Active Alumni
July 2012
First Annual Arnold P. Gold Foundation Student Clinician Ceremony
Medical students in the class of 2014, on the threshold of beginning their third year of medical school, received guidance from three BUSM alumni and one BUSM faculty member on May 31, 2012 during the Student Clinician Ceremony sponsored by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. The evening dinner event was hosted by Suzanne Sarfaty, M.D., BUSM ’88, who brought the idea of the Student Clinician Ceremony to realization in an effort to provide support to medical students during the transition to their clinical years. The three-person panel of Rob Najarian, BUSM ’05, Veronica Santini, BUSM ’09, and Graham Snyder, BUSM ’05, addressed the challenges of starting the third year of medical school. Students also received humanistic advice from Heidi Auerbach, M.D., one of two faculty members who won the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award this year. Dr. Auerbach stressed the connections that physicians make with their patients and the opportunity that students have to learn from each patient encounter. The evening included the official awarding of four Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Awards sponsored by the Gold Foundation. The four residents who were awarded include: Veronica Santini, BUSM ’09, Ann Woolley, M.D., Myrlene Jeudy, M.D., and Christine Curry, M.D.
Jane DeSisto Harrity ’90 Brings A Piece of BUSM to Belize
After receiving a shipment of baseball caps, destined as reunion gifts, that were colored incorrectly but otherwise okay, the Alumni Association were happy when fate intervened to fix the mistake for the better. Jane DeSisto Harrity ’90 contacted the Alumni Association shortly after, as she was traveling on a medical mission and was curious if we had any materials available to donate. The caps were sent her way and below is her note and photographs about their final destination in Belize and her experience there.
“In May 2009 my son, Ryan, and I went on a medical mission that took us to the rural villages in the jungles of Belize. It was an experience second to none. I have uploaded some of my favorite photos to share with you. You can’t imagine how grateful the men were to receive the BUSM baseball hats you donated. Blistering heat and humidity plague the men as they labor in the fields all day, and the hats were received with incredible enthusiasm. As you can see, my other alma mater, Holy Cross, also donated hats. It’s great to know that my schools continue to be supportive of my endeavors long after I have left campus. It’s just one of the many reasons I’m proud to be a BUSM alum.” – Jane DeSisto Harrity ’90
Additional photos by Dr. Harrity can be viewed here:
http://harrity7.smugmug.com/Events/Medical-Mission/Belize-for-HC-and-BU/22904211_C7pMsW
Password: Belize
April 2012
BU Med Graduate part of Face Transplant Team at R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center and The University of Maryland
This is an excerpt from an article submitted by Dr. Christy.
Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center performed the most extensive full face transplant to date, replacing everything from the hairline to the collar bone of a 37-year-old man, including the upper and lower jaw bones, teeth, and a portion of the tongue. The operation took place over 36 hours on March 19 and 20 and involved more than 200 medical professionals.
Dr Rodriguez led a team of 5 plastic and reconstructive surgeons who performed the operation. Dr. Michael R. Christy, a 1997 graduate of the Boston University School of Medicine, was an integral member of that surgical team. “It was truly an honor to be part of this surgical team and to see this transplant from all the planning stages over the years come to this point with such a team of individuals. (Photo) To be able to give Richard some semblance of a normal life has been amazing”, Christy said. Dr. Christy trained in both general surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery in New York and then completed Fellowship training in microvascular surgery at USC in Los Angeles.
The face transplant was part of a 72-hour operation at the hospital when four other patients received organs donated from the same anonymous donor – a heart, lung, liver and kidney.
The process began at 9:30 pm on Saturday, March 17, when the donor was identified and doctors began to evaluate characteristics for a match-like skin tone and overall health. At 4 a.m. on Monday, the team began a 12-hour effort to remove the face from the donor. Doctors then connected the bones, muscles, tongue, nerves and blood vessels to Norris, using computers to guide them. The surgery was complete at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
The surgery was the 23rd face transplant since doctors began doing the procedure in 2005.
*Picture of the team and Richard Norris
*Comprehensive article on the procedure and recovery
*Feel good video clip from the BBC (more glimpses of Mike during the surgery)
January 2012
James Brust ’68 spoke to alumni, students, faculty and staff about the history of the School of Medicine on December 1. An avid history buff, Dr. Brust was contacted to give the talk by Peter Otlans ’14, who started the History of Medicine group at BUSM. The two also worked together to create a display outside the Alumni Medical Library, featuring items of John Bean, MD an 1900 graduate of the School of Medicine. Dr. Brust traveled from California for the talk and was supported by his two sons, and classmates Jim Rosenberg ’68 and Charles S. “Chuck” Nordell ’68. Photos of the event and display outside the library are featured below.
June 2011
Joan Zilbach Fried ’51 – Honored by Family and Friends During Memorial Service in Hiebert Lounge
Friends and family of Joan Zilbach Fried ’51 gathered in the Hiebert Lounge at the School of Medicine on May 1st to honor her at a memorial service. Dr. Fried’s family and former classmate, Malkah Notman ’52, felt BUSM the most appropriate location to hold the service as she was always grateful for the chance BUSM gave her as a young woman in 1949.
Below are photos of the event taken by Juan Pedro DelMoral.
Irvin Yalom ’56 Authors New Book Highlighting Story of Classmate
Irvin Yalom ’56 recently published a book titled, “I’m Calling the Police”. The book recounts what happened after a former classmate shared with Dr. Yalom a troubling secret and follows their work as “they interpret the fragments of the horrific past that haunt his friend’s dreams.”
Dr. Yalom’s book can be viewed on Amazon.com here.
March 2011
BUSM Alumnus named Editor-in-Chief of JAMA
The following announcement was sent to all associated with the Boston University School of Medicine from Dr. Karen Antman:
I am delighted to congratulate Howard Bauchner, MD, professor of pediatrics and community health sciences at BUSM and BUSPH, vice chair of academic affairs and director of the Division of Pediatrics at BUSM and BMC, on his appointment as the 16th Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which was announced earlier today. Howard will begin his tenure there July 1.
JAMA, published continuously since 1883, is the most widely circulated medical journal in the world. Dr. Bauchner follows Catherine D. DeAngelis, MD, MPH, who is leaving the post after 11 years to return to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.
Howard has published more than 125 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He has had a senior career mentoring award from the NIH (K-24), and research support from NIH, USDA, MCHB, and numerous foundations. Howard has mentored over a dozen fellows and faculty, many of whom have become successful members of academic departments around the country. In 2003, he became Editor-in-Chief of Archives of Disease in Childhood (ADC), the first US Editor, a publication of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the United Kingdom. Howard has served on numerous other editorial boards and is currently on the boards of the British Medical Journal and Journal Watch.
Dr. Bauchner also has served on grant review groups for the NIH and Bureau of Health Professions and is currently on the Advisory Board for the National Library of Medicine. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He chairs the BUSM Appointment and Promotions Committee and is an Assistant Dean for Continuing Medical Education and Alumni Affairs. In 2009 he received the BUSM Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni award.
We congratulate Dr. Bauchner on this crowning achievement and know you all join us in wishing him great success at JAMA.
Karen Antman, MD
Provost, Boston University Medical Campus
Dean, School of Medicine
Professor of Medicine
Additional stories highlighting Dr. Bauchner’s achievement can be found here:
As featured on the BUSM News webpage: American Medical Association Names New JAMA Editor-In-Chief: Howard C. Bauchner, MD, to Become 16th Editor in Journal’s 127-Year History
As featured in Boston.com’s White Coat Notes blog: BU Pediatrician named editor of leading medical journal
As featured in BU Today: Longtime MED Prof to Lead AMA’s JAMA
As featured in the Boston Globe section “G Force”: Dr. Bauchner discusses his new role as editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association
David Bell ’71: Twenty Years Later Developments Are Made in Chronic Fatigue Case
Dr. Bell as featured on the Wall Street Journal website
Linda Li ’93 Highlighted for Redefining Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills
Linda Li ’93 is recognized by many for her role on the reality show Dr. 90210. She was featured on NBC LA’s News website for her efforts on the show to “break negative trends, such as extraneous surgeries, and focus on the constructive and necessary angles of plastic surgery.” Read the full story here.
November 2010
Joseph Moylan ’64 Receives Award from Duke School of Medicine
Press Release provided by Duke Medicine Development and Alumni Affairs
The Duke Medical Alumni Association will honor former Duke faculty member Joseph A. Moylan, MD, with a Humanitarian Award at a special luncheon hosted by the association on Friday, Oct. 15. Moylan is the founder of the Durham Nativity School.
As the school’s founder, Moylan has spent the last nine years committed to the Durham community. Because of his work, many troubled young boys with dim futures now have the hope of becoming bright young men with the world at their fingertips.
Moylan founded the Durham Nativity School in 2001 after having seen many promising young lives go to waste. The school is one of 64 nationwide based on the Nativity model, an independent educational program geared toward academic excellence and community change.
Under Moylan’s direction, the school handpicks boys from some of Durham’s poorest, most dangerous neighborhoods. The curriculum puts the boys on a path to attend elite college-prep high schools and to eventually become tomorrow’s community leaders. Each year about 120 boys go through a rigorous selection process, and only 15 are accepted as students.
Once enrolled, the boys spend more than 10 hours each day on academics, tutoring, community service, team sports, and PE. They remain active throughout the summer months as well, attending Camp Seagull, a YMCA camp where Moylan volunteers as a camp physician.
Moylan works closely with his board to raise the school’s entire $800,000 annual operating budget through gifts from individuals, foundation grants, and support from local businesses. He has also gained support from many in the Durham community, including Duke staff and alumni.
Because of Moylan’s devotion to education and commitment to working closely with staff, including the school’s social worker, the Durham Nativity School’s drop-out rate is only 4 percent. The students rank in the 59th percentile nationally and get scholarships to the best high schools and private colleges.
Moylan’s career began at the University of Washington Hospital where he served as an instructor of surgery. After serving as clinical division chief with the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and chief of the burn unit at the University of Wisconsin, Moylan came to Duke in 1975. While at Duke he served as director of the Duke Surgical Intensive Care Unit, former chief of the Trauma Service, and he was founding director of Duke Life Flight.
In 1994 he became the Lucille and DeWitt Daughtry Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Miami School of Medicine, a position he held until 1997.
Nationally, Moylan is credited with establishing models of trauma care and developing innovative therapies to treat severely burned soldiers during the Vietnam War. He has been active in a number of professional societies, including the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the American Burn Association, and the American College of Surgeons.
A native of Hartford, Conn., Moylan earned an undergraduate degree from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn., in 1960 and a medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine in 1964. He completed a residency in surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Each year the Duke Medical Alumni Association recognizes several distinguished alumni and faculty during Medical Alumni Weekend. The Medical Alumni Association includes all former Duke medical students and house staff.
June 2010
Alternative Pathways Alumni Participate in Panel Discussions
On Tuesday, April 20th the Alumni Association hosted a dinner and panel discussion for students enrolled in early selection programs at BUSM. It was on the medical campus in the Hiebert Lounge, 14th floor of the Instructional Building.
Alumni panelists included Robert Chamberlain ’74, David DiChiara ’84, Guy Mintz ’84, Mitchell Selinger ’74, Mike Siroky ’70, and Robert Valerio ’70.
Each shared their experiences as medical students and insight into the medical profession based on the paths they have taken after graduation. Students asked questions and discussed their own experiences after the alumni gave their presentations.
This event was held as a follow-up to the very successful student/alumni brunch held in the fall. The aim of these initiatives is to provide the opportunity for students and graduates to make connections with each other.
Click on thumbnails below to view each image in full size.
March 2010
Saturday, November 21, 2009 – Alternative Pathways Brunch at the School of Medicine.
Last summer, students in the alternative pathway medical programs at Boston University reached out to the Alumni Association to request help in coordinating a meet-and-greet event for everyone involved in these programs. A brunch was held on November 21, 2009 at the School of Medicine. Invited guests included undergraduate students, medical students, alumni from the alternative pathways curriculum, faculty, and staff. Over 80 guests attended, with representation from the SMED, ENGMEDIC, MMEDIC and EMSSP pathways. The brunch was a great success and follow-up events are already in the works for late April and Fall Alumni Weekend 2010.
One of the student coordinators of this program, Pranab Barman ’11 shares his reasons for his involvement below:
Over the past couple of years I have held many discussions with my classmates Eric Carniol ’11 and Rounak Rawal ’12 about how we could share what we learned participating in the SMED program to benefit future students. Naturally, those that have similar experiences as one another are bound to gravitate to each other for support and that is the major driving force behind the Alternative Pathways Alumni Mentoring Program.
It is easy for current medical students to access undergraduate students but not so with alumni who are involved in full time practices or have family obligations. The additional life and professional experience they have is extremely valuable to current students formulating their future plans.
Getting involved in events, such as the November brunch, is a way for students and alumni to meet informally to offer support and make a connection with their future colleagues.
View images from the November 21, 2009 brunch at the School of Medicine by clicking on the thumbnails below.
The Alumni Association encourages you to contact us with feedback and your interest in participating in these events here.
