Vitae fall/winter 2008, Vol. 31 No. 1
Class Notes (Click your school or scroll down)
School of Medicine
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Graduate School of Nursing
School of Medicine
The Massachusetts Medical Society elected Richard V. Aghababian, MD, associate dean for continuing medical education at UMass Medical School, to a one-year term as its secretary-treasurer.
Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, was the 2008 commencement speaker and an honorary degree recipient at the School of Nursing and Health Studies at Georgetown University.
Celestia S. Higano, MD, has been promoted to professor of medicine in the departments of Oncology and Urology at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Martin B. Weiss, MD, FACS, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, was elected president of the medical staff of Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
Michael A. Arsenian, MD, was named 2008 Community Clinician of the Year by the Essex South District Medical Society. The award was established by the Massachusetts Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the society’s 20 district medical societies who has made significant contributions to patients and the community.
Constance A. Buttlar, MD, is a pathologist practicing at Nashua Pathology, PA in New Hampshire. She continues to teach residents from Dartmouth Medical School and Boston University School of Medicine.
An article by Joseph R. DiFranza, MD, was featured in Scientific American. The article highlights his research, which has overturned long-held beliefs that cigarette addiction takes years to develop.
John P. Deveikis, MD, joined the University of Rochester Medical Center’s (URMC) neuro-endovascular department. His wife, Susan Deveikis, BSN, RN, is the nurse coordinator for URMC’s neuro-endovascular service.
Howard N. Fixler, MD, has joined the Trustmark Insurance Disability and Long Term Care Benefits Division as medical director and second vice president.
Jeffrey C. Schultz, MD, received his second board certification from the American Board of Clinical Lipidology.
Gerald S. Gleich, MD, was appointed medical director of Hahnemann Family Health Center.
Stuart T. Higano, MD, and his wife, Karen, welcomed a son, Connor, on January 31, 2005. Connor joins siblings Stuart Jr., Alexander and Nara.
Leslie P. Shaff, MD, was appointed chief surgical services officer at Lahey Clinic. She received an MBA from Wharton in 2006.
Timothy J. Babineau, MD, became the president and chief executive officer of Rhode Island Hospital on October 1. He had served as the senior vice president and chief medical officer for the University of Maryland Medical Center.
1988 (Celebrating the Class’s 20th Reunion – November 8, 2008) (back to top)
Lloyd Alderson, MD, DSc, is the new clinical director of neuro-oncology at UMass Memorial Medical Center.
Michelle Z. Schultz, MD, is medical director for the St. Louis VNA Hospice. She is board certified in medical oncology and hospice and palliative medicine.
Jeffrey A. Scott, MD, joined UMass Memorial—Marlborough Hospital as medical director of the Sleep Health Center’s Marlborough facility. Dr. Scott completed his residency at UMass Medical School and fellowships in pulmonology and critical care medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
David R. Stebbins, MD, joined the cardiology practice of New Bedford Medical Associates. He has been an active member of the cardiology community in Fall River for many years at Prima CARE and recently practiced at Cardiovascular Associates of Rhode Island.
Gregory R. Ciottone, MD, has been appointed chief medical officer of American Hospital Management Company. Dr. Ciottone will be responsible for continuing medical education, quality programs and medical staff issues for the company’s network of international managed facilities.
Anthony R. Conti, MD, recently accepted a position at New England Medical Group of Andover as a family practice physician.
Elizabeth Steiner, MD, is a faculty member at Oregon Health and Science University. She also practices, serves as the medical director of a safety-net clinic and conducts research and is chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians.
David J. Shih, MD, has joined Hawthorn Medical Associates in Dartmouth. He provides primary care and specialty care for patients who have kidney problems and hypertension.
1993 (Celebrating the Class’s 15th Reunion – November 8, 2008) (back to top)
Valerie R. Price, MD, is a nephrologist at Emerson Hospital.
David A. Townes, MD, is an associate professor in the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. He recently received his diploma from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is taking a leave of absence for an Epidemic Intelligence Service Fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control, Malaria Branch.
Colette Desrochers, MD, balances part-time work as a primary care pediatrician for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with raising four young children.
Russell K. Mitchell, MD, and his wife, DonnaMarie, welcomed a son, Matthew, on April 23, 2007. Matthew joins brothers Nicholas and William.
Christine Rooney, MD, is site medical director at Greater Lawrence Family Health Center. She is also treasurer of the non-profit organization Oceanic Research Group and the executive producer for “Jonathan Bird’s Blue World,” an educational underwater adventure show which is airing on Public Television in 2008.
Suniti Kumar, MD, works at a community health center in Oregon as a family practice/obstetrics physician. She was a medical volunteer in Myanmar and Niger and worked in rural Colorado and New Mexico. Last year, she married Brian Adair, a high-school classmate.
Henry L. Danis, MD, joined The Carolina Clinic for Digestive and Liver Diseases, a member of Caromont Medical Group. He is on staff at Gaston Memorial Hospital in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Amy Thibault, MD, is a partner in a private ob/gyn practice at Fletcher Allen Hospital in Burlington, Vermont.
Adam S. Feldman, MD, recently received a Young Investigator Award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Dr. Feldman is a member of the inaugural group of 19 recipients of the awards, which fund talented and innovative investigators who will undertake the next generation of prostate cancer research. Each three-year award will provide $75,000 per year.
David B. FitzGerald, MD, is board certified in neurology and practicing and researching aging, memory and traumatic brain injury at the Gainesville, Florida VA.
Julie N. (Wineinger) Meade, MD, has been living in Denver for the past four years and is practicing ob/gyn. She is married with a little girl and says she hopes to expand the family soon.
Daniel Weiswasser, MD, is living in Longmeadow with his wife, Amy, and sons, Jake and Alex. He is currently Director of Quality and Informatics at Riverbend Medical Group, the largest multispecialty group in Western Massachusetts.
Haya Yankelev, MD, and Mark Krivopal, MD ’98, live in Needham. They have two girls. Dr. Yankelev has been working
at Pediatric Associates of Wellesley for the last five years.
Kathryn M. DeAnzeris, MD, and her husband, Chris, welcomed their daughter, Abigail, born on March 1, 2007. They also have a son, Matthew.
Brian S. Levitt, MD, and his wife, Jill, recently welcomed a son, Andrew. Andrew joins big brother, Alex, and family in the California Bay Area.
Heidi E. Huggett O'Connor, MD, finished her pulmonary and critical care fellowship in July. She has joined the staff at Tufts Medical Center and New England Sinai Hospital as an attending physician.
Elyssa A. Pellish, MD, completed her residency at Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University and is board certified in emergency medicine. She treats patients in the UMass Memorial Marlborough Hospital Emergency Department and is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at UMass Medical School.
Randall Pellish, MD, joined the gastroenterology division at UMass Memorial Medical Center and is an assistant professor of medicine at UMass Medical School. He completed both a residency and fellowship at Rhode Island Hospital.
2003 (Celebrating the Class’s Fifth Reunion – November 8, 2008) (back to top)
Leah T. Belazarian, MD, joined the UMass Memorial Medical Center Division of Dermatology. Dr. Belazarian completed her residency in dermatology and a fellowship in pediatric dermatology. She is also an assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at UMass Medical School.
Dori Goldberg, MD, is a member of UMass Memorial Medical Center’s Division of Dermatology and an assistant professor of medicine at UMass Medical School.
Laura E. Bayon, MD, and her husband, Mark Ross, welcomed a daughter, Emilia Grace, on March 13, 2007.
Katherine R. Caldwell, MD, completed her internal medicine residency and works part time as an adult primary care physician in Portland, Maine. She and her husband, Aaron Engebreth, have two children, Daphne and Cora.
Colby A. Hunter-Previte, MD, and Gregory J. H. Previte, MD, completed their residencies in ob/gyn and anesthesia, respectively, and have both taken faculty positions at the University of Rochester. They have a son, Carter.
Andrew A. Monte, MD, completed his residency at UMass Memorial Medical Center—University Campus and is board certified in emergency medicine. He treats patients in both the University and Memorial campus emergency departments, and his clinical interests include toxicology and wilderness medicine. He is also an assistant professor of emergency medicine at UMass Medical School.
Joseph C. Tennyson, MD, completed his residency at UMass Memorial Medical Center—University Campus. He treats patients in the Memorial Campus Emergency Department. He is also an assistant professor of emergency medicine at UMass Medical School.
John Paul Verderese, MD, will be joining the hospitalist division of the Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia, after completing his residency in internal medicine at George Washington University.
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Shan Lu, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at UMass Medical School, and colleague Katherine Ruiz de Luzuriaga, MD, professor of pediatrics and director of the UMMS Division of Pediatric Immunology, are among the first five recipient teams to receive a Pediatric HIV Vaccine Research Program grant from the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, a world leader in the fight against pediatric AIDS. The UMMS team was chosen from 46 that competed for the grants.
Graduate School of Nursing
Jay Cyr, RN, MS, MBA, vice president of the Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence at UMass Memorial Medical Center, was honored as a 2008 Health Care Hero by the Worcester Business Journal. He accepted the award along with others at the Medical Center for their program to provide rapid intervention for heart attack victims.
Jill M. Terrien, PhD, is the new director of Clinical Specialties for the GSN.
Eileen F. Terrill, PhD, has been appointed director of the GSN’s Graduate Entry Pathway program.
Lisa Ogawa, PhD, has been named director of the Nurse Educator Speciality for the GSN.
Alumni of the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Graduate School of Nursing may send their latest news to alumni@umassmed.edu
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