Tulane School of Medicine Class Notes Spring 2020

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1950s
Dabney M. Ewin Sr., MD (M ’51), gave the keynote address at the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis Annual Conference in March 2019. Its title was “Constant Pain Syndrome: Hypnotic Treatment.”

Fred H. Sahhar, MD (M ’58), practiced for 46 years in Glendora, California. He fully retired in 2007 and moved with his wife to Santa Barbara, where they still reside. A colon cancer survivor, he is involved in volunteer medical work with senior groups in the area.

Martin (Zeke) J. DuCote Jr., MD (M ’59), retired on July 1, 2018, after 54 years of practicing urology in Lafayette, Louisiana.

1960s
Lynn D. Ketchum, MD (M ’60), retired in 2016 after 50 years practicing plastic surgery.

Marshall A. Burns, MD (M ’61, R ’63, F ’65), continues to work at Philips Healthcare as first head of a five-person panel in 13 years. He believes that lives can be saved all over the world via improved EKG computer systems.

Richard (Dick) Dale, MD (M ’61), retired in April 2019 after practicing in Tucson, Arizona, since June 13, 1961.

Philip (Phil) Kearny Hacker, MD (M ’61), is a retired board-certified urologist. His accomplishments include: retired captain, Medical Corps, U.S. Navy Reserve; former president, RiceClings Multispecialty Clinic in StevensPoint, Wisconsin; former chief of surgery and president of medical staff at St. Michael's Hospital, StevensPoint; former president, Portage County Medical Society and delegate to State Medical Society; and former vice president, Academy of Letters and Science, University of Wisconsin, StevensPoint.

Robert (Bob) B. Cloar Sr., MD (M ’63), is a family practitioner currently practicing with Sun Lakes Healthcare PC, located in Sun Lakes, Arizona.

Donald J. Palmisano, MD (A&S ’60, M ’63, R ’68), has written another book on leadership that was released on April 7, 2020: A Leader’s Guide to Giving a Memorable Speech. It is a timeless resource for speech preparation and delivery. For more information, please visit https://donaldpalmisano.com.

L. (Max) Maximilian Buja, MD (M ’67, G ’68, I ’68), was honored as a Distinguished Physician for 2019 by the medical staff of Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center in Houston.

Russell W. Steele, MD (M ’67), was named Teacher of the Year 2019 by the University of Queensland School of Medicine, Ochsner Clinical School.

William (Bill) E. Gotthold, MD (M ’69), is mostly retired, but still working one week per month as a part-time hospice medical director.

Kenneth (Ken) L. Janson, MD (M ’69, R ’73, R ’77), retired from his urology practice in Chicago. He is now enjoying an encore career in Health Optimization Medicine in Boca Raton, Florida, as well as enjoying the privilege of being involved with the Tulane School of Medicine Board of Governors.

1970s
William M. Blackshear Jr., MD (M ’70, R ’77), practices vascular surgery and operates a weight management program in Tampa Bay, Florida, where he resides with his wife, Toni. He also operates Emerald Laser Center.

Gloria B. Coker, MD (M ’70), is a pathology consultant for small hospitals and laboratories in Covington, Louisiana. Her newly discovered passion is the world of medicinal herbs, where she has completed almost three years of study. She is developing a small herb farm in Madisonville, Louisiana.

Stuart H. Cole, MD (M ’70), had an ophthalmology private practice and taught at the University of California–Irvine and the University of Southern California from 1976 to 2006. He also was chief of Ophthalmology at Memorial Hospital of Long Beach, California. Cole retired in 2006 and resides in southern California.

John R. Corkery III, MD (M ’70), is a retired emergency medicine physician. He now resides in Salt Lake City and enjoys outdoor recreation.

Jerry L. Goddard, MD (M ’70), spent six years training and practicing in the U.S. Army after medical school. He believes that the lowest part of his life was the six months he spent on the amputee service at Letterman Army Hospital in the middle of the Vietnam War. After the war, his practice consisted of 30 years of rural family medicine and emergency medicine at numerous hospitals, including St. Louis University and Barnes Hospital. He then joined the faculty of Southern Illinois University’s Family Medicine Residency in 1995, where he developed and directed the sports medicine program and fellowship. He semi-retired in 2007 and continued supervising residents, advanced practice providers, and medical students at SIU. Goddard is also a visiting professor at the American University of the Caribbean.

Thomas E. Hoffman, MD (M ’70), practices dermatology full time in Menlo Park, California, and is on the clinical faculty at Stanford University.

Kent A. Kretchmar, MD (M ’70, I ’71), worked as a diagnostic radiologist in a large multispecialty clinic, Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin, for 19 years, then worked part time for a local radiology group before retiring in 2008.

Corbett (Lee) L. Penton, MD (A&S ’66, M ’70), retired after 36 years of anesthesia practice in California.

S. (Sonny) Willis Trammell, MD (M ’70, R ’77), retired from general surgery practice in Charleston, West Virginia. He currently resides in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Lawrence (Larry) D. True, MD (M ’71), is a co-founder of Lightspeed Microscopy, which images tissue that is at least three millimeters thick in 3D.

Arthur C. Fougner, MD (M ’74), is currently president of the Medical Society of the State of New York.

Joseph P. Marnell Jr., MD (M ’74, R ’78), continues to practice psychiatry and is program director of the Partial Hospital Program at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.

Pamela Parra Beadle, MD (M ’75, I ’77), retired after 40 years practicing as an emergency medicine physician. She now lives in Baton Rouge with her husband.

James H. Diaz Sr., MD, DrPH (A&S ’71, M ’75, PHTM ’90, PHTM ’95), was elected to fellowship in the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, and authored a six-chapter section on ectoparasitic diseases in the new 2019 edition of Mandell, Douglas, & Bennett's Principles & Practice of Infectious Diseases Ninth Edition, Elsevier, 2019.

Ines M. Hertz, MD (M ’75), retired in 2016 from general pediatrics practice in New England. She now resides in Tampa, Florida.

Peter R. Kastl, MD, PhD (M ’75, G ’78, R ’80, PHTM ’88), works for Tulane overseeing resident care at University Medical Center.

Leopold D. Landry Jr., MD (M ’75), retired from anesthesiology five years ago after 35 years in private practice. He then started a career strategy practice, where he helps clients find great career matches.

James M. Meek, MD (M ’75), retired in 2017 after 35 years of urology private practice in Alexandria, Louisiana. He now resides in Dallas.

Allen E. Saxon, MD (M ’75), retired from general surgery in 2015, and now spends his time teaching first-, second- and third-year students at Northwestern and Rosalind Franklin medical schools. Saxon has also completed a rough draft of a novel about third year medical students training at Charity Hospital.

Sheila B. Brown, MD (NC ’73, M ’76, R ’78), is retired after 30 years with Group Health Cooperative in Olympia, Washington. She continues to do locum tenens jobs as a pediatric hospitalist in remote areas, as well as some outpatient/inpatient work on a Navajo reservation. She recently started teaching part time at a newly opened osteopathic medical school, Rocky Vista University, located in Ivins, Utah, where she now lives with her family.

William (Bill) A. Byrd, MD (G ’74, M ’78), is chairman for the Department of Ophthalmology at LSU Health in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Edward (Ned) M. Hallowell, MD (M ’78), has a new book coming out in fall 2020, entitled From ADHD to VAST: A New Understanding of Strengths, Pitfalls, and Ultimate Success.

Gordon L. Love, MD (M ’78, R ’83), was recently awarded the Jack Perry Strong Endowed Chair in Pathology at Louisiana State University School of Medicine.

1980s
William W. Gladney Jr., MD (M ’80), has been practicing neurology at the Baton Rouge Clinic for the last 35 years. His special interests include migraines, cognitive disorders and concussions.

Adelaide A. Hebert, MD (M ’80), is currently professor of dermatology and pediatrics at UTHealth/ McGovern Medical School in Houston. She has served as president of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology and the Women's Dermatologic Society. Hebert currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Robert J. Kenney, MD (M ’80), fully retired in January 2020 from hospital administration, after previously retiring from a nephrology practice.

Denis B. Schexnayder Jr., MD (A&S ’75, M ’80), was promoted on Sept. 1, 2017, to lead medical consultant II for the California Department of Health Care Services, where he focuses on managed health care program integrity and investigations in health care fraud, waste and abuse.

John R. Schreiber, MD (PHTM ’79, M ’80), retired in July 2019 after serving as CEO of the Medical College of Wisconsin physician's practice and senior associate dean for clinical affairs. He now works part time at a local children’s hospital.

Robert G. Gold, MD (A&S ’77, M ’81), has been chosen to receive the 2020 Distinguished Service Award from the Tulane Medical Alumni Association. The award recognizes demonstrated loyalty and service to Tulane University School of Medicine.

Jose S. Pulido, MD (M ’81), is a world-renowned retina and ocular oncology clinician-scientist. In February 2020, he was named the Larry A. Donoso Endowed Chair and director of the Henry and Corrine Bower Memorial Laboratories for Translational Medicine at the Vickie and Jack Farber Vision Research Center at Wills Eye in Philadelphia.

Madelaine Turegano Feldman, MD (NC ’77, M ’82, F ’88), testified before the House Energy & Commerce Health subcommittee and multiple state legislatures on drug pricing and pharmacy benefit manager transparency this year.

Harley G. Ginsberg, MD (A&S ’77, M ’82, I ’83, R ’85, F ’87), founded and is the medical director of the Mother’s Milk Bank of Louisiana at Ochsner Baptist. The bank, which pasteurizes donor human milk, was accredited in March 2018, and has since dispensed over 300 gallons of milk to neonatal intensive care units for babies in need throughout Louisiana and the southeastern United States.

Oliver Sartor, MD (M ’82, R ’86), is the Laborde Professor for Cancer Research, medical director of the Tulane Cancer Center, and assistant dean for oncology at Tulane University School of Medicine. He is a prior member of the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Cancer Institute, and formerly served as chairman of the Prostate Cancer Integration Panel for the U.S. Department of Defense. In March 2020, he joined the Advisory Board of Clarity Pharmaceuticals, a radiopharmaceutical company that focuses on the treatment of serious disease. Sartor was chosen as the 2020 Outstanding Alumnus by the Tulane Medical Alumni Association, the highest award given to a Tulane alumnus. The award recognizes career accomplishments and excellence in the medical profession.

Rachel L. Levine, MD (M ’83), was named Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health in 2018, after serving as the state’s physician general for three years. She has worked tirelessly to lead Pennsylvania through the coronavirus pandemic by proactively addressing the state’s response to the virus and has also made significant strides to combat the state’s opioid epidemic.

Cynthia Steffensen Bailey, MD (M ’85), recently retired from her 27-year solo practice of dermatology in the Sonoma wine country of northern California. She is a proud survivor of breast cancer, and feels that “life is good enough, and cancer brought home that it is short.”

Martha Tucker Ban, MD (NC ’81, M ’85, R ’89), continues to work at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center as a psychiatrist for the Community Residential Care homes, Mental Health Intensive Case Management, Clozapine Treatment Team and Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs.

Kirsti Weng Elder, MD (M ’85, PHTM ’85), is section chief of general primary care at Stanford University.

Dickran H. Gulesserian, MD (A&S ’80, M ’85), formed a multispecialty group and practices internal medicine and cardiology in Fresno, California.

Isobel Muhiudeen Russell, MD (G ’81, M ’85), is a retired Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

Richard A. Schaefer, MD (M ’85), retired from the U.S. Army in 2015 and now practices orthopedic surgery at Johns Hopkins.

Geoffrey H. Smallwood, MD (M ’85), is now the chief academic officer for Saint Thomas Health in Nashville, Tennessee, after working as a hospital CMO for seven years.

Sheryl Sutton Smith, MD (M ’85, PHTM ’85, R ’89), retired as an anesthesiologist and now works as chief medical consultant for The New Orleans Office for Disability Determination Services.

Arline M. Tsuchiya, MD (M ’85, PHTM ’85), is working as a pediatric dermatologist at Kaiser Permanente Southern California.

Richard (Rich) D. Zorowitz, MD (M ’85), was named chief medical informatics officer at MedStar National Rehabilitation Network in Washington, DC. He also is a professor of clinical rehabilitation medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Anthony J. Badame, MD (M ’86, R ’87, R ’90), practices dermatology in San Jose, California. He was recently chosen among his peers as a Top Doctor of Silicon Valley and was elected to the prestigious Best Doctors of America.

Wayne A. Foran, MD (M ’87), retired at the end of 2019 from anesthesia practice with Kaiser-Permanente after 26 years of service.

Leonel Lacayo, MD (M ’89), has been chosen as the 2020 C.D. Taylor Award recipient by the Tulane Medical Alumni Association. The award recognizes outstanding service to the medical health of one's community by significant work with individuals and/or organizations within the community.

Sarah C. Willard, MD, FACS (NC ’80, NC ’81, M ’89), is a board-certified general surgeon who recently joined the East Tennessee Surgical Group in Knoxville, Tennessee.

1990s
Michale (Mickey) J. Barber, MD (R ’90), is an age-management medicine specialist in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her practice offers the BTL Emsella Chair—a breakthrough, non-invasive treatment for stress urinary incontinence.

Delverne A. Dressel, Jr., MD (M ’90), works at Spring Grove Hospital Center in Baltimore as a psychiatrist.

David C. Dyslin, MD (M ’90), is practicing bariatric surgery in Fort Worth, Texas. He recently left his large multispecialty group and started his own practice.

Amalia (Amy) M. Landa-Galindez, MD (M ’90), was named chief of the Division of Internal Medicine at Florida International University in February 2020. She is the incoming president of the Tulane Medical Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Flora Fenner McConnell Hammond, MD (NC ’86, M ’90), specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation. She is professor and chair at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.

Gordon T. Hardy, MD (M ’90), is an orthopedic surgeon at Anniston Orthopaedic Associates in Anniston, Alabama.

Dean A. Hickman, MD (A&S ’85, M ’90, R ’92), is the system chair for psychiatry at Ochsner Health Systems.

Peter M. Lucore, MD (M ’90, R ’95), is head of the Department of Anesthesiology at Memorial Hospital Gulfport in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Mark A. Parkulo, MD (A&S ’86, M ’90), has spent 25 years on staff at Mayo Clinic, and is currently at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. He is board certified in internal medicine and clinical informatics, has been involved in informatics for the past 20 years, and is now chair of the EHR Oversight Committee for Mayo Clinic.

Lynne Schmid Peterson, MD (M ’90), is a rheumatologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Barry I. Resnik, MD (A&S ’85, M ’90), continues to practice dermatology and cosmetic surgery in Miami after 25 years.

Lisa Weisinger Roland, MD (M ’90), went back to work after being retired for 20 years. She now teaches medical students and residents in an internal medicine clinic in New Haven, Connecticut.

Pinky S. Tiwari, MD (NC ’86, M ’90), is in private practice in neurology and is affiliated with Houston Methodist in Houston.

Stacy D. Tompkins, MD (M ’90), is a dermatologist at West Dermatology in San Diego. She is also associate clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California–San Diego.

James M. Wilson, MD (M ’90), is currently in private practice in general and interventional cardiology and is affiliated with Houston Methodist and HCA-Medical Center in Houston. He was the director of cardiology education at Texas Heart Institute for 20 years and has published a host of peer-reviewed journal articles and contributions to textbooks of heart disease.

David M. Mushatt, MD (F ’91, PHTM ’91), is an infectious disease specialist in New Orleans. In February 2020, he was featured in an article on Newswise.com regarding ways to stay healthy during flu season. He has also been enormously instrumental in fighting the coronavirus pandemic in the New Orleans area.

Seth D. Force, MD (M ’94), was recently named the Kamal A. Mansour Professor of Thoracic Surgery at Emory University, where he is currently chief of the Section of General Thoracic Surgery.

Mark E. Boseley, MD (M ’95), is a pediatric otolaryngologist in Tacoma, Washington.

2000s
Beth Thomas Diner, MD (M ’00), is an OB-GYN currently practicing in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Jon R. Glass, MD (M ’00), is a urologist currently practicing in New Orleans.

Nikole A. Neidlinger, MD (M ’00), stayed in San Francisco for 10 years after finishing transplant surgery training in 2010. She now works at the University of Wisconsin for the Transplant Division performing kidney and pancreas transplants. She also works in the organ donation program. Neidlinger resides with her family of five in Madison, Wisconsin.

William R. Sterba Jr., MD (M ’00), has been in practice since 2006 after finishing a sports medicine fellowship in orthopedics and has transitioned to primarily adult reconstruction (total hips and knees), which is his main interest. His practice has been a part of Northwestern Medicine for the last five years. He currently resides with his family in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Ariane S. Carrier, MD (M ’05), is an emergency physician at the Southeastern Louisiana Veterans Health Care System hospital in New Orleans.

Nicole Fontenot Freehill, MD (M ’05, PHTM ’05), moved back home to New Orleans and accepted a position as assistant professor, clinical, at LSU OB/GYN in November 2018. She has been associate program director of the OB/GYN residency program at LSU since July 2019.

Jessica A. Galandak, MD (M ’05, PHTM ’05, R ’07), is back in New Orleans working as a breast imaging radiologist at Ochsner. She resides with her family near Audubon Park.

Kristin Janson Redmond, MD (M ’05, PHTM ’05), has been selected as the 2020 recipient of the Tulane Medical Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Leadership Award. The award recognizes a young medical leader who serves their medical community while providing high-quality, meaningful healthcare to patients.

Rebecca J. Craig, MD (R ’06), recently joined Murray-Calloway County Hospital in Murray, Kentucky, as a board-certified OB/GYN.

Lindsay S. Ackerman, MD, FAAD (R ’07), was recently named by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) as a Patient Care Hero for her collaborative, multidisciplinary treatment of a patient’s rare cancer, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The Patient Care Heroes program was created by the AAD to recognize physicians who alter patients’ lives by using their expertise and collaborating with other physicians to treat serious skin disease.

Sarah Dalen Present, MD, MPH (M ’07, PHTM ’07), is in her fifth year as the Public Health Officer for Clackamas County, Oregon, one of three counties in the Portland Metro Region. She is also working part time in the county FQHC providing full spectrum outpatient family medicine.

Lipi Roy, MD (M ’08, PHTM ’08), received the Caron Treatment Center Community Service Award on Oct. 28, 2019. She is a Forbes contributor and recently wrote a story on 10 health tips for Thanksgiving. She is now an international speaker, having presented at the Power of Storytelling Conference in Bucharest, Romania.

2010s

Anne Jacob Carrere, MD (M ’10), is an outpatient internist at Tulane.

Gregory J. Coffman, MD (G ’06, M ’10), is a general surgeon in a hospital-based practice, where he performs acute care and trauma surgery.

Kelly Erwin Coffman, MD (M ’10, PHTM ’10, R ’14), left for private practice after five years on the faculty at Emory University. She continues to do a mix of general, reproductive and forensic psychiatry, and remains involved with the Emory Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program.

Jonathan R. Cone, MD (M ’10), works in family medicine and resides with his family in Chicago.

Jacques L. Courseault, MD (TC ’06, M ’10), is currently with Tulane Sports Medicine in New Orleans.

Jennifer C. Creedon, MD (M ’10, R ’15), is an assistant professor of psychiatry at LSU New Orleans. She now lives in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans with her husband.

M. Carter Denny, MD (M ’10, PHTM ’10, R ’11), currently works at Georgetown Hospital in Washington, DC, as a stroke neurologist.

Patrick J. Gilbert, MD (SE ’06, M ‘10), is back in New Orleans doing interventional radiology at Ochsner.

Crystal S. Janani, MD (NC ’05, M ’10), is a neurologist at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore.

Jason E. Polchinski, MD (TC ’06, M ’10, PHTM ’10), completed active duty Army service in 2017 and returned to the United States from Germany. He is currently working as a traveling neurologist throughout Alaska for the Tribal Health System.

Allison M. Roberts, MD (E ’00, M ’10, R ’11), is a full-time breast radiologist living in Denver.

Scott M. Ryals, MD (M ’10), practices sleep medicine at the University of Florida. He currently lives in Gainesville, Florida, with his family.

Jay V. Shukla, MD (M ’10, PHTM ’10), practices internal medicine and addiction medicine in Atlanta.

Akanksha S. Thakur, MD (M ’10, R ’15), is on the child psychiatry faculty at Tulane, where he does clinical work in schools and focuses on early psychosis.

Rene D. Turner, MD (M ’10), is an OB/GYN in the U.S. Air Force and is currently stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi.

John A. Updike, MD (M ’10, PHTM ’10), is currently working in hospital medicine and development for UC Health and the Colorado University School of Medicine as director of inpatient medicine at Broomfield Hospital in northern Colorado, and as the regional medical director of utilization management. He resides in Boulder, Colorado, with his family.

Daniel E. Davis, MD (G ’06, M ’11), practices at the Rothman Institute as a shoulder and elbow surgeon, and serves as an assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson University and associate program director for the Jefferson Orthopaedic Residency Program. He and his family live outside Philadelphia.

Justin F. Hayes, MD (SE ’07, M ’13), clinical assistant professor of medicine and co-director, Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, College of Medicine, Tucson, has been named a member of the Valley Fever Center for Excellence. Hayes’ research and projects primarily focus on optimizing antimicrobial usage and limiting unnecessary diagnostic testing. His research interests related to Valley fever involve studying antifungal usage and stewardship in an endemic region for Valley fever.

Jonathan (Jon) D. Santoro, MD (SE ’07, SE ’08, M ’13), started a new faculty position as an assistant professor of neurology and medical director of pediatric neuroimmunology at Children's Hospital/Los Angeles/Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.

Edward (Ed) L. Smith, MD (M ’13, R ’17), joined Rush Health Systems in Meridian, Mississippi, in August 2019 as an orthopedic spine surgeon.

Jean-Luc Delafontaine, MD (LA ’11, M ’15), will begin a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Rush Medical Center in Chicago in August 2020.

Ashley C. Kiefer, MD (SE ’10, M ’15), recently accepted a position at Children’s Hospital New Orleans as both an outpatient after-hours pediatrician and pediatric palliative care physician. She loves being back in her hometown and is happy to serve as the medical school representative on the Tulane Alumni Association Board.

Nicole Lynn Gentile, MD (M ’16), accepted her dream faculty job as an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington this year. She would like to thank Tulane School of Medicine, the HEALX program, Dr. Stephen Derbes, and Dr. Rade Pejic for playing instrumental roles in her career development.