IMH Graduate Program Current Students

Alina Bennett, BA, MA
»	ambennet@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Anne Hudson Jones, PhD Alina earned a Bachelors in Gender and Feminist Studies from Pitzer College in Claremont, California and comes to the Institute for Medical Humanities from The Ohio State University (OSU) where she completed her Masters in Women's Studies with a graduate minor in Disability Studies. She spent the last year lecturing at OSU, both in introductory and advanced women's health courses. Teaching women's health helped solidify Alina's commitment to the field of feminist health studies and her research focuses on bioethics, health policy and the history of medicine with a focus on disability. Her projects concern people who choose to disable themselves and the criminal experiences of mentally “ill” mothers of color. Here at the IMH, Alina hopes to do more work on the prison industrial complex and disability as a project of whiteness and wants to work in an academic setting with interludes into health policy development and disability activism. Alina can currently be found reading on her cozy porch with her beagle named Floyd, a grrl dog interested in undermining gender binary systems.
Jiin-yu Chen, BA
»	jichen1@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Howard A. Brody, PhD Jiin-Yu graduated with her BA in English from Rice University in 2005. Shortly after, she moved to Galveston and worked as a research technician in the Resuscitation Research Laboratory at UTMB. Currently, her research interests include health care and research ethics. In her free time, she enjoys playing the violin and gardening. SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS 2008 - Medical Humanities Endowed Scholarship 2008 - Zelda Zinn Casper Scholarship (1-year stipend + fringe) 2009 - Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges 2009 - William Bennett Bean Scholarship in the Medical Humanities
Andrew Childress, BA, MA
»	amchildr@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Michele A. Carter, PhD TBA
Peggy Determeyer
»	pldeterm@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Harold Y. Vanderpool, PhD, ThM
Sheena Eagan, BA, MPH
»	smeagan@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Cheryl Vaiani, PhD Sheena comes to the Institute for Medical Humanities from Canada. She received her Bachelors of Arts with first class honours in Philosophy and a minor History from the University of New Brunswick in her hometown. Sheena then moved to the United States to attend graduate school and was awarded her Master of Public Health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. While there she worked at Georgetown University's Center for Clinical Bioethics and the National Bioethics Reference Library to complete her Masters project and practicum. This research explored the effect of policy and public perception on organ donation in the United States, specifically examining the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act and its latest revision. Her current research interests include bioethics, military medical ethics, and the patient-provider relationship. In her free time Sheena enjoys the beach, traveling, and rock climbing. SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS 2009 - Medical Humanities Endowed Scholarship
John Paul (Paulie) Gaido, BS, JD, MA
»	jpgaido@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: William J. Winslade, JD, PhD Paulie, as he prefers to be called, is a "homeboy," having spent all of his life on the island. He and his wife, Mary Kay, are the parents of three grown children. His passion has always been teaching, and he would like to teach bioethics, with a particular focus on beginning-of-life and end-of-life issues. He earned a BS in education and a JD from the University of Texas at Austin, and spent thirty years in the kitchen of his family's restaurant here in Galveston. Beginning a post-retirement second career, he received a masters degree in Roman Catholic theology from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, and he is thrilled to have been given the opportunity to continue his education at the IMH. AWARDS 2008 - Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges
Jacqueline (Jackie) Genovese, BA
»	jmgenove@utmb.edu  Program: MA Advisor: Anne Hudson Jones, Ph.D. Jackie Genovese earned a bachelor's degree in history from the College of William and Mary, and currently serves as the Chief Communications Officer for the Office of the Provost at UTMB. She has more than 20 years experience working in academia in the areas of publications, communications, donor relations, public affairs and special events. Before coming to UTMB in 2006, she served as the Executive Director for Development Operations at the College of William and Mary. She had also served as the editor of the William and Mary Magazine, and Director of Alumni Communications for the William and Mary Alumni Association. Jackie and her husband, Ronnie, have four children and two grandchildren, and live on Galveston Island.
Randall Horton, BA, MA
»	rlhorton@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Harold Y. Vanderpool, PhD, ThM Randall Horton teaches first- and second-year philosophy at San Jacinto College South. He has studied philosophy at the University of Houston and has a master's degree in humanities from University of Houston--Clear Lake. He also has a B.A. in English from Sam Houston State University.
David Kozishek, MA, BCC
»	dmkozish@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Michele A. Carter, PhD David comes to us from Minneapolis, Minnosota. While there he finished two years of Clinical Pastoral Education Residency at Hennepin County Medical Center. David is a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains, endorsed by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). In addition to several years of clinical experience in Iowa, Chicago, and the Twin Cities, David has a BA degree in Philosophy, Psychology and Theology, and holds a four year graduate degree in Religious Studies from the University of Louvain (Leuven) in Belgium. David plans to pursue specialization in clinical and research ethics, and the role of the humanities in medical education while at UTMB. 2007 Update: David Kozishek is pleased to announce that he has recently moved to Lansing, Michigan, to begin work as an assistant professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. After completing his dissertation, David will be teaching, conducting research, and engaging in community outreach for the College of Human Medicine's Department of Family Medicine and the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences. David's primary responsibilities will be in the areas of Spirituality in Health Care and teaching Humanities and Ethics in the Life Sciences. AWARDS 2005 - Chester R. Burns Institute for the Medical Humanities Alumni Award (Inaugural Recipient) 2005 - Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges 2005 - The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
Julie Kutac, BS, MA
»	jekutac@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Harold Y. Vanderpool, PhD Julie, a native Texan, most recently taught in Prague, Czech Republic. Julie obtained a B.S. in Molecular Biology from Texas Lutheran University, and continued her interdisciplinary focus at Rice University, earning a M.A. in Religious Studies. Her academic interests lie in the consideration of ethical issues at the juncture of science, medicine, religion, and philosophy. She also has a specific interest in geriatrics and the lived experience of cognitive degeneration. A coloratura soprano, Julie loves to spend her free time singing. AWARDS 2006 - William Bennett Bean Scholarship in the Medical Humanities 2006 - The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi 2007 - Dean's Service Scholarship Award 2007 - Peyton and Lydia Schapper Endowed Scholarship Award 2008 - Peyton and Lydia Schapper Endowed Scholaarship Award 2009 - 2009 John D. and Mary Ann Stobo Award in Oslerian Medicine
Merle Lenihan, MD
»	msleniha@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Ronald A. Carson, PhD Merle received her M.D. from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center and did her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. She practiced and taught in Cincinnati until moving to Galveston. She is the volunteer Director of the Women's Wellness Clinic at St. Vincent's Episcopal House where she cares for uninsured women while teaching medical students during their public health rotation. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UTMB. Merle has been active in the community on several initiatives designed to address health disparities and access to health care. Her academic interests involve health policy, ethics, and literature and medicine, broadly. She has also pursued an interest in women and bioethics, health policy and social justice, and the use of narratives and literature in medical education. Merle is married to a cardiologist and has four children. AWARDS 2005 - The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi 2006 - Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges 2008 - Teacher of Distinction (Top Doc) Award, UTMB College of Medicine
Susan McCammon, MD
»	admccamm@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Howard Brody, MD, PhD
Krisann Muskievicz, BS, MA
»	kemuskie@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Anne Hudson Jones, PhD Krisann comes to us with a BS in English Education from the University of Illinois and an MA in Humanities from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Before joining the institute, she enjoyed nine years in the classroom as a secondary English teacher. Krisann's current interests include ethical decision-making and the incorporation of interdisciplinary studies in medical education. She lives in Clear Lake Shores and loves going to Texans games. SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS 2006 - The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi 2007 - Medical Humanities Endowed Scholarship Award 2008 - Chester R. Burns Institute for the Medical Humanities Alumni Award
Susan Night, JD, LLM
»	ssnight@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: William J. Winslade, JD, Ph.D. Susan completed her law degree from St. Mary's University School of Law, San Antonio, in May of 2003. She received her LLM from the University of Houston Health Law and Policy Institute in May, 2005. Before she returned to school, Susan worked in health-care consulting with Deloitte & Touche and in health-care policy with the Texas Medical Association. Her primary areas of interest are health-care issues that trigger legal, policy, and ethical concerns. Susan is appreciative of the support she has received from her family, husband Stacy and children Samantha and Eli, during her recent academic endeavors. SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS 2008 - William Bennett Bean Scholarship in the Medical Humanities
Rimma Osipov, BA
»	riosipov@utmb.edu  Program: MD/PhD Advisor: Anne Hudson Jones, Ph.D. Rimma comes to the Institute for Medical Humanities from UCLA, where she majored in history and minored in anthropology. As an undergraduate she interned with the division of medicine and science at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History. Some of her previous research interests have included the impact of the War on Cancer on the National Institutes of Health and the biomedical community at large, as well as the medical needs of adults with cerebral palsy. As an MD/PHD student, Rimma hopes to integrate her medical education as much as possible into her studies at the institute. When she returns full-time to the IMH in 2011, she hopes to pursue her primary interest in the history of medicine, as well as her interest in the interdisciplinary issues currently facing the medical and scientific communities.
Rachel Pearson, BA
»	rampears@utmb.edu  Program: MD/PhD Advisor: Anne Hudson Jones, PhD Rachel Pearson has a B.A. from the Plan 2 Honors program at the University of Texas at Austin, where she received the Robert C. Solomon Scholarship in the Arts and Philosophy. She has worked variously as a journalist, a patient advocate, and an actress in a traveling children's theatre troupe, and her creative work has appeared in the Mid-American Review, the Indiana Review, and on the air through Chicago Public Radio's Third Coast Audio Festival. Rachel is currently an MD/PhD candidate at the Institute for the Medical Humanities, with a keen interest in issues of the mind, the brain, and narrative medicine.
Nobue Urushihara Urvil, BA, MA
»	nourushi@utmb.edu  Program: PhD Advisor: Anne Hudson Jones, PhD Nobue (pronounced "Noh-Boo-Eh") received her BA in the English language and MA in American Literature from Sophia (called "Jochi" in Japan) University, Tokyo, Japan. She went on to complete her doctoral program at Sophia and worked there three years as a lecturer of English in the General Education Program. Her main focus is literature and medicine and she is interested in translating narratives of illness and physician-authors' works from both the USA and Japan. SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS 2006 - Medical Humanities Endowed Scholarship 2007 - Chester R. Burns Institute for the Medical Humanities Alumni Award 2008 - Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges 2008 - Medical Humanities Award, National Student Research Forum (NSRF) 2008 - Leroy Olson, Ph.D. Endowed Scholarship Award 2009 - David C. Eiland, Jr. Scholarship Award in Health Care and Humanities
Margaret Wardlaw, BA
»	mpwardla@utmb.edu  Program: MD/PhD Advisor: Anne Hudson Jones, PhD Margaret P. Wardlaw is an MD/PhD student who comes to the IMH with an undergraduate degree in Plan II from The University of Texas at Austin. While in Plan II she did ethnographic research about the effects of the hospital environment on midwives working in in-hospital birth centers. After graduation she spent a semester at Maternidad La Luz, a direct entry midwifery program in El Paso, TX. Margaret is currently a student director of the medical student run free clinic, St. Vincent's. SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS 2008 - David C. Eiland, Jr. Scholarship Award in Health Care and Humanities 2009 - Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges 2009 - Chester R. Burns Institute for the Medical Humanities Alumni Award