syndromes exhibit multiple pathologies.” By spotting and recording clues along the way, students eventually may be able to correlate separate observations to a single disease process. The reports from pathology and radiology

provide an opportunity to confirm, enhance or even refute or explain the students’ observations.

The dissection experience culminates in August, when the student teams formally present their findings to their classmates. They’ll be expected to describe any major clinical problems identified, the typical prognosis of diseases found, suggest clinical or lab tests relevant to the case and, finally, a likely cause of death. As a result, the whole class will have the chance to learn from 32 “first patients.”

Through Cadaver Rounds, students have early exposure to new skills. For example, they test out their dexterity with a scalpel as they slice biopsies and prepare them for the pathology lab. Once submitted, the Pathology Department prepared the slides and Davis Massey, PhD’94, M’96, H’01, associate professor of pathology, read each specimen and provided a standard Path report.

Students also learned how to read a CT-scan thanks to Peter Haar, MD-PhD’06, who is now on faculty in the Department of Radiology and arranged the CT scans for all 32 cadavers. He also organized tutorials by the radiology staff for the students to examine and interpret the scans.

The four teams who earned the highest scores on their presentation received the distinction of “Best Cadavers” along with a copy of the recently published biography Medicine’s Michelangelo: The Life & Art of Frank H. Netter, M.D. Netter was described in a NY Times book review as “possibly the best-known medical illustrator in the world.”

Meredith was a medical illustrator himself (Hopkins, 1978) before completing his Ph.D. in anatomy on the MCV Campus in 1981. He says “Cadaver Rounds has moved what was a purely anatomical experience into the clinical realm.”

The Class of 2017's Kymia Khosrowani, Kaila Redifer and Andy Green discovered an unusual structure in the course of their dissection. They sent a biopsy to the pathology lab to determine if it was an enlarged lymph node or a misshaped adrenal gland as they suspected.

Photography by Kevin Schindler

WAL K THE WAL K

Kevin Schindler

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ach summer, about 140 interns arrive on the MCV Campus to begin training in their chosen specialty.

This year, the newly minted M.D.s hail from 61 different medical schools. They bring with them certain core competencies along with experiences and expectations that are based on what they’ve learned at more than five dozen medical centers.

Mary Alice O’Donnell, Ph.D., is associate dean of the medical school’s Graduate Medical Education office. She wants to be certain the interns know what’s expected of them at the VCU Medical Center.

To help make the transition, she and her colleagues created the Walk the Walk orientation program five years ago. It differs from orientation programs at

M . D. -PH . D. C A N DI DAT E JULIE BONANO AT T E N DS TH 6 4 A N N UA L NOB E L L AU R E AT E MEETING

other medical centers where newly arrived interns are often trained in specialty specific programs.

Instead, O’Donnell elected to train the new arrivals in interdisciplinary teams.

“That’s how patient care is delivered today — with physicians representing different disciplines working alongside nurses, therapists and pharmacists to care for patients,” she explains.

Simulation is a big part of the program. Wearing different colored shirts proclaiming their specialty, each of this year’s interns take part in one of five patient care scenarios designed to challenge not just clinical and diagnostic skills, but also their ability to communicate with the patient and the health care team.

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here else can you find more than three dozen Nobel Laureates in one place?

The annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting is a remarkable chance for young scientists to learn from and ask questions of the prize winners. This year, for the first time, women outnumbered men among the 625 young scientists invited to attend the meeting. M.D.-Ph.D. candidate Julie Bonano was among them.

Julie, who will graduate in 2017, says that one of the highlights of her trip was meeting Nobel Prize winner Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D., a clinical pharmacologist whose studies were the basis for much of Julie’s early coursework.

When she spotted him across the room, it felt like the chance of a lifetime. So she took a deep breath and introduced herself. In a matter of seconds, the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach had vanished.

“He immediately invited me to sit down with him at the table,” she said. “We talked for close to an hour about his research and his career. It was incredible.”

Julie is studying the behavioral effects of designer drugs of abuse, including the principal ingredients in bath salts. After completing her M.D.-Ph.D. program, she hopes to pursue a residency in anesthesiology and a fellowship in pain management while continuing her research on drug addiction.

During her trip to Lindau, Germany, Julie met dozens of other young researchers from around the world.

“We all come from different places and from different backgrounds,” she said.

“Yet we all have the same passion for science. It was so inspiring to be a part of that. It reinforced what I want to do, and I left there with a new energy to make a difference.”

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S TUD E N T TEA M ONE OF 10 IN CO U N T RY CH OS EN TO B ECOM E HOT S P OTTE R S

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n the U.S., five percent of the population diseases, health literacy, mental illness, substance accounts for almost half of total health care abuse and social needs. They’ll also identify barriers expenses. In the world of health policy and to patients accessing healthcare and will accompany health reform, identifying those super-utilizing patients on doctors’ visits, even assisting with transpatients is sometimes called “hot spotting,” and portation or helping to obtain health insurance, it could be a key to controlling health care costs in as needed. the future. Tricia Olaes and Eveline Chu (third The student team is made up of students from and fourth from left in the above photo) are medical the schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work and students in the Class of 2015 and are leading a five- Medicine. It’s one of just 10 from across the country student team representing four of VCU’s schools. chosen for the six-month learning collaborative that’s To get started, the students will meet up to five been organized by Camden Coalition of Healthcare super-utilizing patients in their homes to complete a Providers along with Primary Care Progress and the needs assessment and action plan that will take into Association of American Medical Colleges. account such issues as the patients’ chronic medical

M PH S T U DE N T H OS TS W E B I N A R F OR A M E R I C A N PU B L I C H E A LT H A S SOCI AT I ON

Elise Glaum offered tips to health care professionals interested in using social media to connect to their community.

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efore entering the masters of public health program, Elise Glaum worked at the United Nations Foundation. She served as the online communications associate dedicated to overseeing the social media strategy for the Shot@Life campaign that promotes child vaccinations worldwide. She drew on that experience this spring when she hosted a webinar in conjunction with the American Public Health Association. She offered tips to health care professionals interested in using social media to connect to their community.

Pulitzer Prize winner visits MCV Campus In May, a full house packed the Egyptian Building's Baruch Auditorium to hear Pulitzer-Prize winner Siddhartha Mukherjee, M.D., Ph.D., speak on advances made in understanding and treating cancer.

Mukherjee is an oncologist at Columbia University and author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, which won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in general non-fiction. In addition to his talk on the MCV Campus, Mukherjee spoke on VCU's Monroe Park Campus about his experience writing the history of cancer. His visit was sponsored by the VCU Life Sciences and Religion Initiative and made possible through a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

Lindy Rodman, VCU University Marketing

RETIRING PROF E S SOR DICK WENZEL H ON OR E D WITH M . S. FAV E RO AWA R D

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ichard “Dick” P. Wenzel, M.D., itus professor and former chairman of received the International the Department of Internal Medicine.

Federation of Infection Con- “This is the key challenge today and trol’s 2014 Martin S. Favero Award last it is complicated by fewer and fewer March. pharmaceutical companies investing in The award was bestowed a few anti-infective agents.” months prior to his July retirement The author of more than 500 scienfrom the medical school. It recog- tific publications and six textbooks, nized his lifetime achievements and Wenzel is also the first editor-at-large contributions to the field of infection of The New England Journal of Medprevention and control, particularly icine and the founding editor of the Wenzel’s work to combat hospital-ac- journals Infection Control and Hospital quired infections. In the U.S., deaths Epidemiology and Clinical Performance from hospital-acquired infections and Quality Health Care. are recognized by CDC to be equivalent He is also an essayist and fiction to the eighth-leading cause of death. writer, with Stalking Microbes: A Re“The major change in the last decade lentless Pursuit of Infection Control has been the recognition that more and and Labyrinth of Terror to his credit. more of these infections are caused Following his retirement this summer, by bacteria increasingly resistant to he expects to devote more time to those available antibiotics,” said the emer- storytelling pursuits.

The M.S. Favero recognized Wenzel’s lifetime achievements and contributions to the field of infection prevention and control, particularly his work to combat hospital-acquired infections.

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NEW CH AIR OF SURG ERY NAM ED

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igneshwar Kasirajan, M.D., has been named chair of the Department of Surgery. Kasirajan, who joined the MCV Campus in 2000, is a professor of surgery and chair of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He has served as interim chair of the department since July 1, 2013.

Kasirajan has transplanted over 150 donor hearts in his career and is also one of the pioneers in the surgical implantation of artificial hearts and other mechanical assist devices. In 2006, he led the first surgical team on the East Coast to implant the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart, the only device of its kind approved by the FDA. His work in this field has helped establish VCU as one of the leaders in the realm of artificial hearts.

“Dr. Kasirajan has helped to create a vibrant environment at VCU,” said Jerry Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine. “In addition to his work with transplant patients, he is at the forefront of a new frontier in cardiac surgery that includes artificial hearts and mechanical assist devices. As the lead investigator on a number of national clinical trials, he is addressing some of the most urgent issues in cardiac surgery.”

Through the Looking Glass A new exhibit at the Tompkins-McCaw Library features microscopic images created by VCU students, faculty and staff including five from the medical school. This image shows transgenic mice lung cells that were stained using phalloidin and mounted using DAPI at 40x magnification. Images like this one can be used to model and investigate actin reorganization.

The exhibit, Through the Looking Glass, will be on display through Dec. 31.

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WI L D ERN E SS MED IC INE

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tudents interested in combining medicine with a love of the outdoors and a desire for adventure took part in a Wilderness Medicine training session last spring. They learned about important emergency skills, such as improvised splinting and using a climbing rope to improvise a stretcher. In this backboard demonstration, they trained in how to protect a person’s C-spine, assess a scene and check the ABCs (airway, breathing, circulation). Of course, in the wilderness, you probably wouldn’t have access to a backboard, so they also learned how to use a hiker’s backpack with a metal frame in place of a backboard.

P E DS I D F E L LOW 1 O F 7 CHOSEN F O R P E D I ATR I C SC I E N TI S T D E V E LO P M E N T P RO G R AM

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theory developed by Jeff Donowitz, M.D., an infectious diseases fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, has won support from the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs. He was one of seven pediatricians chosen for its Pediatric Scientist Development Program. He will examine the role small bowel bacterial overgrowth plays in vaccine failure and malnutrition in developing countries like Bangladesh.

While an undergraduate, Donowitz lived for a semester with a family of rural farmers in the Himalayas of Nepal: “We ate mostly rice with few fruits or vegetables and got our water from a local river,” Donowitz remembers. “I contracted giardia, then scurvy. I began to better understand my target population.” – Jeff Donowitz, M.D.

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G ERI ATRI C S CO U R S E D EV ELO PE D AT VC U TO B E L I C EN S E D TO OTHE R UNI V ERS I TI E S

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ith a reputation for one of the most advanced programs in web-based geriatric education, VCU’s latest course offering is now being licensed to other universities across the nation.

By the end of the 2015 academic year, more than 1,500 senior students from VCU’s Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Social Work will have trained in the innovative system for interactive interprofessional education Created with support from a $1 million grant from Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, the semester-long program presents student teams with a fictional scenario of a complex geriatric case. Made up of eight students representing the different schools, the team’s members receive only the information typically available to that student’s discipline. They must use

VC U H EA LT H SYS TEM A ND COMMUN I T Y MEMO RI A L H EA LTH C E N T E R J OI N O P ER AT I ON S

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his summer, the VCU Health System and Community Memorial Healthcenter in South Hill, Va., joined operations to expand the range and depth of healthcare delivery for residents of Southside Virginia and northern North Carolina.

“We believe that VCU Medical Center was a natural choice for CMH as we have enjoyed a productive and positive relationship for several decades, including establishing the first rural oncology clinic in the region over 25 years ago as well as other clinical and educational services,” said Scott Burnette, CMH President and CEO. CMH became a part of the VCU Health System and was renamed VCU Community Memorial Hospital.

Under the agreement, the VCU Health System has committed a minimum of $75 million in new strategic investments in CMH, including a new hospital facility, healthcare technologies, clinical initiatives and physician recruitment.

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an electronic record simulator to share information, and then collectively determine the best course of care for the patient.

“Interprofessional training is becoming a national priority because healthcare, especially for complex cases, requires an interactive team of professionals from multiple disciplines. The LCME has made it a specific item upon which medical schools are now surveyed,” says course co-creator Peter A. Boling, M.D., H’84, professor of internal medicine and chair of the Division of Geriatric Medicine. “We want everyone who graduates from medical school and other professional schools to understand geriatric medicine and teambased care.”

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he American Hospital Association has presented VCU Medical Center with its top honor for leadership and innovation in safety and quality improvement.

The medical center was selected as the 2014 recipient of the AHA–McKesson Quest for Quality Prize® in part because of its training program that resulted in a 50 percent reduction in serious safety hospital events, an electronic early warning system that alerts caregivers in real time of a patient’s declining health status and a community clinic that has enhanced care management and care coordination for the sickest, poorest patients.

The medical center’s mantra, “Safety First, Every Day,” was developed to support the center’s goal of becoming America’s safest health system, through reaching zero events of preventable harm to patients, team members and visitors.

To aid in safety training, the health system hired its first chief safety and quality officer, Gene N. Peterson, M.D., Ph.D., who also serves as associate dean for patient safety and quality care in the School of Medicine. He’s responsible for developing an integrated program that addresses patient safety and improves performance across the spectrum of medical education and across all clinical disciplines.

“We decided that as an academic medical center, we could not only set a new standard of excellence for safety and quality, but we could lead the nation in terms of teaching the next generation of health care professionals the behaviors and work processes that are necessary for safety and quality,” said Sheldon Retchin, M.D., H’79, CEO of the VCU Health System and senior vice president for health sciences at VCU.

Sheldon Retchin, M.D., H'79

“We could not only set a new standard of excellence for safety and quality, but we could lead the nation in terms of teaching the next generation”

RES EA RC H E R S D I SCOV E R AL LERGY- C A N CE R CO N N EC T I ON

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esearchers have uncovered a new connection between allergy and cancer that could potentially lead to therapies involving common antihistamines. Published in the July issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, the study was led by Daniel H. Conrad, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology and a member of Massey Cancer Center’s Cancer Cell Signaling research program. Co-first authors on the study are Ph.D. students Rebecca K. Martin and Sheinei J. Saleem.

Linked to inflammation, histamine is a component of the immune system that responds to allergens and foreign pathogens. Conrad’s study demonstrates that it also plays a role in protecting tumors from the immune system. By blocking the production of histamine in animal models, the researchers were able to interrupt a process that promotes melanoma growth.

“This research is very exciting as it draws a connection between two diseases that aren’t commonly linked: allergy and cancer,” Conrad says. “However, it’s important to realize that this connection is very novel and further research is needed before we know if antihistamines can be used effectively in cancer therapies.”

While the lifespan of HIV-infected patients has significantly improved over the past two decades, co-infection with hepatitis B or C virus has emerged as the second leading cause of death.

Richard K. Sterling, M.D., is leading an investigation designed to fill major gaps in knowledge of patients co-infected with HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV).

A professor in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, he is principal investigator on a multi-center project nested under the umbrella of the NIH's Hepatitis B Research Network. The study will look at the clinical signficance of HBV and compare HBV-HIV infected persons to those with HBV monoinfection.

Current guidelines for HBV co-infected patients is the antiretroviral drug, Tenofovir, but its effectiveness on long-term outcomes of HBV disease remains undetermined. Sterling's study will attempt to shed light on the risks and benefits of Tenofovir-based therapy for co-infected patients.

In addition to VCU, seven other schools will take part in the study including Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of California-San Francisco and the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

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$2.6 Million NIH Grant funds 5-Year HIV-HBV Study

rom the next room, you smell something burning in the kitchen. Rushing in, you see a smoking pot left on the stove. You quickly turn off the burner, averting a more serious situation. But what if you couldn’t smell?

Thousands of Americans experience loss of smell or taste each year resulting from head trauma, sinus disease, normal aging and neurologic disorders, such as brain injury, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. Earlier this year, Richard Costanzo, Ph.D., reported on more than three decades of patient data showing the incidence of hazardous events progressively increased with the degree of smell impairment.

“Compared to individuals with normal smell function, individuals with olfactory impairment are three times more likely to experience an olfactory-related hazardous event, such as undetected smoke or gas leak, burning pans or

ingestion of toxic substances or spoiled food,” Costanzo says. “Since the risk of hazardous events has not decreased over the past three decades, this study underscores the importance of counseling patients on the associated risks.”

A professor of physiology and biophysics, Costanzo led the study by VCU’s Smell and Taste Clinic that analyzed the overall risk, modifiers of risk and trends in hazardous events experienced by patients with impaired olfactory function. The findings were presented at the Association for Chemoreception Sciences 36th Annual Meeting in April and published in the Aug. 28 issue of JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. First author on the published study is Taylor Pence, an M.D. student in the Class of 2018 who participated in the research while completing the medical school’s Premedical Graduate Health Sciences Certificate Program.

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S TU DY FI N DS N O B EN EF I T FROM CO MMON COL D MED I C I N E

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opular over-the-counter cold remedies like Mucinex are unlikely to make it easier to cough up phlegm when delivered in the recommended dose.

Published in the May 2014 issue of the Journal Respiratory Care, the study was led by Bruce Rubin, M.D., the Jessie Ball DuPont Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics in the medical school. A total of 295 subjects completed the eight-day, multi-center clinical trial in which sputum samples were collected and measured for their volume and properties.

“This study is consistent with smaller studies that have shown that guaifenesin [Mucinex’s active ingredient] has no measurable effect on sputum properties or mucus clearance when taken by otherwise healthy adults who get a common cold,” Rubin said. However, he notes that the cold medicine could still help you feel better. It’s just “very unlikely that any benefit perceived by people who take medications containing guaifenesin is due to clearing out airway mucus.”

LA N DM A R K R E SE A RCH E STA BLI SHE S N E W STA NDA R D OF CA R E The largest of its kind, the decade-long study spanned 27 countries and six continents, enrolling more than 5,700 premenopausal women.

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assey Cancer Center physician- of its kind, the decade-long study spanned 27 researcher Charles E. Geyer, M.D., countries and six continents, enrolling more co-authored practice-changing, than 5,700 premenopausal women. international research on breast cancer that “The two trials were designed to be was presented at the 2014 American Soci- complementary,” said Geyer, professor of ety of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in internal medicine and the Harrigan, Haw, Chicago and published in the New England Luck Families Chair in Cancer Research.

Journal of Medicine.

“They were conducted over the same time The research involved a combination of two period, in the same general population and large, international phase 3 clinical trials, have the two treatments in common. Comwhich found that the drug exemestane com- bining results allowed us to meet the study bined with ovarian function suppression is criteria for meeting the analysis threshold more effective than tamoxifen combined with faster so that we could translate the findings ovarian function suppression in preventing into practice sooner.” breast cancer recurrence in premenopausal These results provide important evidence women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer, that exemestane and other aromatase inhiba common type of breast cancer. The largest itors that are more effective than tamoxifen

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in postmenopausal women are also more effective in premenopausal women who have undergone ovarian function suppression.

Geyer is the associate director for clinical research at Massey and oversaw the National Surgical Breast and Bowel Project’s involvement in one of the trials when he served as its director of medical affairs from 2004 to 2011.

D E A N OF I N OVA C A M PU S L AYS G ROU N DWOR K F OR R E S E A RCH ON R EG I ON A L C A M PU S E S

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aced with forecasts of serious physician shortages, the AAMC has called on U.S. medical schools for a 30 percent increase in enrollment by the year 2016. Half of that expansion has already occurred, much through regional medical campuses – campuses geographically separate from the medical school’s main campus.

Craig Cheifetz, M.D., F.A.C.P., associate dean for medical education at the VCU School of Medicine, has overseen the development of the medical school’s Inova Campus since 2005.

That year, a partnership between the medical school and Inova Fairfax Hospital was established that sends two dozen third-year and two dozen fourth-year medical students to train at the regional campus.

He’s also been a leader on the national front and, for the past two years, has chaired the AAMC’s Group on Regional Medical Campuses – the national body representing RMCs throughout the U.S. and Canada.

In that role, he led development of a classification system that will pave the way for research into RMCs’ impact on medical education. Even questions as basic as the number of RMCs and whether they are growing or shrinking in number have been difficult to answer until now.

Cheifetz describes the system in the May issue of the Academic Medicine, the premier journal for medical educators.

Faced with forecasts of serious physician shortages, the AAMC has called on U.S. medical schools for a 30 percent increase in enrollment by the year 2016.

Missed Opportunity for Women at High Risk for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer

Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes account for nearly 25 percent of hereditary breast cancers and most hereditary ovarian cancers. Nevertheless, a study by cancer prevention and control researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center suggests an alarmingly small number of women who qualify for BRCA genetic counseling actually receive the services. In addition, a significant proportion of women with a family history of breast and ovarian cancer underestimates their own risk.

The study, published in the April edition of the Journal of Community Genetics, collected data from 486 women over the course of two years. Of these women, 22 met the criteria to be referred for BRCA counseling. However, only one of the women reported receiving genetic counseling and only one reported prior genetic testing. And while perceived risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer was higher among high-risk women, 27 percent of high-risk women felt their risk was low, and 32 percent felt their risk was lower than average.

“Too few women who meet the eligibility criteria are actually following through with BRCA counseling services,” said the study's lead investigator John Quillin, MS'99, PhD'05, genetic counselor with Massey's Familial Cancer Clinic and assistant professor in the medical school's Department of Human and Molecular Genetics.

“Unfortunately, this means that a significant number of women who are at high risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer may not be taking advantage of preventive measures that could ultimately save their lives.”

FALL 2014

12TH & MA RSHA LL

13

,

rig

ina

l G olden Ap

IN G

F E AT U R E S

R e pl

D OO

By Janet Showalter

14

DS

AN

A

YS

ire

O

et

the

A LW

s

E

ys,

Afte

Da

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YOU

ER

Y O W U E ents, 37 M W N d u t atc K 000 S h

H

F

or many, Janet Mundie was their mother away from home, providing a shoulder to cry on without fail.

Others considered her a trustworthy friend, doing everything in her power to ease an emotional crisis. And for others still, she has been a teacher, a reliable guide through the challenges of medical school.

“She is so loving and helpful and goes way outside her job description,” said Debbie Armstrong, M’02, who practices family medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. “She’s incredible.”

After 42 years at the university, Mundie retired on June 30. For most of her tenure, she served as student services specialist, helping more than 6,000 students through 37 Match Days.

“I feel like I’ve played a big part in helping our students get into their residency programs,” Mundie said. “That makes me very proud.”

A rite of passage for fourth-year medical students, Match Day is also incredibly stressful and emotional. It isn’t every day that aspiring doctors learn where they are headed for residency training.

“She has been there to hold their hand and help them determine the best places to apply,” said Ike Wood, M’82, H’86, F’88, the senior associate dean for medical education and student affairs. “She is one of the most caring, compassionate people I know.”

When Mundie joined the university staff in 1972, she worked as the supervisor of the parking office. Five years later, she moved to the School of Medicine. Back in the “early

After 42 years at the university, Janet Mundie has helped generations of medical students through 37 Match Days. Taken during her last hooding ceremony, this photograph caught her with Ted Schaffer, M’79, from one of her first classes, and his daughter, Monica Schaffer, M’14, from her last.

days,” as Mundie likes to call them, the grandchildren, keeps in touch with many fourth-year students came to her office reg- graduates. Some return for guidance long ularly for face-to-face counseling and help after graduation. Armstrong, for example, with paperwork. changed her specialty twice and sought out Mundie was always there to assist them Mundie for help. with their applications, compiling tran“Janet’s love and patience helped me scripts, letters of recommendation, Dean’s through not one, but three Match Days,” letters, medical board scores and class Armstrong said. “Even though I was no grades. For each of the 20 or 25 residency longer a student, she was with me every step programs they applied to, Mundie made of the way. I never could have weathered it sure each package was complete. without her.”

As competition intensified over the years, Reunions also take place in doctors’ ofstudents applied to more programs, up to fices and hospitals. A few years ago, when 125. And the process became computerized, her granddaughter had surgery, Mundie with Mundie monitoring and compiling ap- discovered the anesthesiologist was a recent plications online. graduate.

Still, the friendships have flourished.

“I was so relieved, because I knew she was Over the years, Mundie has won 19 Golden in good hands,” she said.

Apples, an award the graduating class gave Just like fourth-year medical students through 2010 to an esteemed faculty or staff have known all these years that they were in member. And earlier this year, the school good hands with Mundie. established the Janet H. Mundie Scholarship, “That they trusted me means the world to which is part of the ongoing 1838 Campaign. me,” she said. “I’m really sad to be leaving, “When they told me about the scholarship, but you can bet I will keep tabs on them all.”

I was speechless…and I’m never speechless,” Mundie said. “What an incredible honor.”

Mundie, 62, grew up in the Northern Neck. She worked as a telephone operator, mail messenger and in banking before WANT TO SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION? joining VCU. “Once I got here, I knew this was home,” said Mundie, who lives in King Visit www.support.vcu.edu/ William with her husband of 43 years, give/JanetMundie Dennis. “I’ve been so blessed to have wonto make a gift to the Janet H. Mundie Scholarship. derful bosses and co-workers. And what a privilege to watch these students grow up and figure out their life’s path.”

Mundie, who has two children and four

FALL 2014

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WHAT

TO

NOT

WEAR H

ippocrates had a definite idea of what physicians should be ­­— “clean in person, well dressed, and anointed with sweetsmelling unguents.”

For generations, that’s been business attire topped off with a white coat and maybe a few squirts of sweet-smelling hand sanitizer.

Gonzalo Bearman, M.D., M.P.H., associate hospital epidemiologist and professor of medicine at the VCU Medical Center, says that traditional physician dress may play a role in transmission of pathogens in the inpatient setting.

Bearman was lead author of an expert guidance paper published earlier this year by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), a professional group whose mission is to prevent and control infections in the medical workplace.

In the paper, he talks about the bacteria that can live on clothing, jewelry and everyday objects.

These objects are not washed or decontaminated between patient encounters and may serve as vectors of transmission. His work and SHEA’s guidelines for provider clothing have been cited in publications such as The New York Times and USA Today.

Bearman stresses that SHEA’s guidance statement on health care professional attire is for the acute-care or inpatient setting, not necessarily for physicians in lower-risk, ambulatory settings.

And while there’s no concrete proof that losing the white coat will result in increased patient safety, it’s part of myriad measures hospitals are taking to minimize germs.

So consider hanging up the white coat and rolling up your sleeves next time you take care of a hospitalized patient. “It’s just common sense,” says Bearman. – Lisa Crutchfield Photography by Kevin Schindler

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DON’T WEAR THAT

DON’T MAKE IT A S TA P H - O S C O P E

If you’re not disinfecting that stethoscope between patients, consider not using it.

W AT C H I T Your wristwatch and other jewelry can harbor germs. Remove them during inpatient care.

ENOUGH WITH THE CUFF Those French cuffs and fancy cufflinks look debonair, but Bearman’s SHEA guidelines recommend Bare Below the Elbows (BBE) to reduce the spread of germs.

KEEP IT CLEAN Think you know how to do laundry? SHEA recommends that any apparel worn at the bedside that comes in contact with the patient or patient environment should be laundered after daily use, using hot water followed by a cycle in the dryer.

WEAR THIS

DON’T BE TIED DOWN

When was the last time you cleaned your necktie? You probably don't want to know what's growing there. If you must wear a tie, be sure that it is either tucked in or fastened so that it won't come in direct contact with the patient or patient care environment.

BADGE OF DISTINCTION Patients like providers to be easily recognizable, but that doesn’t have to mean a white coat. Name badges that include your title in large letters make it easy for patients to know who you are.

GERM MAGNETS The healthcare environment is teeming with pathogens. Where’s your cell phone been?

F R E E YO U R F O R E A R M S Bare Below the Elbows (BBE) makes hand hygiene to the levels of the wrists and forearms easier and reduces the risk of spreading pathogens in the hospital.

VEST DRESSED Bearman and colleagues at the VCU Medical Center often wear sleeveless vests in lieu of white coats. The vests feature many convenient pockets, and as they are sleeveless, they allow for a BBE approach to inpatient care. Also, they look uniform-like and professional. The concept, says Bearman, is gaining traction quickly.

TA K E I T O F F SHEA suggests removing the infrequently laundered white coat during patient visits to reduce the spread of germs from direct patient contact with the apparel.

W H I T E WA S H According to SHEA, facilities that mandate or strongly recommend use of a white coat for professional appearance should institute one or more of the following measures:

S TA R T AT T H E B O T T O M Footwear should always have closed toes, low heels, and be non-slip and puncture-resistant.

Providers should have two or more white coats available and have access to a convenient and economical means to launder white coats (such as on-site laundering at no cost or low cost).

Institutions should provide coat hooks that would allow providers to remove their white coat prior to contact with patients or a patient's immediate environment.

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PHYSICIANSCIENTIST RISES TO CHALLENGE OF DC ADVOCACY POSITION

By Lisa Crutchfield

M

argaret “Kenny” Offermann, M’80, PhD’81, honed some serious time-management skills during her years on the MCV Campus.

That’s served her well in a career as medical oncologist, biomedical researcher and advocate for health and science policy—jobs which she sometimes holds simultaneously.

Interests in medicine, science and policy – and the ability to juggle them all – laid the foundation for her term as president of FASEB that ended this past summer. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology is the nation’s largest coalition of biomedical researchers. As its leader, her priorities included educating legislators about the importance of funding and drawing their attention to tough issues – in terms they can appreciate.

“It’s not just advocating for increased dollars,” Offermann says. “It’s looking at our existing system and saying, ‘how can we make the system better so there is a bright future for science in America?’”

Offermann learned early how to balance her many passions, from ballet to basketball to biology.

A native Richmonder, Offermann was familiar with the MCV Campus. She worked with Gaylen Bradley, Ph.D., former chair of microbiology and immunology and dean of basic health sciences, on an undergraduate fellowship. She wasn’t willing to give up the goal of a career in medicine, but that experience, combined with her respect for biochemistry professor Judith Bond, Ph.D., (who later became FASEB’s president) had sealed her interest in research, too.

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F E AT U R E S

“I had started thinking of myself as a scientist,” says Offermann. So she added what she describes as a “stealth” Ph.D. to her medical school work. Since the university did not have a formal M.D.-Ph.D. program, she created her own path, keeping the secret from medical school administrators until fourth year. Juggling classes, writing a dissertation and playing intramural sports required discipline.

“Paranoia can be a great motivator,” she laughs.

After graduation, Offermann continued to blend research and practice, eventually landing at Emory University’s School of Medicine, where she spent 17 years building a tumor biology program and later serving as associate director of Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute.

“There are so many opportunities and so much need for combining science and medicine,” she says. “Most physicians focus on delivery of care, and most researchers focus on one area. It takes a physician-scientist to know unmet clinical needs and to have the tools to be able to address those and move the bar.”

Several years ago, Offermann left academia for the health and science policy arena. At the American Cancer Society, she honed a natural talent for putting complicated ideas in layman’s terms, an important skill when she advocated for funding in a tough Washington environment.

With one daughter in medical school and another planning to attend veterinary school, the need for reform has hit home. “It seems tremendously

MARGARET “KENNY” OFFERMANN CURRENT POST: FASEB, Immediate Past President Salutramed Group, Inc., Managing Partner PREVIOUS POSTS: Emory University School of Medicine, Professor of Hematology and Oncology, Co-Director of MD-PhD training program, Associate Director of postgraduate training program, Associate Director of Winship Cancer Institute American Cancer Society, Deputy National Vice President for Research EDUCATION: BA, Mount Holyoke College M.D., Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University POSTGRADUATE TRAINING: Internship/ residency in internal medicine at University of Chicago Hospitals; training in medical oncology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School

FASEB Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology The nation’s largest coalition of biomedical researchers, comprised of more than 120,000 researchers worldwide from 26 scientific societies Founded in 1910 and located in Bethesda, Md., one mile from NIH

Last spring, Offermann (third from left) returned to the MCV Campus to be inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Here she's pictured with Brian Cho, M’14, Dean of Medicine Jerry Strauss, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Dean Susan Digiovanni, M’84, H’89, Senior Associate Dean Gordon Archer, M.D., and Offermann's daughter Rochelle Medford.

wasteful and also very dangerous for the future by disincentivizing the best and the brightest. Many have said we’re likely to be sacrificing a generation of scientists because of funding policies.”

Offermann’s experience and insight made her uniquely qualified to lead FASEB in today’s challenging environment, says Howard H. Garrison, Ph.D., the organization’s deputy executive director for policy. “She brings a wonderfully diverse perspective on how and where science improves peoples’ lives.”

Offermann was a visible presence in Washington, advocating for reforms including a more stable, sustainable funding environment, decreased regulatory burden and re-structuring training to fit workplace needs. “Much of the training now doesn’t give students opportunities to customize their research for jobs they might want to pursue,” she explains. “They’ve been the workforce in the lab, doing technical and demanding and important work, but it doesn’t necessarily fit their career goals.”

Offermann remains involved in FASEB as its immediate past president. “She has been a great, enthusiastic spokesperson for FASEB,” says Bond,

“It seems tremendously wasteful and also very dangerous for the future by disincentivizing the best and the brightest.

Many have said we’re likely to be sacrificing a generation of scientists because of funding policies.”

Offermann’s former mentor who went on to her own term as FASEB president. “Kenny has great breadth from her training and experience in academia, science funding agencies, and entrepreneurial enterprises. It gives her a unique perspective to represent biomedical scientists and engineers in our country.”

Now she has more time to devote to her job as managing partner at the Salutramed Group Inc., an Atlanta-based consulting firm. And because one job is never enough, she and husband Russell Medford, M.D., Ph.D., own Artetude, an art gallery in Asheville, N.C.

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H

M Y

An unprecedented Match year left hundreds of U.S. medical students with no residency destination, a trend experts say will increase in future years. But MCV Campus students proved to be strong contenders, especially in highly competitive programs.

Chris Woleben's tool kit is one reason why.

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By Lisa Crutchfield

M

atch Day is supposed to be the culmination of four years of medical school, an exciting day of tearing open the envelope and learning your destiny.

For some students, though, that envelope doesn’t come.

That doesn’t mean they’re not qualified to practice medicine or even that they’re below-average students, says Christopher Woleben, M’97, H’01, who is associate dean for student affairs at VCU’s School of Medicine.

It could mean that their strategy for the Match wasn’t adequate – or unfortunately, there are just not enough residency slots available in the system.

W H AT ’ S T H E P R O B L E M ?

By the year 2020, the United States will face a shortage of more than 91,500 physicians, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). By 2025, that number is expected to grow to more than 130,600. It’s a shortfall that’s equally distributed among primary care and specialists.

At first, the solution seems obvious: increase the number of students in medical school. And so VCU and other schools have increased class sizes (the incoming class on the MCV Campus is 216 strong, with plans to increase to around 250) and new programs have sprung up around the country.

But there’s a catch. To complete training, of course, physicians must complete a residency program.

Unfortunately for today’s students, the number of federally funded residency training positions was capped by Congress in 1997 by the Balanced Budget Act. “The concern is that as medical class sizes increase, as more schools come on line and as more international medical students apply for positions in the United States, the number of open residency first-year positions is remaining stagnant, and the Match process is becoming more and more competitive,” says Woleben.

Christopher Woleben, M.D., a graduate of the medical school’s Class of 1997, is now the school’s associate dean for student affairs.

Kevin Schindler FALL 2014

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BY THE NUMBERS

number of medical graduates, be they allopathic or osteopathic.

“And so you have a train wreck in slow motion because you have the rate of growth for residency positions that is lower than the growth rate of new graduates.”

So what can be done? Budgets are tight everywhere.

The AAMC and other organizations have lobbied legislators to fund more residency positions, an attempt that has not yet been embraced by Congress.

91,000+

Shortage of Doctors by 2020

45,000

HEADING OFF THE HYSTERIA

46,000

Shortage of Surgeons and Specialists

250,000

Physicians likely to retire by 2020

32 million

Americans Entering the Health Care System in 2014 *Source AAMC

It’s a basic economic conundrum: demand exceeds supply, and so some students won’t get an envelope.

That affects not only the student’s future, but the future of medicine in the U.S. John F. Duval is chief executive officer of MCV Hospitals and chair elect of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s board of directors.

He has a keen interest in ensuring an adequate workforce for the coming physician shortage, and the VCU Medical Center, like many other institutions, funds some residency positions without federal support. But it’s not enough. “There has been some growth, because individual institutions have elected to try and address local needs,” he says. “However, growth is not proportionate to the expansion in the

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2014 Residency Applications*

17,374 US M.D.

Shortage of Primary Care Physicians

LOOMING PROBLEM?

RESIDENCY AND THE MATCH

In the meantime, universities have tried to make their graduates as competitive as possible.

VCU’s School of Medicine typically equals or exceeds the national average of 92-94 percent of students matching, and the school is nationally recognized for measures it takes proactively to ensure stronger matches.

Several years ago, Woleben developed a “toolkit” – a series of student surveys to identify and troubleshoot potential issues students may face in the residency application process. The AAMC recognized its value and published and shared the toolkit with its members nationwide. Since then, other institutions have looked to Woleben for guidance on dealing with potential Match problems.

The toolkit is used during the fourth year of medical school, as students are preparing their rank lists and seeking interviews. It helps spot students who are not receiving as many interview offers as other students. With that knowledge, advisors can intervene to encourage students to apply to more programs or change tactics early enough to be effective.

In fact, Woleben hones in on students’ aspirations well before that.

“I think we do focus a little more individual attention on our students than other schools,” says Woleben. “We’ve developed a four-year comprehensive career advising program so that each year, students are getting key pieces of information that will help them in the Match. We’ve strategically designed our curriculum to be longitudinal. We take time to meet with each student, to develop an individualized plan and track their progress.”

Obviously these are bright students – they got into medical school – but some face unforeseen challenges with family, health or other issues.

2,738 US D.O.

1,662

Previous US M.D.

5,133

US International

7,334 International

34,241

TOTAL APPLICANTS FOR

26,678

ACGME SLOTS *Source AAMC

In 2013, 26,504 students started medical school in the U.S. In a few years, they’ll be competing against more than 14,000 international graduates and graduates from previous years for fewer than 27,000 residency positions.

“We look at the total academic progress of the student,” says Woleben. “We want to make sure we’re graduating students who meet the competencies that are required to be effective, safe healthcare providers. At Promotions Committee meetings, that’s where we focus our discussion regarding individual students who are struggling. Is this student going to be an effective care provider?

That question often goes hand-in-hand with whether they’re going to match into a residency program.”

VCU offers myriad resources to students, says Woleben, including help with study skills, time management, test taking and determining disabilities that may require accommodations. Deans and advisors regularly discuss student progress and work to create individual plans for students.

M A K I N G A PA R A L L E L P L A N So if the surveys and administrators identify a student who might be at risk of not matching, what can they do? Advisors are asked to provide realistic expectations, encourage applications to “safety” schools and guide students to consider a residency that might not be as competitive but will still align with their career goals. Stu-

dents need to have a parallel plan to increase chances of matching.

“When students are selecting programs for their application, I encourage them to have a balance between ‘reach’ and ‘safety’ programs,” says Woleben. “Often, our students find that they end up matching into their reach programs.”

For some specialties such as pediatrics, family medicine, psychiatry, neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitative medicine, students may safely apply to 15 to 20 programs, he says. For residencies that attract a higher number of applicants – surgical subspecialties such as urology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, orthopedic surgery, dermatology or plastic surgery – looking at 60-plus programs with a goal of getting 10 to 15 interviews is often recommended.

Even with that strategic planning, sometimes the worst can happen.

“In 2014, we had 14 students go unmatched, a little bit higher than usual,” says Woleben. “We saw a similar trend that other schools saw: students applying to more competitive programs were going unmatched in higher numbers.

“We all did a good job of advising weaker students to make revisions to their plans, but we saw some of our stronger students were not as successful as in the past.”

PROJECTED SUPPLY & DEMAND P H YS I C I A N S, 2008–2020 (A L L S PECIA LTIE S )

S U P P LY

D EM AN D

9 0 0,000

8 0 0,0 0 0

70 0,0 0 0

2010

201 5

2020

*Source AAMC

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“I don’t sleep well for a week before the Match, and I don’t think the students do either,” says Woleben.

By noon on Monday of Match Week in March, students learn if they’ve matched or not (though they don’t find out where they’re headed until Friday, when the envelopes are distributed around the country).

So what happens to those who don’t have a match?

SOA P O P E R A Since 2012, the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) has run the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) for students who come up empty-handed on the Monday of Match Week.

IN 2012, SOAP REPLACED THE TRADITIONAL POST-MATCH SCRAMBLE AS THE PROCESS FOR OBTAINING POST-MATCH APPOINTMENTS.

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Those students submit applications to programs with unfilled slots. For many, it’s a second chance to get the coveted envelope on the Friday of Match Week.

It’s a very emotional time, says Woleben.

MCV Campus administrators, program directors, career counselors and personnel from University Counseling Services are on high-alert starting at noon Monday to meet with students who might need to consider other specialties.

“By 2 p.m., they have to start applying to open programs, and sometimes that requires they apply to a specialty they haven’t applied to before. It’s really fast-paced, and there is a lot of emotion in those two hours. We try to supply as much support as we can,” says Woleben.

Over the course of Match Week, applicants who did not match or only matched to an intern year may endure multiple supplemental rounds. Applicants can receive multiple offers during each round and must decide quickly since these offers are valid only for a two-hour period.

Adam Carter, M’13, was shocked on the Monday of Match Week to learn that he only matched for his intern year and not into a full dermatology residency.

“Everyone had told me I had nothing to worry about,” he said. “It seemed so simple before Match Day: you go to med school, apply for a residency in dermatology, get it and go. And then Monday hit, and suddenly everything was very complicated.”

I DON’T SLEEP WELL FOR A WEEK BEFORE THE MATCH, AND I DON’T THINK THE STUDENTS DO EITHER. – Associate Dean Christopher Woleben, M’97, H’01

He knew he was applying for a competitive specialty and would have a better shot at something less competitive. “It made me step back and think about whether this was something I really wanted to do.

And through not matching, I realized that this was absolutely what I wanted to do and nothing else in medicine would make me as happy as dermatology.”

While Carter completed his intern year, he reapplied for dermatology and accepted a dermatology position he acquired outside the Match and SOAP processes. In doing this, he was able to begin his residency this year and is currently a dermatology resident at New York Medical College. He volunteers to talk with fourth-year students who find themselves in the situation he faced last year.

“One of the things I learned from people I met ‘on the trail’ this year was that these applicants are very, very bright individuals,” he said. “But the numbers just aren’t working out for everyone.”

In 2014, by the end of Match Week, only five VCU students remained unmatched. Across the nation, several hundred U.S. seniors still did not have a residency position. Some opted to take a “bridge” year – perhaps earning a master’s degree or doing research – and come up with a new strategy to get a residency position the next year.

Administrators at VCU and other schools ponder whether it’s fair to let students continue on if they’re not good candidates for Match, perhaps racking up more debt. It’s an ethical dilemma, says Duval, without a clear solution. Another topic of discussion at American institutions is whether or not U.S.-trained students should have priority over foreign students,

helping the Match numbers, perhaps, but taking away valuable diversity.

For now, the problem is only going to get worse as medical schools graduate more and more students who need residency positions. The AAMC has urged lawmakers to lift the cap on the number of federally supported residency training positions and increase funding soon to avert the looming crisis of physicians.

Lawmakers have responded with proposals in the House and Senate to increase the number of residency positions, but those bills have languished in committee.

What can today’s physicians do? The AAMC encourages them to contact lawmakers to explain the problem and make the case for taking action.

“There is not a front-of-mind awareness that this train wreck is occurring,” says Duval. “I do believe that we need to take the opportunity and start educating the broader medical community about forward-looking issues within the workforce.

“That is a right, reasonable thing for us to do.” z

Nancy Parker, Cabay Fine Photography

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FRIDAY NIGHT

FOOTBALL INJURIES PLACE THE NEED FOR TEAM DOCTORS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

By Janet Showalter

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I

t’s every coach’s worst nightmare.

With time running out in an intense football game, the quarterback drops back and hits his receiver for a first down. The safety comes out of nowhere to deliver a bone-crunching tackle.

A hush falls across the high school stadium as the receiver lays motionless, face down on the hard turf.

The coach rushes in from the sideline. With no training to handle such a crisis, he calls 911.

Scenes like this are not uncommon, because less than 20 percent of high schools have a working relationship with a team doctor. And only about 55 percent of high school student athletes have access to a licensed athletic trainer.

“It can be very scary,” says Mike Petrizzi, M.D., clinical professor of family medicine on the MCV Campus. He’s the medical director of Hanover Family Physicians and has been team physician at the county’s Atlee High School since 1991. “I think there are many family doctors and pediatricians who know

they are needed on the sidelines, but are insecure about whether they have sufficient training.”

That’s why Petrizzi teamed up with Steve Cole, certified athletic trainer and associate athletic director at the College of William and Mary, to create the Sideline Management Assessment Response Technique (SMART) workshop in 2003. The course teaches physicians the skills necessary to be both competent and confident in their ability to serve the community at athletic events.

“The better trained providers are, the better chance we have of avoiding a catastrophic event on Friday night,” says Jeff Roberts, M’04, program director for the St. Francis Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship Program in Richmond.

Roberts, team physician for Virginia’s Powhatan High School, is a SMART instructor. The four-hour course emphasizes hands-on learning, with volunteers in football gear bringing the Friday night experience to life. Participants practice how to

recognize and manage football injuries, including concussions, stingers, separated or dislocated joints, torn or sprained ligaments and broken bones. They practice the log roll – moving a player with a suspected neck injury onto a backboard.

“Thankfully, I have never had an athlete suffer a c-spine fracture,” Petrizzi says. “But you never know what you might face. It sure does help to have practiced what to do in the event of a catastrophic injury. Our student athletes deserve the best care.”

As a high school athlete, Petrizzi remembers watching a news program that asked, “who’s watching your kids?” Even then, Jeff Roberts, M’04 he was alarmed to discov-

er that first-aid training was not a requirement for coaches.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “It became a passion of mine to develop a program that would help make sports participation safer for our youth. Trained personnel are needed whether the team is having a bad year or a winning year. If something should happen, these athletes need to be with someone they know and trust. That’s important.”

In an ideal world, Petrizzi says, schools would have an athletic trainer and team doctor working together to provide the best care. He is hopeful that SMART one day will be part of family medicine and pediatric residency training across the country and that those completing the course will, in turn, teach others – a vital step in providing more coverage at the high school level.

“Unfortunately, injuries are part of any sport,” Roberts says. “The question is, how prepared are you to handle them?”

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In a perfect world, high school athletes would have access to both team physicians and athletic trainers, a luxury enjoyed at Hanover County’s Atlee High School thanks to the services of Sally Marks, ATC, and Mike Petrizzi, M.D.

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Tips for High School Team Physicians from Mike Petrizzi

• When in doubt, keep them out.

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• You can have a concussion and NOT lose consciousness.

• Learn the five steps to a graduated return-to-play protocol.

DI S LO C AT I O N S • With a normal neurovascular exam and lacking the experience to reduce the dislocation, immobilize in a splint and transfer to the ER.

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CONC U S S I ON S

• If no pulse and a long drive to the hospital, one attempt to reduce it with longitudinal traction might save the limb.

N ECK I NJ U R I E S

STING E RS

• If an athlete’s arm is stinging or burning but there’s no neck pain, assume an injury to the brachial plexus. Sideline him unless the injured side can move as easily and with the same strength as the uninjured side.

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Want to learn more?

• Perform a functional assessment by asking the athlete to show you he can use the affected side doing what his sport demands.

For instance, very few sports rely only on running straight ahead, so ask the athlete to cut, twist and stop on the injured joint.

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• If an athlete remains unconscious, you must assume a broken neck.

R E T U R N I N G TO P LAY

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• Master the log roll.

Since Petrizzi and Cole started SMART, more than 500 physicians, athletic trainers, coaches and emergency personnel have completed the workshop. It has been offered at medical conferences across the country as well as local events and in small group settings. It is also a highlight of the VCU Sports Medicine Update in Primary Care conference. Sponsored in part by the VCU Continuing Medical Education Office, this year’s conference will be held Dec. 5-7 at Kingsmill Resort and Spa in Williamsburg. Learn more and register at www.vcuhealth.org/cme

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TACKLING CONCUSSIONS Awareness, Better Diagnosis and Management are Key

C

ade Harris was hit so hard last season that he blacked out for a few seconds. After gathering himself, he walked to the opposing team’s

huddle.

“The next day, I had a terrible headache,” he says. “It was a little scary.”

Doctors confirmed that Cade, a senior at Patrick Henry High School in Hanover, Va., had suffered a concussion, his second in three years.

“There have been thousands of concussions in every war we’ve fought and scores in every football season that’s been played. But for so long there was no awareness. That’s all changing,” says David X. Cifu, M.D., chairman and the Herman J. Flax, M.D. professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Cifu is the principal investigator of a $62.2 million federal grant to oversee a national consortium of universities, hospitals and clinics studying what happens to active duty service members and veterans who suffer traumatic brain injuries. And he is working closely with the NFL, NHL, NCAA and high schools to develop better diagnosis and management of concussions. Gone are the days when a coach asks a dazed player how many fingers he is holding up or what day of the week it is.

“Ninety-five percent of all brain injuries are mild concussions – more than half of all people never see a doctor and probably don’t tell their coach or parents,” he says. “But it can take six months or longer for the brain to return to its normal function. We need to test the brain’s ability to perform multiple functions at once before we let an athlete get hit again, give a soldier a gun or let someone drive a car.”

He hopes to release specific findings and guidelines in the next few months. Already, he has helped develop a Concussion Coach app that supports self-management of symptoms for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Concussions are the oldest injury out there, dating back to when cavemen hit each other over the head with animal bones,” he says. “But we are still improving how we diagnose, assess and manage them. We are making great strides to bring about better health for everyone.”

Allen Jones, VCU University Marketing

CO N C U S S I O N COAC H APP The Concussion Coach app is a self-help tool for anyone with persistent symptoms after a concussion. The free app is available for iPads and iPods, and it will be available for the Android platform later this year.

Did you know?

The Centers for Disease Control reports that about 3 million concussions occur each year in the United States.

Symptoms include headache, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, fatigue and difficulty remembering new information.

Long-term effects can include dementia and other mental issues.

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CL A S S NOTES 40s The late Henry A. Bullock, Jr., M’48, who specialized in obstetrics and gynecology, passed away in 1996. His father, Henry Armistead Bullock, Sr., also earned his medical degree at MCV, and now his granddaughter Margaret Barton is carrying on the family tradition. This August, she was admitted to the medical school’s Class of 2018.

The late Harry C. Foster, Jr., M’47, who specialized in internal medicine, passed away in 2000, but his family is well represented among the MCV Campus’ ranks. Two of his grandchildren, Mackenzie Grasso and William Clay Behl, were admitted to the medical school’s Class of 2018 in August, and his son, William C. Foster, M’76, H’81, is an orthopaedic surgeon in the medical school. In addition, Kenzie’s father, Mario P. Grasso II, earned three degrees from the School of Allied Health and is a nurse anesthetist at the VCU Medical Center, and Clay’s father, Joseph W. Behl, Jr., M’80, H’84, is chief radiologist and president of Rockingham Radiologists.

Ralph S. Riffenburgh, M’47, retired in May. He opened the Pasadena Eye Medical Group in California 60 years ago and provided care to some of his patients for 50 years.

Henry P. Royster, M’48, H’54, of Richmond, Va., is a retired surgeon. Two of his grandchildren have followed in his footsteps onto the MCV Campus. His grandson Chris Young is a member of the medical school’s Class of 2016, and his granddaughter Virginia Young was admitted to the medical school as a member of the Class of 2018 this past August.

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LET US KNOW YOUR LATEST NEWS Get our attention at http://go.vcu.edu/MedAlum or via email at MedAlum@vcu.edu

Charles L. Williams, M’48, of Richmond, was honored this summer by the Richmond Academy of Medicine for his longstanding membership. He retired from family medicine in 1988.

50s

trying to. I have health problems but they seem stable at this time.”

John Prince, Sr., and Peter Squire, classmates who graduated together in 1952, retired in the fall of 2013. The two practiced together for six decades serving Emporia and Greensville County in Southside Virginia. In an additional connection, their sons are both graduates of the medical school’s Class of 1989.

60s

Retired surgeon P. Paul Deaton, M'53, lives in Cary, N.C., with his wife Jackie, who earned a degree from the School of Nursing in 1952. This summer, they served with a week-long mission trip to Guatemala organized through their church. On the trip, Paul provided patient care and Jackie taught art.

Robert A . Morton, M’52, of Norfolk, Va., reports that he retired from his internal medicine practice at age 70. “I felt I was old enough and not keeping up with new developments fast enough. Perhaps that was too early since it was 17 years ago and I am still keeping up on new developments or at least

The Class of 1959 marked their 55th Reunion last April.

Philip H. Brandt, M’68, a retired internist in Sumter, S.C., traveled to Honduras in April as part of a Baptist Medical Dental Mission International trip. It was his first medical mission trip. The Sumter Item reported the interdisciplinary team extracted 575 teeth, treated 1,053 medical patients and filled 6,033 prescriptions. Brandt says the opportunity exceeded his expectations.

Carol H. Ellis, M’67, has retired to Montana to be near her grandchildren. She’s planning to volunteer to do camp physicals for boy scouts.

Psychiatrist Harold Goldberg, M’61, lives in Kalaheo, Hawaii. He reports he’s still working full-time at the Kauai Community Mental Health Center and loving life.

continues to work up to three days a week at the Shore Cancer Center. He also enjoys playing mandolin in a band, garden railroading and growing orchids. He’s got three grandchildren in Hawaii, three in Kittery, Maine, and three in Johnsontown, Va.

The Class of 1964 reunited for their 50th Reunion last April.

Last spring, Priscilla Mpasi, M’14, had the opportunity to meet Yvonnecris Smith Veal, M’62. Now retired and living in New York, Veal is one of the medical school’s first African-American graduates. Mpasi has concluded her term as national VP of the Student National Medical Association, the oldest and largest student-run organization focused on the needs and concerns of medical students of color.

The Class of 1969 reunited for their 45th Reunion last April.

Retired pathologist Robert Kanich, M’62, and his wife, Donna, moved to Southport, N.C., earlier this year.

70s

tor in the Department of Radiology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Brooke R. Seckel, M’69, of Boston, Mass., is among the top 100 most influential board certified dermatologists and plastic surgeons in social media as compiled by RealSelf. The list honors board-certified doctors who are among the most active and highly rated on the online community where the general public poses questions and finds answers about cosmetic surgery, dermatology, dentistry and other elective treatments. A board certified plastic surgeon, Seckel practices with Boston Plastic Surgery Specialists and is an assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School.

Congratulations to Leah Bush, M’84, H’88, F’89, and A.W. “Gus” Lewis III, M’69, who were honored earlier this year during Reunion Weekend. Bush, of New Kent, Va., is this year’s Outstanding Medical Alumnus and Lewis, of Bruington, Va., received the Caravati Service Award.

Stephen J. Shochat, M’63, of Germantown, Tenn., is serving as president of the International Society of Paediatric Surgical Oncology.

He is a member of the surgical faculty at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Arvin E. Robinson, M’64, of El Paso, Texas, is a professor and residency program direc-

Drury M. Stith, M’69, F’75, and his wife Patsy live in Nassawadox, Va. A hematologist, Stith

Fredrick S. Arnold, M’74, of Gloucester, Va., continues to practice as a urologist four days a week with Riverside Medical Group. His work is a combination of seeing patients and administrative responsibilities as the service line chief for Riverside Walter Reed Hospital in the Middle Peninsula area.

Harry Bear, M’75, PhD’78 (MICR), F’84, of Richmond, has been appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of the NSABP Foundation, Inc. The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project Foundation is the world’s leading cooperative group for designing and conducting large-scale breast and colorectal cancer clinical trials. Bear is the Dr. Walter Lawrence, Jr. Chair in Surgical Oncology and director of the Breast Health Center at VCU’s Massey Cancer Center as well as professor of surgery and professor of microbiology and immunology at the School of Medicine.

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Hospital and medical director of the Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at Centra Health.

John T. Cunningham, M’70, of Tucson, Ariz., has been appointed the Samuel & Winifred Witt Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center. He is a board-certified gastroenterologist and has practiced in Tucson since 2001.

Three members of the Class of 1978 celebrated this past August when their sons were admitted to the medical school’s Class of 2018: (left to right) Eliott Morgan with his father James Morgan, of Woodbridge, Conn., who is in private pediatric practice and serves on Yale University’s clinical faculty; Charles Kramer with his father Stephen Kramer, who directs several emergency departments in the Bon Secours Health System in Central Virginia; and Ron Rosenberg with his father Neil Rosenberg, who is a pulmonary disease specialist with Chest Medical Consultants in Chicago.

Alpha A. Fowler, H’79, of Richmond, has published “Organs of Greed,” a thriller about a heart transplant surgeon who fights to crack

a conspiracy and rescue the world of transplant medicine. He is chair of the Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine in the School of Medicine.

Robert P. Gilbert, M’75, retired from his solo practice in Pocatello, Idaho, at the end of 2013. During his 35-year career, he served as chief of staff at Pocatello Regional Medical Center and as president of the Southeast Idaho District Medical Society. Reporting on his retirement, the Idaho State Journal noted that Gilbert still has the black leather bag with his gold name plate that he received

Rebecca Bigoney, M’79, of Spotsylvania, Va., is executive vice president and chief medical officer of Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg. She told the Fredericksburg Freelance Star earlier this year that, when she first joined MWHC in 2011, she was doing a combination of medical ethics, geriatrics and case-management physician support. Despite her current administrative responsibilities, she still occasionally works with a patient, family and care team on ethical issues. “Medical ethics is a labor of love for me.”

Don Bradley, M’76, of Durham, N.C., joined the faculty of Duke University’s Department of Community & Family Medicine in May. Previously, he was senior vice president for healthcare and chief medical officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. In a 25-year career at BCBSNC, he oversaw a range of important enterprise-wide efforts including implementing its Patient Centered Medical Home programs.

George Wilson Burke III, M’70, H’74, F’75, of Richmond, retired earlier this year from Pulmonary Associates of Richmond, Inc. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving critical care medicine physician in Richmond.

Thomas J. Carrico, M’78, H’85, of Lynchburg, Va., is a plastic surgeon with Virginia Baptist

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Ophthalmologist George F. Hatch, Jr., M’69, of Billings, Mont., maintains a busy surgical practice. Nevertheless, each summer, he and his wife Amy find time to visit a medically underserved community where they provide cataract surgery to those in need. This year, they traveled to a charity eye clinic in El Progesso, Honduras.

“During the screening process, if a patient can see the big E, they are rejected for surgery because there are so many patients with worse vision,” explains Hatch. “Of course on the second day of screening, no patient can see the big E. Word travels fast! The restoration of sight to those who have been essentially blind for many years is almost biblical in context. Amy and I are frequently moved to tears by their expressions of joy and gratitude. Our joy on being able to restore sight to 50 patients is tempered by the knowledge, that on leaving El Progresso, we leave behind an endless stream of patients who could benefit from our services.”

Here the couple is pictured with some of the 50 patients who received cataract surgery.

They also spent time this summer hiking in Switzerland, where they said the beauty and vistas rival even their beloved Montana.

“Amy and I are acutely aware that all the mercies and bounties we have received are directly attributable to the education received at MCV and we are now at a time in our lives, that in some small way, we can start to give back."

The couple has committed to establishing a $50,000 scholarship fund to help a deserving medical student.

when he graduated in 1975. “It had everything I needed to make house calls. There’s a stethoscope, otoscope, blood pressure cuff, reflex hammer, prescription pad … I always made some house calls.”

D. Gary Griffin, M’75, of Pensacola, Fla., is an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Florida State University College of Medicine.

Vaughan H. Howard, Jr., M’77, H’80, of Gloucester, Va., has retired from practicing emergency medicine. He and his wife Susan are enjoying traveling to visit young grandchildren in North Carolina as well as a recent tour of California, Washington and Canada.

The Class of 1974 celebrated their 40th Reunion last April.

Michael Steven Komarow, M’71, JD, of Hopewell Junction, N.Y., is chief medical officer of Care to Care, a radiology benefit management company that promotes the most efficient and effective use of medical resources. As CMO, Komarow oversees clinical operations and development of proprietary clinical criteria and internal case management engine.

Jack Ende, M’73, of Philadelphia, Penn., has been named assistant vice president for the University of Pennsylvania Health System and assistant dean for advanced medical practice in the Perelman School of Medicine.

The Class of 1979 marked their 35th Reunion last April.

Rudolph M. Navari, M’77, PhD, has joined the World Health Organization as its director of the Cancer Care Program in Eastern Europe.

Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Navari will work with pharmaceutical companies to help cancer patients and provide treatments at a greatly reduced cost in Eastern European nations. A practicing oncologist, Navari previously was dean and director of Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend.

David M. Pariser, M’72, of Virginia Beach, Va., has been appointed to Convoy Therapeutics’ six-member clinical advisory board. Pariser is a professor at the Eastern Virginia Medical School Department of Dermatology and past president of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Thomas Reynolds Patterson, M’78, of Springfield, Ore., is now doing hospice work in the Pacific Northwest with PeaceHealth.

Frank W. Rockhold, PhD’78 (BIOS), of Cary, N.C., is senior vice president of Global Clinical Safety and Pharmacovigilance at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. He has been with the company for 25 years and is also an affiliate professor in VCU’s Department of Biostatistics.

Family medicine physician Ted Schaffer, M’79, of Allison Park, Penn., celebrated his daughter Monica’s graduation from the VCU School of Medicine. She’ll follow in her father’s footsteps and will train in family medicine at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s St. Margaret hospital in Pittsburgh.

S. Larry Schlesinger, M’71, of Honolulu, is among the top 100 most influential board-certified dermatologists and plastic surgeons in social media as compiled by RealSelf. The list honors board-certified doctors who are among the most active and highly rated on the online community where the general public poses questions and finds answers about cosmetic surgery, dermatology, dentistry and other elective treatments. With more than 30 years of plastic surgery expe-

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rience in Hawaii, Schlesinger has performed more than 18,300 plastic surgery procedures.

The Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants has honored Dennis L. Thomas, M’79, H’82, of Mechanicsville, Va., with its Physician/PA Partnership of the Year recognition for his work with Joseph Moore, PA-C. Thomas and Moore have worked together for 21 years at Chickahominy Family Practice.

Last spring, Edith P. Mitchell, M’74, visited the MCV Campus and encouraged a new generation of student doctors to consider racial disparities in cancer diagnosis, treatment and outcomes. Speaking to an audience of faculty, residents and medical students, she discussed the myriad factors at work in cancers that disproportionately affect AfricanAmericans. Mitchell also shared the cancer disparities trends she's seen over a nearly 40-year career and asked the medical students and trainees in the room to include cancer research and treatment among their career options.

Mitchell is pictured here with Dean of Medicine Jerry Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D., and representatives from the medical school's Student National Medical Association chapter, whom she met with after her presentation. The SNMA is the oldest and largest student-run organization focused on the needs and concerns of medical students of color.

“Dr. Mitchell's story of being one of only two African-American students [in her class] was inspiring and was an affirmation as to how far the VCU School of Medicine has come in seeking diversity,” said the Class of 2017's Stequita Hankton. “I believe it is immensely helpful for students to hear from alumni who've gone before them. Having the opportunity to network with alumni provides students the opportunity to establish mentors as well as interact with their future colleagues.”

In 2012, Mitchell established the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities at Thomas Jefferson University's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia. She is a clinical professor of medicine and medical oncology in the Department of Medical Oncology at Jefferson Medical College.

George Vetrovec, H’74, of Richmond, Va., has been named a Master of the American College of Cardiology. A longtime cardiology professor on the MCV Campus, he has worked with the ACC for close to 30 years, volunteering time in leadership, scientific and teaching roles.

William C. Wood, H’74, of Winterville, N.C., is a cardiologist at the Veterans Administration Greenville Health Care Center.

Charles L. Yarbrough, M’70, H’71, of Huntington, W.Va., has been named inaugural chairman of the newly formed Department of Dermatology at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. A longtime Huntington dermatologist, he has served as a clinical professor at Marshall since 1977.

Yarbrough currently serves as secretary/treasurer of the board of directors for Doctors Care of Cabell County, Inc., an organization he co-founded in 1990, that serves to fill in the gap to access to medical care for people in need by providing health care referral and access.

80s Ben R. Barton, H’85, of Columbia, Tenn., a specialist in cardiovascular surgery, has joined the Maury Regional Medical Center staff as an associate of Vanderbilt Heart-Columbia in Tennessee.

Joseph W. Behl, Jr., M’80 H’84, of Harrisonburg, Va., is chief radiologist and president of Rockingham Radiologists. This August, his son Clay was admitted to the medical school's Class of 2018.

A recent alumni reception in Raleigh, N.C., brought together (from left to right) Glenn Simon, PhD’79 (PHTX); School of Pharmacy alumna Nancy McFarlane, who was the evening's hostess; James W. Putney, Jr., PhD’72 (PHTX); Robert E. Kanich, M’62; and Amy Rosenthal, M’87, H’90.

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Frederick R. Bieber, PhD’81 (HGEN), has been appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice to the first-ever newly created National

BIOSTATISTICS ALUMNUS KARL PEACE COMMENDED

BY THE VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY Karl Peace, PhD’76 (BIOS), has been commended by the Virginia General Assembly as “a prolific biostatistician and devoted educator, [who] has contributed immensely to his field and inspired countless students at the Medical College of Virginia and other universities to achieve greatness in science and medicine.”

For more than 30 years, Peace has served the Department of Biostatistics as an adjunct or affiliate faculty member. In addition to his service on the MCV Campus, Peace is senior research scientist and professor of biostatistics in Georgia Southern University's Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health. The college's Center for Biostatistics and Survey Research bears his name, and he is the founder of the Biopharmaceutical Applied Statistics Symposium, now in its 21st year as well as the Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics, now in its 23rd year.

In recognition of his contributions, House of Delegates member Jennifer L. McClellan (D-Richmond) offered House Joint Resolution

Commission on Forensic Science. The Commissioners will work to improve the practice of forensic science by developing guidance concerning the intersections between forensic science and the criminal justice system. Bieber is a medical geneticist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Congratulations to Leah Bush, M’84, H’88, F’89, of New Kent, Va., who was honored in April during the Reunion Weekend as the medical school’s Outstanding Medical Alumnus.

See photo on page 33.

David Alan Chandler, M’88, of Mechanicsville, Va., practices with Richmond Eye Associates specializing in cataract/implant surgery.

Lois Gail Clary, M’85, of Hendersonville, N.C., was awarded the Community Faculty Award by the Hendersonville Family Practice Residency Program in June 2013. This award recognizes a community faculty physician for excellence

No. 5073, approved by both the House and Senate on June 12.

The resolution describes Peace's impact on the field of biostatistics and also notes that he has created scholarship awards that have helped more than 50 students earn master's degrees or doctorates in biostatistics from VCU's MCV Campus. He also generously supported the Hans Carter Professorship on the MCV Campus and GSU's Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health that bears the name of his late wife as well as many other education and charitable organizations.

As described in his autobiography “Paid in Full,” Peace was born into a family of southwest Georgia sharecroppers. He was the first person in his family to go to college, and a Georgia State Teacher's scholarship supplemented by seven part-time jobs helped him complete his bachelor's degree in chemistry, even while he supported his siblings and cancer-stricken mother.

Education proved to be the road that would change Peace's life and that of his family. Rising from an entry-level biostatistician position at Burroughs-Wellcome to vice president of worldwide technical operations at Parke-Davis/Warner Lambert, Peace went on to start Biopharmaceutical Research Consultants Inc. in 1989. He provided expertise to dozens of international biotech and pharmaceutical companies and played a key role in the development and regulatory approval of dozens of medicines, including drugs used to treat Alzheimer's disease, hypertension, arthritis, anxiety, depression and panic attacks and gastrointestinal ulcers.

in teaching residents and in patient care. She sold her practice, Carolina Lung and Sleep Physicians, to the local hospital at the end of last year and hopes to resume some hobbies after her daughter graduates high school in 2015.

She looks forward to seeing her classmates in 2015 at their 30th reunion!

Charles H. Cockrell, M’82 H’86, is an associate professor of radiology on the MCV Campus.

He is married to his wife Carolyn, who earned master’s and doctoral degrees from VCU’s Department of Psychology. This August, their daughter Hannah was admitted to the medical school’s Class of 2018.

Geoffrey G. Cooper, H’87, of Richmond, Va., has been named to the 2015 American Academy of Ophthalmology Leadership Development Program. For one year, participants attend education sessions concerning leadership, advocacy and association governance issues. Cooper is a specialist in comprehensive ophthalmology at Virginia Eye Institute.

Martha Corcoran M’87, is an otolaryngologist with Sutter Solano Medical Center near San Francisco, Calif. This August, her daughter Allison Levitt was admitted to the medical school’s Class of 2018.

Robert Dabrow, M’84, is the associate program director for the new pediatric residency program at Florida Hospital for Children in Orlando. The program began in July 2013.

Steven E. Daniels, M’81, of San Antonio, Texas, is an interventional cardiologist with South Texas Cardiovacular Consultants.

Mark DeCoster, PhD’89 (BIOC), of Ruston, La., presented in July at the International Bioprinting Congress in Singapore. His talk focused on new bioprinting methods for 2D and 3D cell and tissue models. He says, "What is so new and exciting about 3D printers in the biomedical sciences and engineering is that we can now enable our imagination to convert a good idea into something that is printable and

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oping medical staff and physician leadership as well as implementing electronic health records.

The Class of 1989 celebrated their 25th Reunion last April.

The medical school's Joy Sanders caught up with Christopher D. Kontos, M’89, H’93, at an alumni reception in Raleigh. He is now an associate professor of medicine at Duke University where he studies the molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis and vascular remodeling. He is also director of Duke's Medical Scientist Training Program.

Rhoda Mahoney, H’85, is a pediatrician with Pediatric Associates of Richmond. She is married to John Mahoney, an associate professor and director of undergraduate studies with VCU’s Wilder School. This August, their daughter Anne Byrd Mahoney was admitted to the medical school as a member of the Class of 2018.

The Class of 1984 reunited for their 30th Reunion last April.

testable in 3D, and could have significant impacts on human health." DeCoster is the James E. Wyche III Endowed Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Louisiana Tech University.

Raymond A. Dionne, DDS, PhD’80 (PHTX), of New Bern, N.C., is now a research professor at East Carolina’s Brody School of Medicine and the School of Dental Medicine. Last fall he was honored by VCU as the School of Medicine’s 2013 Alumni Star for his contributions to developing a scientific basis for safely using drugs for pain and anxiety in dentistry.

David Elliott, M’83, of Richmond, put his surgical skills to work in South Sudan. Last December, as fighting broke out in the country, he received an urgent message from Doctors Without Borders. A story published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch describes how

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he was on a plane to Juba within five days of the call. He worked as a general surgeon in a free-standing hospital in a rural village “with no roads, schools or social services for hours in any direction.”

David N. Greenberg, M’88, has joined the neonatology faculty on the MCV Campus. He is the medical director of the NICUs at Richmond’s Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals.

Julie Lekstrom Himes, M’89, of Marblehead, Mass., is senior medical director at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where she is developing CFTR correctors for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

Wallace J. Horne, M’81, H’84, has accepted a new position as vice president of medical affairs with Princeton Community Hospital in West Virginia. His work centers around devel-

Mark A. McClanahan, M’86, H’89, F’91, of Fredericksburg, Va., is founder and president of Diabetes and Thyroid Associates. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine, a Charter Fellow of the American College of Endocrinology and an adjunct clinical professor for James Madison University’s PA program.

Carol Nottingham, MS’79 (PHIS), M’81, of Virginia Beach, Va., has retired from practicing as an obstetrician and gynecologist. This August, her son Matthew was admitted to the medical school as a member of the Class of 2018.

Stephen M. Petrany, H’83, of Huntington, W.Va., has been appointed chairman of the Department of Family and Community Health at Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. A professor in the department and full-time faculty member since 1989, he has been recognized with nearly a dozen teaching awards and is the co-director and co-developer of the Paul Wesley Ambrose

PERLIN, CLANCY, JESSE AND SANDERS ASSIST TROUBLED VA As it aims to accelerate veterans' access to quality health care and rebuild the trust of America's veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs is relying on four with ties to the medical school.

Jonathan B. Perlin, PhD’91 (PHTX), M’92, H’96, MSHA’97, served a 60-day assignment as a senior advisor to the Acting Secretary Sloan D. Gibson. Perlin took a leave of absence from his duties as chief medical officer and president for clinical services for HCA, the largest privatesector health system in the U.S. Perlin previously served as VA under secretary for health and as medical director for quality improvement at MCV Hospitals when he was on faculty in the Department of Internal Medicine. He is currently chair-elect of the American Hospital Association.

Carolyn Clancy, M.D., has been appointed as the VA's interim under secretary for health. A former assistant professor of internal medicine at VCU, Clancy joined the VA in August 2013. Before that, she served for 10 years as director of the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. A member of the Institute of Medicine, Clancy oversees the health care delivered to veterans at more than 1,700 sites.

Robert L. Jesse, PhD’81 (BIOC), M’84, is chief academic affiliations officer for the VA. From 2010-2014, he served as the VA's principal deputy under secretary for health. He is joined in the office of academic affiliations by Karen Sanders, M.D., F’85, a professor of internal medicine in the School of Medicine, who has served as deputy chief academic affiliations officer since 2006. Their office oversees the largest health professions education program in the U.S., including nearly 120,000 trainees annually in more than 40 different health professions.

L E T US K N OW YO U R LATES T NEWS!

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ALUMNI ARE IDENTIFIED

BY DEGREE & GRADUATION YEAR F Fellowship H Housestaff M Doctor of Medicine MPH Master's of Public Health MS Master's PhD Doctor of Philosophy ANAT BIOC BIOS EPID HCPR HGEN MICR PHTX PHIS SBHD

Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department of Biostatistics Department of Family Medicine and Population Health Department of Healthcare Policy and Research Department of Human and Molecular Genetics Department of Microbiology and Immunology Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Department of Physiology and Biophysics Department of Social and Behavioral Health

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Health Policy Residency Track, the nation’s first health policy track within a family medicine residency program.

Nancy A. Powell, M’88, H’91, MSW, of Midlothian, Va., has received a certificate of recognition by the American Board of Family Medicine for Setting the Standard in Family Medicine.

Powell, owner of River’s Way Healthcare of Virginia, is a board-certified primary care physician who provides traditional and alternative approaches to support the body’s ability to heal itself.

Marianne Smith, M’88, of Worcester, Mass., has joined Harrington Outpatient Behavioral Health Services. The board-certified psychiatrist will be medical director of Harrington’s Partial Hospitalization Program in Southbridge. Smith is also an assistant professor of psychiatry at University of Massachusetts Medical School.

90s

James W. Richardson, H’85, of Columbia, Tenn., has been voted best surgeon in the county in a survey of the readers of Daily Herald newspaper. The Tennessee native first opened his practice Mid-South Surgeons in 1990. "I operate on people now who are second or third generation," he told a reporter. "I’ve been involved with the community for a long time."

Ann C. Cooper, M’90, of Longmeadow, Mass., practices at Noble Hospital in Westfield. She is board certified and specializes in family medicine and primary care.

Amy J. Rosenthal, M’87, H’90, of Chapel Hill, N.C., is the medical director at the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina. Federal prisoners from all over the country are sent to Butner for specialized care, primarily in the areas of oncology and orthopaedics. She’s been in the position since 2012 and had to pass the program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, qualifying in self-defense, riot control, shooting and physical training at the age of 55.

Jane Lynch, M’98, H’02, of Afton, Va., is a partner with Blue Ridge Dermatology. Her daughter Sarah Rozycki was admitted to the medical school as a member of the Class of 2018.

at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Earlier this year, the Atlanta Business Chronicle featured the interventional cardiologist who is immediate past president of the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions.

Maureen McBride, PhD’95 (BIOS), of Richmond, has been promoted to chief contract operations officer at the United Network for Organ Sharing. UNOS runs the nation’s transplant system under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and in her new role McBride will represent UNOS to the federal government in contract matters.

Andrew Lacatell, MPH’97, of Richmond, is a conservation specialist with The Nature Conservancy.

Rajesh Malik, F’95, of Florence, S.C., is director of electrophysiology for the McLeod Heart and Vascular Institute.

J. Jeffrey Marshall, H’90, F’91, is medical director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory

The medical school's Kenny Melvin (left) recently met up with Mark McLaughlin, M'92, of Princeton, N.J. McLaughlin is now a neurosurgeon and medical director for Princeton Brain & Spine Care. Earlier this year, he led a performance and precision workshop at West Point on how to apply surgical training to leadership.

He lectures nationally and internationally on leadership and performance enhancement.

Vincent Joseph Serio III, MS’90 (BIOC), M’95, of Boise, Idaho, is chief medical officer and director of medical services at Boise State University's Health Services. He recently served as the ship's physician for Semester at Sea. He and his wife Catherine along with daughters Lili and Sofi traveled to 17 cities in 13 countries on 5 continents in 100 days!

The Class of 1994 marked their 20th Reunion last April.

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In June, Dawn, M’98, H’03, and Pierre, H’01, Pavot returned to the MCV Campus with their daughters, Rebecca and Lauren, for a tour of the campus’ old and new buildings. The Pavots live in Longmont, Colo., where Dawn is a pathologist and Pierre is a neurologist.

Christopher Purcell, M’90, of Safety Harbor, Fla., is a family medicine physician on staff at Diagnostic Clinic in Largo, Fla. He is married to Carol who is an MHA graduate of the School of Allied Health. In August, their son Christopher was admitted to the medical school as a member of the Class of 2018.

00s Karen Baird, M’05, H’08, of West Grove, Penn., has joined Southern Chester County Family Practice Associates. Her professional interests include management of high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol disorders. She enjoys spending time with her two sons, cycling on a tandem road bike with her husband, gardening and cooking.

Jennifer S. Collins, M’04, an allergist in New York, N.Y., has recently opened a private practice in Manhattan.

Branden Engorn, M’09, concluded his pediatric chief residency at Johns Hopkins earlier this year. As chief resident, he served as

Dmitry Gorelik, M’03, of Chadds Ford, Penn., welcomed a new baby to his family earlier this year.

Adam is Gorelik's third son, joining older brothers Mark and Sam. Gorelik is an anesthesiologist and attending physician at Christiana Hospital in Delaware.

co-editor of the 20th edition of The Harriet Lane Handbook. The first medical reference book written "by residents, for residents," it is known for providing fast, accurate information on pediatric diagnosis and treatment. He has now embarked on an anesthesiology residency/PICU fellowship with the goal of a practice split between the pediatric operating room and the pediatric ICU.

Houman Danesh, M’07, of New York City, spoke with NBC's Today about seven pains you should never ignore. Danesh is a pain management specialist at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York.

Emergency medicine physician Charles J. DeVerna III, M’07, MPH’08, H’12, of Richmond, recently welcomed a baby boy, Liam, to his family.

After completing a three-year fellowship at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Lauren C. Fiske, M’07, H’11, of Lorton, Va., is an infectious disease physician with the United States Navy.

Each year, native Richmonders are among the medical school's matriculating students. In August, Charlotte A. Cockrell, MS’00, M’07, H’12, and Timothy J. Wallace, PhD’99 (BIOC), M’03, H’08 (at right in photo), hosted the annual Richmond Send-Off, welcoming about 30 incoming students to their home and to the medical school.

Katherine Laughon Grantz, M’00, of Washington, D.C., married Bradley Dennis Grantz on Oct. 19, 2013, at a ceremony in Roanoke, Va. Katie Grantz is an investigator for the National Institutes of Health, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and an assistant professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine. She’s pictured here with classmates who were among her wedding guests: (left to right) Sarah Hellewell, Katie Grantz, Tara Lipani Lin and Jennifer Marfori.

Photo credit: Bella Muse Photography

Shakun Gupta, M’08, recently moved from Chicago to Charlottesville, Va., where she’s practicing general pediatrics at the University of Virginia. Following her residency and a year as a hospitalist at Northwestern University Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Gupta worked from 2012-2014 in academic general pediatrics at Rush Children’s Hospital.

George J. Harocopos, M’00, of St. Louis, Mo., is an associate professor at Washington University School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in the ophthalmology and pathology departments. As one of only about 50 ophthalmic pathologists in the country, about a third of his practice is devoted to diagnostic eye pathology, reviewing specimens being tested for ocular cancer that are sent from as far away as California. He is also involved in eye pathology-related research and education.

The remainder of his practice time is spent treating ophthalmology patients at the university medical center and at the local Veterans Affairs hospital, where he also supervises the residents in training.

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Ehab M. Kodsi, PhD’02 (BIOC), of Watervliet, N.Y., is medical director of Total Care & Rehabilitation Medicine, PC in Upstate New York.

Andrew D. Magnet, M’00, practices internal medicine with Chatham Hospitalists of Savannah, Ga.

Andrea Oertel, M’03, of Lutz, Fla., welcomed a baby boy, Rocco Arsalan Marandi, to her family on Dec. 19, 2013. She is a part-time physician advisor and a prn pediatrician with BayCare.

Praveen K. Mambalam, M’04, is an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist in Seattle, Wash.

After graduation, Wesley R. Hodgson, M’03, did his OB/GYN training at Bethesda Naval Hospital and then was stationed at Camp Lejeune for a time. In 2011, he established Fauquier Health OB/GYN in Warrenton, Va. In the past two years, the practice has grown to include two additional OB/GYNs. Wesley and his wife Jill have a 7-year-old son named Shane.

Hanh T. Nguyen, M’07, of Orange, Calif., is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine in the University of California Irvine School of Medicine. He received the Faculty of the Year Award from the Department for the 2013-2014 year.

Laura Elizabeth Paletta, MS’99 (PHIS), M’03, H’07, of Richmond, married Adam Thomas Hobbs on Oct. 26, 2013 at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. Andrea Oertel M’03, was a bridesmaid in her wedding party.

Paletta is an academic hospitalist and assistant professor on the internal medicine faculty on the MCV Campus.

Samir R. Pandya, M’04, of New York, N.Y., has been appointed the associate program director for the general surgery residency at New York Medical College, Westchester Medical Center.

Pandya is a pediatric surgeon.

In December 2013, Clifford L. Deal III, MS’95 (PHTX), M’00, H’05, of Richmond, Va., returned stateside from his most recent tour of duty: a four-month-long deployment as a combat surgeon in Afghanistan. The spring issue of the Richmond Academy of Medicine's quarterly newsletter chronicled his experiences at a forward operating base Apache that served as headquarters of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division in a mountainous valley in eastern Afghanistan.

Deal (front row, second from left) serves as chairman of the Department of Surgery at Henrico Doctors' Hospital and as a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Trauma and Critical Care Surgery at the VCU Medical Center. The RAMifications article describes his service with the trauma unit as “invaluable to his work as a combat surgeon.”

Deal told the interviewer: “Continuing to do that while I practice saved me while I was in Afghanistan and absolutely led to the saving of some lives, because I had that experience.”

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In June, Pierre, H’01, and Dawn, M’98, H’03, Pavot returned to the MCV Campus with their daughters, Rebecca and Lauren, for a tour of the campus’ old and new buildings. The Pavots live in Longmont, Colo., where Dawn is a pathologist and Pierre is a neurologist.

Michael Phipps, M’04, of Baltimore, Md., welcomed baby boy Marco Sebastian to his family in May 2014.

The new arrival is the third child for Phipps and his wife, Dr. Madeline Dick. Phipps is an assistant professor in the University of Maryland's Department of Neurology with a secondary appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health.

10s

The Class of 2004 reunited for their 10th Reunion last April.

Mara Cappiello Richardson, M’06, and Mark Richardson, MS’99 (PHIS), MD-PhD’05 (PHIS), of Pittsburgh, welcomed their first child on Dec. 27, 2013: Robert Wilder Richardson.

Mara is a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and Mark directs the Epilepsy and Movement Disorders Surgery Program and the Brain Modulation Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh.

students and residents the fundamentals of patient care—skills he recalls were always emphasized on the MCV Campus. Last year, he was one of three sports medicine surgeons in the country selected by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine for a traveling fellowship to Asia, and he also serves as a team physician for the St. Louis Blues NHL hockey team. Smith and his wife Clarissa, who is a Class of 2000 alumna of VCU’s physical therapy program, have three sons.

Mark H. Ryan, M’00, H’03, of Richmond, is an assistant professor in VCU’s Department of Family Medicine and Population Health. He is the medical director of VCU’s International/ Inner City/Rural Preceptorship (I2CRP) program and serves as vice president for communications for the National Physicians Alliance.

Samuel D. Turner, M’01, recently moved to Boston, Mass., where he will enter Harvard’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency Program. As part of the residency program, he will complete a master’s of public health degree through Harvard’s School of Public Health. Since earning his medical degree, Turner has served three tours of duty as a physician with the U.S. Navy, deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Elizabeth Salzberg, M’03, H’08, is a general and bariatric surgeon with Bon Secours Surgical Specialists in Norfolk, Va. Neil Sheth, M’08, recently moved from Chicago to Ann Arbor where he’s taken a faculty position at the University of Michigan in the Division of Gastroenterology.

Matthew V. Smith, M’02, of St. Louis, Mo., is an orthopaedic surgeon at Washington University School of Medicine. In addition to a busy surgery schedule, he enjoys teaching medical

Andrew Villamagna, M’06, of Seminole, Fla., has been elected a fellow by the American Academy of Family Physicians. He practices in Pinellas Park, Fla. Susan K. Wollersheim, M’04, of Washington, D.C., is an assistant professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, specializing in pediatric infectious diseases.

Mubdiul Ali Imtiaz, M’12, married Farihah Anwar in August 2014 at the V.I.P. Country Club in New Rochelle, N.Y. Ali Imtiaz is a third-year resident in internal medicine at University Hospital in Newark, and Anwar is a third-year ophthalmology resident at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System's hospitals in Manhasset and New Hyde Park.

Ghalib Bello, PhD’14 (BIOS), began a postdoctoral position at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in June.

Robert J. Carrico, PhD’12 (BIOS), of Richmond, is a senior biostatistician for the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Farn H. Chan, H’11, is a hematologist and oncologist with Cancer and Blood Specialists of Northern Virginia. He has offices Woodbridge and Arlington.

The pharmaceutical company co-founded by Eric Edwards, M’13, of Richmond, Va., has won fast-track approval from the FDA for Evzio (naloxone hydrochloride) Auto-injector, a novel naloxone product approved for use by family members or caregivers for the treatment of suspected opioid overdose. The company, founded as Intelliject and now known as kaléo, Inc., adds Evzio to its list of FDA-approved medicines alongside Auvi-Q (epinephrine injection), which was co-invented by Edwards and launched by kaléo’s partner, Sanofi, last year. Evzio is being manufactured and commercialized by kaléo and is now available by prescription nationwide.

Hanan Hammouri, PhD’13 (BIOS), is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Jordan University of Science & Technology in Irbid, Jordan.

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Ellyn Leighton-Herrmann, PhD’14 (SBHD), is a senior research associate at Columbia University Medical Center’s Division of Stroke at the Neurological Institute. She manages two federal research grants focused on stroke disparities.

After completing a residency at St. Louis University’s Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, Jillian McAdams, M’10, is a pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital.

After graduating with a DDS from the dental school this May, Mary Catherine McGinn, MS’10 (PHIS), is in the U.S. Navy doing a general practice residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia this upcoming year.

Last spring, Priscilla Mpasi, M’14, had the opportunity to meet Yvonnecris Smith Veal, M’62. Now retired, Veal is one of the medical school’s first African-American graduates.

Mpasi has concluded her term as national VP of the Student National Medical Association, the oldest and largest student-run organization focused on the needs and concerns of medical students of color. See photo on page 33.

Jessica L. Phelan, MPH’10, is a program coordinator with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Nicholas A. Pullen, PhD’10 (ANAT), of Fulton, Mo., is an assistant professor at William Woods University.

Kayla Claxton, MS’14 (HGEN), has seen her master's thesis serve as the foundation for a film that shatters old myths of Down syndrome.

As part of her thesis for her master's degree in genetic counseling, Claxton developed a survey to assess the educational and service needs of parents who have children with Down syndrome.

She distributed the 39-question survey to parents and service providers, analyzed the results, wrote a detailed thesis and presented her conclusions during an event at the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Richmond.

Claxton provided her conclusions and survey results to a documentary team of faculty and students from VCU's School of the Arts. They are using the survey results to focus the content of a 20- to 30-minute film.

It's all a part of a project envisioned by Colleen Jackson-Cook, PhD’85 (HGEN), to replace an outdated 1980s film. “What is so exciting is how many people have pulled together to make this happen,” says Jackson-Cook, who's now director of the Cytogenetic Diagnostic Lab and professor of pathology in the School of Medicine.

She secured funding from the VCU Council for Community Engagement and the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Richmond. Once completed, the film will be distributed to parents, health care providers and medical and education students. For medical students, it will offer guidance on appropriate ways to deliver the diagnosis and interact with patients and parents.

About a dozen local families will be featured in the film to illustrate the needs and aspirations of people with Down syndrome and bring about improvements in knowledge and access to community resources. The film shatters the old myths of Down syndrome and shows how children can lead healthy, productive lives.

VCU is the only school in the state to offer an accredited master's degree program in genetic counseling. It is part of the School of Medicine's Department of Human and Molecular Genetics.

“I feel so proud to be part of the program and part of this project,” Claxton says. “This was not just my thesis project, but it's something that will help the entire community. It is a great way to help people understand what Down syndrome is and to help parents realize they are not alone.”

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Syed Arman Raza, H’13, of Humble, Texas, is an interventional cardiologist with Texas Cardiology Associates of Houston.

After serving as chief resident at University of Texas Southwestern Family and Community Medicine Program, Vibin Roy, M’10, is in Philadelphia at Thomas Jefferson University.

He’s a new faculty member in the Department of Family & Community Medicine and is also completing a two-year Faculty Development/ Primary Care Research Fellowship program.

His wife, Sani, is completing a pediatric endocrinology fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Lindsey Kurland Saul, PhD’13 (SBHD), of Ashburn, Va., is the program director of the Center of Audiology and Speech Pathology at the Walter Reed National Medical Military Center where she is overseeing about 35 research protocols and helping out with the translational side of research.

Tanvi Shah, MS’05 (PHIS), PhD’07 (PHIS), M’10, will be a pediatric anesthesia fellow at Egleston Hospital associated with Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. She just finished her anesthesia residency at UT Southwestern Dallas.

Priya Venugopal, M’14, and Robbie O. Broughton, M’12, married on May 24 in Chantilly, Va. Venugopal has begun an emergency medicine residency at the Medical College of Georgia and Broughton is a thirdyear internal medicine Army resident at Eisenhower Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Ga.

Jesse S. Swift, M’12, completed his intern year at Tucson Medical Center and is now a resident physician in ophthalmology at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Campus.

KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST Do you want to expand your knowledge or improve your clinical skills? VCU Continuing Medical Education offers a year-round schedule of live CME and web-based activities.

Practical Frontiers in Primary Care October 18, 2014 Hilton Short Pump Glen Allen, Va. Contact: Toni Burrell 804.560.8960, tburrell@mcvh-vcu.edu VCU Annual Pain Management and Spine Symposium October 18-19, 2014 Norfolk Waterside Hotel Norfolk, Va. Contact: www.cme.vcu.edu, 804.828-3640, 800.413.2872

Courtney Weimert, M’11, has completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. On April 12, 2014, she married Lee Szkotnicki, a genetic scientist working for a small biotech company in Houston. Courtney and Lee met in Richmond in 2010 and are now happily married.

This fall, they will relocate to North Carolina, where Courtney will begin practice as a hospitalist physician.

2014 Advances in Obstetrics and Gynecology October 23-24, 2014 jointly provided with the Ware-Dunn Society The Library of Virginia Richmond, Va. Contact: Nancy Veney 804.828.7877, nveney@mcvh-vcu.edu VCU Presidential Symposium on Cancer “Tackling the Tough Ones” November 1, 2014 McGlothlin Medical Education Building MCV Campus Contact: Julia Schaum 804.628.3614, jschaum@mcvh-vcu.edu 20th Annual VCU Sports Medicine Update in Primary Care December 5-7, 2014 Kingsmill Resort Williamsburg, Va. Contact: www.cme.vcu.edu, 804.828.3640, 800.413.2872

Kathryn C. Zedler, M’12, of Columbus, Ohio, married Andrew T. Gathof on Sept. 14, 2013. They are completing residencies at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Zedler in internal medicine-pediatrics and Gathof in emergency medicine.

19th Annual Virginia Liver Symposium and Update in Gastroenterology March 21, 2015 The Hilton in Short Pump, Va. Contact: www.cme.vcu.edu, 804.828.3640, 800.413.2872

13th Annual Alumni Update Course April 18, 2015 in conjunction with Reunion Weekend Larrick Center MCV Campus Contact: www.cme.vcu.edu, 804.828.3640, 800.413.2872 43rd Annual Hans Berger Clinical Neurophysiology Symposium May 18-19, 2015 The Hermes A. Kontos Building MCV Campus Contact: www.cme.vcu.edu, 804.828.3640, 800.413.2872 37th Annual Pediatric Primary Care Conference “Peds at the Beach” July 2015 Virginia Beach, Va. Contact: www.cme.vcu.edu, 804.828.3640, 800.413.2872 Richmond CME for Docs 4th Wednesday of each month jointly provided with Bon Secours Medical Group, free registration Bon Secours Heart Institute on Forest Avenue, Richmond, Va. Contact: Kristin Shumaker 804.212.9394, kristin_shumaker@bshsi.org NIH Protecting Human Subject Research Participants an online activity for those involved in human subject research is jointly provided with the National Institutes of Health Register at: https://phrp.nihtraining.com/ users/login.php Contact: John Boothby 804.828.5410, jboothby@mcvh-vcu.edu

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PIECE OF THE PAST 1904 graduate practiced medicine on the western frontier Shortly after earning his medical degree in 1904, adventure-loving Charles Johnson Kinsolving packed his bags and headed west.

His goal was the Alaskan frontier.

Before that, the Abingdon, Va., native had been to South Carolina to work in a cotton mill. And he’d made the 300-mile trip to Richmond to enroll in the University College of Medicine. Founded in 1893, UCM would merge with MCV in 1913.

But on a Sunday in October in 1906, he was making the most of his westward adventure, taking a roundtrip excursion on a steamboat. He disembarked on the docks of St. Maries, Idaho, for some lunch and to wait for the return trip.

As his grandson Laurence Kinsolving tells the story, “word spread that a doctor was in town.” Soon, he was responding to an urgent request to treat

an injured man at a waterfront hotel. Then several loggers needed his attention. He became so concerned for his patients that he missed the return trip to Coeur d’Alene, and spent the rest of his life in St. Maries. “He never made it to Alaska until after retirement.”

Known simply as “Doc” around town, Kinsolving was accustomed to making house calls far outside St. Maries, sometimes accepting nothing more than chickens, venison or eggs as payment.

In his career, he would face the deadly flu pandemic of 1918. “He treated over 500 flu victims,” reports his grandson, “many under quarantine, but was proud to say that he did not lose one patient.”

Our thanks to Laurence Kinsolving for sharing his grandfather’s story with us.

You can read more and see additional pictures of Doc Kinsolving online at http://go.vcu.edu/ Kinsolving

University College of Medicine

Top: Charles Kinsolving at his 1904 graduation from University College of Medicine.

Bottom: Doc Kinsolving (on left) with the local druggist from the Red Cross Drug Store in St. Maries, Idaho, in 1910. Photos courtesy of C. J. Kinsolving's family.

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The University College of Medicine was established by Hunter Holmes McGuire, M.D., in 1893 just three blocks away from MCV. It was first known as the College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 1913, MCV and UCM merged through the efforts of MCV Professor of Surgery George Ben Johnston, M.D., and Hunter H. McGuire’s son Stuart McGuire, M.D., who was president of UCM at the time.

FUTURE DATES MCV ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF VCU TO HOST Reunion Weekend 2015 April 17-19, 2015 For Class Years ending in a '5 or '0

Reunion Weekend 2016

April 15-17 for Class Years ending in a '6 or '1

Reunion Weekend 2017 Greetings fellow alumni, Your alma mater wants you back! It may have been a while since you last visited the medical school. Some may not have been back since graduation. There have been amazing changes to the structure of both the campus and the curriculum in recent years. I graduated in 2003 and even since then, the changes have been impressive to say the least. You should come back for Reunion Weekend and check out the 2015 version of MCV's School of Medicine.

You can tour the new facilities and reminisce about the old. More importantly, you can reconnect with the people with whom you shared some of the most intense experiences of your life. I think we can all agree that the four years we spent in medical school were some of the most formative and interesting of our lives. Remember the late nights studying, the professors, the stories, the anatomy lab, your first time in an operating room?

I feel like I owe so much of what my life has become to my experiences in the MCV School of Medicine. My career, my marriage, many of my best friendships and so many memories all began there. I know it is the same for most of you out there. So be sentimental, make travel plans and come see your medical school and your classmates. You’ll have renewed pride in that framed diploma hanging on your wall after you come spend a few days in the place where it all began.

Kelsey E.S. Salley, M’03, H’06, F’09 Vice President for Medicine MCV Alumni Association of VCU, Board of Trustees

April 7-9 for Class Years ending in a '7 or '2

Reunion Weekend 2018

April 20-22 for Class Years ending in a '8 or '3

Kelsey E.S. Salley, M’03, H’06, F’09, with her classmates at Reunion Weekend 2013.

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3 TIPS FROM THE MCV FOUNDATION Use your IRA to support student scholarships

By Lisa Crutchfield The Individual Retirement Account (IRA) has long been a tool for forward-thinking physicians and scientists planning for a secure retirement. Those funds can also be an overlooked resource for charitable giving.

The Class of 1965’s Donald Francis Perkins, though, spotted the opportunity and used his fund to give a helping hand to students following in his footsteps.

Perkins completed an ophthalmology residency at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. Calling on his training and skills, he went on to open an ophthalmology practice in his native New Jersey.

Long before his death in April 2014, Perkins made arrangements for his IRA to provide student scholarships that will give others the kind of education that laid the foundation for his career.

“My hope is that my contribution would specifically be used for financial aid for deserving students who need it,” he wrote when he informed the school of his plans, calling himself a “grateful out-ofstate student.”

The gift sounds like the generous friend he remembers from medical school, says classmate Harry G. Plunkett, Jr., M’65. “He was determined and dedicated. He loved all the experiences of studying medicine. He was consistent and always upbeat.” Dr. Plunkett fondly remembers getting to know Perkins over a cadaver in their first-year anatomy class. He also recalls how Perkins, a classically trained musician, would rush to the student center after exams to play the piano to relax and entertain friends.

“When you're going through medical school, it's tight. It's tough.

You watch every penny, and it's great when someone can help you along,” says Plunkett, who also has donated to the school.

Donating an IRA is a way to remember MCV and to ensure that tomorrow's student doctors have the resources they need to succeed.

Letting the medical school know of your plans can qualify you for membership in the Medical College of Virginia Society.

“Dr. Perkins' gift testifies to his commitment to ensuring the legacy of excellence in medical education on the MCV Campus,” says Brian Thomas, interim president of the MCV Foundation.

“Future generations of medical students will benefit from Dr. Perkins' generosity.”

Donating an IRA could have significant tax advantages. Consider: 1. IRA OVERFUNDED? As some individuals approach retirement, they realize they have accumulated a significant amount of money in their IRS-qualified retirement plans where taxes are due when money is distributed.

Some even find that their retirement accounts are over-funded for their retirement income needs.

state level. Instead, consider avoiding such tax problems by leaving your children or other non-spouse heirs other assets like stock and bequeathing your IRA to charity where the full amount of the retirement account value can go to the organization.

Thomas notes that every case is different, so consulting with advisors familiar with your particular estate plans and individual tax situation is essential.

2. AGE MATTERS In many cases, minimum distributions are required at age 70.

Depending on your tax situation, you could face a sizeable tax bill since distributions are taxed as ordinary income. Charitable contributions can reduce taxable income, so think of using your IRA as a source for giving. The income tax due on the IRA distribution can be offset by the charitable income tax deduction creating a “wash” for tax purposes.

3. DON'T LEAVE A BURDEN Leaving your retirement account to your spouse can be a fine idea if he or she rolls the lump sum into another traditional IRA. However, that route may not be open to other heirs who could find the inherited account subject to a substantial tax burden both at the federal and

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To learn more about joining the MCV Society, contact Tom Holland, associate dean for development and alumni affairs at 800.332.8813 or tehollan@vcu.edu.

WELCOME TO THE CLASS OF 2014 THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF OUR ALUMNI BODY

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IN MEMORIAM 40s W. James Baggs, M’43, of Newport News, Va., on Aug. 11, 2014. He served in World War II as a member of the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, serving on Guadalcanal, Okinawa and Guam with the 6th Marine Division as a battalion surgeon. After being discharged from the Navy, he trained in obstetrics and gynecology, practicing until 1991 in Newport News where he pioneered the establishment of a center for early detection of breast cancer.

Arthur Black, M’48, of Vestavia Hills, Ala., on June 24, 2014, at age 93. During World War II, he served with the Armed Forces in the U.S. and Europe. He went on to practice internal medicine at Lloyd Noland Hospital in Fairfield, Ala., for 44 years from 1949-1993.

Gerald Fisk Dederick, Jr., M’42, of Gulf Stream, Fla., on June 17, 2014, at age 97. He served in the medical corps of the U.S. Navy on the U.S.S. Dover and in naval hospitals from 1943-1946 before completing a surgical fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. For 39 years, he practiced as a surgeon in New Jersey.

Charles W. Dennison, M’48, of Huntington, W.Va., on May 25, 2014. He served his country as a Captain in the U.S. Army in occupied Japan and later in a MASH Unit in Pusan, Korea.

He completed his residency in internal medicine at McGuire VA Hospital in Richmond before establishing his private internal medicine practice in Huntington.

John R. Fitzgerald, M’46, of Rochester, N.Y., on April 30, 2014. He practiced as an ophthalmologist in Rochester for 40 years.

Joseph H. Masters, M’49, of San Diego, Calif., on Jan. 22, 2014, at age 90. After joining the Army at 18, Masters was recruited into the medical field with the recommendation of his commanding officer. The retired pathologist is survived by his wife, Margaret L. Masters, M’50, whom he met while at MCV.

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Forrest W. Pitts, M’47, formerly of Charlottesville, Va., on June 9, 2014, at age 89. Pitts’ lifelong interest in tuberculosis got its start when, as a third-year student, he visited the Blue Ridge Sanatorium with his mentor Edward S. Ray, M.D. When he retired from the Army with the rank of Colonel in 1969, he received the Legion of Merit Award for contributions that included service as chief of pulmonary medicine to the Army surgeon general. He would later return to the Blue Ridge Sanatorium as medical director and also served as district health director of Henrico County.

Gervas Storrs Taylor, Jr., M’44, H’50, of Earlysville and Crozet, Va., on July 23, 2014, at age 92. He joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1942 and was assigned to Fleet Marine Force Pacific in Pearl Harbor and then in China near the end of World War II and until 1946. He practiced orthopaedics for UNC Chapel Hill Student Health and helped to start the sports medicine program. He was called back to the Navy during the Korean War and afterward moved to Norfolk, Va., to resume the practice of orthopaedics until his retirement in 1986.

One of the early practitioners of sports medicine in the Tidewater area, he served as team physician at the high school, college and professional levels as well as president of the Norfolk Academy of Medicine.

Carrington Williams, Jr., H’47, of Richmond, on March 30, 2014. After earning his medical degree, he served in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of Captain. Following a surgical residency at MCV, he entered private practice with his father, Carrington Williams, M.D., and was later joined by his brother Armistead M. Williams, H’58. He practiced general surgery in Richmond for 30 years, during which time he served as chief of staff at Stuart Circle Hospital and was a clinical professor of surgery at MCV. At his death, he was a professor emeritus of surgery. Survivors include his son Mason M. Williams, M’73.

50s Anne Jean Plunkett Cavender, M’52, of Charleston, W.Va., on July 6, 2014. She was a family practice physician in West Virginia’s Kanawha Valley for 35 years. From the tiny

coal mining town of Anjean in Greenbrier County, she would go on to become the first female president of the Kanawha Valley Medical Society. Her husband of 55 years, Jerill D. Cavender, M’52, predeceased her.

Richard F. Clark, M’58, H’63, of Hampton, Va., on Nov. 12, 2013. He practiced medicine for over 45 years in the Hampton Roads area including positions as director of pathology at Hampton General Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital. He also served the Hampton area as a medical examiner for the State of Virginia and was a professor emeritus of Eastern Virginia Medical School. In 2001, he helped to found the Dr. Richard F. Clark, H.E.L.P. Medical Clinic after seeing the need to help the uninsured in the Hampton area. Survivors include his son Richard F. Clark, Jr., M’86.

Ernest G. Edwards, M’53, H’61, of Santa Ana, Calif., on March 2, 2014, at age 86. After medical school he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving as an officer in the medical corps during the Korean War era. He was stationed in both San Francisco and Guam and afterward returned to MCV to finish training in pathology. He practiced at hospitals and laboratories throughout California, most notably as chief of pathology of the Santa Ana Tustin Community Hospital from 1969 to 1980. Survivors include his wife Consuelo Merce Edwards, H’61.

L. Lynton Goulder, Jr., M’54, of Delray Beach, Fla., on Aug. 6, 2014, at age 85. During his undergraduate studies, he earned a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, which was held in reserve while he attended MCV. He served two years of active duty as a nonjumping flight surgeon at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., and was honorably discharged as a Captain in 1957. He established his obstetrics and gynecology practice in Attleboro, Mass., and at Sturdy Memorial Hospital. He found great joy in supporting and caring for women and their husbands during pregnancy and deliveries until his retirement in the late 1980s.

Walter Stanley Jennings, M’51, of South Norfolk, Va., on March 7, 2014, at age 87. He was a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served as a medic. He also served the community of Chesapeake as a dedicated family physician for 55 years and is known as the founding father of Chesapeake General Hospital. Survivors include his son W. Stanley Jennings, Jr., H’75.

Ellis F. Maxey, M’52, of Newport News, Va., on May 25, 2014. He flew on 26 combat missions for the 15th Air Force in World War II, after which he returned to Lynchburg College to complete his studies. After earning his medical degree, he became a general practitioner in Forrest, Va., later returning to MCV for an ophthalmology residency. He went on to settle in Newport News and practiced until age 75.

Basil W. McManus, M’59, of Hidden Hills, Calif., on June 23, 2013. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1948 to 1949, and again from 1951 to 1952.

He completed his residency in anesthesiology at the Los Angeles County General Hospital, and his career as an anesthesiologist at West Hills Hospital in Canoga Park, Calif., spanned more than 30 years. Survivors include his wife Maritza Garrido-McManus, M’59.

Paul Middleton, M’55, H’59, of Hartfield, Va. James E. Powers, M’59, H’64, of Naples, Fla., on May 31, 2014, at age 83. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, he practiced general and vascular surgery in Princeton, W.Va., until his retirement in 1993.

J. W. Simmons III, M’57, H’62, of Decatur, Ga., on July 28, 2014, at age 83. His grandfather, the MCV-trained country doctor John Webb Simmons, Sr., delivered him when he was born. Following medical school, Webb served his country during the Korean War at Scott Air Force Base and afterwards returned to MCV to complete his pediatric residency. In 1962, he moved to Georgia, where he joined The Decatur Pediatric Group and enjoyed a long career as a pediatrician.

E. Marvin Sokol, M’58, of Northport, N.Y., on March 12, 2014, at age 79. He was an Air Force Captain and for 41 years was a leader in professional societies, a medical educator and a gastroenterologist in Huntington, N.Y. Survivors include his brother Ezri S. Sokol, M’62, H'68.

Rufus O. Van Dyke, Jr., M’58, H’62, of Orlando, Fla., on April 23, 2014, at age 80. Since 1963 he practiced obstetrics in Orlando and delivered many of its leading citizens. His survivors include his son Keith Van Dyke, M’87, H’91.

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John G. Cametas, M’69, H’71, of Richmond, on July 6, 2014, at age 74. Formerly of Christiansburg, Va., and Kalambaka, Greece, Cametas was a Virginia Air National Guard veteran and a family practitioner. He founded Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., a national drug testing business.

Ellen Shaw de Paredes, H’82, of Richmond, on Aug. 31, 2014, at age 62. With a commitment to the field of breast imaging and to education, she served on the faculties of both the University of Virginia and the MCV Campus, where she chaired the breast imaging section for 11 years. In 2005, she founded the Ellen Shaw de Paredes Institute for Women’s Imaging. She was a past president of the Virginia Chapter of the American College of Radiology and an international lecturer in the field of mammography. Her textbook Atlas of Mammography is in its third edition.

William G. Ellis, M’61, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, on May 14, 2013. He was a retired pediatric anesthesiologist.

Clinton R. Lincoln, M’60, of Holly Springs, N.C., on April 9, 2014, at age of 83.

Donald F. Perkins, M’65, of Collingswood, N.J., on April 21, 2014. After completing an ophthalmology residency at Wills Eye Hospital, he established an ophthalmology practice in Woodbury Hts., N.J. George D. Schare, M’67, H’69, of Fairfield, Conn., on April 29, 2014, at age 71. A resident of Fairfield for more than 45 years, he was one of the first pediatricians of Pediatric Healthcare Associates.

70s James J. Berny, M’79, of Youngstown, Ohio, on Nov. 19, 2013. He was an anesthesiologist.

Arthur Joel Forman, M’72, of Tampa, Fla., on March 10, 2014, at age 72. He served in the Public Health Service Corps of the uniformed services and later practiced psychiatry for many years in private practice and as chief of psychiatry at St. Joseph's Hospital. Survivors include his son Seth B. Forman, M’02, H’06.

James A. Thompson III, M’75, H’79, F’83, of Richmond, on May 22, 2014, at age 64. A third-generation MCV physician, the cardiologist was on the medical school’s faculty until 1989. He practiced for 20 years with Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists. He was predeceased by his wife Patricia Mary Hays, M’78.

William H. Farthing, Jr., M’89, H’95, of Hopkinsville, Ky., on July 27, 2014, at age 51. A pathologist for PathGroup, he worked at Jennie Stuart Medical Center.

10s Matthew L. Childrey, M’13, on April 22, 2014, at age 27. He was an intern at Heritage Valley Family Medicine Residency Program in Beaver Falls, Penn.

ALUMNI ARE IDENTIFIED

BY DEGREE AND GRADUATION YEAR F Fellowship H Housestaff M Doctor of Medicine MPH Master's of Public Health MS Master's PhD Doctor of Philosophy ANAT BIOC BIOS EPID HCPR HGEN MICR PHTX PHIS SBHD

Dept. of Anatomy and Neurobiology Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Dept. of Biostatistics Dept. of Family Medicine and Population Health Dept. of Healthcare Policy and Research Dept. of Human and Molecular Genetics Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology Dept. of Pharmacology and Toxicology Dept. of Physiology and Biophysics Dept. of Social and Behavioral Health

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IN MEMORIAM HOT ISSUES, COLD BEANS: The Jesse Steinfeld Era at MCV

By Lisa Crutchfield

Jesse Steinfeld, M.D., the 11th Surgeon General of the United States and former dean of the School of Medicine, died Aug. 5 at age 87.

Never reluctant to take a controversial stance when he knew he was right, he stood up for the health of the nation in Washington, D.C., and for the role of the physician in Richmond, said his daughter, Mary Beth Steinfeld, M.D., a graduate of the medical school’s Class of 1981.

Jesse Steinfeld’s passionate fight against tobacco use put him on the national radar—and eventually led him to the MCV Campus.

A cancer researcher and top official at the National Cancer Institute, he was named Surgeon General in 1969 by President Richard Nixon. In office, he was outspoken about the dangers of smoking.

Under his leadership, cigarette manufacturers were required to strengthen the label on cigarette packs to the familiar, “Warning: The Surgeon General has determined that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health.” He advocated for a ban on smoking in restaurants, airplanes and other public places, a visionary concept that took several decades to come to fruition.

By all reports, it was for these radical ideas that he was forced out of office by the Nixon administration.

When recruited onto the MCV Campus to be dean, Steinfeld had reservations about taking a job in the heart of tobacco country, said his daughter. “It was remarkable, given he was the former surgeon general and so prominent in his anti-tobacco stance.

“He questioned the Board’s wisdom. One of the board members told my dad that they wanted to prove that MCV was an academic center with academic freedom and that they had the power to appoint whomever they wanted. I knew it was a big deal, but I didn’t realize how conscious the people who recruited him were about that freedom,” said Mary Beth Steinfeld, who serves as an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

And surprisingly, said his daughter, Steinfeld had no conflicts or confrontations with area tobacco companies during his time in Richmond.

“I've been working in academic medicine most of my career and so over time I've come to appreciate how remarkable his jobs and achievements were.”

Steinfeld’s tenure on the MCV Campus, which ended in 1983, was marked by significant achievements, including increased research funding, increasing the number of residency positions, equalizing practice plans and stressing preventative medicine.

Though always professional and demanding of excellence in his students and staff, Steinfeld had a lighter side, recalled his daughter. “My class was full entertainers. They made up songs about our med school experiences.”

“My mom and dad enjoyed having Jesse Steinfeld with his wife Gen the med students over to their house and their daughters (left to right) at graduation for a barbecue, with Susie, Mary Beth and Jody chicken, beans and so on. The students seemed to like it, too.”

And so the Class of 1981 composed “Cold Beans at the Dean’s.”

“My father loved that song,” recalled Mary Beth Steinfeld.

You can read more recollections from Mary Beth Steinfeld, M’81, online at http://go.vcu.edu/ Steinfeld

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THROUGH YOUR EYES

Since 2006, infectious disease specialist Michael P. Stevens, M’04, H’07, F’10, MPH’11, has led teams of students and residents to Honduras. Building on HOMBRE, the medical students' annual trip to the Central American country, Stevens and MCV Campus colleagues created the VCU Global Health & Health Disparities Program that provides global health education and experiences for trainees while supplying medical care to approximately 2,000 people across 17 villages who have little to no access to care.

Feature photos courtesy of Michael P. Stevens, M.D.

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Nonprofit Organization US Postage PAID Richmond, VA Permit No. 869

P.O. Box 980022 ­• Richmond, VA 23298-0022

ON TH E SH OU LD E R S OF G I A N TS

The decorative brass grille standing over the entrance to West Hospital was designed by architect James R. Breed. It pays tribute to the history of medicine, featuring eight influential physicians, surgeons and scientists.

Photography by Kevin Schindler