PROGRAM LEADERSHIP

 
Department Chair 

Marianne E. Felice, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Physician-in-Chief, UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center 

Dr. Felice is Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Physician-in-Chief of the UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center . She graduated summa cum laude from Carlow University in Pittsburgh , PA and received her medical degree from the Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine in Hershey. After pediatric residency at the Harrisburg Polyclinic Hospital and a Fellowship in Behavioral Pediatrics/Adolescent Medicine at the University of Maryland , Dr. Felice joined the University of Maryland faculty and built a Behavioral Pediatric Training Program for the pediatric residency. She was then recruited to the University of California , San Diego , where she developed a new Division of Adolescent Medicine. After eleven years in California she returned to the University of Maryland to become Chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine and Vice-Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, positions she held until 1998 when she was recruited to the University of Massachusetts to be chair.

Dr. Felice has a strong commitment to medical education. She has trained 25 fellows in adolescent health, participates in the residency program as a faculty attending, actively teaches medical students in preclinical and clinical years, and welcomes the pediatric house staff to her home. She has authored about 150 articles, chapters, monographs and abstracts related to adolescent health, particularly focusing on adolescent sexuality and teenage pregnancy. She is frequently asked to speak at national and international medical meetings. In 2007, Dr. Felice led a cadre of UMass investigators to be awarded one of the prestigious National Children’s Study (NCS) NIH contracts to follow 100,000 children across the nation from pre-birth to age 21 years. Worcester County, where UMass Medical School is located, is one of the sites for the NCS. The purpose of the NCS is to study the effect of the environment on the growth and development of children and the onset of diseases in the young.

As an advocate for children and youth, Dr. Felice has served on many local and national committees and boards, and has testified often before state and national government bodies on behalf of children’s issues. She is the Immediate Past President of AMSPDC (Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs) and is an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. She sits on the Steering Committee of the National Children’s Study and serves on its Publications Committee. Locally, she chairs the Worcester Infant Mortality Reduction Task Force, a collaborative of 25 agencies to address the causes and solutions to Worcester’s high infant mortality rates. Dr. Felice has received numerous regional and national awards over the past twenty years. In the last two years, she has received the Lois B. Green Leadership Award from the United Way in Central Massachusetts, the Arild B. Hansen Distinguished Pediatric Lecturer Award from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX, the Carlow University Laureate Award for Exceptional Professional Achievement in Pittsburgh, Pa, the Charitable Leadership Award from the March of Dimes of Central Massachusetts, and the Rx for Excellence Award from the Medical Law Report in Boston.

In her spare time Dr. Felice enjoys a lively game of tennis, learning to play jazz on her new drum set, grooming her cats Frances and Oscar, or traveling with her husband, John M. Giles, III, who is retired from a long US Navy career.

 
Program Director 

William “Jerry” Durbin, MD
Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine
Director, Pediatric Education
Director, Pediatric Residency Program
Director of Pediatric Infectious Disease Consultation Service 

Jerry grew up right here in Massachusetts and attended Newton South High School .  He then headed north to Dartmouth College where he majored in English and minored in outdoor life.  He attended medical school at Columbia University in the Big Apple, following which he returned to Dartmouth for an internship in medicine.  After a two year stint at the NIH he saw the light and moved back to Massachusetts to complete two years of pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital Boston.  He then accepted a combined fellowship in pediatric and adult infectious disease at Beth Israel Hospital – Children’s Hospital Medical Center – Sidney Farber Cancer Center in Boston . 

Jerry came to Worcester City Hospital in 1979.  At that time, UMass Medical School had just started, he was asked to join the new faculty, and he has been a familiar face in the halls at UMass ever since.  He has remained very active in infectious disease and HIV care and has a busy academic clinical practice.  Jerry is a well-respected clinician and teacher.  He is often asked to write articles and chapters on pediatric infectious disease topics, including case reports in the NEJM and articles for Pediatrics in Review. Jerry has won numerous teaching awards over the last 20 years.  One of Jerry’s major contributions to the Pediatric Residency Program at UMass has been his strong leadership in involving current pediatric residents in the selection of the next class of interns, an unusual and very successful component of the pediatric residency. 

When he is not at the hospital, you can find him hiking in the White Mountains, avidly watching the Red Sox, catching up with his sons Adrian and Will, or preparing for his next trip to visit his daughter, Ali, and granddaughters, Chely and Kayala, in Guatemala. 

 
Assistant Program Director

Timothy Gibson, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Tim Gibson grew up in Billerica, MA then attended Tufts University where he majored in Child Development.  After one year off during which he coached high school tennis and managed an ice cream parlor, he attended UMass Medical School, followed by residency and chief residency at the Children's MEdical Center here at UMass.  He co-founded the Hanshaw Pediatric Hospitalist in 2003, has been in this position since.  He has a particular interest in teaching and mentoring medical students.

Tim is an avid Red Sox fan, and tries to go to as many games as possible, in between spending time with his three children, Abigail, Andrew and Tobias.  He also spends lots of time on hi several bicycles, including commuting to work.

 
Assistant Program Director 

Mark Vining, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Mark Vining was born and raised in Bangor, Maine.  He attended the University of Vermont for both his undergraduate and medical education.  He completed his pediatrics residency at Baystate Medical Center where he also served as chief resident. 

He joined the faculty at UMMHC following his chief resident year and currently serves as Medical Director of the Newborn Nursery and Assistant Program Director.  He also practices general pediatrics in the faculty practice. 

His professional interests include newborn medicine, adoption issues and effective evaluation methods in medical education.  An avid cook himself, he especially enjoys being the judge for the annual resident pie-baking contest.

 
Continuity Experience Director 

Patricia McQuilkin, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Trish grew up in Concord and has not strayed very far! She attended UMass/Amherst and majored in biochemistry and chemistry. She then attended UMass Medical School where she also did her pediatric residency. After a brief career as a heme/onc fellow at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Trish returned to UMass to join the faculty in the division of General Pediatrics, where she has established a large pediatric practice. 

Her special interests in pediatrics include teaching medical students and residents.  Together with Susan Starr, Trish runs the community based residency program, and is responsible for placing residents into their longitudinal primary care clinics. She is also interested in working with underserved populations. She has spent time in Russia and working on a reservation with Indian Health Services. She currently volunteers and helps to organize a clinic for uninsured and underinsured patients. 

When not working in the Benedict building, she enjoys doing just about anything outside (running, biking, skiing) and spending time with her 3 boys, who have taught her most of her pediatrics. 

 
Pediatric Educator 

Susan Starr, MEd
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Susan Starr grew up in New Haven CT, and came to Worcester to attend Clark University in 1969.  She met and married a “Townie” and has been here ever since.  Susan started her professional career as an elementary school teacher, earned a Masters in Education, and was recruited to the Clark Department of Education where she trained undergraduate and graduate students to be teachers.  In 1994 she joined the group of medical educators at UMass. 

Susan works on educational projects across the school and hospital, teaching and organizing curricula for medical students, residents and faculty.  In the Department of Pediatrics, she participates in most residency educational efforts, particularly those relating to the community-based primary care experience.  Her current research interests are in learning styles, communication skills, and building “Teacher Identity” in physicians who serve as preceptors. 

Off-hours, you can find her reading contemporary novels, at the movies, or catching up with her adult kids, Jonathan in Somaliland and Beth in Philadelphia .