TakeDouble

Diversity Initiatives A Psychoanalyst & A Poet12 3722

The BulletinSPRING 2016

Match Day 2016

Joint MD/MBA Degrees Create Business-Savvy Doctors

Jefferson Alumni Bulletin Spring 2016 Volume 65, Number 2

Executive Vice President: Elizabeth A. Dale, EdD

Associate Vice President, Alumni Relations: Cristina A. Geso

Address correspondence to: Editor, Alumni Bulletin Office of Institutional Advancement Thomas Jefferson University 125 S. 9th Street, Suite 700 Philadelphia, PA 19107-4216

215-955-6890 alumni@jefferson.edu Fax: 215-503-5084 Advancement.Jefferson.edu Alumni Relations: 215-955-7750

Senior Director, Communications: Mark P. Turbiville

Editor: Karen L. Brooks

Design: SwivelStudios, Inc.

Bulletin Committee William V. Harrer, MD ’62 Chair James Harrop, MD ’95 Cynthia Hill, MD ’87 Larry Kim, MD ’91 Phillip J. Marone, MD ’57, MS ’07 Joseph Sokolowski, MD ’62

The Jefferson community and supporters are welcome to receive the Alumni Bulletin on a regular basis; please contact the aforementioned address. Postmaster: send address changes to the aforementioned address. ISSN-0021-5821

Copyright© Thomas Jefferson University. All Rights Reserved.

Published continuously since 1922.

t I m e c a P S u l e32

oN the coveR: IllustratIon by James steInberg.

Photo courtesy of the Archives

and Special Collections,

Thomas Jefferson University.

From the Jefferson Archives: Spring 1966

6 The Reformation

Healthcare Changes Spur the Rise of the MD/MBA

12 Many Voices, Better Care

SKMC Diversity Programs Enrich

Medical Education and Community

18 Brind-Marcus Center Expands the Frontier of Integrative Medicine

2 DEAN’S COLUMN

4 FINDINGSStudy Shows Promise in Protecting the Brain Against Parkinson’s Disease

5 ALUMNI HOMEA Message from Elizabeth Dale

20 ON CAMPUS

22 SALMAN AkHtAr, MDHealing with Words

26 JOHN BABB, MD '80Following His Sister's Heart

28 rOBErt POLLOCkTrading Notepad for Stethoscope

30 CLASS NOtES

33 IN MEMOrIAM

37 BY tHE NUMBErS

6

2212

26

18

28

Students and Faculty Doing Amazing Things

There are the special, above-and-beyond

things that occur, as well as initiatives and

programs that showcase our institution’s

transformative prowess. And then there

are the occasional out-of-the-ordinary

acts that catch the attention of outsiders

and offer a glimpse of our very special

Jefferson grit.

I make a habit of collecting the sundry

uplifting anecdotes that find their way to

my desk. Hard to choose among them, but

let me share a random few.

Let’s start with two 2015 SKMC gradu-

ates, Daniel Becchi and Monica Pham,

who, during their fourth-year global health

rotation, happened to be in Nepal when

the devastating earthquake struck. By a

stroke of luck, the wing of the building

they occupied remained untouched.

Having made it to the international

airport to head home, the two chanced

upon a traveler in dire distress. Their

Jefferson training kicked in, with an

impressive display of clinical acumen.

After ABC resuscitation steps, Daniel and

Monica obtained a history with the help of

a translator. Forming an impressive differ-

ential, they surmised that this individual

was experiencing a hypoglycemic episode

The Jefferson family—students, residents, fellows, alumni, faculty and staff—is special in so many ways. There are the day-in and day-out acts conducted in the course of training, discovering and caring and, occasionally, the virtual miracles performed, most often unheralded.

from dehydration and malnutrition,

complicated by a seizure. On-the-fly

innovation followed. With the patient’s

swallowing function impaired, they

applied a cloth, soaked in oral rehydration

solution, to the patient’s mouth—two

medical students pulling a cat out of the

hat on the other side of the planet.

A few years earlier, in that very same

part of the world, another one of our own

proved her mettle. Twelve days before

graduating, Erin Lally, MD ’11, became the

177th woman to summit Mount Everest. In

my graduation remarks that year, I show-

cased Erin’s tremendous feat, which built

upon all kinds of other mountaineering

exploits juggled with medical school

demands. But what I didn’t share at the

time was what happened on the way down.

Shortly upon arriving back at Camp IV,

after more than 20 hours of her own

taxing descent from the Everest summit,

Erin’s team was informed that 15 Spanish

climbers were unaccounted for. Hours of a

painstaking search on the upper reaches

of the mountain led her team’s Argentinian

guides and sherpas to four of the missing

climbers. The victims were carried and

dragged all the way to Camp II, roughly

3,000 vertical feet from where they had

been found, to a makeshift triage tent.

Erin kicked in. Though exhausted from

the prior day’s efforts, under close radio

communication with emergency room

physicians at Base Camp, this fourth-year

medical student managed to thaw bottles

of saline, set up IVs and administer

steroids, heparin and oxygen to climbers

suffering from cerebral edema, pulmonary

edema, severe frostbite and hypoxia.

Stabilized overnight, they were then trans-

ported to Kathmandu with what became

2 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

t h e D e a N ’ S c o l u m N

Mark L. Tykocinski, MD

Provost, Thomas Jefferson University

Anthony F. and Gertrude M. DePalma Dean,

Sidney Kimmel Medical College

one of the highest helicopter rescue

missions in history. Erin, one of our own,

soon became somewhat of a legend in the

mountaineering community, with our

medical school front and center.

Erin later wrote: “My summiting Everest

taught me that there is no feat that is

insurmountable or dream that is unattain-

able. By simply putting one foot in front

of the other, the world has no limits.”

It’s not just our medical students who

rise to the occasion. Heading home on the

7:25 p.m. train out of Jefferson Station

in May 2012, Howard Weitz, one of our

renowned cardiologists and a 1978

graduate, overheard the conductor twice

asking the person behind him for her pass.

But no response—so the conductor yelled

out for a doctor. Howard spun around, and

detecting no pulse or breathing, pulled her

to the floor, started chest compressions

and instructed the conductor to call for

assistance. Two more passengers

responded—none other than Simeon

(“Kosi”) Yamoah, a then-resident in

radiation oncology, and a Jefferson nurse

(anonymous by request), armed with a

personal airway device.

Howard supervised the CPR efforts,

with Kosi performing compressions and

our nurse assisting in the breathing.

The collapsed woman came back to life,

awake and alert, 15 minutes after the

ordeal began. Jefferson teamwork was

on full display—serendipity bringing

a random group of our own together,

on a moving commuter train.

Lifesaving stories of heroism abound.

But, sometimes, it’s in the form of

biomedical discovery that has impact

across continents. Micaela Collins,

Class of 2019, as a co-principal

investigator on a Canadian-funded project,

has designed a breast milk pasteurization

device that, along with feeding counseling

programs and breast pumping stations,

is being trialed in a garment factory in

Dhaka, Bangladesh, to accommodate

female workers who often have no choice

but to return to work three months after

giving birth. Most don't have access to any

sort of refrigeration—hence the need to

introduce an alternative way to keep

breast milk safe when stored at room

temperature for extended periods. Micaela

was invited to pitch the project at the

Pneumonia Innovations Summit sponsored

by the United Nations.

I could go on, mining my files for

more anecdotes of very special Jefferson

people—lifesaving heroes or medical

discoverers. And none of this speaks to

the many personal triumphs or acts of

selflessness—like those of Emily

Sherrard, MD ’15, who won the 2013

Ironman 70.3 World Championships in

Las Vegas and placed fourth in the 2014

Ironman World Championships in Kona,

Hawaii, in her 25-29 age group. Or the

likes of Edward Liu, MD ’90, who sacri-

ficed his life a few years ago, saving two

12-year-old boys toppled from their canoe

by Lake Michigan’s riptide current. This

prominent pediatric surgeon managed to

help the boys make it to shore, but was

himself pulled down by the undertow.

Their stories inspire.

Each day, as I traverse the halls and

walkways of our campus, I stop and

remind myself of just how very special

the people surrounding me are. We

have incredible people capable of doing

incredible things—so often with little

fanfare. How uplifting, in a world too

filled with disturbance and tragedy.

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Study Shows Promise in Protecting the Brain Against Parkinson’s Disease

F I N D I N G S

Almost 200 years after London physician James Parkinson first

wrote about “the shaking palsy”—now known as Parkinson’s

disease—there is still no known cure. A number of treatments exist

to alleviate symptoms of the disease, but none slows or stops its

progression. In 2013, a molecule called GM1 ganglioside showed

potential, but it has proved difficult to make and deliver to patients.

Now, Jefferson researchers have demonstrated a way to help the

brains of mice produce more of their own GM1 ganglioside in a

study published in the journal PLOS ONE.

“GM1 ganglioside has shown great promise in Parkinson's

patients,” says lead author Jay Schneider, PhD, professor in the

Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology. “However,

considering the difficulties with the manufacturing of GM1 and

its delivery to the brain, we wanted to see if we could coax the

brain to make more of its own GM1.”

GM1 ganglioside is made by nerve cells in the brain but

appears at much lower levels in people with Parkinson’s and other

neurodegenerative diseases. Although earlier work revealed that

Parkinson’s patients who were administered GM1 ganglioside

displayed improvement, the current industry standard for obtain-

ing GM1 ganglioside is to extract the substance from cow brains,

which presents a number of manufacturing and safety concerns.

The substance cannot be readily made synthetically.

“We were thinking, ‘there's got to be a way around this,’”

says Schneider. “Instead of putting more GM1 into the brain,

why not try to get the brain to make more of it?”

Through a search of existing literature, Schneider and

colleagues found that an enzyme called sialidase was capable

of converting other naturally occurring ganglioside molecules in

the brain into GM1 ganglioside. They tested their idea in a mouse

model of Parkinson's disease. After the researchers inserted a

pump that continually injected the sialidase into the mouse brain,

the researchers then simulated the onset of Parkinson's. Schneider

and colleagues saw neuronal protection at similar levels to those

seen in mice injected directly with GM1 ganglioside.

“We were excited to see that this could work in the mouse

model,” says Schneider. “As long-term delivery of sialidase enzymes

to the brain would require implantation of a pump system, which

might not be optimal, we are currently working on alternative gene

therapy approaches to enhance GM1 levels in the brain.”

Creating better ways of enhancing GM1 ganglioside levels

could prove beneficial in a number of diseases, including

Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Schneider is

currently investigating novel gene-therapy approaches that could

enhance the GM1 ganglioside content of neurons and plans to

investigate the neuroprotective potential of these approaches.

A cannula is placed in

the third ventricle in the

brain and connected to

a mini-pump filled with

sialidase enzyme. The

mini-pump continuously

delivers the sialidase to

the brain for four weeks.

4 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

WWhen we started to think about creating

an Alumni Center here at Jefferson,

we put together a document outlining its

purpose. The paper states, “The proposed

Alumni Center will serve three basic func-

tions: to provide a home for alumni visiting

campus, to provide a space for the five

alumni association boards to meet and to

house the Alumni Relations offices.”

It’s a rather dry and practical statement

of purpose—correct as far as it goes—but

the word “home” jumped out at me and

tugged a little at my heart. The new Alumni

Center we are planning will be more than a

meeting space and an office space: it’s a

home. It’s friends and family. It’s memories.

It’s triumphs and setbacks and lessons

learned. It’s where you got your start in life.

It’s where you’re always welcomed back, no

matter how far away you go or for how long.

The new space Jefferson has set aside

for our 33,000-plus living alumni from all

six colleges comprises 5,000 square feet on

the second floor of Alumni Hall. We already

have a floor plan. The Alumni Center will

include a reception area, large conference

room, a library lounge, a business center,

displays of Jefferson archival materials like

photos and yearbooks and, of course,

Alumni Relations offices. It will be a

friendly and versatile environment where

alumni can gather for catching up, remi-

niscing about their professors, learning

about the new Jefferson, networking with

colleagues, mentoring students, conducting

official alumni business, attending

on-campus alumni events and accessing

alumni services. The Alumni Center will be

completely dedicated to serving our alumni.

In other words, it will be, as our plan put it,

your campus home.

The new Alumni Center is all about our

Jefferson family. That’s why Jefferson is

investing in more resources, more

programming and more services for

alumni. Even though you’ve graduated,

even though you’ve gone off to make a life

and build a career, you’re still one of us—

and we depend on you. Alumni are not just

our past: you’re our future. We love to hear

your stories, and we need to hear your

voice. Your involvement and passion help

Jefferson to govern better and plan for a

brighter future, and the close connection

helps you to tell better Jefferson stories to

those who don’t know us.

There are many ways alumni can give

back by giving forward to secure a better

Jefferson. We welcome your comments

and queries at alumni@jefferson.edu.

Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz, is more

than right when she says, “There’s no place

like home.” Find out for yourself. I hope

you come and visit soon.

a m e S S a G e F R o m e l I z a B e t h D a l e

Elizabeth Dale, EdD

Executive Vice President for

Institutional Advancement

It’s where you’re always welcomed back, no matter how far away you go or for how long.

Alumni Home

S I D N E y K I M M E L M E D I C A L C O L L E G E A T T H O M A S J E F F E R S O N U N I V E R S I T y | 5

healthcare reform has presented challenges best

met by those with both

medical and business training.

A growing number of mid-career physicians are

returning to school to pursue an MBA. armed with business skills and knowledge, they are thriving

in the midst of a changing healthcare landscape.

Story Summary

6 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

Big Data and population health analytics are key to providing

evidence-based treatment, value

and good outcomes.

Business-savvy physician leaders serve as cross-cultural agents, bridging the

gap between medicine and management.

They help reduce costs while improving care.

B Y k o R e N W e t m o R e

Healthcare Changes Spur the Rise of the

MD MBA

THE REFORMATION

WWhile some may fear change, Jefferson President and CEO

Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, embraces and inspires it. So as

others strive to reform healthcare, he’s busy reimagining it.

S I D N E y K I M M E L M E D I C A L C O L L E G E A T T H O M A S J E F F E R S O N U N I V E R S I T y | 7

Klasko employs technology with a patient care focus

through initiatives such as JeffConnect—an app that

allows patients and families to video chat with doctors—

and hosting hack-a-thons that spur ideas for improving

healthcare access and delivery. He also recognizes and

seizes opportunity when it arises, as evidenced by

Jefferson’s recent merger with Abington Health System

and pending mergers with Aria Health and Kennedy

Health, which will bring Jefferson’s clinical expertise to a

broader population. Yet it’s no accident that the veteran

ob/gyn and academic leader shows such business acumen.

He’s also the proud possessor of a Master’s in Business

Administration.

Some argue that people like Klasko, who have merged

their medical expertise with business savvy, are health-

care’s future. In its 2014 white paper, “The Value of

Physician Leadership,” the American College of Physician

Executives argues that as reform drives more administrative

decisions to impact clinical care, a physician’s patient-

centered perspective will be vital. It also emphasizes the

need for physicians with business skills who can bridge

medicine and management.

According to the American Hospital Association, those

skills include medical economics, analytics, population

health management and the use of information technology.

WhY aN mBa?Medical school prepares future physicians for medical

practice, but offers little to no instruction in the business

basics needed to successfully run an organization,

communicate with colleagues or plan strategically.

Although some skills can be gained through experience

and on-the-job training, gaps often remain in aspects

such as finance, analytics and marketing.

All of which can affect even the most seasoned

professional.

“There’s a fear when you’re in a business meeting and

people start talking about multiples in terms of invest-

ment or forecasting,” says Alex Vaccaro, MD, PhD, MBA,

president of the Rothman Institute and the Richard H.

Rothman Professor and Chair of Jefferson’s Department

of Orthopaedic Surgery. “Say we want to purchase a

hospital. Can you forecast the populations of patients

that will be served? Can you forecast earnings to see if

we have a margin? You learn how to do that when you

get an MBA.”

Vaccaro, who earned his MBA in 2015, pursued the

degree after 22 years in medical practice. Prior to his

MBA training, he worked to maintain the success of the

departments and teams he led. Now his vision is much

larger. “I realize we can be bigger and better. Because of

what I’ve learned, I can now talk to groups about mergers,

acquisitions and focusing on scale and scope.”

For some physicians, impending growth drives their

decision to get an MBA.

When plans emerged to expand the Jefferson Myrna

Brind Center of Integrative Medicine’s reach—including

the recent launch of the Brind-Marcus Center in

Villanova, Pa.— Dan Monti, MD, MBA, the Ellen and

Ron Caplan Professor and Director of Integrative

Medicine at Jefferson, chose to pursue the degree.

“Growing new practice sites really requires some

business acumen and strategy,” Monti says. “It’s one thing

to have an idea to expand; it’s another thing to really

understand the pro forma for expenses and revenues,

and to develop a five-year strategic plan. To be able to do

Anne Boland Docimo, MD, MBA, chief medical officer for Jefferson

Health, and David Nash, MD, MBA, the Dr. Raymond C. and Doris

N. Grandon Professor of Health Policy and dean of the Jefferson

College of Population Health.

8 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

Cataldo Doria, MD, MBA, the Nicoletti Family Professor of Surgery and

director of the Jefferson Transplant Institute.

things like estimate margins and break-even analyses

goes hand in hand with modeling strategic growth.”

Healthcare reform and an increasingly competitive

market led Cataldo Doria, MD, PhD, the Nicoletti Family

Professor of Surgery and director of Jefferson’s

Transplant Institute, to pursue an MBA. His coursework

is nearly complete, and Doria has already seen benefits

from his training.

“I saw that our business model, which for years

involved asking local physicians to send us patients, had

to change. In Philadelphia there are more healthcare

centers than restaurants, so why should doctors send

people to us?” Doria says. “So we created the Jefferson

Transplant Institute and now instead of referring patients,

doctors become our partners.”

The new model employs collaboration where patient

tests, X-rays and follow-up are done by the treating

physician, while the transplant surgery is done at the

main Jefferson hub. As a result, patients receive stream-

lined service and Jefferson engages more doctors and

serves more patients.

No maGIc BulletBusiness training benefits have become so apparent that

they have triggered false notions about what an MBA

program can do. In fact, some have come to view it as a

“magic bullet” that automatically produces great leaders.

However, like any educational opportunity, an MBA

simply provides new knowledge and skill sets. Your

professional outcome will depend on your individual

motivation, effort and experience.

“If you go to business school with the idea that when

you emerge you’ll take over the hospital where you work,

that’s unrealistic. You still have to earn your leadership

stripes through jobs with increasing levels of responsi-

bility and accountability,” says David Nash, MD, MBA, the

Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor of Health

Policy and founding dean of Jefferson’s College of

Population Health. “What the degree does is enable you

to shuttle back and forth between the culture of medicine

and patient care and the culture of resource allocation,

leadership and strategic planning. It usually leads to lead-

ership opportunities, but it’s not a given.”

Nash shares this wisdom as he fields calls from doctors

interested in the new online MBA program developed in

collaboration with Strayer University’s Jack Welch

Management Institute (JWMI). Offered through JWMI,

the program features an innovative MBA curriculum, but

with a healthcare emphasis, thanks to the addition of four

courses created by Jefferson's College of Population

Orthopaedic surgeon Antonia Chen, MD, MBA.

S I D N E y K I M M E L M E D I C A L C O L L E G E A T T H O M A S J E F F E R S O N U N I V E R S I T y | 9

Health. Designed for both mid-career doctors and non-

physicians, it offers an overview of population health and

provides the knowledge base needed to address the chal-

lenges of a shifting healthcare landscape.

Yet mid-career physicians who have pursued an MBA

are quick to stress that the degree doesn’t so much trans-

form as enhance your natural abilities.

“Getting an MBA didn’t make Stephen Klasko a

visionary. Rather, the MBA gave him the necessary toolset

to bring his vision to reality,” says Anne Boland Docimo,

MD, MBA, chief medical officer of Jefferson Health.

Docimo spent more than a decade working in emergency

medicine, led two urgent care centers and redesigned the

documentation and patient flow for several departments

prior to getting her MBA in 2000. Her knack for adminis-

tration and operations was solid, but business training

gave her a better understanding of marketing and finance.

For part of her coursework, she developed a marketing

plan for Patient First urgent care centers in Baltimore.

“An MBA provides the skill and knowledge needed to

partner with business people in medicine to develop and

implement clinical strategy. That’s the job we do. Our

business just happens to be healthcare.”

And that business is rapidly evolving.

changes and challengesHealthcare spending in the United States surged to

$3.1 trillion in 2015 and is expected to rise an average

of 5.8 percent a year until 2024. The increase has been

attributed to everything from the rising cost of prescrip-

tion drugs to the expansion of insurance coverage under

the Affordable Care Act. Ironically, the ACA calls for

reforms to control costs along with provisions to improve

care and access.

“We have to pay attention to finances and outcomes in

a way that we never had to before. It doesn’t matter which

“The adage that you can’t wear the suit and the white coat is nonsense. Good business and good medicine go hand in hand.”

—DaviD Nash, MD, MBa

specialty or environment you’re in, understanding the

business of medicine is crucial to survival,” says Monti.

“Every decision you make has consequences, and the

more knowledge you have to make an informed decision,

the better the outcome.”

Under ACA provisions, medical providers must now

show proof that the treatments given are effective.

Volumes of data must be gathered and interpreted in a

useful way, which calls for expertise in health analytics

and information technology.

Orthopaedic surgeon Antonia Chen, MD, MBA, special-

izes in hip and knee replacement surgery. Healthcare

reform has changed how she designs research studies,

which now include economic and patient survey data.

In a recent comparison of treatment outcomes for partial

vs. total knee replacement surgery, Chen included factors

such as work loss, time on disability, life expectancy and

patient satisfaction.

“We used statistical models to determine which

surgical procedure is more ideal in a certain patient

population vs. another. A research fellow and statistician

did the actual equations, but my MBA background helped

with designing the model and knowing what inputs to

include,” says Chen.

Such population health analytics are also vital in the

reformed environment, where reimbursements are no

longer based on services rendered but rather the value

provided.

“It’s essentially Big Data coming to healthcare,” says

Nash, who’s coined the term “no outcome, no income”

to describe the shift from a service-based model to one

based on value and outcome. “No outcome, no income

means that you better understand the system of care and

how it’s organized in order to achieve a good outcome.

So you need the information infrastructure to get the data

to help you figure out how you’re doing. And, when you

achieve a good outcome, you’ll be rewarded.”

1 0 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

FoR PRoFIt oR PatIeNtS?Some fear physician leaders who pursue MBA training

might shift focus from patient care to the business

bottom line. Or, at the very least, have trouble balancing

the two.

Nash disagrees.

“The adage that you can’t wear the suit and the white

coat is nonsense. Good business and good medicine go

hand in hand,” he says. “A business person in healthcare

will reduce waste, free up resources and improve care.”

An MD/MBA is actually better equipped to make deci-

sions that benefit patients while staying fiscally sound,

says Maria Chandler, MD, MBA, president and founder of

the Association of MD/MBA Programs. She offers the

example of a surgeon who requested a new MRI machine.

When the CEO asked how he planned to pay for it, the

surgeon had no response.

“Often as a physician you don’t know how to tell a large

corporation how to afford something that you need. An

MD/MBA would have the business skills to say, ‘If we get

a new MRI, I could see patients in half the time, which

means I could see twice as many. Here are the statistics

and finances showing how the machine will pay for itself

in two years,’” Chandler says.

Just as healthcare reform is driving physicians to change

and acquire business skills, Chandler believes the growing

trend of business-savvy physicians will in turn drive change

in healthcare. “If you equip doctors with business skills,

they’ll show you how to take care of patients while doing it

at a better cost. Give these really brilliant people the tools

they need, and they’ll turn the industry around.”

The rise of the MD/MBA appears to be upon us. Nearly

half of the nation’s medical schools have added a dual

MD/MBA degree track, and growing numbers of seasoned

physicians are returning to school to acquire their MBA.

In the future, business training may even be incorporated

into the core medical curriculum, eliminating the need for

a second degree.

“Maybe by 2025, people will understand that the road to

improving outcomes, reducing waste and treating people

more equitably is paved with these new skill sets,” says Nash.

“I regret that I probably won’t live to see it, but it’s been a fun

mission to be engaged in.”

Alex Vaccaro, MD, PhD, MBA, president of the Rothman Institute and

the Richard H. Rothman Professor and Chair of the Department of

Orthopaedic Surgery; Sabrina Bazzan, JD, MBA, administrator for the

Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine; and Dan Monti, MD, MBA,

the Ellen and Ron Caplan Professor and Director of Integrative Medicine.

S I D N E y K I M M E L M E D I C A L C O L L E G E A T T H O M A S J E F F E R S O N U N I V E R S I T y | 1 1

MAny VoiCeS,

Diversity is the richness of human differences and similarities. Jefferson

believes that cultivating a diverse,

inclusive environment improves

healthcare and health equity for all

patients and communities.

Story Summary

1 2 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

y s, Better

care

sKMc Diversity Programs enrich Medical education and community

B y R o B i n W a R s h a W

Programs and initiatives at SKMC, such

as cultural competency training, a diver-

sity council and projects to increase the

number of doctors from underrepresented

minorities, benefit students’ educational experience and the future of medicine.

In 2016, a Jefferson program to prepare minority students for

the medical school application process is expected to double in size from its first year. Likewise, a pilot four-year program

training SKMC students as medical Spanish interpreters will enroll

its second class and expand students’ real-world experiences at

a clinic for Spanish-speaking patients.

The words “gout” and “eye drops” are unlikely to be

confused in a doctor-patient conversation conducted

in English. But when the patient speaks Spanish and

the doctor knows only a little of the language, then

“gota” (gout) can be mistaken as the problem when a

patient mentions “gotas” (as in “gotas para los ojos,”

or eye drops), says Joseph Villavicencio, a second-year

Sidney Kimmel Medical College student.

Christopher Rivera-Pintado

leads an MCAT prep group.

Photo by Carlos Holmes.

S I d n e y K I M M e L M e d I C A L C o L L e g e A T T h o M A S J e f f e R S o n U n I v e R S I T y | 1 3

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Villavicencio is explaining the risks of

similar-sounding words to students enrolled

in the Longitudinal Medical Spanish

Translator Program, one of SKMC’s medical

education, clinical practice and research

initiatives to create a diverse and inclusive

environment and provide the best care to all

people. The pilot course is training 18

first-year students to become certified

medical Spanish interpreters. As part of the

program, the students will volunteer at a

South Philadelphia clinic that has many

Latino patients and, in their fourth year, gain

clinical experience in a Spanish-speaking

country.

Training students as both doctors and

medical interpreters fits with SKMC’s

commitment to expand diversity through

awareness and sensitivity to differences—

ethnic, racial, religious, gender/gender

identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic,

disability and more—and to foster an

institutional culture that includes everyone.

“We take this seriously,” says Bernard L.

Lopez, MD ’86, associate dean for diversity

and community engagement. “This is about

incorporating diversity and inclusion as part

of our daily work.”

creating a community for allThe Office of Diversity and Inclusion

Initiatives (ODII) at SKMC, which Lopez

directs, works to promote diversity, enhance

cultural competency or knowledge about

other backgrounds and ensure health

equity. ODII efforts involve students,

residents, faculty, staff and institutional

leaders in a variety of initiatives. The goal,

Lopez says, is to “make this a place that

provides the best and most culturally

competent patient care.”

SKMC pipeline programs seek to

increase physicians from underrepresented

minority (URM) groups, those with fewer

doctors than proportional to their U.S.

population numbers. In the Future Docs

program, high-school students participate

in a nine-week winter program on health

professions, with a middle-school project

planned. A summer program prepares

college students for applying to medical

school. SKMC is also part of a program to

create more URM physicians for the state

of Delaware.

At least a dozen SKMC student groups

represent varied populations, providing

support for common concerns, education

for the Jefferson community and greater

understanding for all patients. Among the

groups: the Student National Medical

Association, for African American students;

Jefferson Latino Medical Students

Association; Asian Pacific Medical Student

Association; Jeff LGBTQ for lesbian, gay,

bisexual, transgender and queer students;

and the Jefferson Muslim Student

Association. The groups conduct work-

shops, networking, social events and

service projects.

The SKMC Council for Diversity and

Inclusion, headed by SKMC Dean Mark L.

Tykocinski, MD, creates diversity initiatives,

policies and programs with input from

members who are deans, department

chairs, faculty, administrators, residents and

students. “Anytime you have a diverse group

In December, students

Adesola Oje and John Honhart

co-hosted a “Holidays Around

the World” event celebrating

diverse cultures on campus.

Photo by Roger Barone.

“Anytime you have a diverse

group of individuals

coming together to solve a problem,

the outcome is better than

if people are similar.”

—Karen novIellI, mD ’87

1 4 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

of individuals coming together to solve a

problem, the outcome is better than if

people are similar,” says Council member

Karen Novielli, MD ’87, associate provost for

faculty affairs and vice dean for faculty

affairs and professional development.

The Council recently began work on a

catalog of Jefferson’s health disparities

research, care initiatives and community

service programs. The catalog will augment

collaborations and be a resource for

Jefferson’s planned Center for Health

Equity. That Center will launch this year,

says Joseph B. Hill, senior vice president

and chief diversity officer.

The SKMC Council also fostered a

module on cultural competency in

Jefferson’s Health Stream Training Program.

The module used caring for a transgender

patient to highlight the importance of

providing care informed by inclusive

understanding and provided education to all

faculty and staff at Jefferson.

Women now comprise half of students

enrolled at SKMC, but there are still gender

gaps in certain specialties, faculty and

departmental roles. According to Novielli,

SKMC needs to include more URM and

LGBTQ physicians as faculty, bring women

into specialties where their numbers are low

and increase diversity in departmental and

senior leadership. While SKMC has made

progress in these areas, there is still work to

be done. “Our faculty should look like the

students and patients we serve,” she says.

“Diversity is not just tolerance,” says

Novielli. “It’s a matter of making sure that

everyone feels completely part of the

com munity and able to contribute

maximally.”

Encouraging a DreamAs a boy growing up in Bayamón, Puerto

Rico, Christopher Rivera-Pintado dreamed

of becoming a professional baseball player.

Then his brother and father were seriously

burned in an accident and hospitalized for a

month. “Ever since then, I developed a

passion for the medical field,” he says.

Rivera-Pintado came to the mainland

five years ago, speaking no English, yet

finished high school and entered Delaware

State University. He played baseball at

college for two years, then set that aside to

pursue his newer dream of becoming a

doctor.

He was among 12 participants in the first

Jefferson Summer Training and Enrichment

Program for Underrepresented Persons in

medicine (JeffSTEP-UP). The eight-week

program prepares minority students for

their application to medical school. In

addition to Delaware State, students in the

2015 program came from Rutgers

University-Camden, West Chester

University, St. Joseph’s University and

Southern Methodist University.

Classical Indian dance

comes in many forms.

At a multicultural holiday

celebration, SKMC students

performed a fusion

piece encompassing

Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi

and Kathak influences.

Photo by Roger Barone.

S I D N E y K I M M E L M E D I C A L C O L L E G E A T T H O M A S J E f f E R S O N U N I v E R S I T y | 1 5

Minority doctors comprise about 6

percent of the total U.S. physician popula-

tion, a number that has not changed since

the 1960s, says Traci R. Trice, MD, assistant

dean for diversity and student diversity

programs. “If you look more specifically at

certain populations, particularly black

males, the numbers have even gone down,”

she notes. Yet African Americans comprise

about 15 percent of the general U.S.

population and Hispanics or Latinos make

up about 17 percent.

Several barriers exist to improving those

statistics. “Part of it is knowledge, part is

financial and part is not having mentors in

those communities,” says Trice.

JeffSTEP-UP students attend workshops

on clinical skills, the application process and

interviewing. They receive 135 hours of

MCAT preparation through the Princeton

Review and do clinical shadowing with

Jefferson faculty in family medicine, internal

medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine

and general surgery.

“I loved that experience shadowing

in surgery,” says Rivera-Pintado. He is

considering a future as an orthopaedic

surgeon, sports medicine doctor or plastic

surgeon, so he can work with burn patients.

“It increased my desire to go to medical

school.” After finishing the program, he took

the MCATs and was accepted at Cooper

Medical School of Rowan University.

According to Trice, JeffSTEP-UP will

become a residential program this summer

and have more participants. Results for the

first year’s class will also be assessed.

“We want to see them be successful,”

she says. “Even if they enroll somewhere

besides SKMC, we can say that we’ve

made an impact in their lives and also in

diversifying the physician workforce.”

Thirty-six years ago, James and Nancy Baxter established close ties to Jefferson during one of the scariest times of their lives. Their newborn son, Andy, was a patient in Jefferson’s intensive care nursery. Andy not only survived—he thrived and has gone on to live a happy, healthy life.

The Baxters have remained a part of the Jefferson commu-

nity since Andy’s birth, even establishing a neonatology

fellowship in the name of Andy’s physician. Recently, they

developed a passion for scholarships and made a new pledge

to support minority students attending—and aspiring to

attend—Sidney Kimmel Medical College. The Baxter Family

Scholarships will provide full tuition to eight medical

students from underrepresented groups (four each in the

classes of 2020 and 2021), and additional funds will benefit

two student pipeline programs: the Summer Training and

Enrichment Program for Underrepresented Persons in

Medicine (STEP-UP) and the Saturday Academy, a brand-new

program through which minority middle-school students

participate in educational activities one Saturday per month

for nine months.

Through their generosity, James and Nancy Baxter have

become integral partners in Jefferson’s journey to reimagine

diversity and inclusion in health and education.

Giving to Enhance Diversity

1 6 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

Improving careThe impetus behind the medical interpreter

program was simple. “If you don’t know the

language (of the patient), you make errors,

you misdiagnose and you hurt a vulnerable

population,” says second-year SKMC

student Daniel Sentana Lledo, who devel-

oped the course with Villavicencio.

Adults may be uncomfortable translating

medical terms to a relative, or want to keep

sensitive medical information private. Using

an untrained person to translate creates

difficulties for doctors, too. “you lose

empathy and communication skills with your

patient when you have to rely on someone

else,” says Sentana Lledo. “And that definitely

impacts patient care.”

About half of the program’s students are

Hispanic or Latino. They complete online

curriculum modules and meet every three

weeks to discuss medical Spanish content

and practice speaking with each other.

Volunteering at the Puentes de Salud clinic,

which serves an immigrant population, is

required. There, students take patients’ vital

signs, shadow physicians and interpret.

Students receive humanities credit for

the program, but their interest “comes from

their passion,” Sentana Lledo says.

Gabriel Cambronero, a first-year SKMC

student, is Costa Rican. “I want to work with

an urban community,” he says. He joined

the interpreter program because the clinic

work gives him more interactions with

patients. Practicing medical Spanish with

him, Shalini Vadalia is interested in cultural

differences related to health. She also is a

first-year student, is ethnically Indian and

minored in Spanish in college. “you can

only give to your patients if you understand

their language and understand their

culture,” she says.

As the students rise to leave the session,

Villavicencio reminds them to email him if

they want to mentor at Esperanza Academy

Charter High School in Philadelphia’s

Hunting Park neighborhood—a school

where most students are Spanish-speaking.

“It’s a good opportunity for community

service and to practice Spanish,” he says.

“The more confident you are when you

speak, the more it makes your patient

feel better.”

Joseph Villavicencio teaches SKMC students in the

Longitudinal Medical Spanish Translator Program.

Photo by David Lunt.

“The more confident you are when you speak,

the more it makes your patient feel better.”

—JosePH vIllavICenCIo, sKmC stuDent

S I D N E y K I M M E L M E D I C A L C O L L E G E A T T H O M A S J E F F E R S O N U N I V E R S I T y | 1 7

EvEry day, morE and morE hEalthcarE consumErs arE sEEking complEmEntary and holistic thErapiEs for hEaling purposEs.

Brind-Marcus center expands the Frontier oF integrative Medicine

Jefferson has long embraced a growing interest in refash-

ioning the traditional concept of healing the body into

healing the whole person—mind, body and spirit—through

the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine.

Now, the new Brind-Marcus Center of Integrative Medicine

is helping to expand these efforts.

1 8 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

On Dec, 8, 2015, the Jefferson community celebrated

the opening of the Brind-Marcus Center in Villanova, Pa.—

the first satellite location of the Myrna Brind Center. The

14,000-square-foot center was made possible by a $14

million gift from The Marcus Foundation, which is chaired

by Bernie Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot. Marcus

says he and his wife, Billi, “chose Jefferson for this gift

because of our shared vision for the future of medicine.”

The Marcus’ investment has enabled Jefferson to

purchase the Philadelphia region’s first PET-MR (Positron

Emission Tomography-Magnetic Resonance) machine,

which combines an MRI with molecular imaging to give

radiation-free images that align a patient’s anatomy and

metabolic activity. Known as the “gold standard” of imaging,

PET-MR is recognized for its insight into neurological

The Brind-

Marcus Center

ribbon cutting

on Dec. 8, 2015.

disorders and can test the effects of integrative therapies

on brain function.

“The PET-MRI is a game-changer for our patients, our

research and for validating our clinical model,” says Daniel

A. Monti, MD, MBA, the Ellen and Ron Caplan Professor and

Director of Integrative Medicine at Jefferson.

Other services include a targeted nutrient infusion

program, integrative management of chronic illnesses,

preventive wellness programs and a variety of mind-body

therapies to complement conventional medical treatments

and promote health and wellness.

The Brind-Marcus Center is located at 789 E.

Lancaster Ave. in Villanova, Pa. Call

1-800-JEFF-NOW for an appointment.

S I D n E y K I M M E l M E D I C A l C O l l E g E A T T H O M A S J E F F E R S O n U n I V E R S I T y | 1 9

PESTELL WINS SuSMAN PRIzERichard G. Pestell,

MD, PhD, professor in

the Department of

Cancer Biology and

senior adviser for

innovation, has been

awarded the 2015 Eric Susman Prize by the

Royal Australasian College of Physicians

(RACP). Awarded annually since 1962, the

Susman Prize recognizes RACP fellows for

outstanding contribution to any branch of

internal medicine. Pestell is pursuing

important studies through Prostagene, a

biotechnology company he founded to

further cancer research and treatment.

PEIPER NAMED ‘PoWER PAThoLogIST’Stephen C. Peiper,

MD, the Peter A.

Herbut Professor

and Chair of the

Department of Pathology,

Anatomy & Cell Biology, was named on

The Pathologist’s 2015 Power List, which

recognizes the 100 most influential people

in laboratory medicine. Peiper also is

associate director for translational research

at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at

Jefferson.

PoLLACk ELECTED ESC FELLoWCharles V. Pollack, Jr.,

MD, has been elected

as a Fellow of the

European Society of

Cardiology—the first

U.S. emergency-medicine

physician to receive such an honor. Pollack

is associate provost for innovation in

education; director of the Jefferson Institute

of Emerging Health Professions; associate

dean for continuing medical education and

strategic partner alliances; and professor

and senior advisor for interdisciplinary

research and clinical trials in the

Department of Emergency Medicine.

RAo NAMED RSNA BoARD ChAIR

Vijay M. Rao, MD,

the David C. Levin

Professor and Chair

of Radiology, was

named chair of the

Radiological Society of

North America (RSNA) Board of Directors in

December 2015. Rao has been a faculty

member at Jefferson since completing her

residency in 1978. In 2002, she became the

first woman chair of a clinical department in

the institution’s history.

MITChELL oN PoWER 100 LIST

Edith Mitchell, MD,

professor of medical

oncology and

president of the

National Medical

Association, was named

to Ebony Magazine’s 2015 Power 100 List,

which honors heroes from the black

community. Mitchell—along with luminaries

ranging from musician John Legend to

Attorney General Loretta Lynch—was

honored at a gala in Los Angeles on Dec. 2.

She is also director of the Center to

Eliminate Cancer Disparities and associate

director for diversity at the Sidney Kimmel

Cancer Center at Jefferson.

the Patient-Centered outcomes research

Institute (PCorI) has approved a team

from the sidney Kimmel Cancer Center

at Jefferson for a eugene Washington

PCorI engagement award to support a

project aiming to reduce cancer disparities.

ronald myers, PhD, Director of the Division of

Population science, will lead the project, which

will focus on patient engagement as well as forming a

centralized steering committee and patient and stakeholder

advisory committees for the Delaware valley accountable

Care organization and the lehigh valley Health network.

myers’ project was selected through a highly competitive

review process in which applications were assessed for their

ability to meet PCorI’s engagement goals and objectives.

SKCC Approved for PCoRi engagement Award

o N c a m P u S

2 0 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

Jefferson Digital Commons: Proving that Jefferson is an international Phenomenon!

o N c a m P u S

Example of a JDC

download count over three

hours highlighting world-

wide download coverage.

Interested in accessing publica-

tions about all things Jefferson?

look no further than the

Jefferson Digital commons, or

JDc.

Provided by the Center for

Teaching and Learning and the

Scott Memorial Library, the JDC is

an open-access repository of

works authored by Jeffersonians.

To date, the archive houses more

than 10,500 assets and has

garnered more than 2.5 million

downloads from all over the world,

illustrating our institution’s

extensive international influence.

JDC materials include confer-

ence posters, published articles,

Grand Rounds, newsletters,

journals, oral histories, yearbooks,

items from the University Archives

and Special Collections, teaching

videos and student capstone

presentations, among others.

Got some time on your hands?

Check out the following:

Dr. Gibbon historical Grand Rounds series from

the Department of Surgery:

jdc.jefferson.edu/gibbonsocietyprofiles

Podcast from the Department of Radiation oncology:

jdc.jefferson.edu/radoncjefferson

Yearbooks:

jdc.jefferson.edu/jmc_yearbooks

oral histories from the first women at Jefferson:

jdc.jefferson.edu/jdc_oral_histories

Rare medical books and notebooks from the archives

and Special collections:

jdc.jefferson.edu/jefferson_medicalbooks_notebooks

various newsletters:

jdc.jefferson.edu/jeffersonnewsletters.html

teaching tools including “Professionalism in medicine”

and “Resident as a teacher” videos:

jdc.jefferson.edu/teachingtools

Got thoughts or questions

about something you’ve

seen? Contact the JDC

editor, Dan Kipnis, MSI, at

dan.kipnis@jefferson.edu.

If you would like to

donate to the JDC,

please allocate your

gift to the “Jefferson

Digital Commons.”

You can check out new JDC additions by visiting jdc.jefferson.edu/recent_additions.html every week.

S I D N E y K I M M E L M E D I C A L C O L L E G E A T T H O M A S J E F F E R S O N U N I V E R S I T y | 2 1

F A C U L T Y P R O F I L E

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2 2 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

another residency at the University of Virginia School of

Medicine, followed by a fellowship at the Psychoanalytic

Center of Philadelphia, where he now teaches.

A faculty member in Jefferson’s Department of

Psychiatry and Human Behavior since 1979, Akhtar is a

renowned lecturer who has given presentations on every

continent. “I take four or five international trips a year

and try to get back to India at least twice. If I don’t go

twice a year, it starts hurting. I am anchored there by an

invisible rope,” he says.

In addition to the 77 books he has authored or edited

(many of which have been translated into multiple

languages), he has written more than 300 scholarly arti-

cles on topics such as forgiveness, regret, love, family,

pets, personality disorders, psychoanalytic technique,

film, immigration and culture. His portrait hangs in

Jefferson’s DePalma Auditorium, and he has received

many honors for his writing and teaching, most recently

the 2012 Mary S. Sigourney Trust Award for distinguished

contribution to the field of psychoanalysis.

For more than a decade, he has served as scholar-in-

residence at Philadelphia’s InterAct Theatre Company,

where he participates in post-show discussions on Sunday

afternoons. He passed his enthusiasm for the humanities

down to his children; his daughter, Nishat, is an artist and

graphic designer, and his son, Kabir, is an Emmy-

nominated television editor and director.

Akhtar recently sat down to discuss his life and work.

Salman Akhtar decided on his epitaph long ago:

“This man shall write no more books.”

Raised in Lucknow, a city in northern India renowned

for its culture, Akhtar comes from a long line of cele-

brated authors on both sides of his family (a street in his

hometown is named after his mother, his father published

many acclaimed volumes of poetry, and the government

of India recently issued a postage stamp bearing his

uncle’s image). He inherited his relatives’ writing talent

and has set a goal of publishing 100 books during his life-

time. At age 69, he is more than three-quarters of the way

there.

Although Akhtar is not the only writer in his family, he

is the only physician. By his last year of medical school in

India, he had not yet found a specialty that felt quite right.

Then, one day, he saw a sign.

“It said that Professor Narendra Nath Wig, MD, was

presenting a lecture on poetry and psychodynamics. I

thought, ‘How can a doctor be talking about poetry?

That’s amazing,’” he recalls. “We’d had almost no psychi-

atry training in medical school. So I went, and I listened.

And it became clear—I was going to be a psychiatrist.”

Akhtar finished his degree and applied for a residency

with Wig, whose university took just two psychiatry resi-

dents per year. Nine young physicians applied, and their

rankings were posted publicly on a board outside.

“I was number three. I stood there in tears. There was

nothing else I wanted to do,” Akhtar says.

But a moment of serendipity changed everything. A

man standing next to Akhtar saw his pain. His name was

Ravi Berry, and he was second on the list. But he had also

matched for two other residencies—ophthalmology and

medicine—and kindly offered his slot with Wig to Akhtar.

“Ravi is a legend in my family. I owe my career to him.

He went on to become an ophthalmologist, but many

years later decided he actually was meant to be a psychia-

trist. He moved to the U.S. and did a residency in

Cincinnati, where he now practices.”

Akhtar himself came to the States right after his resi-

dency, as he wanted to be a psychoanalyst and there is no

formal psychoanalytic training in India. He served

Most psychiatrists

have about 100

patients and see them

at sporadic intervals.

My whole practice is

currently nine patients

I see three or four

times a week.

S I D N E y K I M M E L M E D I C A L C O L L E G E A T T H O M A S J E F F E R S O N U N I V E R S I T y | 2 3

F a c u l t Y P R o F I l e

WhAT SPARkED youR INTEREST IN PSyChoANALySIS?

After my chance meeting with Dr. Wig introduced me to

psychiatry, there was another doctor who recommended I

read a book by Sigmund Freud called The Psychopathology

of Everyday Life. I picked it up and within two minutes

knew this was what I was going to do.

WhAT ARE ThE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PSyChIATRy

AND PSyChoANALySIS?

Most psychiatrists have about 100 patients and see them

at sporadic intervals. My whole practice is currently nine

patients. I see each of them often—usually three or four

times a week. By the end of their careers, most psychoan-

alysts will have treated 45 patients total. Three or four

will have had no response, then there will be 20 to 30

successes and 10 to 15 stunning successes. Psychoanalysis

is like pregnancy; if the treatment takes, you can tell

when you’re in the third trimester. And then you and the

patient decide together when it’s time to part.

Also, to become a psychoanalyst, you must first undergo

your own psychoanalysis, which can take years. For

seven years, I went to a psychoanalyst five times a week.

WhAT quALITIES ARE IMPoRTANT FoR SoMEoNE IN

youR FIELD To hAVE?

To be a good psychotherapist, a person must love children,

animals and poetry. These three things require you to

give up ordinary spoken language, listen between the lines

and think in a different way. The ability to communicate

in different ways is a good quality for any doctor to have.

oF ALL youR BookS, IS ThERE oNE you ARE MoST

PRouD oF?

I couldn’t answer that; the books I’ve written are like

my children. There is one in particular that is total

madness, though: the Comprehensive Dictionary of

Psychoanalysis, published in 2009. I took every single

term that exists in psychoanalysis and wrote its definition

and history. It was handwritten at first—about 2,800

pages. Nobody in their right mind would ever do some-

thing like this!

WhAT DoES ThE FuTuRE hoLD FoR PSyChoANALySIS?

At least in the U.S., psychoanalysis will not continue in its

pure form because we have an increasingly hurried

society with an emphasis on medication rather than

communication. Freud used to see patients six times a

week. When I was training, most psychoanalysts saw

patients five times a week. Today, it is conventional to

meet four times a week and is trending toward three

times a week. This country and its lifestyle do not permit

traditional psychoanalysis. However, psychotherapies

informed by psychoanalytic theory shall endure.

2 4 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

Writing poetry is one of Akhtar’s favorite pastimes—in fact, he has published eight collections of poems. “Most of my poems are written in one shot at 3 a.m. and hardly ever edited,” he says. “I wake up with a poem and get it down immediately.” Here are two of his works.

DefensesI want a giraffe with a goat's neck, a dog that flies in the air.

A mountain of water, a lake filled with iron.

A tree that walks, a train that goes nowhere.

A soundless song, a whistling grave.

A four-year-old grandmother, a twelve-feet-tall son.

For only having these things will stop me from falling in love with you.

A WishI want to be like my dog.

To speak more with my eyes than with my tongue.

To be happy with a walk around the neighborhood.

To not need clothes.

To never be sleepless and always find it easy to wake up.

To have keen ears and loyal blood.

To own a dictionary of smells.

To grow old with all my favorite toys around.

And when the time comes,

to be put to rest by someone who truly loved me.

S i d n e y K i m m e l m e d i c a l c o l l e g e a t t h o m a S J e f f e r S o n U n i v e r S i t y | 2 5

When John Babb was 8 years old, his parents left

their beloved home in the picturesque island nation

of Barbados. They packed up a precious few items

and headed north to the unfamiliar city of

Philadelphia with their two young children.

What inspired this sudden departure from the life

they had built in the Caribbean? Babb’s older sister had

developed complications related to congenital pulmonary

stenosis, and adequate care was hard to find.

“She was going to die,” he recalls. “The heart-lung

machine at Jefferson was her only hope.”

Developed by surgery professor John H. Gibbon, Jr.,

MD ’27, the heart-lung machine was first used successfully

in 1953. Babb’s sister’s procedure five years later was also

a success; she made a full recovery, eventually going on

to earn her doctorate and becoming a faculty member at

the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Babb’s earliest memories of Jefferson involve standing

outside on the sidewalk, waving up to his sister as she

looked out her hospital room window because at the time,

children were not allowed inside to visit. More than a

decade later, he was able to develop many more memo-

rable experiences on campus; after earning a bachelor’s

degree at Columbia University, he enrolled in medical

school at Jefferson.

“I was curious about the school that trained the man who

created the machine that saved my sister’s life,” he says.

Babb’s mother, a surgical eye nurse, used to tell him

all about her work; her stories piqued an interest in

ophthalmology. After graduating with his MD, he did

an internship in internal medicine and later pursued an

ophthalmology residency at SUNY Downstate Medical

Center, where he went on to become a clinical professor.

He also established a private practice in Brooklyn

Heights, N.Y., where he continues to work today.

A retired U.S. Army Major who spent 12 years as a

physician in the Reserves, Babb enjoys spending time

with his wife, Lareen, and their two daughters, 18-year-

old Lauren (now a student at Columbia University) and

10-year-old Rebecca. He also nurtures a passion for

tropical fish, particularly living corals. He has tanks both

at home and in his office and boasts corals from all over

the world, including Fiji, Tonga, Bora Bora and Australia.

“I take care of all of them myself—it’s a more time-

consuming hobby than you’d think,” he says. “To me,

the only thing more beautiful than my family and my

hobby is successfully restoring someone’s vision.”

–KAREN L. BROOKS

John Babb, MD ‘80

A L U M N U S P R O F I L E

Following His Sister’s Heart

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as

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I was curious about the school that trained the man who created

the machine that saved my sister’s life.

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Trading Notepad for Stethoscope

Robert Pollock

S T U D E N T P R O F I L E

Photo by Karen Kirchhoff

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“It was pretty exciting,” Pollock recalls. “If the people

that you think you’re trying to help actually think you’re

helping, that means a lot.”

He now wants to go beyond writing about the issue

to effecting change in the field. While some may find the

career change a bit odd, Pollock says journalism and

medicine aren’t as different as one might think.

“There are a lot of similarities between what journal-

ists do and what doctors do. Doctors interview patients

like a journalist would, and then based on the interview

they have to compile a picture that tells what’s wrong

with the patient,” Pollock explains. “The doctor, of

course, is then charged with finding out how to best treat

the patient, but the interview skills, the research skills

and the way of thinking seem to translate very well from

journalism to medicine.”

Pollock expects to complete his MD in 2019. He’s

still uncertain about which specialty he’ll choose but

is leaning toward internal medicine or oncology. At least

for now, he says, writing will be taking a back seat to

medicine.

“In the future I imagine I might go back to writing

both scholarly and in the press. My focus right now is

just learning how to be a good doctor.” –Queen Muse

Robert Pollock has had an exceptional career in

journalism. For nearly two decades, he served as

an editorial writer, and later as an editorial board

member and op-ed editor for the largest newspaper

in the United States, the Wall Street Journal. He

also received several prestigious awards for his writing,

including being named as a finalist for the 2003 Pulitzer

Prize for editorial writing.

now, the 42-year-old journalist is a making a career

move that some might not expect. Pollock has enrolled

in sKMC because he believes he’s found something even

closer to his heart than writing.

“I think practicing medicine is my true passion.

Medicine has been a longstanding interest of mine

and one of the things that I wrote about when I was a

journalist. I figured now might be a good time to move

on and try something new,” he says.

Pollock’s interest in access to medical care for sick

and vulnerable populations began during his teenage

years. As he grew older and witnessed several of his close

friends struggle with cancer, he began speaking out about

ways to make cancer medications more readily available

to seriously ill patients and the need for more targeted

tools to treat the disease.

In his Pulitzer Prize-nominated editorial series, Pollock

critiqued the Food and Drug Administration’s delay in its

approval of new cancer drugs. Besides having the series

lauded by one of the highest honoring bodies in journalism,

Pollock said he was particularly moved by the number of

cancer patient legacy groups that deemed his editorials as

advocacy journalism and selected them to be honored.

The interview skills,

the research skills

and the way of

thinking seem to

translate very well

from journalism

to medicine.

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c l a s s n o t e s

’56 David c. schechter retired in 1998 from private practice in thoracic and cardiovas-cular surgery. A diplomate of three specialty boards of surgery, Schechter previously served as a clinical associate professor at New York Medical College and visiting professor of surgery at New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. A collector of historical medical memorabilia, he owns several rare books, lithographs, etchings, instruments and other ephemera; he recently donated his collec-tion to the New York Academy of Medicine. An “erstwhile sailor and jogger,” Schechter currently focuses on tai chi and tennis. He and his wife, Gladys, have traveled to 22 countries, in some of which he has lectured on medicine and public health. The couple has homes in Manhattan and Naples, Fla.

’64eli o. Meltzer received the prestigious 2015 Gold-Headed Cane Award from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. This award honors a fellow of the College “who has demonstrated the highest standards of scientific excellence and integrity.” Earlier in 2015, he received the Outstanding Clinician Award from the World Allergy Organization for “medical care and teaching which have contributed to allergy care worldwide.” Meltzer lives in La Jolla, Calif.

’65 Richard P. Wenzel is “almost completely

retired” from Virginia Commonwealth University but continues to teach physical diagnosis, infectious diseases and do some morning reports for house staff. He is currently finishing his third book, a second international thriller called Dreams of Troy, which he expects to be out within the next year. He enjoys spending time with his wife, JoGail, and their children and “very excep-tional” grandchildren.

Wenzel writes that he enjoyed catching up with classmates in October 2015 at their 50th reunion, for which he served on the Class of 1965 committee. He was one of three winners of the 2015 Simon Gratz Research Prize, presented to him during Alumni Weekend. He is pictured with SKMC Dean Mark Tykocinski, MD.

’78John F. camp, sr., is the medical staff presi-dent for Carolinas Medical Centers Central Division, which comprises a level one trauma center, as well as multiple hospitals including Levine Children’s Hospital, Carolinas Medical Center-Main, Carolinas Medical Center-Mercy, Carolinas Center for Behavioral Health, Carolinas Specialty and Rehabilitation Hospitals and Outpatient Rehabilitation Centers, multiple surgery centers and numerous free-standing outpatient and emergency facilities and outpatient clinics in the Charlotte, N.C., area. He also is medical director for perioperative care at Carolinas Medical Center-Mercy. He has been joined in practice by his son, John Jr., who subspecial-izes in pediatric and cardiac anesthesia.

’79 Howard cotler recently had two patient-centric books—Accelerated Recovery of Your Health: How to Recover Your Body after Injury or Surgery and The Empty Chair: A Movement to Limit the Wheelchair and Lead a Healthy Life—published by Atlantic Publishing Group. Cotler dedicated each book to a Jefferson faculty member who was influential in his career. He is in his 30th year of practice of orthopaedic surgery, subspecializing in spinal care, in Houston.

’94Jennifer (adams) Delozier recently published her debut medical thriller, Type and Cross. A graduate of the six-year Penn State-Jefferson BS/MD program, Delozier has spent the last 13 years as a federal physician, caring for veterans and deploying to disasters such as hurricanes Katrina, Ike and Gustav. She lives in State College, Pa., with her husband.

Post-GRaDuate

’92christine a. Grissom (adolescent psychiatry) finished a tour of duty as a commander with the U.S. Navy Selective Reserves in May 2015 at age 68. Grissom recently became a Distinguished Life Fellow with the American Psychiatric Association and serves as medical director for Coastal Mental Health’s 10 psychi-atric clinics in Central Florida. While serving in this position, she has clinically precepted MD students from University of Central Florida, DO students from Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine and physician assistant students from Nova Southeastern University. She is looking forward to earning a population health degree and starting anti-smoking lectures in the near future.

Alumni AssociAtion Welcomes mAttheW Keller, mD ’05, As PresiDentMatthew S. Keller, MD ’05, became president of the SKMC Alumni Association in April. Keller succeeds Joseph F. Majdan, MD, CV ’81, who enthusiastically led the Association for the past two years.

An associate professor in the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology who served his residency at Jefferson, Keller is director of the Jefferson Psoriasis Center. Stay tuned for more about his background and plans for our alumni in the summer Bulletin!

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t i m e c a p s u l e

From the Jefferson Archives some happenings from 50 years ago, in spring 1966

• andrew J. ramsey, mD, professor and chair of pathology and director of the Daniel Baugh institute of anatomy, is presented with his portrait by the class of 1966.

• new and corrected corporate seal is approved for the medical college by the Board of trustees.

• renovations for the new building housing the stein research center, Department of radiology, begin.

Artist’s rendering for the building that housed the Stein Research Center at the corner of 10th and Locust Streets, where the Bluemle Life Sciences Building sits today.

Photo courtesy of the Archives

and Special Collections,

Thomas Jefferson University.

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I N m e m o R I a m

IN memoRIam

’45Joseph S. Brown, 95, of McVeytown, Pa., died July 20, 2015. Brown received a first lieutenant’s commission in the U.S. Army Medical Corps; he served as an anesthesiolo-gist at Walter Reed Medical Hospital during World War II. He then returned to Jefferson for his post-graduate education, which included preceptorships and surgical inten-sive care. For nearly 30 years, he served as director of pulmonary medicine at Lewistown Hospital, where he also served as chairman of medicine and of the critical care unit. He was a founding member, past president and council member for the Pennsylvania Society of Critical Care Medicine, which named an annual award after him and his wife. He was active in the state and national American Heart Association and served on the board of direc-tors as vice president and president of the PA Heart Association. Brown volunteered as a CPR instructor at the PA State Fire Academy, Lewistown. He was a ring-side physician at U.S. Junior Olympic competitions and presided over boxing events at several correc-tional facilities. He was passionate about training bird dogs and horses and served as a handler, sponsor and judge for German Shorthair Pointers in events sanctioned by the American Kennel Club and the American Field.

Brown is survived by his wife of 38 years, Rae; his children, Allison, Joseph III and Kimberly; a stepson, Ty; two sisters, Burnette and Barbara; two grandchildren, Lillian and Charlotte; and three step-grandchildren, Cole, Ella and Jack. He was preceded in death by a brother, Richard, and a sister, Maxine.

eugene ernest costa, 96, of Charleroi, Pa., died Feb. 11, 2016. Costa completed his internship at Jefferson and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He opened his first office in Charleroi in 1947 and continued to practice in the area until his retirement in 2004. He was on the medical staff at Charleroi-Monessen Hospital, which later became Monongahela Valley Hospital. He was an avid golfer and a member of Nemacolin Country Club. Costa is survived by his wife of 66 years, Stella; two daughters, Cynthia and Judith; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by three brothers, Marshall, Jess and Dominic.

’46clarence m. miller, Jr., 93, of Edgeworth, Pa., died Jan. 31, 2016. After graduating from Jefferson, Miller became a captain in the U.S. Army, serving in Korea and Japan. In the early 1950s, he became chief pathologist at Sewickley Valley Hospital in Sewickley, Pa. He retired in 1993. Miller is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Ann; his son, Richard; his daughter, Alaine; his step-daughter, Leslie; and four grandchildren, Evan, Mary, Spencer and Liam. He was predeceased by his first wife, Eleanor; and his oldest son, James.

’51ernest Falkenburg Doherty, Jr., 87, of yorktown, Va., died Feb. 20, 2016. Doherty interned at Cooper Hospital in Camden, N.J., and began working at a medical practice on Long Beach Island. He then opened his own practice in his family’s home in Audubon, N.J. He made house calls for homebound patients and delivered more than 1,000 babies over 10 years. After 20 years running his own practice, he spent 15 years as a physician with the U.S. Public Health Service. He was assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard and achieved the rank of captain while caring for cadets, officers and their families on the bases of Cape May, N.J.; New London, Conn.; yorktown, Va.; and at sea during several extended sails on tall ship training vessel, The Eagle. He retired from the Coast Guard in 1993. He enjoyed taking his family on fishing and camping trips and toured the world on many passenger cruise ships with his wife of 66 years, Marie.

In addition to his wife, Doherty is survived by three sons, Bob, Tom and Dave; eight grandchildren; his twin brother, Jim; his sister, Beryl; and his classmate and longtime friend, Ben Paradee (’51). He was predeceased by a son, John.

’52George F. Gowen, 93, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., died Feb. 9, 2016. Gowen served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and was an associate professor of clinical surgery at Jefferson and director of surgical endoscopy at Pennsylvania Hospital. He pioneered various medical procedures and developed new and innovative treatments that improved patients’ lives. He is survived by his wife, Page; three children, George Jr., Truxtun and Molly; and 12 grandchildren. He was predeceased by a daughter, Katie.

’53Irwin S. Jacobs, 92, of Santa Barbara, Calif., died Feb. 9, 2016. Jacobs did his residency in Miami and stayed there to practice psychi-atry. He was a founder of the Bertha Abess Children’s Center, a life fellow and diplomate of the American Psychiatric Association, past president of the South Florida Psychiatric Association, corporate psychiatrist for Eastern Airlines and a 32nd degree mason. He is survived by his wife, Anna; a son, Moss; a daughter, Rivka; and four grandchildren, Ian, Miles, Scarlett and Joseph.

’54George Dewey Sorenson, 88, of Meriden, N.H., died Jan. 28, 2016. A U.S. Army veteran, Sorenson completed his internship and resi-dency at University Hospitals, Case Medical Center in Cleveland, then joined the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, serving as an instructor in pathology and a National Cancer Institute post-doctoral fellow. He later served as an associate professor and neuro-pathologist at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. He went to France to study electronmicros-copy as a NCI Special Fellow at the Institut de Recherches Scientifique sur le Cancer. He was recruited as chair of pathology at St. Louis University School of Medicine and remained there until he became chair of pathology and the John La Porte Given Professor of Cytology at Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine.

Sorenson co-founded the Committee on International Medical Education, which brought American students to study medi-cine at the University of Lille, France. His research on small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL) brought him to the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, where he collaborated with scientists on the cellular aspects of SCCL. He was part of a medical team invited by the Chinese government to advise them on approaches to detecting and treating lung cancer and subsequently went on a similar mission to Japan. Sorenson holds several patents for methods in detecting circu-lating SCCL cells in peripheral blood. He was a co-founder, board member and later vice president of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

Sorenson is survived by his wife, Patricia; three children, Julie, Ellen and Eric; two grandsons, Andrew and Brian; two nephews, Ronald and Christopher; and several cousins. He was predeceased by a son, Peter; his sister, Isabel; and his nephew, David.

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thornton arthur “van” vandersall, 87, of Huntington, N.y., died Jan. 8, 2016. Vandersall trained in pediatrics at Bellevue Hospital and New york Hospital and in psychiatry and child psychiatry at St. Luke’s Hospital Center in New york City. After serving on the staffs of St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals, he initi-ated the child psychiatry program at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.y., and served as director of the Department of Psychiatry there from 1974-1988. He later returned to work at North Shore in the consultation division of the psychiatry department, where he remained active in the training of residents. He also served on the faculty of Cornell University Medical College for more than 20 years and attained the rank of emeritus professor of clinical psychiatry. He was a life member of the Nassau County Medical Society, the Medical Society of the State of New york and the American Medical Association and was a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He enjoyed reading, spending time outdoors and travel-ling with his family to their summer home in Islesboro, Maine.

Vandersall is survived by two sisters, Virginia and Amy; a brother, David; three sons, Mark, Kent and Scott; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. He was prede-ceased by his wife of 54 years, Jean.

’55William taylor “Butch” Brandfass, 88, of Villanova, Pa., died Feb. 15, 2016. Brandfass was an orthopaedic surgeon in the Philadelphia area for more than 35 years and was a founding partner of Premier Orthopedics. He was an avid sports fan and enjoyed his role as a team physician to the Philadelphia Flyers during the “Broad Street Bullies” era and to the Philadelphia Wings lacrosse team. He devoted many of his retirement years to charity work with the Philadelphia Literacy Program, Habitat for Humanity, the Bethesda-Bainbridge Project, Feeding the Homeless, the Interfaith Hospital Network and the Christian Eastside Ministry Tutoring Program. He was a member of the Philadelphia Country Club, Waynesborough Country Club, the Wayfair Club and the Orpheus Club of Philadelphia.

Brandfass is survived by his wife, Jane; three children, Barbara, Carolyn and Taylor; and four grandchildren, Morgan, Lizann, Carl and Alexandra. He was predeceased by his siblings, Robert (’51), carl (’53), Richard and Eleanor

’56charles J. Stahl III, 85, of Johnson City, Tenn., died March 1, 2016. Stahl served 27 years in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps. He became the Navy’s first forensic pathologist, serving at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital and on the Island of Guam. He later became chief of forensic pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C., where he led many medical-legal investiga-tions, including the deaths of the three NASA astronauts aboard Apollo I and the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. He was chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Stahl received many military honors and is recognized at the Johnson City-Washington County Veterans Memorial.

After retiring from the Navy, Stahl was appointed chief of laboratory service at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Johnson City; assistant chief medical examiner for the state of Tennessee; and professor of pathology at the Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University. He continued to serve the Department of Veterans Affairs as deputy medical inspector and as chief of staff of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, and concluded his career as the Armed Forces medical examiner in Washington. He received the Department of Veterans Affairs Distinguished Career Award and the Helpern Laureate Award from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He served as an alumni trustee of Jefferson’s Board of Trustees from 2002-2008.

Stahl is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ellen; a son, Charles; two daughters, Marcia and Kim; six grandchildren, Shane, Troy, Victoria, Joseph, Christopher and Nicholas; a sister, Joan; and several nieces and nephews.

’59Robert v. Davis, 82, of Waverly, Pa., died Jan. 9, 2016. Davis was an ophthalmic surgeon for the Northeastern Eye Institute as well as Moses Taylor and Community Medical Center hospitals. He served as a medical officer in the U.S. Navy before entering private prac-tice. Davis enjoyed singing in many area choral groups, including the Ekumen Chorale; the S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. barbershop singers of Scranton; the St. David’s Chorus; and the choir at Church of the Epiphany. A passionate sailor, he owned several sailboats throughout his life; he was also an aviation enthusiast and held a pilot’s license.

Davis is survived by his wife, Judith; a son, Jeffrey; three daughters, Dana, Paula and Rachel; a brother, Richard; and seven grand-children, Dean, Tyler, Cameron, Madeline, Andrew, Ethan and Reese. He was preceded in death by two sisters, Carol and Ann.

howard a. leister, 78, of Doylestown, Pa., formerly of Newtown, Pa., died March 4, 2012. He served as the commanding officer of a MASH unit in Korea from 1960-1962 and was a family physician in Newtown for more than 40 years. He was a longtime member and past president of the Newtown Rotary Club. He also was a member of the American Medical Association, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the Bucks County Medical Society and the Newtown Reliance Company. He was an avid traveler, gardener, sailor and art collector.

Leister is survived by his wife of 49 years, Irene; his sister, Grace; his niece, Edith; and two nephews, Rob and Harold.

’61John P. keefe, 78, of Beachwood, Ohio, died Nov. 26, 2013. Keefe practiced obstet-rics and gynecology in the U.S. Navy and in private practice, delivering more 5,000 babies over 40 years and serving on the Board of Directors of Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. He volunteered at Womankind Maternal and Prenatal Care Center, including as medical director, and Birthright International. He enjoyed spending time with his children, vacationing at the beach, gardening and playing ball and was a fan of the Cleveland Browns and the Cleveland Indians.

Keefe is survived by five children, Allison, Catherine, Patricia, John Jr. and Mary; four grandchildren, Ashley, Scott, Connor and Brady; three sisters, Sheila, Catherine and Mary; three brothers, Edward, James and Stephen; and many nieces and nephews.

’64kenneth allen Baer, 75, of Miami, died Jan. 5, 2015. Baer completed his internship at Albert Einstein Medical Center and his ob/gyn residency at Pennsylvania Hospital. After serving for two years as captain in the U.S. Air Force at Homestead Air Force Base, he joined a colleague in Miami, where he practiced for more than 40 years, delivering more than 10,000 babies. He was a member of the AOA honor society and a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Florida Obstetric and Gynecologic Society and the American Fertility Society. He was a film buff, avid reader, jazz lover, antique car collector, glee club singer, athlete, golf fanatic, poker player world traveler and photographer. He was a fan of the Miami Dolphins, Heat and Marlins but also rooted for the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles.

Baer is survived by his wife of 53 years, Sandra; three children, Rochelle, Susan and Douglas; and a granddaughter, Daniela.

I N m e m o R I a m

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’65James e. copeland, Jr., 85, of Vero Beach, Fla., died Feb. 21, 2016. A longtime ophthal-mologist and U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War, Copeland interned at Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington, Pa, and served a residency at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. He began practicing in Vero Beach in 1969. He served as president of the Indian River County Medical Society for two years and was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the Florida Medical Association, the American Medical Association, the Wills Eye Hospital Association, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and the Board of Trustees of the Indian River Memorial Hospital District. He had been a past commandant of the Indian River Detachment of the Marine Corps League, the American Legion Post 39, Vero Beach and the Navy League US Treasure Coast Chapter. He belonged to George Washington Masonic Lodge # 59 F&AM of Philadelphia, the Vero Beach Masonic Lodge #250 F&AM and the Sebastian River Shrine Club. He was also member of the Florida Irish American Society.

Copeland is survived by his son, James III; his daughter, Susan; and four grandchildren, James IV, Paul, Shelby and Grace.

David mitchell toney, 77, of Greensburg, Pa., died Jan. 29, 2016. Toney served as a U.S. Navy lieutenant in Vietnam and was awarded two Purple Hearts. He was a radiologist at the former Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg for 28 years. A longtime member of the Greensburg and Pike Run country clubs, he loved fly fishing, bicycling and attending the symphony, opera, ballet and Broadway shows. He also enjoyed model ship building, mountain climbing, gourmet cooking and painting.

Toney is survived by twin daughters, Meredith and Melissa; two grandsons; a nephew; and his former wife, Sarah. He was preceded in death by a brother, Mitchell.

’67Stephen Byrne, 73, of Moorestown, N.J., died Feb. 15, 2016. Byrne had practiced family medicine in Moorestown since 1970. He was a U.S. Army veteran who served as a field doctor in Vietnam and earned a Bronze Star for meritorious service. After returning to South Jersey, he focused on primary care with an enthusiasm for complementary medicine techniques, including acupunc-ture, meditation and hypnosis. In 2002, he went into semi-retirement, cutting back to 20 hours a week from a schedule that previ-ously involved 60-hour, six-day weeks. Byrne did not miss a single day of work in 40 years, treating more than 25,000 patients and recording more than 250,000 patient visits. He was a devoted Philadelphia sports fan, particularly rooting for the Phillies.

Byrne is survived by more than two dozen first cousins along with numerous aunts. He was predeceased by two cousins.

’75herbert e. mandell, 66, of Wyncote, Pa., died Jan. 19, 2016. A child and adolescent psychia-trist for many years, Mandell completed his residency and fellowships in adult, child and adolescent psychiatry at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He was a clinical assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Temple University School of Medicine from 1992-1998. In 2002, he graduated from the Institute of the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia, and he worked nights and weekends from an office in Jenkintown, Pa. He also held clinical and leadership posts at Abington's Mental Health Center, Northwestern Institute, Einstein Medical Center and finally for 15 years at KidsPeace Psychiatric Hospital in Orefield, Lehigh County. He enjoyed riding his bike and singing bass with the choir at Or Hadash, a synagogue in Montgomery County.

Mandell is survived by his wife, Margaret; a son, Daniel; a daughter, Lydia; and one brother.

’84David lee clair, 57, of Bethlehem, Pa., died Feb. 19, 2016. Clair had a 30-year urology career and worked as a urologic surgeon at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa., for 25 years. He was passionate about spending time with family and skiing and loved to go hiking with his wife and dogs. He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Carla; his son, Aaron; his mother, Elaine; and his sister, Beth.

I N m e m o R I a m

To submit a class note or obituary for the Bulletin,

contact the Office of Institutional

Advancement:

by PHone 215-955-7751

by emaIl alumni@jefferson.edu

by maIl 125 S. 9th St.

Suite 700 Philadelphia, PA 19107

What’s New?

S I D N E y K I M M E L M E D I C A L C O L L E G E A T T H O M A S J E F F E R S O N U N I V E R S I T y | 3 5

To learn about charitable gift annuities and other planned giving opportunities, contact: Society

A Guaranteed Return for You, and Future Support for Jefferson.

Donor

GIFTANNUITY

2

1

3 When the annuity ends, the remainder goes to Jefferson.

You receive an income tax deduction and fixed income now.

You make a gift to Jefferson.A charitable gift annuity with Jefferson can help meet your financial needs while providing tax advantages. Ultimately, your generosity will support Jefferson’s vision of reimagining health, health education and discovery. In this popular charitable giving arrangement, the donor makes a gift of a minimum of $10,000, and Jefferson then provides secure, fixed payments for life.

“I had a wonderful experience as a student and

resident at Jefferson and felt I should do some-

thing so others could have a similar experience

at a terrific medical school. That requires support

from various sources to ensure that Jefferson can

meet the challenges of the future and maintain its

high quality.” –Ellis R. Levin, MD ’75 Jefferson Benefactor and Gift Annuitant

lisa W. repko, JDsenior Director, Planned giving215-955-0437lisa.repko@jefferson.edu

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B Y t h e N u m B e R S

Joined by family, friends, faculty

and staff, 247 graduating SKMC

seniors learned their professional

fates on March 18—otherwise known

as Match Day 2016. The students

have spent the past several months

preparing for this event, applying to

countless programs and traveling

across the country for interviews.

As they discovered where they will

continue their medical training

after commencement, they were

assured all their hard work paid

off. The specialty with the highest

number of matches this year was

internal medicine, totaling 57

students—or 23 percent of the class.

congratulations to the class of 2016!

Match Day

201621

201918

16 10

8

22

2

2

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PeDIATrICS

SurGery (CATeGOrICAl)

FAMIly MeDICIne

eMerGenCy MeDICIne

OBSTeTrICS/GyneCOlOGy

14PSyChIATry 11

OrThOPAeDIC SurGery

OPhThAlMOlOGy

neurOlOGy

6urOlOGy

matches:*

SPECIALITY:

57InTernAl MeDICIne

(CATeGOrICAl)

*Data as of March 18, 2016.

27

7rADIOlOGy (DIAGnOSTIC)

MeDICIne/PeDIATrICS COMBIneD

neurOSurGery

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MeDICIne (PrelIMInAry)

PAThOlOGy

PeDIATrIC neurOlOGy

PlASTICS

PhySICAl MeDICIne & rehABIlITATIOn

rADIATIOn OnCOlOGy

1

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