FALL/WINTER 2008 • UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER • SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY ROROCHESTERCHESTERMEDICINEMEDICINE

New Graduate Dean The Ph.D. Experience Edith Lord aims for stronger programs, Students find different paths to better scientists, better lives Rochester and their future in science ON THE COVER Edith Lord, Ph.D., Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Education e certainly will remember 2008 effective at reducing the inflammatory Wfor the financial challenges that erupted reactions that can lead to organ failure during the year. But here at the and death. Although these variants are University of Rochester Medical Center, a long way from being approved, Kim’s we also should remember 2008 as a time versions of the protein may show of exciting and promising discovery. enhanced efficacy. In the journal Nature, Hartmut Harold C. Smith, professor of “Hucky” Land, Ph.D., chair of the biochemistry and biophysics, aims to Department of Biomedical Genetics, and develop drugs for HIV and AIDS that his team reported they had found a prom- would not lose their effectiveness ising way to pinpoint the genes essential because of drug resistance. He has a new in turning normal cells to cancerous cells. way of screening compounds that utilize The Nature article described the dis- a completely different pathway to attack covery of approximately 100 genes that HIV. If successful, this method signifi- work downstream of known cancer- cantly reduces the chances of drug causing mutations, providing new targets resistance. In 2008, Smith received a for intervention. Grand Challenges Explorations grant The National Cancer Institute from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foun- Science Take Out, a Medical Center start- believes in the potential of this dation for this work. The grant is up company that provides science kits for discovery, awarding a $2.7 million grant designed to help scientists “explore bold, high school students. Some students have to Land to map the network of genes new solutions for health challenges in difficulty meeting the state minimum that can cause colon cancer. The money developing countries.” requirement of 20 hours of laboratory will support work for the next five years Charles A. Thornton, M.D., pro- activity to qualify to take a science exam in the laboratory of Land, who is scien- fessor of neurology, and his team are need to get a diploma. The company tific director of our James P. Wilmot attacking muscular dystrophy. They already has developed nine individual Cancer Center. have developed a method to screen science lab kits that can be used either at Many athletes — professionals and compounds for RNA that can stop the home, in schools with limited lab facili- gym rats — have had damaged cartilage progression of the disease and reverse ties, or by teachers who do not have the or a torn meniscus. There is no known some of the damage. Thornton already time for lab preparation. medical treatment for their protection or has found several compounds that We will face many serious repair. Randy Rosier, M.D., Ph.D. (M’78, appear effective in treating Type 1 myo- economic hurdles in 2009. But we also PhD’79), professor of orthopaedics, has tonic dystrophy. know that we can count on the Medical discovered a cellular pathway that For many years, Chawnshang Center faculty and scientists for the provides a target for a drug that can Chang, Ph.D., director of the George discoveries, inventions and ideas that repair and regenerate articular cartilage Whipple Laboratory for Cancer Research, will give us confidence in the future and and fibrocartilaginous tissues. has studied the role of the androgen enable us to leap those hurdles. Sepsis remains a deadly condition receptor in prostate cancer. Chang says with a mortality rate greater than it’s likely that the androgen receptor 30 percent. Recently, a recombinant works differently in different cells. He is form of Activated Protein C has been developing a new therapeutic approach approved by the U.S. Food and Drug to target the androgen receptor differ- Administration as a treatment for severe ently in different cells, turning off the sepsis. While this protein “drug” shows receptor in some cells while keeping it benefit, the increase in survival rates is on in others, to fight prostate cancer. Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D. not large. Minsoo Kim, an assistant In 2008, we also saw a different (M’81, PhD’81) professor of microbiology and immu- kind of step forward for science. Dina CEO, University of Rochester nology, however, has identified variants Markowitz, Ph.D., associate professor Medical Center; of Activated Protein C that are more of environmental medicine, launched Senior Vice President for Health Sciences

FALL / WINTER 2008 1 ost people think of a for biomedical research, we both remain Mmedical school as a place where medical very optimistic for the future, primarily students learn how to become phys- because of the high caliber and enthu- icians. At the University of Rochester siasm of our graduate students. School of Medicine and Dentistry, we In this issue, you also can meet six have about 400 such medical students. graduate students who expect to receive But our School is also a place where their Ph.D. this year. Several already graduate students learn how to become have landed postdoctoral appointments. scientists. Did you know that we train And they each feel very positively about more graduate students than medical the education and training they received students? Currently, we have more than at our school. Ann Rossi, who will do 440 Ph.D. students and 135 master’s her postdoctoral studies at the Uni- degree candidates in a wide variety of versity of Chicago Medical Center, fields. describes well what we try to do: “The Graduate school teaches a number greater value in getting my Ph.D. from of lessons that often aren’t learned in the School of Medicine and Dentistry medical school: the importance of is in my training to be a scientist. gaining first-principles knowledge as a Rochester, I would say, is very ‘student- means of thinking creatively about the centric.’ There is a real focus on the production of new knowledge; the student — teaching how to ask and importance of writing clearly; an under- answer the right questions, how to standing of how raw data translate into present your work, how to collaborate results, leading to an analytic (and with others in your field and outside sometimes skeptical) perspective on of your field.” published data; the importance of time The School of Medicine and and of multiple failed research directions Dentistry has awarded many students a taught and trained Ph.D. students four as critical ingredients in the germination Ph.D. or a master’s degree — more than decades ago, clearly maintained his of a truly novel finding; and, more 1,500 in the last decade alone. An album affection for the School of Medicine and important, the joy of figuring something in this issue also includes brief portraits Dentistry over the years and demon- out that was not previously known. of six alumni whose careers began with a strated it with an unexpected gift. This This issue of Rochester Medicine Ph.D. from our school. should inspire us in 2009. focuses on graduate education at the I also want to cite articles in this School of Medicine and Dentistry. In issue about two remarkable gifts to the these pages, you will meet Edith Lord, School of Medicine and Dentistry. Ph.D., professor of microbiology and Robert Brent, M.D., Ph.D. (M ’53, PhD immunology and of oncology, who is our ’55), and his wife, Lillian, have made an new senior associate dean for graduate inspiring pledge for a scholarship fund education. You can read about her ideas they hope someday will make the school David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D. for improving an already excellent tuition free. And Thomas R. Noonan, Dean of the School of Medicine program. In spite of constrained support M.D., a former faculty member who and Dentistry

2 ROCHESTER MEDICINE ROCHESTER MEDICINE CONTENTS

FEATURES

4 Edith Lord: New graduate dean 8 The Ph.D. Experience: Students find different paths to Rochester and a future in science 18 PhD Alumni: Six careers started in Rochester

DEPARTMENTS

24 Medical Center Rounds 32 Alumni News 36 Reunion 2008 40 Philanthropy 42 Class Notes 46 In Memoriam

Rochester Medicine is published by: The University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Public Relations and Communications, in conjunction with the Department of Alumni Relations & Advancement for the School of Medicine & Dentistry.

Associate Vice President for Public Relations and Communications Teri D’Agostino Editor Michael Wentzel Contributing Writers Lori Barrette, Karin Christensen, Heather Hare, Mark Michaud, Leslie Orr, Germaine Reinhardt, Tom Rickey, Leslie White and Greg Williams Art Director Mitchell Christensen Photographers Richard Baker, Ken Huth, Christina Murrey, and Vince Sullivan Alumni Council Liaison Leslie Chambers For questions or comments, contact: Department of Alumni Relations and Advancement for the School of Medicine & Dentistry 300 East River Road, Rochester, NY 14627 800–333–4428 585–273–5954 Fax 585–461–2081 Comments on this issue, e-mail: [email protected]

FALL / WINTER 2008 3 By Michael Wentzel

New graduate dean sees better scientists and better lives for students EdithEdithLord

4 ROCHESTER MEDICINE Edith Lord, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology and of oncology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, does not hesitate when asked about the students who earn a Ph.D. working in her laboratory. “I could put my students in any of the top laboratories in the country and they would succeed,” Lord said. “I think many people around this school would say the same thing about their students.”

FALL / WINTER 2008 5 The formation of an office that would provide services to Lord, a faculty member for 30 years and the the more than 200 postdoctoral students at the School of Medicine and Dentistry is a major goal. “Postdoctoral fellows School of Medicine and Dentistry’s new senior often fall through the cracks,” Lord said. “They are not viewed as students, though they often get treated as students. They are associate dean for graduate education, sees the not treated as faculty. They do a lot of the research here, but they don’t seem to belong anywhere. They need someone to dean’s job as making sure the School’s graduate look after their needs. Many are international students so they have problems with visas and other issues. They need help programs of the future are better than today’s. getting jobs. They have families and need assistance at several different levels. We need to do that.” “We have a very strong graduate program that is in good shape. As part of the new graduate dean’s goal to increase serv- But some programs are stronger than others, and things can ices for all graduate students, Lord plans to create a series of always be improved,” Lord said. workshops. As senior associate dean, Lord directs the School of “We should do things for students that they need. We Medicine and Dentistry’s Ph.D., postdoctoral and master’s degree should make life easier for students when they are here,” Lord programs, which have about 800 students enrolled. In July, she said. “There should be a writing workshop. Everyone needs to succeeded Paul L. LaCelle, M.D. (M ’59), who returned to full- write and everybody could learn to write better than they do. time research in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Science is all about writing these days.” Lord has launched an assessment of all graduate programs The topics of the workshops also could include teaching and a review of the “clusters,” the interdisciplinary interest areas skills, career options, grant writing and ways to apply for post- that allow students to explore a variety of scientific fields and doctoral positions. laboratory experiences before choosing a specific Ph.D. degree. “These would not be onerous for faculty or students,” Lord A task force also is evaluating the major courses, such as bio- said. “They can pick and choose what they want. They could chemistry, cell biology and ethics that are taken during the first include life skills, such as investing or purchasing a home. We 18 months of graduate school. will start out small, then let the students vote with their feet and “Some students have never had biochemistry and others see what works.” have majored in it,” Lord said. “Should they all take the same The number of applicants to the school’s graduate course? Or should there be shorter courses more specific for the programs has remained steady for several years. If the school is audience? Ethics, for example, is very important. I tend to think to improve student recruitment, an overhaul of the graduate everyone should take the same course whether you will be program Web sites is required, Lord said. working with animals in a lab or might never use animals — or “The Web is the way most of our students find us and if you don’t plan to work with industry in drug research. People make decisions. We must update the Web pages of all our should know the rules.” programs and make them look that they are all of one program,” Lord plans to have revisions of at least two major courses she said. “They don’t have to be the same but they should look in place by fall of 2009. Another top goal is increasing the linked and make it easier to compare programs and apply.” quality of the school’s graduate students. “That is not to say we Lord also plans improvements in assessing graduate have bad students now. But we would like to increase the overall programs, including tracking Graduate Record quality. How to you do that? How do you measure it? Those are Examination scores, number of student publica- interesting questions,” Lord said. tions, length of time to earn a degree and

6 ROCHESTER MEDICINE postdoctoral placements. “The school has many members of the faculty who are very interested in graduate education. I want to get them more involved,” Lord said. “I want to do things to make the lives of our graduate students better and make them better scientists. A good graduate student is worth a lot in the lab. The better our graduate students are and the better we treat them, the better our school will be.” Lord, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Kansas, received a Ph.D. in biology from the University of California at San Diego. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California at San Francisco. She joined the School of Medicine and Dentistry faculty as a senior instructor in 1976. She was named assistant professor in 1978, associate professor in 1984 and professor in 1994. In her research, Lord focuses on the immune responses that can control tumor development and also studies the unique microenvironment present within growing tumors. She has published, as author or co-author, more than 100 scientific arti- cles. She plans to continue her research. Edith Lord, Ph.D., discusses Since 2006, Lord has led graduate studies programs in the research projects with Elizabeth Department of Microbiology and Immunology. She also directed Sorensen, a Ph.D. candidate in Lord’s lab. the school’s Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP), which encourages underrepresented minorities to pursue a research doctorate and prepares them for careers as scientists and leaders in the biomedical community Thirteen students have received a Ph.D. while in the Lord laboratory, and two more are in training. Her Ph.D. graduates now hold positions, among other places, at Yale University, Children’s Hospital Boston, University of Nebraska, University of Utah and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taiwan. David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, said he is enthusiastic about the poten- tial of the school’s graduate program under Lord. “During a tenure at the medical school that has extended more than 30 years, she has demonstrated, time and time again, her excellence as a scientist and her passion for graduate educa- tion,” Guzick said. “At a time when graduate education in biomedical science is becoming increasingly impor- tant and challenging, Dr. Lord has developed a thoughtful and creative set of short- and long-term goals that will greatly Edith Lord enhance Rochester’s contribution to training the next genera- tion of biomedical scientists.”

“Postdoctoral fellows often fall through the cracks.… They need someone to look after their needs. Many are international students so they have problems with visas and other issues.… They have families and need assistance at several different levels. We need to do that.”

FALL / WINTER 2008 7 The Ph.D. Experience

8 ROCHESTER MEDICINE n the spring of 2002, when she was a student at Florida International University in Miami, Ana S. Goyos Iattended a series of lectures given there by Nicholas Cohen, Ph.D., then a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Cohen, who received his doctorate in 1966 from Rochester and is now professor emeritus, focused his research and his talks on evolutionary and developmental immunology. “I was on the edge of my seat

Students find different paths to Rochester and to a future in science By Michael Wentzel

through his whole seminar,” Goyos said. “Besides the academic research “At the time, I was working in a lab that itself, I feel this is our strength,” she said asked questions of immune defenses Cohen, whose lectures had in- of marine coral. But when I heard spired Goyos, initially recruited her to Dr. Cohen speak, I immediately knew Rochester where he suggested she take that I wanted to be involved in that kind part in a summer research program. In of research.” the program, she developed a project After the lectures, Cohen joined under the supervision of Jacques Robert, Goyos and another student at a South Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology Beach bar, where they talked science and immunology. Goyos found the expe- until morning. rience and Robert inspiring and enrolled The encounter with Cohen started in the School’s graduate program. She Goyos, the daughter of political refugees describes Robert as “the reason why our who emigrated from Cuba, on the road lab is so dynamic and productive.” to Rochester and a Ph.D. in immunology Goyos investigates “recognition she expects to receive this summer from events or how a body can or can’t recog- the School of Medicine and Dentistry. nize potential cancer cells and what cells Goyos is among the almost 580 and molecules mediate the recognition.” students enrolled in School of Medicine This interest goes back to the death of and Dentistry graduate programs this year, her mother in 1996 from non-Hodgkin’s performing vital work in dozens of labs as lymphoma. they learn. In the last decade, more than “It was very tough and difficult 1,500 people have received a Ph.D. or a to deal with and, as a result, my grades master’s degree from the School. suffered significantly. But ultimately it Research subjects Goyos came to Rochester because shaped the kind of research that I want in the Jumping Frog she was impressed by the School’s collab- to end up doing,” she said. Lab of Jacques orative atmosphere and the different Goyos, who is now 31, has been Robert, Ph.D. venues for students, postdoctoral fellows first author on three published articles. and faculty to get together and critically She has presented her work at an inter- discuss their research and get suggestions national conference and other meetings. from their colleagues. She and her husband, Joe Goyos, had their

FALL / WINTER 2008 9 first child, a daughter, in November. While Goyos followed an inspiring “Though I started in the biochemistry Goyos has accepted a postdoctoral lecturer, Ibro Ambeskovic, who program, where I worked with and met position in the lab of Peter Parham, emigrated from Bosnia and Herze- some amazing people, I ended up Ph.D., at Stanford University, where she govina in 1995 when he was 17, switching programs and departments and will investigate the biology, genetics and “stumbled” across the School instead will be getting a Ph.D. in evolution of Major Histocompatibility of Medicine and Dentistry program genetics. It is my firm belief that the Complex (MHC) class I molecules, Natural in biochemistry as he was browsing number of universities where this kind of Killer cell receptors and other immune through personal reviews of a transition would be so easily accessible system molecules. universities. and supported is very small, which “Ultimately, I want to run my own “At the time I was searching for further supports the forward-looking research program in an academic institu- programs in tissue engineering, and approach toward graduate education at tion,” Goyos said. though the School’s graduate program the School of Medicine and Dentistry.” Graduate students make their way did not offer a degree in this field, the With Mark Noble, Ph.D., professor to Rochester by many different paths. emphasis on a cluster system got me of genetics, as his advisor, Ambeskovic interested enough to do more research,” investigates the normal development Ambeskovic said. “The more informa- and pathology of oligodendrocytes, using tion I uncovered, the more I got a rodent model. Thyroid hormone interested, which led me to eventually induces oligodendrocyte progenitor cell apply. My assessment of the program was (OPC) differentiation, both in vitro and confirmed when I came to interview, and in vivo, Ambeskovic said. While the I left with such a good impression that effects of thyroid hormone treatment on on the flight back I decided that this was OPC gene expression are known, the the school I wanted to attend.” early steps in the differentiation initia- Regardless of the chosen Ph.D. tion are not well understood. field, the School’s cluster program “My work aims at elucidating exposes a student to a range of experi- the mechanism by which the OPC ences and scientific skills, but it does not oxidation seen with hormone treatment is lock a student into a specific discipline. translated into and understood by the “The open exposure to many areas precursor as a signal to stop dividing, exit of work was instrumental in shaping cell cycle and initiate the oligodendro- my education here,” said Ambeskovic. cyte differentiation program,” he said.

10 ROCHESTER MEDICINE “My assessment of the program was confirmed when I came to interview, and I left with such a good impression that on the flight back I decided that this was the school I wanted to attend.” Ibro Ambeskovic

Human cancer cell lines frozen and preserved.

FALL / WINTER 2008 11 “We hope that the results of this work will ment and disease,” he said. getting my Ph.D. I love to learn.” lead to a better understanding of normal “As for my long-term goals, Johnston chose neuroscience as development and, perhaps even more I intend to keep an open mind to what- her field because of a class she took with important, shed new light on the ever opportunities may arise, as I have Carol Kellogg, Ph.D. (PhD ’70), professor pathology of a range of nutritional and intentions to start my own laboratory of brain and cognitive sciences, who hormonal disorders.” and also take advantage of my business exposed her to the scientific literature, For two years as he worked on training to get involved in the biotech she said, in a challenging and exciting his genetics research, Ambeskovic, and pharmaceutical industries,” Ambes- way. As a graduate student, her advisor a graduate of Franklin & Marshall kovic said. was David Rempe, M.D., Ph.D. (R ’01, FLW College, also attended the University’s ’03), assistant professor of neurology. Simon Graduate School of Business, In 2004, Grace Vangeison — now a The goal of Johnston’s research was receiving his M.B.A. in June 2008. His married Grace Johnston — simply minimizing tissue damage after a stroke. new research projects “hold great promise crossed Elmwood Avenue from the She identified a novel cell-death for increasing our understanding of University’s River Campus, where pathway where astrocytes were toxic to normal central nervous system develop- she earned her bachelor’s degree, neurons in hypoxia. By blocking this to begin work on her Ph.D. at the pathway, neurons can be saved from School of Medicine and Dentistry. hypoxia-induced damage. “I thoroughly enjoyed my undergraduate “Rochester shaped me as a person,” life at Rochester,” Johnston, a native of she said. “The School taught me how to Cape Elizabeth, Me., said. “I learned so think, how to work, and how to solve a much and was immediately exposed to problem. Daily interactions taught me high-level scientific concepts taught not about myself and grew me into a person only through rote memorization but also who values the organization she repre- through labs, complex problem-solving sents, wants to work hard and wants to and questions that forced you to under- make an impact on society.” stand the science rather than just As a graduate student, Johnston memorize it. I wanted the same thing in experimented with a variety of jobs. graduate school. I started doing research She worked as a teaching assistant, in the med center as a junior and knew taught a course for the Johns Hopkins the environment was a place where University Center for Talented Youth I could spend the next several years at and interned in the University’s tech-

12 ROCHESTER MEDICINE nology transfer office. Now, Johnston, who is 26, works at Cornell University in Ithaca as a licensing assistant in tech- nology transfer. “I have found that I really enjoy being a liaison between the academic world and other areas,” Johnston said. “In technology transfer, I am exposed to cutting-edge science daily and bring that to the business world. I chose my current career because now I can actively bring academic science to light.”

When Brent Kobielush graduated from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn., with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, he looked to toxicology as a field that would give him a well-rounded background in science. After studying schools across the country, Kobielush, a native of Mon- ument, Colo., chose the School of Medicine and Dentistry because of the School’s well-respected toxicology program. “There is great diversity in the program, which allows study of many facets of toxicology,” he said. “The program is full of great scientists who are extremely personable. The alumni, who have had success not just in academia but in industry and government as well, give great support. Funding is among the best in the nation. The Department of En- vironmental Medicine and the toxicology training program have years of achieve- ment and an outstanding overall legacy.” Kobielush studied the phosphory- lation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and its role in regulating AhR cell signaling. The AhR is important because it has been shown to mediate the toxic effects of environmental contaminants, such as dioxins, which are produced from the combustion of fossil fuels and metal smelting, and can be found in the food we eat, he said. Although humans have background levels of dioxin, it is not well characterized whether these levels elicit a toxic response later in life. Studies have shown, however, that mice treated with dioxin exhibit develop- mental and reproductive abnormalities as well as the development of cancer. Because the AhR regulates the toxicity of contaminants and phosphory-

FALL / WINTER 2008 13 “They not only encouraged me to learn more and find answers on my own, but also allowed me to mature as a scientist as well as a person. The confidence I have built because of his direction will help me in my future career as a scientist.” Brent Kobielush

14 ROCHESTER MEDICINE lation regulates the AhR, Kobielush and more like a scientist,” Kobielush Ann E. Rossi followed family ties to hypothesized that phosphorylation is a said. “From day one, when I asked him the School of Medicine and mechanism by which the AhR is con- if I could join his lab, each meeting Dentistry. Her mother graduated trolled and mediated within the cell. He with him has been a growing experi- with a master’s degree from the identified a site of phosphorylation that ence. I remember sometimes leaving his University’s School of Nursing and plays a role in mediating the transcrip- office wondering whether I was cut out her older brother earned an M.B.A. tional activity of the AhR. to be a scientist. Looking back on those at the Simon Graduate School of Kobielush’s advisor is Thomas times, I know they were the best Business. Gasiewicz, Ph.D. (PhD ’77), chair of learning experiences I have had as a “I was familiar with the quality of the the Department of Environmental student. They not only encouraged me education,” said Rossi, a native of Medicine. “Every time I meet with Tom to learn more and find answers on my Painted Post, N.Y., and a graduate of concerning my project, he asks me own, but also allowed me to mature as a Nazareth College of Rochester. questions, even though he might know scientist as well as a person. The confi- For her graduate studies, she the answers, to get me to think more dence I have built because of his wanted a program geared more toward direction will help me in my future medicine than basic science, Rossi said. career as a scientist.” Because she had not narrowed her inter- Kobielush, who is 26, has accepted ests to a single field of study, she was a job as the toxicology manager of attracted to the School of Medicine and quality and regulatory operations at Dentistry’s umbrella-type program of General Mills, Inc. in Minneapolis. clusters that enabled her to browse and “For the long term, I plan to stay experience various research opportunities. and establish a career at General Mills Rossi eventually chose pharmacology, and maybe, if the opportunity presents with Robert T. Dirksen, Ph.D. (PhD ’91), itself, be a guest speaker or lecturer at associate professor of pharmacology and Bethel University for the biology or physiology, as her advisor. chemistry departments, so the students The primary goal of Rossi’s current there might have a little taste of what research is to understand sarcoplasmic toxicology is all about,” he said. reticulum (SR)-mitochondrial calcium signaling throughout skeletal muscle development. “Others have shown that in adult

FALL / WINTER 2008 15 skeletal muscle, mitochondria are seminar, as required by the department, primarily located next to calcium has been a valuable learning experience. release units [CRU], the structures Through practicing the talk with my lab formed by the close apposition of SR and my advisor before the department terminal cisternae and T-tubules,” she seminar, I became more confident in my explained. “Close SR-mitochondria co- presentations. Subjecting your research to localization and the formation of the scrutiny of others is one of the funda- functional calcium microdomains permit mental aspects of being a scientist.” rapid mitochondrial calcium uptake Rossi, who is 28, has accepted a post- during physiological elevations in myo- doctoral position at the University of plasmic calcium. However, limited Chicago Medical Center in the laboratory information is available with regard to of Elizabeth McNally, M.D., Ph.D., professor mitochondrial disposition during skeletal Flexor digitorum brevis fiber of medicine and human genetics and muscle development. I have characterized stained for mitochondria. director of the Institute for Cardiovascular mitochondrial localization in flexor digi- Research at Chicago. torum brevis fibers from young and adult “I haven’t zeroed in on a particular mice using confocal microscopy and have As her research summary shows, career path, though I am leaning towards found that there are obvious differences Rossi does not exaggerate when she says: research in industry,” she said. “For now, in mitochondrial targeting throughout “Obviously, the breadth and depth of I am just taking it one step at a time.” muscle development. my knowledge have grown since I have “In addition, collaborators in Italy been here. Rahul Tyagi, a native of Delhi, India, have revealed with electron microscopy “However, the greater value in and a 2001 graduate in chemical engi- analysis that mitochondrial localization getting my Ph.D. from the School of Med- neering from the Indian Institute of drastically changes during postnatal icine and Dentistry is in my training to be Technology in Bombay, got inter- development in parallel with CRU matu- a scientist,” she said. “Rochester, I would ested in the School of Medicine and ration. Collectively, the data indicate say, is very ‘student-centric.’ There is a real Dentistry when investigating univer- that mitochondrial triad targeting is a focus on the student- teaching how to ask sity rankings online. highly coordinated and developmentally and answer the right questions, how to “I didn’t have a lot of knowledge about regulated process and suggests that mito- present your work, how to collaborate with biology and medicine, but, I was quite chondrial calcium uptake and function others in your field and outside of your interested in learning about these sub- are altered during muscle development.” field. Preparing my yearly student research jects, especially those at the intersection

16 ROCHESTER MEDICINE of biology and physics,” Tyagi said. “The need to change my own cluster at any biophysics program at Rochester seemed point,” Tyagi said. “The very fact that a good place because the medical school you are taking some core courses with here provides amazing opportunities to students from various clusters leads to do rotations in different departments improved insight into other fields of and clusters and even to change research — and, through comparison, programs later on if the student finds one’s own field of research too.” something very interesting. Starting In 2004, Tyagi launched a blog he from the position where I did not know called “How I Stopped Worrying and enough to be able to judge my own Learned to Love the Blog.” He planned interest in different bio-related fields, it to write about cricket, movies and seemed the ideal place to be.” science, but his interest in movies took Tyagi found a home in the over the blog — until his work on his Department of Biochemistry and Biophys- Ph.D. gave him no time to blog. Tyagi ics, with David H. Mathews, M.D., Ph.D. focused his research primarily on RNA.

“Student seminars, and the emphasis on student questions, go a long way

in imparting critical-thinking skills in students at Rochester.” Rahul Tyagi

(M ’03, PhD ’02), assistant professor of bio- “It has been realized only relatively work was concerned with studying RNA’s chemistry and biophysics, as his advisor. recently that RNA plays many important molecular structure and using structural “While the opportunity to be able roles in biology in addition to its well- information for finding RNA sequences to change your cluster was clearly one of known role as an information carrier with previously unknown functions.” the great things about doing a Ph.D. at between DNA and the protein-making A major objective of almost every the School of Medicine, I didn’t feel the machinery of the cell,” he said. “My thesis graduate-level course has been the devel- opment of critical thinking, Tyagi said. “A lot of courses involved critical reviews of relevant research articles and discussions about these things. Student seminars, and the emphasis on student questions, go a long way in imparting crit- ical-thinking skills in students at Rochester,” he said. “I didn’t even know about the expectations that one should have from one’s graduate career. But now I don’t just know what those expectations are — developing independent critical- thinking and other skills needed for having a career in science — but I am quite confident that I have attained most of those things.” Tyagi, 27, has begun postdoctoral research, working with William H. Press, Ph.D., the Warren J. and Viola M. Raymer Chair in Computer Sciences and Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. There, Tyagi is affiliated with the Institute of Computational Engineering and Sciences and the Insti- tute of Cellular and Molecular Biology.

FALL / WINTER 2008 17 PhD Alumni Six careers started in Rochester

SHEKEMA HODGE – Ph.D. 1999 As a senior at the University of the Virgin Islands, Shekema Hodge visited many graduate schools, but she missed the recruit- ment weekend in Rochester. Hodge, who was born and grew up on the island of St. Thomas, finally came to the School of Medicine and Dentistry on a very cold day and found piles of snow on the streets. Missing the recruitment weekend proved to be a bonus. Instead of spending time with other potential grad- uate students, she talked with a professor and active graduate students who gave her an overview of the research programs at the school. “I was able to ‘see’ the various programs for what they were, outside of all the fun and activities,” Hodge recalled. “What was an added attraction was the Program in Biology and Medicine that allowed students to rotate and explore between departmental lines. Rochester had exciting research and talented professors, and the graduate students spoke highly of the University and were happy there. I asked.” Under Steve Dewhurst, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology and now the senior associate dean for research, Hodge investigated the immunopathogenesis of acute Simian Immunodeficiency Virus infection and characterized the effect of this infection on immune activation and cellular apoptosis using both in vivo and in vitro systems. Today, she is a manager in the Global Clinical Immunology Department at Sanofi Pasteur in Swiftwater, Pa., overseeing the Immunochemistry Development Lab. Her department’s key responsibility is to generate immuno- logical data in support of vaccine clinical trials. Primarily, she is responsible for the technical development, optimization and vali- dation of the immunological assays in support of various stages of vaccine development and the evaluation of new technologies that will provide her department with a competitive advantage. “At that time, the transition directly from graduate school to an indus- trial setting was quite uncommon but having the technical knowledge and skill sets I acquired at Rochester made that a reality for me,” Hodge said. “The values of integrity, creativity and team- work that were present in the daily activities of the Dewhurst lab have proven to be invaluable assets throughout the development of my career. These values have had the biggest impact on my career and have been at the core of my daily activities.”

18 ROCHESTER MEDICINE KENNETH I. KAITIN – Ph.D. 1982 Kenneth I. Kaitin, Ph.D., who received his doctoral degree in pharmacology and experimental toxicology in 1982, now directs the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, an academic drug policy research group providing strategic infor- mation to help drug developers, regulators and policy makers improve the quality and efficiency of the drug development process. Kaitin also is professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, and he serves on the faculty of the European College of Pharmaceutical Medicine at the University of Basel in Switzerland. He has written extensively on factors that contribute to the slow pace and high cost of pharmaceutical research and development and the impact of regulatory and legislative initiatives to speed new drug development and review. A former president of the Drug Information Association, he currently serves on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Therapeutics, Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs, Drug Information Journal, Drug Discovery and Development, and Food and Drug Letter. Kaitin also serves on the board of directors of two publicly held companies, Curis Inc. and Phase Forward, Inc., and the privately held company Bio-Tree Systems, Inc. The subject of Kaitin’s Ph.D. was the neurophysiological mechanisms of sleep and the effect of thalidomide and pento- barbital on neuronal activity in the preoptic nucleus in the sleeping cat. His graduate advisor was Eugene S. Boyd, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, who died in 2003. “I was very fortunate, while at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, to meet and work with Dr. Louis Lasagna, pioneering clinical pharmacologist and chairman of the pharmacology depart- ment. Dr. Lasagna founded the Center for the Study of Drug Development in 1976, the year I began graduate studies in his department. Dr. Lasagna eventually was to become my mentor and an inspirational figure in my life. After leaving Rochester to pursue postdoctoral studies at Stanford University, I maintained my rela- tionship with him and eventually, in 1986, came to Tufts to work at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. Dr. Lasagna had moved the group from Rochester to Tufts in 1984. I succeeded Dr. Lasagna as director of the Tufts Center in 1998. Through the years, I maintained a close personal and working rela- tionship with Dr. Lasagna until his passing in 2003.” Kenneth I. Kaitin, Ph.D.: “I was very fortunate, while at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, to meet and work with Dr. Louis Lasagna, pioneering clinical pharmacologist and chairman of the pharmacology department. Dr. Lasagna founded the Center for the Study of Drug Development in 1976, the year I began graduate studies in his department.”

FALL / WINTER 2008 19 SUSAN W. LIEBMAN – Ph.D. 1974 Susan Liebman, Ph.D., who has been in the Department of Biological Sciences at Illinois for more than 30 years, studies yeast prions and uses yeast as a model to study protein misfolding diseases, which include Alzheimer’s disease and the so-called “mad cow” disease. She has been an author or co-author of dozens of scientific articles, reviews and books. Liebman and her lab colleagues reported the first successful propagation of a prion from one organism in another where the protein is not normally found. She also developed a yeast model system and genetic assay that can detect the formation of beta amyloid protein oligomerization, which appears to play a major role in Alzheimer’s. In 2002, the University of Illinois at Chicago awarded Liebman a Distinguished Professorship, a position created to recognize persons who have made a significant impact upon their field through scholarship, creativity and leadership. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s at Harvard University, but Liebman points to Rochester and Fred Sherman, Ph.D., as the origin of her research endeavors. “My career is built entirely on the graduate and postgrad- uate work I did in Fred Sherman’s lab at Rochester,” she said. “During that time, Dr. Sherman was extremely important in firmly establishing yeast as a model organism. The excitement of being in his lab and the collegiality he fostered made working on yeast genetics seem like a privilege and a joy, not a job. This spark has been sufficient to carry me through the ups and downs of my own career. I have always tried to emulate Dr. Sherman’s ability to encourage and excite students.” Sherman, now professor emeritus of biochemistry and biophysics and considered one of the fathers of modern yeast genetics, calls his former student a leader in the study of prions in yeast and says her work could lead to the development of therapeutic agents. “Sue began her studies at Rochester on suppressors in yeast. One strange mutant, PSI, eventually turned out to be a prion state of protein that was involved in translation. She not only recognized the importance of PSI, but also demonstrated unusually good judgment on how to proceed,” Sherman said. “While at Rochester, she produced work that was published in 10 papers, which is unusual for someone who is just at the begin- ning of a career. Furthermore, she has remained highly productive her whole life.”

20 ROCHESTER MEDICINE “… I had the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant on two occasions. These two experiences helped to shape my decision to take a position in a research institution and in a college of arts and sciences where I could do

cutting-edge research and teach.” Steven W. Matson, Ph.D.

STEVEN W. MATSON – Ph.D. 1980 research scientist,” Matson said. “At the same time, I had the Steven W. Matson thinks a lot these days about graduate opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant on two occasions. programs. In July 2008, he became dean of the graduate school at These two experiences helped to shape my decision to take a the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he over- position in a research institution and in a college of arts and sees approximately 8,000 graduate students in the university’s sciences where I could do cutting-edge research and teach. 66 doctoral and 100 master’s programs. Matson began his career I have never looked back. I often have told students and parents at North Carolina in 1983 after three years as a postdoctoral that I came to the university when I was 18 and I liked it so fellow at Harvard Medical School. As dean, he still teaches and much that I never left. I have had an opportunity to work in does research, which focuses on DNA repair, conjugative DNA medical schools — Rochester for my graduate work and Harvard transfer and the enzymatic mechanisms and biological roles of Medical School for my postdoctoral work—and a college of arts DNA helicases. Matson received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from and sciences in my career at North Carolina. This has certainly the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry shaped my thinking as dean of the graduate school.” in 1980 and won the Wallace O. Fenn Award for the best doctoral thesis. His research at Rochester, he said, focused on the processivity of DNA polymerases using a mutant form of E. coli DNA polymerase I and the avian myeloblastosis virus poly- merase as models. His thesis advisor was Robert A. Bambara, Ph.D., now chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. “Robert Bambara has been a constant friend, colleague and mentor. I could not have chosen a better Ph.D. advisor. During my years at Rochester I learned what it meant to be a

FALL / WINTER 2008 21 MICHAEL J. MCKENNA – Ph.D. 1975 By the time Michael J. McKenna received his Ph.D. in toxi- cology from the School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1975, he already was at work as a fellow in the toxicology research labo- ratory at Dow Chemical USA — and that was only the beginning. By 1982, McKenna was research manager of that lab where be began at Dow. In 1984, he moved to Parke-Davis Research of the Warner Lambert Company as associate director of pathology and experimental toxicology and from 1989 to 1995, as vice president for drug development. He then owned and oper- ated Pharmaceutical Consulting Services. From 1999 to 2004, he served as vice president of science and technology at A.M. Pappas & Associates, a life sciences venture development company. In 2004, McKenna launched Merrion Pharmaceuticals, an interna- tional company focused on oral drug delivery with operations in Ireland and North Carolina. He served as chief executive officer of Merrion until January 2008, when he became chairman. He also owns Navigator Life Science Advisor, a consulting firm that works with start-ups and early-stage companies in the life sciences. He has published more than 30 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals. At the School of Medicine and Dentistry, McKenna’s mentor for his doctorate was Victor DiStefano, a longtime member of the faculty who received his Ph.D. from the School in 1953 and who died in 1993. The subject of McKenna’s research for his doctorate was “Alterations in Catecholamine Biosynthesis Induced by Carbon Disulfide.” “My education at Rochester developed my skills as a scien- tist and particularly my ability to read, write and think analytically,” said McKenna, who is a member of the School’s Alumni Council. “Later, it was the friends and colleagues I met at Rochester and the expansion of those relationships through the ‘Rochester connection’ that have been continually impor- tant throughout my career. I have frequently called on Rochester alumni and colleagues for assistance with problem solving of one kind or another. Also, I’ve made several transi- tions during my career, but at every change of job I’ve been able to recall where colleagues I met at Rochester have helped me with making those changes successfully. The importance of the Rochester connection in my career also made me understand how important professional networking is, and how personally rewarding many of those professional relationships can become over the years.”

“My education at Rochester developed my skills as a scientist and particularly

my ability to read, write and think analytically.” Michael McKenna, Ph.D.

22 ROCHESTER MEDICINE LISA M. REGAN – Ph.D. 1994 Factor VIII therapies for hemophilia A. Regan oversees a group In the fourth year of her graduate program and a year into her of 42 people who range from entry-level technicians to experi- thesis work at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, Lisa enced Ph.D. level managers. The group supports the other GBD Regan’s advisor left the University, putting her somewhat adrift groups with biochemical and chemical assay work, which — but an opportunity soon developed. She recalls a day when includes Phase I/II and Phase III clinical release testing, Philip J. Fay, Ph.D. (PhD ’82) professor of biochemistry and biochemical and chemical assay development and protein char- biophysics, stopped in the laboratory asking if the lab had ethyl- acterization for products in development and licensed biological enediaminetetraacetic acid, or EDTA, that he could use. “No, but products. The group also supports the Quality Control do you need a graduate student?” she said. That’s how Regan Department with assay development and optimization and became Fay’s first graduate student. In his lab, her thesis work Manufacturing/ Operations with incident resolution investiga- centered on the structure and function of Factor VIII, the protein tions. that is deficient or defective in people with hemophilia A. “Dr. Fay “Dr. Fay is an amazingly patient and incredibly intelligent taught me not only about Factor VIII, one of the most complicated person,” Regan said. “I am eternally grateful for his guidance and proteins in the clotting cascade, but also how to think, how to assistance in my career development and for the time I spent at solve problems and how to accomplish all this without losing an the School of Medicine.” eye on the important things in life: family, friends and living well.” Today, Regan works at Bayer HealthCare in Berkeley, “Dr. [Philip] Fay taught me … how to Calif. After a decade with Bayer, she is director of the Analytics Development and Support Department in the Global Biologics think, how to solve problems… ” Development (GBD) group. GBD is responsible for the develop- ment of new therapeutic proteins in hematology, including new Lisa M. Regan, Ph.D.

FALL / WINTER 2008 23 medical center rounds

Medical school dean and pioneering neurologist elected to Institute of Medicine

David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the members is about 1,600. The University now has “Many aspire to the Institute of University of Rochester School of Medicine and 16 faculty members or emeritus faculty in the Medicine, not only because it represents Dentistry, professor of obstetrics and gyne- institute. national recognition by your colleagues, but cology and the director of the University’s “Election to the Institute of Medicine because the IOM issues reports that determine Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and represents recognition by peers that a person has the direction of future health policy,” Berk said. Ira Shoulson, M.D., a neurologist who has made major contributions to medicine and can “David Guzick and Ira Shoulson have the leader- pioneered research methods that have led to provide important service to the nation,” said ship and vision to participate in the planning for new treatments for Huntington’s disease, University President Joel Seligman. “This is truly future health care, and we take great pride in Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenera- a great honor for Dean Guzick and Dr. Shoulson, their election.” tive illnesses, have been elected to the but also for the University of Rochester as a Guzick said he is “extremely humbled by prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM), one of salute to the quality of our faculty.” this honor, especially because clinical research the nation’s highest honors in the fields of medi- Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., chief execu- is always a collaborative effort. cine and health. tive officer of the University of Rochester Medical “My achievements reflect the profound No more than 65 new members are Center, said election to the IOM is a “career high- influence of my clinical and research mentors, elected annually to the IOM. The number of active light.” my collaborators, and the altruism of the many women and men who volunteered to participate in the research studies that my colleagues and I have conducted,” he said. Shoulson, who is the Louis C. Lasagna Professor of Experimental Therapeutics and professor of neurology, pharmacology and of medicine, shared a similar reaction to his election. “I am especially honored because my contributions represent the work of hundreds of colleagues who engage in cooperative clinical research. My election is a fitting recognition of the group, in addition to the individual honor,” he said. “I am buoyed by the fact that my achievements derive in large part from the dedi- cated work of my colleagues around the world in the Parkinson Study Group and Huntington Study Group, as well as the thousands of research participants who participate in our “Election to the Institute of Medicine represents multi-center clinical trials.” recognition by peers that a person has made major contributions to medicine and can provide important service to the nation. Thisis truly a great honor for Dean Guzick and Dr. Shoulson, but also for the University of Rochester as a salute

to the quality of our faculty.” Joel Seligman, University President

24 ROCHESTER MEDICINE NCI selects Rochester for major lymphoma research grant

By Leslie White This five-year grant is the first for the from throughout the country for the expertise The University of Rochester School of Medicine Wilmot Cancer Center, the only upstate institu- and clinical studies available only at Wilmot. and Dentistry has received an $11.5 million tion to earn prestigious SPORE funding, which is Wilmot received the funding because of National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant to support awarded to institutions conducting collabora- the reputation of its researchers, the promise of the expansion of lymphoma research and clin- tive novel cancer research programs. There are their integrated studies, collaborations with the ical trials at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center. only four other lymphoma SPORE grants in the Arizona Cancer Center and the Massey Cancer The highly competitive Specialized Pro- country: at the Johns Hopkins University, the Center at Virginia Commonwealth University, grams of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant University of Iowa, City of Hope and Baylor and its leadership in the Southwest Oncology fuels translational research projects designed to College of Medicine. Group, a national cooperative clinical trials quickly advance findings from the laboratory to Wilmot’s lymphoma team of more than group that will help move new therapies to the clinic setting to improve care and find cures. 20 clinicians and scientists is one of the largest nationwide patient studies quickly. NCI funds SPORE projects at the top in the Northeast. Patients travel to Rochester “The SPORE grant pushes Wilmot’s already academic institutions across the country strong translational research efforts in lymphoma focusing on brain, breast, gastrointestinal, geni- Wilmot’s lymphoma to a new level, bringing together teams of scien- tourinary, gynecologic, head and neck, ovarian, tists and physicians to study the disease from pancreatic, prostate and skin cancers, as well team of more than fresh angles,” said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry. “Earning this grant certainly credentials 20 clinicians and The SPORE grant “represents the first of the Wilmot Cancer Center as a national leader what we hope to be several SPORE grants in the for lymphoma research and care,” said Richard scientists is one of years to come,” said Bradford C. Berk, M.D., I. Fisher, M.D., director of the center and vice Ph.D., Medical Center chief executive officer. “It president of the Medical Center. “It’s a seal of the largest in the confirms the caliber of our science and our approval from the National Cancer Institute for ability to perform research that translates into the program we’ve built.” Northeast. life-extending cures.”

FALL / WINTER 2008 25 medical center rounds

an important community investment in the type The building will be connected to the Institute one step of research enterprise that can be a catalyst for adjacent School of Nursing’s Helen Wood Hall. regional economic growth,” Seligman said. The CTSB is home to the University’s National In October 2006, the University of Center for Deaf Health Research. The ground closer to reality Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry floor will have a clinical research suite that is a was one of the first 12 institutions in the nation satellite of a larger Clinical Research Center By Mark Michaud to receive a Clinical and Translational Science located across the street from the CTSB. This The University of Rochester Medical Center Award from the National Institutes of Health suite of exam rooms will enable researchers to (URMC) broke ground in October for the Clinical (NIH). The $40 million award, the largest NIH see study participants on site. The upper floors and Translational Science Building (CTSB) — grant ever made to the School of Medicine and will contain a number of research programs, a facility that will help accelerate scientific Dentistry, has enabled the University and its including neurological disorders, cancer, pedi- discoveries into new ways to understand, treat, partner institutions to assemble technical and atrics, biostatistics and bioinformatics, and prevent, and cure diseases. professional resources and build research cardiovascular disease. The building also will New York Governor David Paterson and networks necessary to support the development house the Department of Community and New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of new medical technologies and interventions. Preventive Medicine and the Clinical Trials have said the state will provide $50 million “The NIH grant and the support from Coordination Center, a division of the Depart- toward the construction of the building, which is Albany will enable us to fundamentally re-engi- ment of Neurology that oversees an part of a major investment that the Medical neer the way we conduct medical research in a international network of clinical research sites. Center plans to make over the next several manner that allows us to harness basic research The building will bring together under one roof years in research, education, and clinical care. to improve health,” said David Guzick, M.D., several important resources that help re- An estimated $300 million will be spent on new Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine and searchers write grants, design clinical trials, facilities, including the CTSB which has a total Dentistry and principal investigator of the recruit participants, collect and evaluate data, project cost of $76.4 million. Clinical and Translational Science Award. and collaborate with industry and other part- University President Joel Seligman said The almost 200,000-square-foot, four-story ners. It will also serve as a hub for the Upstate the University was deeply grateful to Silver, building, which will be the first of its kind to be New York Translational Research Network, who attended the groundbreaking, Paterson, constructed in the nation, will be home to more a consortium of nine institutions that will and the local Assembly delegation for their than 600 scientists, physicians, nurses, statisti- develop and share clinical research resources. support for this critical project. cians, research administrators, and support staff. The building will also be home to the Institute’s “This building will not only help trans- The building will contain several clinical research education programs, including several training form medical science and improve health in programs and resources that are currently scat- and graduate degree programs in clinical and Rochester and beyond, but it also represents tered throughout the Medical Center. translational research.

26 ROCHESTER MEDICINE Human stem cells show promise National radia- against fatal children’s diseases tion oncology

By Tom Rickey Their brain cells lack sufficient myelin. In chil- society honors Scientists have used human stem cells to dren, diseases of myelin go by a host of names dramatically improve the condition of mice with but share the same features: a childhood and neurological condition similar to a set of diseases young adulthood that may include weakness, Wilmot Cancer in children that are invariably fatal, according to difficulty standing or walking, seizures, dementia, an article in the June 2008 issue of the journal paralysis, and ultimately, death. These diseases, Cell Stem Cell. which include Tay-Sachs, Krabbe’s, Canavan’s, Center doctor With a one-time Pelizaeus- Merzbacher, Vanishing White Matter injection of stem cells Disease and a host of others, are each rare, but Louis S. Constine, M.D., was named a fellow of just after birth, scientists collectively they kill thousands of children. the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology were able to repair Goldman and first author and scientist and Oncology, a prestigious cancer organization defective wiring through- Martha Windrem, M.A., have been working on of experts who specialize in treating patients out the brain and spinal shiverer mice for more than a decade. In work with therapeutic radiation. cord of mutant “shiverer published in 2004 in Nature Medicine, the team Constine, professor of radiation oncology mice,” so called because restored myelin in a widespread area of an at the University of Rochester School of of the way they shake animal’s brain by injecting human stem cells that Medicine and Dentistry and the James P. and wobble. The work eventually become oligodendrocytes, the cells Wilmot Cancer Center, has more than 30 years marks an important step that produce myelin. In those earlier experiments, of experience in radiation treatment. He is an toward the day when the team attempted to repair cells in only certain international expert in the treatment of child- stem cells become an parts of the brain. Although the methods produced hood and select adult cancers including option for the treatment myelin, the treatment didn’t actually improve the lymphomas, in the long-term side effects of of neurological diseases health of the mice. cancer therapy. in people. In the latest work, the team took advan- Constine serves on the advisory board of Neuroscientists tage of the routes that cells commonly take to the Children’s Cancer Survivor’s Study, the at the University of Rochester Medical Center migrate from one region of the brain to another. National Cancer Institute’s Pediatric Cancer injected a type of fetal human stem cell known as They injected approximately 300,000 human editorial board, the Children’s Oncology Group glial stem cells into newborn mice born with a stem cells into the brain of each mouse, Survivorship Guidelines and the American condition that normally claims their lives within choosing five particular spots because of their College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria about 20 weeks of birth, after a lifetime of ability to serve as a kind of launch pad for stem for the Treatment of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. seizures and other serious consequences. While cells to migrate from and colonize the entire A graduate of Stanford University, most of the 26 mice that received transplanted brain and spinal cord. Constine earned his M.D. at the Johns Hopkins glial stem cells still died, a group of six lived far And that’s just what happened in some University School of Medicine. He completed beyond their usual lifespan, and four appeared to of the mice. In just two months, the glial stem his residencies at University of California and be completely cured, a first for shiverer mice. The cells multiplied and spread, covering nerve cells Stanford Medical Center and a fellowship at the scientists plan to gather more evidence before in almost the entire central nervous system, University of Washington Medical Center. He is trying the approach in sick children. exactly mirroring their distribution in the brains board certified in pediatrics, pediatric hema- “It’s extremely exciting to think about not of healthy mice. For several months after that, tology/oncology and in radiation oncology. only treating but actually curing a disease, the cells produced myelin that coated nerve Constine, who joined the Medical Center particularly an awful disease that affects chil- cells throughout the entire brain and spinal in 1981, has been honored by many local organ- dren,” said Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., cord; from then on, the brain cells functioned izations for his commitment to quality, professor of neurosurgery and neurology. normally, conducting impulses as quickly as in compassionate care, including Camp Good Days “Unfortunately, right now, we can do little more normal mice. and Special Times, Gilda’s Club/Cancer Action for many of these conditions besides tell The six treated mice that lived longer and the American Cancer Society. parents to prepare for their kids to die.” recuperated to a degree hardly thought Thousands of children with rare, fatal possible. The four mice that still survived one disorders known as pediatric leukodystrophies year after treatment improved rapidly, had no share a central problem with the shiverer mice: seizures and were practically symptom free.

FALL / WINTER 2008 27 medical center rounds

from different disciplines come together to work Mayo physician, effectively in addressing complex scientific questions. Scientists rated the University highly in this area, citing the professionalism and an alumna, collegiality of their peers. The University also received high marks in the areas of teaching and mentoring, and the magazine prominently leads emergency featured an example of strong mentoring. “We’ve known all along that our scien- tists view the medical school as a great place to medicine work,” said David Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry. “Why? Three department chairs and The survey results speak for themselves — our own scientists report that the major strengths practice director also named of the University of Rochester environment are the excellence of peers, the spirit of collabora- The University of Rochester School of Medicine tion and the excellence of our teaching and and Dentistry has made several departmental mentoring. It’s great that the word is getting appointments. out.” Developing the talents of younger scien- Latha G. Stead, M.D., became professor tists is crucial, said Stephen Dewhurst, Ph.D., and chair of the Department of Emergency the School’s senior associate dean for basic Medicine January 1. She had been chair of the research. Division of Emergency University rated “It’s part of the ethos of the University of Medicine Research at Rochester that you look out for your col- the Mayo Medical leagues,” said Dewhurst. “We have many School in Minnesota. in top “Best programs to help scientists grow and develop Stead replaces and build their careers, such as a class to help Sandra Scheneider, scientists learn how to write grants to gain M.D., who chaired the Places to Work” funding to do their work. The mentoring of department for 14 years young scientists is extremely important, and it’s before stepping down By Tom Rickey something that is done well here.” to devote time to her expanding responsibilities Not only is the University of Rochester the More than 2,300 scientists nationwide at several national emergency medicine organi- region’s largest employer, it also is one of the responded to the magazine’s annual survey, zations. best places in the nation for scientists to work, which included scientists working in educa- In her new position, Stead will manage according to The Scientist magazine. tional, government-sponsored, or other operations at Strong Memorial Hospital’s The University was rated among the top non-commercial research institutions. Respon- Emergency Department, the state’s busiest ED 10 non-profit institutions in the nation in the dents were asked to assess their work outside of the New York City metropolitan area, magazine’s annual ranking of “Best Places to environment according to 41 criteria in eight logging more than 95,000 patients annually. In Work” for scientists in the life sciences, which categories. addition to her responsibilities as chief of includes medical research and related areas service for the emergency department at such as biology. Strong, Stead will be charged with further “It’s gratifying to be recognized for the “It’s gratifying to be developing the research and educational research environment that we’ve worked hard missions of the department. to create,” said Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., recognized for the Stead’s connection to Rochester dates chief executive officer of the Medical Center. back to her undergraduate studies. She earned “This is an institution founded on the principle research environment a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the of interdisciplinary collaboration. Our scientists’ University’s College of Arts and Sciences in satisfaction plays an important role in the ulti- that we’ve worked 1990. She attended Columbia University’s mate success of our research enterprise, and College of Physicians & Surgeons and Ponce helps us truly achieve ‘Medicine of the Highest hard to create,” Medical School in Puerto Rico, interned at Order.’“ Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and completed The University has long been recognized Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., her training through the Albert Einstein College for its collaborative environment, where people URMC chief executive officer of Medicine’s Jacobi-Montefiore Emergency

28 ROCHESTER MEDICINE Medicine Residency program. She is also Anesthesiology, returned as chair of the depart- doctoral program for epidemiology, and division completing a biomedical sciences degree in ment for a three-year term in August. chief of epidemiology in the Department of clinical research from the Mayo Graduate He succeeds James Robotham, M.D., Community and Preventive Medicine. Under her School. who stepped down to focus on his research. leadership, New York state approved a doctoral An internationally recognized expert in program in epidemiology at Rochester that was In October, Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., who the field of anesthesi- developed by Fisher. In addition, Fisher is an has been with the University since 2003, ology, Ward was independent National Institutes of Health inves- became the Edward A. and Alma Vollertsen recruited to Rochester tigator, with a research focus on viral etiologies Rykenboer Professor of Neurophysiology and in 1992 to lead the of cancer. chair of the Department of Neurology. Department of Anes- She earned her Ph.D. in cancer epidemi- He follows Robert “Berch” Griggs, M.D. thesiology, a position ology at the University of Illinois, a master’s (R ’71), who has led the department since 1986. he held for close to a degree in biostatistics from Georgetown During Griggs’ tenure, yearly research funding decade. Ward stepped University, and a bachelor’s degree in nursing in the department sky- down as chair in 2001, and business from Johns Hopkins University. rocketed from about $1 and while on sabbatical at the University of million to approximately Leiden in the Netherlands, continued his study In June, Richard I. Fisher, M.D., was named $28 million, and faculty on the control of breathing, and also edited a senior associate dean for clinical affairs size quadrupled. Griggs book, Pharmacology and Pathophysiology of the and director of the University of Rochester is continuing as pro- Control of Breathing. Medical Faculty Group (URMFG), Rochester’s fessor of neurology, Ward holds a Ph.D. in systems science largest medical practice. As a result of this and will serve as presi- from the University of California at Los Angeles, appointment, he also will serve as vice president dent of the American as well as a medical degree from the University of University of Roch- Academy of Neurology, of Miami. He served his residency training in ester Medical Center. the nation’s largest pro- anesthesiology and subsequently held various Fisher, who is fessional organization clinical and administrative positions at UCLA, director of the James P. of neurologists. including director of its residency program in Wilmot Cancer Center, is Goldman is inter- anesthesiology, before being recruited to an internationally known nationally recognized Rochester. expert in research and for advancing the In 2006, Ward was named associate treatment of lymphoma understanding of stem dean for faculty development-medical educa- and is a nationally re- cells and their use to tion, charged with developing programs and nowned cancer clinician, treat human disease. He has created new ways training sessions to improve faculty teaching scientist and educator. to isolate stem cells and then re-create the skills at the School of Medicine and Dentistry. Fisher, director molecular signals that direct their development He will continue in this role. of the hematology / as part of research that aims to use the cells oncology division in the to treat a variety of conditions, including In July, Susan Gross Fisher, M.S., Ph.D., Department of Med- Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. became chair of the Department of Community icine and the Samuel E. Goldman earned his bachelor’s degree and Preventive Medicine. Durand Professor of with honors in biology and psychology from the An accomplished Medicine, oversees University of Pennsylvania, his medical degree researcher and expert clinical cancer services at Strong Memorial at Cornell University, and his doctoral degree at in cancer epidemiology, Hospital and Highland Hospital. His research Rockefeller University. From 1988 to 2003 he Fisher has been serving focuses on the biology and treatment of served on the faculty of Cornell University as interim chair of lymphoma, and has led national and interna- Medical College, where he was the Nathan the department since tional studies on Hodgkin’s disease and Cummings Professor of Neurology and Neuro- July 2007. She suc- non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was recruited to science and where he continues to serve as ceeds Thomas Pearson, Rochester in 2001 from Loyola University’s adjunct professor. At Rochester, Goldman will M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., senior Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center. continue as chief of the department’s Division of associate dean for clinical research, who led the Fisher succeeds Kenneth E. DeHaven, Cell and Gene Therapy and as professor of department during the past decade through a M.D. who has served as URMFG director since neurological surgery. period of tremendous growth. Pearson has been 2004. With more than 900 physicians encom- on sabbatical as a visiting scientistat the passing primary care, specialty doctors, and Denham Ward, M.D., Ph.D., professor of National Human Genome Research Institute. dentists who are part of the medical school biomedical engineering and of anesthesiology, Prior to her appointment, Fisher served faculty, URMFG is the area’s largest medical and former chair of the Department of as associate chair for research, director of the practice. URMFG is a division of the University.

FALL / WINTER 2008 29 medical center rounds

He earned his medical degree from the He has published in numerous journals and is a Three chiefs University of Illinois, where he also did his frequent presenter at national and international undergraduate work. He completed his medical meetings. named at internship and served as chief resident during Following a nationwide search, Susan L. his postdoctoral training and residency at the Hyman, M.D., a renowned autism researcher Medical Center University of Rochester Medical Center. and clinician, has been named chief of the Stephen R. Hammes, M.D., Ph.D., has Division of Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Marc Berliant, M.D. (R’81), a longtime Rochester been appointed to lead the Division of Endo- Pediatrics, the renamed and refocused division clinician and educator, has been appointed chief crinology, Department of Medicine. formerly known as the Strong Center for of the Division of General Medicine at the Hammes received a bachelor’s degree in Developmental Disabilities. University of Rochester Medical Center. A clin- chemistry from Cornell University, earned his Hyman and Tristram Smith, Ph.D., are co- ical professor of medicine, Berliant has been a M.D. and Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology principal investigators of a prestigious initiative, member of the School of Medicine and at Duke University, and completed his training in the Autism Treatment Network site at the Dentistry faculty since 1980. He most recently endocrinology at the University of California at University of Rochester. Fifteen sites across the worked as an internist at Rochester Internal San Francisco. He most recently served as an United States and Canada are collaborating to Medicine Associates, and with medical resi- associate professor in endocrinology and the determine the standard of care for diagnosis dents as a clinical professor and a mentor. W.W. Caruth Jr. Scholar in Biomedical Research and medical management for children with Berliant is a fellow of the American at the University of Texas Southwestern autism. A graduate of Alpert Medical School of College of Physicians. He has been honored Medical Center. Brown University, Hyman did her residency in with the James M. Stewart Award of the A member of the American Society for pediatrics at North Carolina Memorial Hospital Department of Medicine for Distinguished Clinical Investigation, Hammes serves on the and a fellowship in developmental pediatrics at Clinical Teaching and the Art Bauman Award for editorial boards of the journals Molecular Kennedy Krieger Institute at the Johns Hopkins Outstanding Housestaff Teaching. Endocrinology and Biology of Reproduction. Hospital in Baltimore.

Hartmann wins national leadership award

The Accreditation Coun- The Palmer award is given annually council of the American cil for Graduate Medical College of Obstetricians Education (ACGME) has to officials who have created an and Gynecologists, is named Diane M. Hart- dedicated to the promo- mann, M.D. (M ’87, R ’91), exemplary environment for educa- tion and maintenance a recipient of the organi- of excellence in resi- zation’s Parker J. Palmer tional programs, facilitated residents’ dency and subspecialty Courage to Lead Award. fellowship education. Hartmann, the University of Rochester ethical, professional and personal The organization repre- School of Medicine and Dentistry’s senior asso- sents more than 250 ciate dean for graduate medical education and development, and ensured safe and residency programs in professor of obstetrics and gynecology, is one of the United States and three officials nationwide who will receive the appropriate care of patients. collaborates with resi- award. dent training programs The Palmer award is given annually in Canada, Mexico and to officials who have created an exemplary envi- Courage to Lead Award acknowledges the lead- Latin America. ronment for educational programs, facilitated ership and commitment of officials who foster Hartmann will receive the Palmer award residents’ ethical, professional and personal an excellent educational environment for resi- at the ACGME annual educational conference in development, and ensured safe and appropriate dent education. March in Texas. care of patients. The recipients are selected from Hartmann recently also was selected to a small community hospital, a large community lead the Council on Graduate Medical Education hospital or a tertiary academic center. in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) as According to the ACGME, bestowing the its chairperson for 2008–2010. The CREOG, a

30 ROCHESTER MEDICINE “We are very excited about our finding irregular features and some abnormal cells A surer way that IMP-3 is an important progression marker in over-expressed the IMP-3 protein, the protein malignant melanoma,” said first author Jennifer was produced excessively in most melanomas, to identify G. Pryor, M.D., a third-year resident in the and overly expressed more often in metastatic Department of Pathology and Laboratory melanomas. melanoma Medicine. “Although we have learned a lot IMP-3 was also over-expressed in rare about melanoma in recent years, it has unique cases of invasive thin melanomas. This is signif- By Leslie Orr biologic properties that sometimes make it diffi- icant because most thin melanomas have a University of Rochester Medical Center cult to diagnose and to plan the proper good prognosis, but some act more aggres- researchers have found a new protein produced treatment. This protein may have a key role in sively; currently, there is no accurate way to excessively in malignant melanoma, a discovery helping us to understand and distinguish distinguish between the types of thin lesions. that is particularly relevant as skin cancer rates between various types of melanocytic lesions.” IMP-3 is an insulin-like growth factor-II climb dramatically among young women. The pilot study investigated samples of mRNA binding protein. It is involved in cell prolif- The protein, IMP-3, is not over-expressed 56 biopsied lesions from 48 adults. The lesions eration and appears to play a role in tumor in harmless moles but is increased in the most fell into the category of cutaneous melanocytic formation in a number of cancers. In previous dangerous types of skin cancer, and in a subset neoplasms, a diverse group that includes benign studies expression of the IMP-3 protein has been of lesions that can be difficult to predict called moles; Spitz nevus, a type of mole seen in linked to pancreas, kidney, ovary and lung thin melanomas. The finding offers a potential younger people that can be easily mistaken for cancers, but this is the first published study to target for treatment — but perhaps most impor- melanoma but is not cancerous; and malignant demonstrate a connection to melanoma, Pryor tantly, it might give doctors a new, objective melanoma, which has several phases of growth. said. The URMC Department of Pathology and way to distinguish melanoma from some benign This study showed why IMP-3 might be Laboratory Medicine funded the research, moles that look like melanoma but are not an important tool for pathologists. Though none which was published in the journal Modern cancerous. of the benign moles or the benign moles with Pathology.

Professors win British book award

The British Medical Association (BMA) has name for the atomic bomb. Rubin analyzed the cally, serving as the first director of the named a new guide to cancer staging written by scientific data from the studies and published Department of Radiation Oncology Services at two University of Rochester Medical Center extensively on radiation tolerance, establishing the National Cancer Institute. At the Medical experts in oncology and anatomy the associa- the Medical Center as an international leader Center, he created the Department of Radiation tion’s Medical Book of the Year. for studying late effects of radiation. He helped Oncology, serving as chair from 1961 to 1995. The award honored Philip Rubin, M.D., develop the field of using radiation therapeuti- Hansen led research into peripheral and professor and chair emeritus of radiation central dopaminergic systems and neural plas- oncology, and John Hansen, Ph.D., professor of ticity for more than two decades, before shifting neurobiology and anatomy and the School of to medical education. He was involved in the Medicine and Dentistry’s associate dean for design of the School of Medicine and admissions, for TNM Staging Atlas. It repre- Dentistry’s groundbreaking Double-Helix curric- sents the culmination of decades of research in ulum, which weaves basic and clinical sciences oncoanatomy. through all four years of medical education. In The book, which provides uniquely illus- addition to about 100 research publications, trated text depicting the different stages of Hansen also is coauthor of Netter’s Atlas of cancer development, was described by BMA Human Physiology, consulting editor of the reviewers as one that will “find a long-term Atlas of Human Anatomy, author of the place” on bookshelves and be for “ongoing Essential Anatomy Dissector and the Netter reference use for years.” Anatomy Flash Cards, a consultant on the CD- Rubin is considered a founder of the field ROM Netter Presenter Human Anatomy of therapeutic radiation. His 50-year career Collection, and coauthor of Netter’s Clinical focused on studying radiation, dating back to Anatomy textbook for first-year medical the Manhattan Project, the World War II code students.

FALL / WINTER 2008 31 alumni news

An alumnus with a mission

Mark H. Weinstein, M.D. (BS ’65, M ’69), is the founder and director of Changing Children’s Lives, Inc., a non-profit organization established to provide plastic surgical medical missions abroad. He is an assistant clinical professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Yale University School of Medicine and section chief of plastic surgery at the Hospital of St. Raphael, New Haven, Conn. In practice in New Haven, since 1977, Weinstein has performed missions abroad for more than 15 years, visiting Brazil, Honduras, Colombia, Vietnam, Thailand and China with experienced medical teams special- izing in reconstructive surgery for congenital Weinstein, left, and acquired deformities in children. He operates in discussed his missions recently. Colombia.

How did you get interested in medical missions to other countries? organization would not allow residents on the In the evening, we have dinner with our hosts When I was in medical school in Rochester, trips. With Changing Children’s Lives, no money and enjoy the culture. We don’t just go into rural my intern advisor was Seymour Schwartz. He is taken off the top. These trips take a lot of areas. We have worked in a university hospital recommended that I go to UCLA for my resi- organizing. It can take up to a year to put a trip in Thailand, military and university hospitals dency training. While I was at UCLA, I went on together. We make sure we will be accepted by in China. All had plastic surgeons on staff. a trip with an organization for international the medical community. The host has to accu- We communicate with their surgeons about surgery to Honduras. It was a very good experi- mulate enough patients. We need to make sure how they do things. There is a back-and-forth ence. there are reasonable facilities to operate in and dialogue between all the members of the team. I am not a researcher; I don’t do basic for staff to stay. My office does this work. There is an intellectual and educational ex- science. But I love clinical medicine. We do cleft All the money donated goes for taking care of change. It’s better than going on the Internet or lips and palates. It is a very rewarding experi- the children and the people we help. We raise going to meetings or conferences. ence to operate on these children. You can give our own money, but we get major funding from a lot of money to diabetes or cancer research, Smile Train, which has been very supportive Do you plan to continue the missions? but take one child with a cleft lip and give one with grants. Yes. There is a lot to do. In Honduras at a site hour of surgery time and it is amazing how you where medical missions have visited for 30 can change a life. It might sound corny but it is How do the trips work? years, we operated on a 61-year-old woman very rewarding. In medicine and plastic surgery, I lead trips twice a year from Yale. In February, with an unrepaired cleft lip. In Vietnam, one in you reach a point where you have satisfied your we will be return to Vietnam. We usually take every 400 births is a child with a cleft lip or ego. You’ve satisfied your economics and you 25 to 30 people — surgeons, anesthesiologists, palate. There is a huge backload. If we take a have satisfied your career choice. What is your pediatricians, nurses, plastic surgery residents. team to Asia, it can cost as much as $80,000, but legacy to the next generation? That is why I love There are team members from Yale and from we do work that would be valued in the United to take residents and medical students on our Johns Hopkins. On our trip in 2008 to China, States at more than a half million dollars. missions. In one week, they get an experience Chin-To Fong [associate professor of pediatrics You get a real philanthropic bang for your buck. they can’t get in any other way. at Rochester] went with us. My son-in-law, And people want to do this work. It brings you Jonathan Black, who is a Rochester medical back to your roots in medicine. Whether you Why did you start your own organization? student, has been on missions, as have several are a nurse or a surgeon, you are rejuvenated I formed Changing Children’s Lives about two other Rochester students. Everyone works pro because you spend the whole day treating and years ago. The organizations that I had been bono and no one pays for the travel. helping people and not dealing with bureau- working with for the surgical trips can be diffi- We can do 75 to 125 cases in a week, cracy and paperwork and insurance companies. cult to deal with. They have a bureaucracy that working in five or six operating rooms. We start You are doing what you were trained to do. took funds off the top of what I raised. One around eight in the morning and work until five.

32 ROCHESTER MEDICINE An alumnus range. Januvia is really innovative. We also have a strong pipeline of new targets in which we are aggressively looking for new medications. changes fields, Part of the reason for choosing this tran- sition involved the profound changes we have recently experienced in academic medicine. but not targets Even though my own research work in academia has been continuously successful, everyone Barry J. Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D., received his realizes it is now much more difficult to get degrees from the School of Medicine and grants. Clinically, there are many more patients Dentistry in 1982, and completed his residency without insurance who are juggling how they in Rochester in 1985. In September 2008, Merck will pay for their health care and prescriptions. I & Co. Inc. announced it had named Goldstein think I assumed that my M.D./Ph.D. training vice president of diabetes and obesity clinical would lead to a steady career in academic development at Merck Research Laboratories. research strength and the way new targets are medicine. When I started, we had plenty of time Goldstein joined Merck after 16 years on staff at identified at Merck, including the application of to work with patients and teach students and Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson genetic techniques to identify novel causes for had the luxury of time for research. In the last 20 University, where he most recently served as Type 2 diabetes and obesity. They have amazing years, the pressure to turn academic medicine director of the division of endocrinology, resources available for research that you don’t into a business has taken hold at many institu- diabetes and metabolic diseases and professor have access to in academia. tions. Revenue from patient hours is monitored of medicine, biochemistry and molecular phar- Translational research needs to incorpo- closely, and this has taken its toll on providing macology. His recent research has focused on rate partnerships between industry and the time necessary for good patient care and the mechanisms and regulation of insulin signal academia, as the two have complementary excellent bedside teaching. At Rochester, I was transduction, including the pathophysiology of expertise. In general, the group with whom I’m deeply instilled with strong values for direct insulin-resistant disease states. involved at Merck is not that different from patient interactions and clinical teaching that I what I’m used to with my colleagues from now find very disappointing to see challenged to Why did you switch from the world of clinical academia. At Merck, we have a lot of scientific this degree in academia. and academic medicine to industry? interactions and manage a global clinical There is a Rochester connection. When I was a research enterprise. My responsibilities are Is there something from your Rochester educa- Rochester M.D./Ph.D. student, John Amatruda wide-ranging, including working with commer- tion or training that prepared you for this new (now a senior vice president at Merck) was on cial issues around Januvia. My previous stage of your career? the School of Medicine faculty. My Ph.D. experiences in clinical trials and research helps, I have always appreciated how the M.D./Ph.D. research mentor, James Livingston, and John and I am enjoying learning a lot of new things. program at Rochester prepared me for my sparked my interest in insulin action and academic career. The medical education and diabetes research. When the position at Merck What do you expect to be the biggest chal- residency training at Rochester gave me a very became available, John sought me out and lenges of your change of worlds? strong foundation in clinical care, which really made a compelling case for me to look seriously Obesity has been a difficult target, and compa- helped me to complement my research career. I at the job. I had been at Jefferson for more than nies have had major challenges in trying to was lucky to work with John Amatruda and 16 years doing the triple duties of academia: come up with safe and clinically effective drugs James Livingston. They provided tremendous teaching, seeing patients and running a very that can help people lose significant amounts of mentoring. Of course, the weather was so bad well-funded research effort, mostly in diabetes, weight. This is a major focus area at Merck. we all just worked in the study halls, the lab and and during that time I had never seriously Everyone knows how difficult it is to lose weight the hospital. While at Rochester, I married looked at a position in industry. I considered on one’s own. We also know how much Type 2 Susan Wiegers (M ’81, R ’84), another medical what the job would entail, and, in particular, the diabetes is connected to being overweight. For student. Her Rochester training at Strong also positive aspects of being at Merck. They have diabetes, we have medication available, but set her trajectory for a stellar career in cardi- done a fantastic job in creating a unique, most patients need combinations of drugs, and ology. She now is associate professor of dynamic research and development environ- many need insulin injections. It is still a struggle medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, ment in metabolism research. Over the past for patients to get their blood sugars as close to director of clinical echocardiography, co-director several years, they have recruited a number of normal as possible in order to prevent complica- of their top-ranked cardiology fellowship and very successful academic leaders, with the tions. One thing that attracted me to Merck is also serves on the Medical Board of the intention of having them apply their research Januvia, one of the newest products available Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. expertise toward the goal of developing new to treat diabetes, and an important one. I like it Together, we have enjoyed a strong presence drugs, which are critically needed for diabetes conceptually. It lowers blood sugar, but it does for Rochester medicine at the two major and obesity. I found it enticing to see the not cause blood sugar to fall below the normal medical schools in Philadelphia.

FALL / WINTER 2008 33 alumni news

Alumna, former faculty Samet named to head Hofstra names medical member, to lead school new USC institute school founding dean in Georgia

Barbara L. Schuster, M.D. Jonathan Samet, M.D. Hofstra University (M ’77, R ’80), former (M ’70), an internation- selected Lawrence G. University of Rochester ally recognized expert Smith, M.D. (R ’79), as School of Medicine on public health, has the founding dean of and Dentistry faculty been named founding the university’s medical member, has been director of the new school established in named dean of a new University of Southern partnership with the medical campus of the California Institute for North Shore-Long Island University of Georgia. Global Health and chair- Jewish (NS-LIJ) Health She will lead the Medical College of man of the Department of Preventive Medicine System. Georgia/University of Georgia Medical Partner- at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. The Hofstra University School of Medicine ship Campus in Athens. The Athens campus Samet, an authority on the effects of plans to open in fall 2011. plans to enroll its first students in fall 2010 as smoking and air pollution, leaves the Johns University President Stuart Rabinowitz told part of the School of Medicine’s plan to increase Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Newsday the dean had to come from inside the its class size 60 percent to a total enrollment of Health, where he has served as professor and system. 1,200 by 2020 and help meet Georgia’s need for chairman of the Department of Epidemiology “It became crystal clear that the dean of the physicians. since 1994. For the last 10 years, he also has medical school, in order for this to work well, has to Schuster recently completed a year as a directed the Institute for Global Tobacco Control have some significant control over the hospital side Robert G. Petersdorf Scholar-in-Residence at at Johns Hopkins. because the clinical teachers … are giving patient the Association of American Medical Colleges Elected to the prestigious Institute of care at the hospital,” Rabinowitz said. (AAMC). She served as professor and chair of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences Smith is a native of Long Island who earned the Department of Internal Medicine at Wright in 1997, Samet has contributed to many of the his medical degree from the New York University State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine U.S. Surgeon General’s reports. He was the School of Medicine. in Ohio from 1995 until 2007. In addition, she senior scientific editor for the 2004 and 2006 In addition to serving as dean of the new was medical director of the University reports on active and passive smoking. medical school, Smith will continue in his role as Medicine-Pediatrics Practice at Wright State Samet hopes to establish multidiscipli- chief medical officer of the North Shore-LIJ Health University and president of Wright State’s nary collaborations that extend across System. He is the 15-hospital health system’s faculty practice plan. departments and schools. His decision to join senior physician, responsible for the overall profes- At Rochester, Schuster served as resi- the USC faculty, he has said, was based on sional management of clinical, education, research dency program director for the primary care the opportunity to chair the Department of and operational issues related to all medical and program in internal medicine and the combined Preventive Medicine, one of the leading such clinical affairs. He has held the position since 2006. internal medicine and pediatric program. She departments within the medical school, and at Before joining North Shore-LIJ, Smith was at the also was medical director of the University the same time to lead the development of a Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he served Health Service. model institute for multidisciplinary collabora- as dean and chairman of medical education, “Dr. Schuster is exactly the right person tion in global health. founder and director of the school’s Institute for to lead this critical initiative to help address the Among numerous honors, he has Medical Education, professor of medicine and an shortage of physicians in Georgia,” said Uni- received two U.S. Surgeon General’s attending physician. Prior to Mount Sinai, Smith versity of Georgia President Michael F. Adams. Medallions in 1990 and 2006. In 2005, his work practiced general medicine at the State University “Her background and experience have prepared received international recognition with the of New York’s Stony Brook University Hospital, her for the challenge and opportunity of building Prince Mahidol Award in Public Health, named where he became a full-time faculty member and the MCG/UGA Medical Partnership from the for the father of modern medicine and public director of the hospital’s residency program in ground up.” health in Thailand. In 2006, Samet received the internal medicine. Schuster chaired the AAMC’s Council of School Alumni Association Distinguished His residency at Strong Memorial Hospital Academic Societies from 2003 to 2004, served Alumni Award. was followed by military service as captain in the on the association’s executive committee from Army Medical Corps at Fitzsimmons Army Medical 2002 to 2004 and received the AAMC’s 2007 Center in Denver. Distinguished Service Award. She is immediate past president of the Association of Professors of Medicine.

34 ROCHESTER MEDICINE related medical research and gives the center’s David Nash leads new Cleveland Clinic names researchers access to the network of more than 2,000 Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists. school of health policy alumnus director of “I already see the fruits of the collabora- tive activity of this center and NASA, both the space center analog studies of weightlessness and bone function and my involvement in developing with Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia has Angelo Licata, M.D., NASA engineers a computer modeling system established the Jefferson School of Health Ph.D. (M ’73, PhD ’73), a for estimating fracture risk for astronauts,” Policy and Population Health (JSHPPH), which Cleveland Clinic endo- Licata said. “This program has enormous poten- will begin enrolling students for September crinologist who focuses tial for earth-based problems of osteoporosis. 2009. on metabolic bone and We anticipate continuing these types of inter- David B. Nash, M.D., M.B.A. (M ’81), chair skeletal problems, cal- actions into the future.” of the Department of Health Policy at Jefferson cium disorders, renal The center is supported by a cooperative Medical College of Thomas Jefferson Uni- stones and osteoporosis, agreement with Cleveland’s NASA Glenn versity, was named the school’s founding dean. has been appointed Research Center (GRC), and works closely with The interdisciplinary curriculum design director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Space engineers and scientists from GRC. Members of of the school allows medical, nursing and allied Medicine. the center consult with NASA representatives health students to take classes together to help The goal of the center is to contribute to on strategic planning and policy issues as them better prepare for and understand areas of the solution of medical problems experienced NASA’s mission evolves. The Center for Space health policy, population health and health care by humans during space flight so that humans Medicine also sponsors scientific meetings and quality and safety. Classes will be offered both can have a prolonged presence in space. public lectures on topics related to humans in online and in a traditional classroom format. The center provides a focal point for space- space. “The need to address the health care crisis in the United States — its quality, safety, affordability and accessibility — is incontro- vertible,” said Nash, who also serves as the Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor of Health Policy at Jefferson. “It is no longer Alumni Awards possible to prepare high-quality health care providers and educators without addressing these issues holistically from the perspective of Call for Nominations population health and with the tools of health policy analysis.” The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Alumni Council invites all The new school will offer master’s alumni, including graduates of the MD, PhD, MS programs, and former residents, to degrees in chronic care management, health submit nominations for alumni awards that are presented during Alumni Weekend each care quality and safety and health policy, as year. In 2009, the School of Medicine will bestow four awards. The Distinguished well as doctoral programs in health policy popu- Alumnus(a) Award recognizes achievement that has had an impact on a national and lation health sciences. Certificate programs will global scale by individuals whose lives and work exemplify the standards and objectives also be offered in each area and new dual of the school. The Alumni Service Award recognizes outstanding support, commitment, degree programs are planned as future addi- and service which have furthered the interests of the school. The Humanitarian Award tions to the school. recognizes those who serve the poor and underprivileged people of this world and “In order to maintain our high level of attempt to make a difference to those in need. The Gold Medal Award for outstanding scholarly integrity, we must make health policy teaching receives nominations from students, faculty, and administration. To learn more a central focus in the education of our students about School of Medicine alumni awards and obtain nomination forms, visit in medicine and all the related health profes- www.urmc.rochester.edu/smd/alumni/alumniawards.cfm sions,” Nash said.

FALL / WINTER 2008 35 reunion 2008

School of Medicine and Dentistry alumni from across the country gathered in Rochester in September to celebrate reunion with their classmates.

They enjoyed the Whipple Dinner where the first John N. Wilder Award was given to Marc Fuchs, M.D., Betty Small Fuchs, M.D., Judith Small, M.D., and Ira Cohen, M.D., who helped establish the Small-Fuchs Family Scholarship Fund to support future generations of medical students at Rochester. Robert Brent, M.D., Ph.D., received the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Jules Cohen, M.D., gave the George L. Engel Memorial Lecture. The alumni dinner was held at the new Fairbank Alumni Lounge in the Alumni and Advancement Center.

C. McCollister Evarts, M.D. (M’57, R’64) and Jules Cohen, M.D. (B’53, M’57) at the Engle Lecture Class of 1958. Front row: Tony Tartaglia, Hugh Ryan, Hill Gitelman and Dave Clough. Second row: Douglas Williams, Richard Braun, Lee Oxman, Bob Carrier, Chuck Winterling and Bill Calley. Third row: Jim Haggerty, Ann Doege, George Ballantyne Jr., Fuzzy Fendrick, Harry Cattell, Mike Lamm and Richard Frost. Fourth row: Ted Doege, Floyd Short, Cedric Bainton, Bob Hayes, Leo Stalbach and Bill Mast Don Hare, M.D. (MS’53, M’54) and James Haley, M.D. (M’85, R’88) and Rita Haley at the Engle Lecture Class of 1978. Front row: Elizabeth Almeyda, Helen Leibner and Jens Jorgensen. Back row: Steven Birnbaum, Judith Small, Tina Kurland and Mark Goldshein At the Distinguished Alumnus Lecture, from the left: Robert Scala, (MS ’56, PhD), Lillian Brent, (B’50), Robert Brent, M.D. (BS’48, M’53, PhD’55), and David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry Paul Fine, M.D., (BS’57, M ’61, R ’65), Rochelle Fine and Steven Fine, M.D. (FLW’95) at the Scholarship Reception

36 ROCHESTER MEDICINE

FALL / WINTER 2008 37 reunion 2008

Anthony Tartaglia, M.D. (M’58), and Jeanne Tartaglia at the Whipple Dinner At the Whipple Dinner, from the left: David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, Betsy Fuchs, M.D. (M’82), Marc Fuchs, M.D. (M’81), Judy Small, M.D. (M’78) and Ira Cohen At the Scholarship Reception, from the left: John Hansen, Ph.D., professor of neurobi- ology and anatomy and the School of Medicine and Dentistry’s associate dean for admissions, and medical students Emily Van Kouwenberg of the Class of 2012, Tegan Vay of the Class of 2011 and Michelle Coriddi of the Class of 2011 At the Young Alumni Picnic: Jimena Cubillos, M.D. (M’03), Shana Katzel-Dowell, M.D. (M’03) who is holding son Noah Dowell, and Evan Katzel, Class of 2010 At the Whipple dinner, from the left: Carol Nadelson, M.D. (M’61, R’62), Lee Caldwell, M.D. (R’73) and Robert Sutherland (PhD’66) Stephanie Henderson of the School of Medicine and Dentistry Class of 2011 and Gordon Currie, M.D., at the Scholarship Reception Henry Thiede, M.D. (R’56), Ellen Horey-Thiede and David Gandell, M.D. (R’82) at the Whipple Dinner

38 ROCHESTER MEDICINE

FALL / WINTER 2008 39 philanthropy

The burden of debt is a major issue for professor at the University of Tennessee medical students. Ninety percent of the medical Comparative Animal Research Laboratory in students in the School of Medicine and Oak Ridge. Dentistry’s Class of 2008, for example, borrowed But he maintained a quiet affection and money to attend the School. Their average debt connection to the School of Medicine and at graduation was $140,475. Dentistry even after a full career at Oak Ridge. The Brent gift calls for a novel reinvest- When Dr. Noonan died in October 2007 ment strategy. The income generated by the at the age of 95, he bequeathed to the School principal in the main fund will be allocated to a more than $3 million, a gift from trusts for he starting scholarship fund for each medical and his wife, Ruth Noonan, that he had not school class in their first year. The gift would informed the School about. become part of the endowment of the University “This is an unexpected and remarkable and be invested. Each class then also would gift,” said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., dean of donate to the fund, thereby increasing its value. the School of Medicine and Dentistry. “Our The money in the main fund would be retained School has a long history of faculty members to support successive class funds. The Brents who have a strong attachment to the School will match the gifts up to a total of $2 million. and their students. Dr. Noonan, though he has Pledge aimed at Brent, a Rochester native, earned his been gone from Rochester for decades, has bachelor’s degree from the University of created a legacy that will help students for making School of Rochester in 1948, his medical degree from the decades.” School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1953 and A native of Buffalo and a graduate of the Medicine tuition-free his doctorate in embryology and radiation University of Buffalo School of Medicine, biology in 1955. Lillian Brent, also a Rochester Dr. Noonan joined Rochester’s medical school in On the 55th anniversary of his graduation from native, graduated from the University of 1939 as an assistant in physiology and then in the University of Rochester School of Medicine Rochester in 1950. 1940 as an instructor in physiology. He served in and Dentistry, Robert Brent, M.D., Ph.D. (M ’53, Brent is the Distinguished Louis and Bess the U.S. Army Medical Corps in World War II. PhD ’55), and his wife, Lillian, pledged $2 million Stein Professor of Pediatrics, Radiology, and In 1946, he returned to Rochester as an to match donations to a scholarship fund to Pathology and head of the Clinical and assistant professor of radiology and worked in make the medical school tuition free. Environmental Teratology Laboratory at duPont the University’s Atomic Energy Project. He left “It is our dream to make the School of Hospital for Children. He also is emeritus the School in 1949 to work for the then Upjohn Medicine and Dentistry a school free of tuition, chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Co. in Michigan, but returned a year later, or at least to markedly reduce the tuition costs,” Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He becoming an associate professor in 1951. said Brent, an internationally known physician was chairman of the department for almost 30 Paul Rohwer, Ph.D., received his and researcher. “If you give scholarship money years. He is a member of the Institute of doctorate from the School in 1966 and was most and it’s spent, you can’t do a lot, because you Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. likely Dr. Noonan’s final graduate student at have to have a tremendous amount of money. Brent, a frequently-consulted expert in Rochester. He described Dr. Noonan as “very But if we create an endowment, where the the effects of radiation, drugs and chemicals on modest and unassuming.” money is not spent for a scholarship but is the developing embryo and child, has published “He had a great quest for knowledge,” invested, it means you can eventually have more than 400 research articles. In 2008, Brent said Rohwer, a retired associate division tuition-free medical school.” received the Alfred I. duPont Award for director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “He To start the fund, Brent and his wife Excellence in Children’s Health Care from had a wonderful attitude about education and donated $1 million for medical school scholar- Nemours, one of the nation’s largest children’s was very helpful to students, which is probably ships in 2006. The $2 million pledge was health systems, and the School of Medicine and why he made this gift. He was very helpful to announced at the 2008 School of Medicine and Dentistry Alumni Association’s Distinguished me. I can’t give him enough credit for whatever Dentistry reunion. Alumni Award. success I had there.” “Once again, the Brents have demon- Dr. Noonan and his wife, who died in strated extraordinary generosity and 2006, shared a love of reading and learning. He leadership,” said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., A former faculty also was known as a storyteller with an exten- dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry. sive knowledge of American military history. “We must find a solution to the problem of member makes a Among his friends and fellow faculty members, growing student debt. One way to do this is to he liked to start the day with a joke. endow tuition. The Brents have developed a surprising bequest The School has established the Thomas highly innovative approach to the endowment of and Ruth Noonan Scholarship. tuition and have challenged other alumni to join In December 1966, Thomas R. Noonan, M.D., “Helping students would please them them in ensuring the future of our medical left the University of Rochester School of very much,” Rohwer said. school and our students.” Medicine and Dentistry faculty to become a

40 ROCHESTER MEDICINE class notes

If you see any alumni whom you would like to Athens, Greece contact, use the Online Directory at www.alum- niconnections.com/URMC to find address Maintaining Balance information. Jeremy Hogan, M.D. (M’00) is an adult neurolo- Submit your class notes to your class agent or to gist practicing with Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical [email protected]. Group in San Diego, Calif. He has a general edu. neurology practice and also teaches as an assis- tant professor at the University of California at Note: MD Alumni are listed alphabetically by San Diego. “As a neurologist, I am interested in class, Resident and Fellow alumni follow in the way things are put together, and I think alphabetical order, and Graduate Alumni are photography is a creative outlet that brings listed separately in alphabetical order. balance to a hectic clinical practice,” he said. Hogan likes to photograph landscapes and architecture. MD Alumni

Class of 1944 Stuart Finch reports: “Paul R. Schloerb wrote in July that last October he fell into a swimming pool. The problem was that there was no water in the pool, so that he ended up with an open- eversion fracture-dislocation of his right ankle. After three months of wheelchair and crutches, the ankle was healed. He was well enough by spring to visit and spend some time at the Philmont Boy Scout ranch in New Mexico at an for golf, books and chess (learned most probably tools, and concentrates on maintenance of elevation of 7,000 feet. Paul now is an emeritus from Eric Alling, M.D., in Rochester, who was some 35 acres of woods and grass. Plans professor at the University of Kansas Medical the stepfather of Wheelock Southgate). After include visits perhaps to Maine. Golf needs School. He has an office and parking space at another 15 years, he was widowed again. Phil help! He hopes to come to our next get- the school, where he continues to review manu- regrets the loss of contact with many of our together. His professional life was productive in scripts and give student lectures. classmates. My wife, Connie, and I met Phil in clinical and research avenues. William B. “William H. Smith (BA ’41) moved into the late 1990s, when we had a marvelous and Forsyth (BA ’44) still resides in the Rochester an assisted-living facility. He is a Type 1 diabetic refreshing visit in Henderson, N.C. William C. area but recently moved to a retirement commu- survivor of many years’ duration. Currently, he is Caccamise (BA ’44) is now retired and living in nity. One of the consequences of the move was working on year number 54 as a local Boy Scout the Rochester area. His career was in ophthal- related to ‘save or discard.’ Many memories master. During this time he has had 62 Eagle mology with an early commitment in India and went out with the trash. After residency, Bill scouts in his troop. Richard S. Wilson in Florida Nepal, 1951–1968, off and on, at the Kurji Holy entered the practice of pediatrics for 15 years. is one of my more faithful correspondents. He Family Hospital on the banks of the Ganges. Thereafter, he entered the field of state and mentioned in his most recent letter how fortu- All this was followed by private practice in county medicine as regional physician to many nate we were to have attended Rochester Rochester. A wonderful commitment, an oppor- counties in the area. He then became a medical school, where the feeling with one tunity to serve others, and one for which consultant to many industries such as Bausch & another when we were students was very colle- I applaud. How about you? He was married to Lomb. He retired about 15 years ago. He is gial in contrast to the very competitive feeling his spouse, Irene, in 1952 while a fellow in essentially well with the common infirmities among students at many other schools. Dick ophthalmology at the Cleveland Clinic. He has that plague so many of us, such as back prob- also reported that in April, he and Evelyn cele- been in need of the advanced technology of lems, most of which defy control. brated their 10th wedding anniversary with a implant surgery, and now is doing well. His life- “John Arthur Frantz, from Monroe, trip to Hawaii. That was one of a total of 50 time experience sets a great example for Wisc., was contacted by me for information on cruises for Dick and 70 for Evelyn.” current students and residents. Afghanistan. As you may remember, he spent a “James Monroe Cole (BA ’44), who couple of years there in the 1970s. Incidentally, Class of 1946 resides in Danville, Pa., lost his wife to he thought that the citizenry of Afghanistan Bruce Hallett writes: “Phillips L. Bates retired Alzheimer’s a few years ago and now has rein- failed to realize how bad the Taliban were, from the practice of urology in 1968. This was a vented himself as a traveler, among other worse than the Russians. He and his wife, Mary, couple of years after the loss of Gree, his wife things. Recent trips include Alaska, Guatemala also an M.D., have never left the writing table. of some 42 years (I remember her dearly while (much fishing with positive results) and visits to Their CV is long and interesting. John is now in medical school). He remarried and found time children. He has abandoned most of his medical occupied in the preparation of a book, which

FALL / WINTER 2008 41 class notes

I hope he will share with us. Robert Galambos North Lake Tahoe, Calif. was our neighbor in Rochester. As you recall, he came to medical school already with a Ph.D. for work on ultrasound mechanisms used by bats and the like. Bob has spent his efforts in the academic world of research. Starting with Harvard and Yale, he ascended the ladder, resulting in a career at UC San Diego. He is now emeritus and recently was honored by past students and contemporaries for his efforts as teacher, researcher and advisor. His CV is enor- mous, and he is still working to enlarge same. “John G. Hamilton (BA ’44) felt that our medical school program was excellent training for his entry to the Naval Hospital in Philadelphia. He progressed to training back in Rochester in OB/GYN. His professional life was suffused in these specialties. He had a good marriage, his companion now deceased for some years. He inherited a large forested prop- erty later, and has become a tree farmer, along with his son, in Wayland, N.Y. This is now a going concern and something he treasures. This reminds me of Ned Rendall, who in later life became involved in conservation projects in Maine. Also, a bit like Moe Cole, who tends a Kohn and Ernie Millard) and eventually with the programmer with PIXAR, and his long-time substantial property in Pennsylvania. So life Permanente group. His wife assuages many of partner live in Berkeley, Calif.” goes on and takes different pathways for many. his current physical problems, Parkinson’s. Here is a wonderful medical yarn Hamilton Reunions are not feasible, so we wish John and Class of 1954 recounted, and I thought it should be shared. Martie our best. Chloe Alexson writes: “The Class of ’54 can In our first year, we had a histology course in the “Robert B. King, as you may know, is claim a true patriarch. Harold Brodell practiced spring. He and Scotty Pratt appeared late for one of our outstanding contributors in our class. internal medicine for thirty years in Warren, class, and it so happened that Dean George As chief of neurosurgery at Syracuse, he has Ohio. He has been followed by a good portion of Whipple dropped by. He inquired how things added a truckload of papers, presented guest his family. His son Bob, a graduate of the class were progressing. Scotty apologized for being lectures, traveled to almost every continent, etc. of ’79, did two years of internal medicine tardy for the class that day. He commented that (hardly a word mentioned to me in his current training at Strong, and now practices derma- they had been chipping golf balls on the correspondence of the accomplishments). He tology in Warren. His daughter-in-law, Linda, hospital lawn, and reported that the grass and Molly have shared much of this together, a member of the Class of ’81, is an ophthalmol- needed cutting (for better golf). Dr. Whipple left making recall of these adventures memorable. ogist in Warren. Though active in a number of the classroom and perhaps a half hour later, the He is currently reviewing patients who have academic and community activities, Bob and sounds of motors were heard. Yes, a peek out undergone lumbar laminectomies for spinal Linda are most proud of their five children, one the window confirmed that the new ‘golf stenosis. He and Molly have been fairly regular of whom, Lindsey, is a third year student at the course’ lawn was being cut! Wow! Next stop, attendees at reunions in recent years. Two University of Rochester School of Medicine and Genesee Valley Golf Course. daughters with children pursuing challenging Dentistry. And that’s not all. Harold’s son, Jim, “John H. Kennell (BA ’44) and his wife careers complete the picture. Robert E. Nye Jr. who also practices in Warren, did his orthopedic have moved onto a retirement community in and his wife, Fran, approaching their 60th residency at Rochester under Dr. Mac Evarts. Cleveland. John continues some work projects, wedding anniversary, are enjoying a good life in “Don Hunton reported in July that he going into his office regularly. His career has Norwich, Vt. They have three sons. David, and Jean had just returned from taking the been noteworthy in the study of maternal/ a neurologist at the Midelfort Clinic in Eau whole family on a cruise to Norway. At that newborn bonding. He is an international expert. Claire, Wisc., and his wife, an emergency room point they were still suffering from jet lag and He has been a regular at reunions, and, in a nurse, have two sons adopted from Korea, two up at 3 a.m. so I gave him a few days and asked word, is a great asset to our class. John daughters adopted from Arkansas and one how the trip was. They had a wonderful time Andrew King III (BA ’44) and his wife Martie biological daughter. Christopher, a geologist, but he and Jean are quite sure they have had continue retirement in Ojai, Calif., where para- and his wife, a retired superintendent of the enough overseas flights. In September, Jean mount activities are family oriented. John has Alaska State Parks, have fraternal twins (a boy joined him in the 80’s club and, he said, ‘We had a varied career, including Rochester (Larry and girl) and live in Fairbanks. Peter, a computer deserve to slow down, but we have not

42 ROCHESTER MEDICINE Paris, France

stopped.’ The jet lag seems to have cleared; his orchards, which became too much of a chore. foot with severe lacerations packed with sterile report in August said: ‘Oil has made Norway He is now 6,000 feet up an old mountain trail on coffee grounds for hemostasis, and even arte- one of the wealthiest nations. It is a very beau- 18 acres originally acquired by the Vanderbilts rial hemorrhage was arrested with spider web tiful country and Jean keeps asking – Why in from the Cherokee. He had to trade in his pledgets. Fortunately, during seven years and the world did your ancestors ever leave it? Corvette for a pickup truck and high school girls several hundred patients with no antibiotics, Answer: they wanted to have money and food don’t attack him any more, but he still carries a there were no wound infections. Dave says: to eat. We think the very best thing we can pocket full of pebbles to toss at the barefoot ‘Half my two dozen hummingbirds have headed leave our children and especially our two grand- mountain maidens when they get too close! south and autumn is in the air so stop up if sons is the memory of adventures like this. Their For excitement, he and his son, Eric, a check you’re ever down this way.’ enthusiasm is enormous.’ pilot for Delta, have a sailplane and a twin “We received a delightful note from Ruth “Muriel Kowlessar, M.D., is the widow Beech Bonanza that he flies occasionally. Phillips, widow of Clay Phillips, ’54. She sends of Dhodanand Kowlessar of the Class of ’55, Playing with kites and RC model airplanes with ‘a few words from the Cape on a foggy summer but he is considered part of our class because his grandkids also provides enjoyment. He afternoon. Moving to Cape Cod in 1996, Clay he started with us. She writes: ‘I have tremen- enjoyed his life as a plastic surgeon, liked his and I added a new definition to the word retire- dous admiration and affection for your class and patients and particularly enjoyed his charity ment. You do not withdraw, you move forward have shared great times with the group. This work in Central America. There were many … to a new adventure. For Clay, it was too brief past July I moved to a retirement community in patients – both adults and children from all when he succumbed in 2000 to the cancer gene Massachusetts to be near my daughter. When parts of the country – needing cleft lip and that pervaded his mother’s family. Our married Dhod died in 1992, our daughter Indrani and I palate repairs. Local doctors and patients offspring live in Michigan and Maine, our bach- endowed a prize in his memory at Jefferson taught the team about new diseases and treat- elor in Rochester, where we maintain a small Medical College, where he taught for 30 years. ments, like the “stun gun” for relief of the condo. Alone, I wear different titles: Lucky- Every year when the award is presented to severe pain of killer bee stings. Many children Grandma-by-the Sea, ‘Mayor’ of Harborview honor a graduating resident in internal medicine came with large contracted scars and crippling Beach (environmental preserver), Church-Lady- who has distinguished himself or herself during immobility from untreated kerosene burns, who-really-gets-things-done, political maverick training, I try to meet the recipient. Dhod would which needed grafting. Since sterile dressings at times, and a dinosaur who doesn’t do have been pleased with the caliber of the recip- were unavailable, amnions preserved in sodium computers. My grandkids (6) range from Dylan ients.’ hypochlorite were a great substitute for the at Georgetown, with an interest in surgery, to “Dave Ohlwiler, after 35 years as a many dressings to the recipient areas and the Katrina who wows the preschoolers in Maine, plastic surgeon, retired to a Christmas tree farm donor sites – all with a great reduction in the all ‘above average,’ of course. My teapot is in North Carolina. After a few years, he usual pain involved in these procedures. steaming, the wine is chilled – stop by.’ harvested the trees and replaced them with Patients from outlying villages often arrived on “Marcia Seeger, widow of Joe Seeger,

FALL / WINTER 2008 43 class notes

says that the only news she has is her cruise on Burgundy, France the Crystal Serenity in June. They went from Barcelona to Venice, with seven land side trips along on the way, and somehow that sounds like pretty impressive news. She also reports that her main avocation (or is it a vocation?) is playing duplicate bridge four times a week. We wish her luck. She enjoys reading the Class Notes and other class mailings.”

Class of 1958 Theodore C. Doege has edited and published a collection of almost 1,300 letters written by his father, the Rev. Arthur Doege, when he was a chaplain in the U.S. Army during World War II. The book is titled Letters of a Soldier’s Chaplain.

Class of 1963 Joseph L. Andrews Jr. spent two weeks visiting Japan in November 2007. “The trip was organ- ized by Keisuke Ono, Yoko Ono’s brother, for 40 fellow classmates, family and friends of Class of 1973 chapter of the 2007 book, Moments in Scarsdale High School’s Class of 1955,” he Albert John Sargent has been named vice chair Leadership: Case Studies in Public Health Policy writes. “We visited major Japanese cities, as for child and adolescent psychiatry in the and Practice. well as remote mountain farming villages. The Department of Psychiatry at Tufts University most impressive visit was to Hiroshima.” School of Medicine and chief of child psychiatry at Class of 1983 Merrill C. Oaks and his wife of 49-plus the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical William Rodgers has been named chairman of years are retired and serving the Church of Center. Sargent had been professor of psychiatry pathology at Lenox Hill Hospital. He was Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on a three-year and pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and chairman of the pathology committee of the assignment to preside over the church’s temple director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Ben Gynecology Oncology Group, a federally funded in Omaha, Neb., at the site where the Mormon Taub Hospital in Houston. Before joining the organization that develops cancer treatments. Pioneers spent time preparing for the trip to the Baylor faculty, he was the director of education He also served as director of anatomic Rocky Mountains. Since his retirement in 1996, and research, and dean of the Karl Menninger pathology at the University of Maryland Oaks and his wife have fulfilled church assign- School of Psychiatry and Mental Health Sciences. Medical System and as director of the ments in Seattle, the Philippines and in Utah. In 2009, he will serve as president of the American pathology biorepository at the university’s They will return to their home in North Salt Family Therapy Academy. Greenebaum Cancer Center. Lake, Utah, in November 2010. Class of 1974 Class of 1984 Class of 1969 Paul Mintz was elected to the inaugural class Stephen McLeod-Bryant (BA ’80) is the 2009 Robert Olsen Crapo received the Legacy of Life of the National Blood Foundation (NBF) Hall of recipient of the Jeanne Spurlock Minority Award at the Intermountain Medical Center in Fame in recognition of his research and leader- Fellowship Achievement Award from the Amer- April. ship in transfusion medicine. The NBF is a ican Psychiatric Association. He will receive the leading grant-funding organization in transfu- award at the May 2009 APA annual meeting. Class of 1972 sion medicine research. Mintz continues as McLeod-Bryant practices in Charleston, S.C. Arthur R. Schlosser continues to write and chief of the Division of Clinical Pathology at the perform original songs under the stage name University of Virginia Health System. Every Class of 1988 Dean Dobbins. At age 62, Arthur/Dean posted February, you can spot him riding as a Knight in Abby A. Smith writes: “Greetings to former his first YouTube video. A tribute, of sorts, to the Krewe of Babylon during the New Orleans classmates. I am enjoying my OB/GYN private Sarah Palin, the song is called “I’m a Woman.” Mardi Gras parades. practice in Roanoke, Va. We currently have four It is found easily at www.youtube.com. Just partners and are looking for another associate, search for either Palin Dobbins or Dobbins Palin. Class of 1975 so please contact me if you know anyone Schlosser works at the Kaiser Permanante Dale Morse is the chair of the Centers for looking to move south! Roanoke is a wonderful Department of Pediatrics in Panorama City, Disease Control Advisory Committee on place to raise a family.” Calif. Immunization Practices and assistant commis- sioner, Office of Science, at the New York State Class of 1992 Department of Health. He also was profiled in a Kym Orsetti Furney recently published her first

44 ROCHESTER MEDICINE book, When the Diagnosis is Multiple Sclerosis: fellowship here at Harborview Medical Center. Brooklyn Bridge Help, Hope and Insights from an Affected My clinical practice will focus on general Physician. Furney was diagnosed with MS in surgery, trauma and surgical critical care, and I 2000 and has been fortunate to do extremely will continue to pursue my research interests in well. She continues to practice internal medi- surgical infectious disease. Thanks to all the cine on a part-time basis in Charlotte, N.C., wonderful teachers and mentors that made it while raising her two children. Her book is a possible!” message of hope for those who are newly diag- nosed with MS that also addresses some of the Class of 2000 challenges that emerge along the way. Jeremy Hogan and Shannon Hogan are proud to announce the birth of their first child, Jackson Douglas, on April 23, 2008. Amazingly, Jackson was born within a few days of children of Jeremy’s classmates Ellena Linden, Nicholas Dang and Jonathan Pak.

living in Crozet, Va. I’m reminded of the U of R on being asked to welcome two newly accepted Virginians to Rochester.”

Class of 2002 William Rodgers (PhD ’79, MD ’83, R ’85) – See Kelli J. Harding and her husband, Padraic Casey, M.D. Class of 1983. welcomed their first child, Max, on Dec. 2, 2007. Harding is RESIDENTS/ finishing up a Bio- logical Psychiatry FELLOW ALUMNI Research Fellow- (Arranged alphabetically) Class of 1996 ship at Columbia Steven P. Meyers, Ph.D. (FLW ’94) is professor David W. Toth reports: “It’s a little belated, but University Medical of imaging sciences and neurosurgery, and full- Renee and I welcomed Nadia Elise on October Center in New York time faculty member at the University of 24, 2006. Her begrudgingly adoring big brother City and staying on as faculty in the Department Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Brayden is 6 and in kindergarten. I switched of Medical Education. He also is the author of a new book, MRI of practices, mainly because a large (over 250 Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors and Tumorlike physician) multispecialty group was looking for Class of 2006 Lesions, Differential Diagnosis and Atlas, pub- an endocrinologist, and their office is six blocks Lenard Lesser was elected Academic Chief lished by Thieme. The publisher’s Web page from my house. This essentially cut my Resident for the Tufts University Family about his new book can be reached by visiting: commute time by 97 percent, and allows me Medicine Residency at Cambridge Health www.thieme.com/SID0000000000000/ to (occasionally) go home for lunch to be with Alliance. productsubpages/pubid-1146042502.html. my daughter, and volunteer at Brayden’s school Howard J. O’Rourke reports that Howard (which included a lively debate in his class on Timothy O’Rourke was born to him and Amber Dale Morse (MD ’75, R ’80) - See M.D. Class of whether or not Pop-Tarts are a fruit). Needless O’Rourke on February 7, 2008, weighing eight 1975. to say, I love the fact that I can incorporate more pounds and two ounces. parenting into my schedule!” Robert E. Nye Jr. (MD ’46, FLW’51) – See M.D. Class of 1946. Class of 1999 GRADUATE ALUMNI Heather L. Evans writes: “I’m very happy to (Arranged alphabetically) William Rodgers (PhD ’79, MD ’83, R ’85) – See report that I started my new position as assis- Edmund S. Copeland (MS ’61, PhD ’64) writes: M.D. Class of 1983. tant professor in the Department of Surgery at “My 50th reunion at Cornell is coming up in the University of Washington in Seattle, having June. I’m also hoping to make my 50th at the U just finished my Surgical Critical Care/Trauma of R in 2014. I’m retired, remarried to Candy and

FALL / WINTER 2008 45 in memoriam

entrust his practice and the continuity of of Medtronic’s were pediatric patients, but Ralph W. Prince, M.D. his patients’ care to a University of Hunter’s development opened the tech- Ralph Weedon Prince, M.D., an out- Rochester-trained physician who would nology to adults. standing internist known for the care he continue to serve his patients as he did,” “Dr. Sam Hunter — he ought to be provided his patients, died of cancer said Kerper. “He was the consummate given a lot of credit,” Bakken told the Dec. 2 at his home in Pittsford, N.Y. gentleman and internist — the ultimate St. Paul Pioneer Press in a 2007 interview. He was 89. professional — who will be missed by “He started this long-term pacing.” A native of Rochester, Dr. Prince many people.” In an interview with the Pioneer earned his medical degree from the A long-time supporter and volun- Press in 2007, Dr. Hunter told how what University of Rochester in 1943, where teer at Planned Parenthood of Rochester, came to be known as the Hunter-Roth elec- his mentor was George H. Whipple. Dr. Dr. Prince served as acting medical trode was implanted in a 72-year-old patient Prince remained loyal to the University director and worked in its clinic. In his at Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul patient in and Strong Memorial Hospital through- later years, Dr. Prince became a member a last-ditch attempt to save a life. out his career and was honored in 1999 of Christ Church, Pittsford, at which he The patient had a heart rhythm with the establishment of the Ralph W. and Jane Steinhausen celebrated a problem that could kill him. Doctors Prince Chair in Internal Medicine. service of commitment. decided a trial of the pacemaker was the Funded by a generous gift from the estate Dr. Prince was predeceased by his patient’s only chance. When Dr. Hunter of Dr. Prince’s friend and patient, Mary wife, Marcelle Sybil Mason. He also was first attached the heart device and turned Whipple Clark, it was created to predeceased by a brother, Charlton it on, it didn’t work. Dr. Hunter then promote the practice and teaching of Prince, and a daughter, Brenda Patton. increased the power. exemplary medical care by supporting In addition to Ms. Steinhausen, “The heart started with a gallop, and the efforts of an outstanding physician- Dr. Prince is survived by a sister, Nancy it just kept going like a washing machine — educator in primary care medicine. Dean of Rochester, and a brother, vroom, vroom, vroom,” Dr. Hunter said in Paul Levy, M.D., who serves as vice George Prince of Weston, Mass., a the interview. “Immediately, his heart and chair of the Department of Medicine, daughter, Lorraine Harper of Allentown, all his tissues in the chest changed from a currently holds the Prince Chair. “Dr. Pa., a son, Craig Prince of Honeoye slate gray-blue color, a sure sign of death, to Prince was one of Rochester’s finest,” Falls, N.Y. five grandchildren and two a bright red, because blood was circulating.” Levy said. “He was an outstanding great-grandchildren. Then the patient suddenly roared and internist who truly cared about his Donations may be made to woke up. patients and bettered our community. Planned Parenthood, 470 W. Main St., “We hadn’t given him an anesthesia, Personally, I feel very privileged to have Rochester, NY 14608, Christ Episcopal because he had been essentially dead and known him over the years.” Church, 36 South Main St., Pittsford, we didn’t think about it. We were working Dr. Prince enjoyed a long and NY 14534, or to the charity of your as fast as we could,” Dr. Hunter said. He distinguished medical career. Following choice. told the anesthesiologist to put him to an internship in pathology at Strong, he sleep. served in the U.S. Army as commanding “And suddenly we realized: Yes, a big officer of a general medical laboratory in human heart … can be driven with an elec- Kyoto, Japan. After the war, he was Samuel W. Hunter, M.D. trical current,” he said. named the Harvey Cushing Fellow in Samuel W. Hunter (M’46), a heart The patient lived another seven Surgery at Harvard’s Peter Bent Brigham surgeon who made significant contribu- years. An exhibit in Bethesda Hospital Hospital. He then changed fields to tions to the development of the commemorates the surgery. complete a residency in internal medi- pacemaker, died Oct. 22. Hunter, of Dr. Hunter was an accomplished cine at the Cleveland Clinic. Mendota Heights, Minn., was 86. athlete. He briefly played professional Dr. Prince returned to Rochester A native of Belfast, Ireland, who basketball with the Rochester Royals to establish a private practice and was grew up on Staten Island, Hunter spent during medical school, until the medical appointed a clinical assistant professor at most of his medical career in Minnesota. school provided a scholarship. He con- the University in 1951. Beloved by his In 1957, Earl Bakken, co-founder tinued his love of sport throughout his life, patients, Dr. Prince practiced until 1987, of medical technology company Med- playing golf and skiing. He was a trustee of when he asked the dean of the School of tronic, and C. Walton Lillehei, M.D., several arts and professional organizations. Medicine and Dentistry to recommend Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota Dr. Hunter and his wife of 64 years, an internal medicine resident to whom developed the first battery-powered Thelma Emile Hunter, had six sons, four of he could entrust his practice. external pacemaker. Hunter worked whom became doctors. One son died at age Robert Kerper, M.D., said it was a with Medtronic engineer Norman Roth 32 in a climbing accident. In addition to his privilege to be chosen to assume the care to devise a component that allowed wife and five sons, Hunter is survived by of Dr. Prince’s patients. “Ralph cared so a pacemaker to be attached for years to nine grandchildren. Contributions can be much for his patients and wanted to a patient’s heart. The early recipients made in his memory to the Medical Student

46 ROCHESTER MEDICINE Scholarship Fund — Samuel Hunter, person and a mentor to me and many M.D., Minnesota Medical Foundation, others,” said ACC President W. Douglas McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. Weaver, M.D. “He was an innovative S.E., Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55455, thinker, an inspiration to young faculty or to Westminster Presbyterian Church, and selfless when it came to helping 1200 Marquette Ave., Minn. others. For those of us who were privi- leged to know and work with him, we will never forget him or the sound of his trombone welcoming new fellows at J. Ward Kennedy, M.D. the convocation receptions.” J. Ward Kennedy, (M ’59), professor emer- Dr. Kennedy is survived by his itus of medicine at the University of wife, Kathryn Davis Kennedy; sister, Washington, died June 8 of lung cancer. Margaret Kennedy Gogerty; and three He was 74. children, three stepchildren and eight Dr. Kennedy pioneered the study grandchildren. of heart function and trained many An endowed professorship has cardiologists. Working with colleague been established to honor Dr. Kennedy. Harold Dodge, M.D., in the 1960s and The family asked that memorial contri- 1970s, he helped develop quantitative butions be made to the University of measures of heart valves and function. Washington Foundation for the J. Ward By injecting radiopaque dyes directly Kennedy Chair, Box 358045, Seattle, major role in long-range capital plan- into the pumping heart chambers, they Wash. 98195, or to the Union Gospel ning and led the expansion of the were able to assess heart function Mission, 3800 S. Othello Street., Seattle, medical school and the hospital while directly. Dr. Kennedy also studied the Wash. 98118. maintaining the quality and the stan- safety of sexual activity among patients dards the students and the community with cardiac disease, the comparison deserve. We are grateful for what he of surgery to medical therapy for coro- accomplished, and extend our sympa- nary artery disease, and the testing of J. Lowell Orbison, M.D. thies to his family.” blood-clot-busting thrombolytic drugs in J. Lowell Orbison, M.D., former dean of Dr. Orbison came to Rochester in treating heart attack. the University of Rochester School of 1955 after serving on the faculty for eight He served in many leadership posi- Medicine and Dentistry and former years of what was then called Western tions at the University of Washington director of the University’s Medical Reserve University School of Medicine and in the field of cardiology, including Center, died June 10 at Nottingham in Cleveland. He had a major role in as president of the American College of Village, Northumberland, Pa. He was 93. the development of a new medical Cardiology (ACC). Dr. Orbison, the medical school’s curriculum there. In Rochester, he was Dr. Kennedy was raised in third dean, was appointed in 1967 and appointed the first George Hoyt Whipple Amherst, Mass., where his father was served as dean and director until his Professor of Pathology, succeeding the professor of philosophy at Amherst retirement in 1979. He led the School of legendary founder of the School of College, and graduated from Bowdoin Medicine and Dentistry and the Medical Medicine and Dentistry as chairman of College in 1955. He completed an Center at a time of significant change. the department. internship and residency in medicine The number of medical school students “From his days as a faculty and a fellowship in cardiology at the in a class grew from 74 to 96 as the con- member, chair of pathology and as dean, University of Washington, before struction of an education wing was Dr. Orbison is remembered as an serving as a Peace Corps physician in completed. Research facilities and pro- inspiring mentor by his students for his India in 1962–1963. grams for independent study were scientific insight, his support and his His entire academic career was expanded. high ideals,” said David S. Guzick, dean spent as a University of Washington During his tenure, the Medical of the School of Medicine and Dentistry. faculty member. He served as the chief Center developed its initial cancer “His presided over the School at a time of cardiology at the Seattle Veterans center, expanded the psychiatric wing of rapid scientific progress as well as Hospital from 1967 to 1982 and was chair and completed construction of a new growth.” of the University of Washington division Strong Memorial Hospital, said Bradford Dr. Orbison, a native of Bronson, of cardiology from 1982 to 1997. C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive Kan., graduated from Ottawa University in Dr. Kennedy played in several officer of the Medical Center. Kansas, earned a master’s degree in chem- bands, including a physician jazz band “Dr. Orbison served the School of istry at Michigan State University, and, in called Ain’t No Heaven Seven. Medicine and Rochester well in a chal- 1944, received his medical degree from “Ward Kennedy was a very special lenging time,” Berk said. “He played a Northwestern University in Chicago.

FALL / WINTER 2008 47 in memoriam

He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1945 to 1947. IN MEMORIAM In research, Dr. Orbison focused Lewis B. Anderson (MD ’51) on blood pressure, vascular disease and Howard S. Axelrod (BA ’44, MA ’49, MD ’58, R ’62) the composition of connective tissue. He Burton Leonard Berson (MD ’59) served as president of the International Ellen C. Binckley (MD ’44) Academy of Pathology and also secre- Robert V. Blackmore (PHD ’63) tary-treasurer and then president of the Ethel M. Bonn (R ’53) American Association of Pathologists R. Scott Borrus (FLW ’85) and Bacteriologists. Francis Browning (R ’52} “He was the best Socratic teacher Daniel B. Carroll (MD ’48, R ’61) that I have ever known,” said Edward D. Henry T. Clark (MD ’44) Miller, M.D., a 1968 graduate of the Louis C. Clarke (MD ’52) School of Medicine and Dentistry who is Molly Papazian Coulter (MD ’48) now dean and chief executive officer of Harry E. Dascomb (MD ’43) Johns Hopkins Medicine. “He would do D. Joseph Demis (PHD ’53) a pathophysiology lecture and use the John E. Edwards (MD ’44) Socratic Method. Every student loved it Robert F. Ehinger (MD ’47) because he taught you in such a way that Gertrude Falk (PhD ’52) treated you with respect even though Myron Buckley Franks (MD ’40, R ’41) you might not know the answer or Herbert C. Getman (MD ’56) explain the pathophysiology. He was Marvin Norman Goldstein (R ’68) very soft-spoken but was strong in voice Norman Gong-Guy (MS ’84) and character. He exuded the very best; Barry Anthony Gray (MD ’64) anyone would like to emulate him.” Robert Hiram Greenlaw (MD ’52, FLW ’57, R ’58) When he retired, Dr. Orbison and Crystie C. Halsted (MD ’62) his wife moved to Asheville, N.C., where David R. Hawkins (MD ’46) he served on the executive committee of Hugh Hayward (MD ’55) the board of directors of the North Robert Albert Henry (MD ’52) Carolina Division of the American Maurice L. Kelley, Jr. (MD ’49) Cancer Society and the board of direc- Jesse Ward Kennedy (MD ’59) tors of the University of North Carolina William G. Kenney (R ’60) — Asheville Botanical Gardens. He and Theodore I. Koulourides (MS ’58, PDC ’58) his wife moved to Northumberland in Kenneth W. Lajewski (R ’77) 2004. Dr. Orbison was an avid botanist, Thomas M. Laz (MS ’83, PHD ’88) naturalist and world traveler. At the Howard Lehman (MD ’44) School of Medicine and Dentistry, he Milton N. Luria (FLW ’58, R ’58) also was known for his fine tenor voice. George Richard McGovern (R ’60) His survivors include: his wife, Edward B. McKenzie (MD ’51) Olga; a daughter, Margaret Graham, Harold A. Neufeld (PHD ’53) and her husband, Joseph Graham, J. Lowell Orbison (HNR ’99) of Dansville, N.Y.; a son, James Orbison, Salvador P. Perez (BS ’46, R ’74) of Lewisburg, Pa.; and three grandsons. Ralph W. Prince (MD ’43) Contributions in his memory may be Gordon V. Reid (MD ’64) made to The Botanical Gardens at Clifford C. Roosa (MD ’49) Asheville, 151 W.T. Weaver Road, Richard J. Sarkis (BA ’54, MD ’58) Asheville, N.C. 28804. John L. Shaw (MD ’53) Frederick Sherwood (BA ’38, MD ’41) James N. Shively (MS ’56, R ’81) F. Miles Skultety (BA ’44, MD ’46) Arthur M. Smith (R ’70) John Oscar Strom (MD ’51) Virginia Till (MD ’49) Jean Watkeys (B ’32, MD ’36) William T. West (PHD ’56) Jean Gertrude White (BA ’49, MD’ 53)

48 ROCHESTER MEDICINE FALL / WINTER 2008 49 University of Rochester NONPROFIT ORG School of Medicine and Dentistry US POSTAGE 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 643 Rochester, NY 14642 PAID UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER Change Service Requested