SPRING 2005
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
1970s
Health economists at Columbia University have identified Sue Naylor, Ph.D. (’79 Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics), as being in the top 5 percent of all researchers nationwide in total NIH funding during the past 25 years. The economists are conducting research on the influence of these prominent researchers on the productivity of the colleagues around them. In May 2004, Naylor started a two-year term as president of GSBS Associates, the alumni association of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She is professor of cellular and structural biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
1980s
Richard Drummond, Ph.D. (’80 Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics), recently accepted a position as president of Xpress Clinical Laboratories, LLP. This is a start-up lab pursing some real “firsts” in the Houston area. The laboratory is developing a “core” and rapid-response hospital laboratory that will integrate hospital inpatient and out-patient services in a cost-effective manner. Although this is the trend across the nation, it is a first in the Houston area. Chan Lee, Ph.D. (’86 Microbiology and Immunology), is chairman of the microbiology department in the College of Natural Sciences at Chungbuk National University, South Korea. His daughter is a junior at Seoul National University, where she is majoring in family welfare. He remembers his time in Galveston fondly, sends his regards to all, and wishes he could visit and “meet old faces.” Ken Carter, Ph.D. (’89 Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics), was featured in the March 15, 2004, issue of The Scientist in an article about chief executive officers of cancer biotech companies. Carter co-founded Avalon Pharmaceuticals in 1999. Avalon is based in Germantown, Maryland, and is a next-generation genomics drug discovery company that is a leader in developing and applying advanced genomic approaches for the identification of safer and more effective small molecule medicines.
1990s
Samuel F. Hunter, M.D., Ph.D. (’91 Pharmacology and Toxicology), is practicing neurology and neuro-immunology as president of the Advanced Neurosciences Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. Hunter also is director of the Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Clinic in the Saint Thomas Health System. He and his wife, Heli, are the parents of two children and reside in Franklin, Tennessee. Suzanne Peloquin, Ph.D. (’91 Medical Humanities), professor of occupational therapy in the School of Allied Health Sciences at UTMB, recently received the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Award from the American Occupational Therapy Association, the highest scholarly honor the association bestows. “Dr. Peloquin embodies the ideal writer, philosopher and conscience for the profession of occupational therapy,” according to the text of the award. She will deliver her lecture in Long Beach, California, in May 2005, and it will be published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy. Ping Wu, M.D., Ph.D. (’91 Anatomy), an assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at UTMB, is the first recipient of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Erica Nader Award, which was presented to her May 15, 2004, at the ASIA Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. This award is an unrestricted grant to an investigator doing breakthrough research in the field of spinal cord regeneration. Thomas Marshburn, M.M.S., M.D.
(’97 Master of Medical Science), was one of 11 astronauts selected for the class of 2004 by NASA. “These are the astronauts who will lead us through the next steps in the new exploration vision,” said NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe. “The class is made up of pilots and engineers who will help us develop the next generation vehicle, scientists who will do research to help humans live and travel in space.” This is the first class since the space shuttle Columbia tragedy. Mission Specialist Marshburn of Houston will receive two years of formal training at the Johnson Space Center before joining 101 astronauts who are on the space agency’s active-duty list for flights. He is a flight surgeon at Johnson Space Center. Born in Statesville, North Carolina, and reared in Atlanta, he holds additional degrees from Davidson College in North Carolina, the University of Virginia, and Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
2000s
Nancy J. Macdonald, Ph.D., M.B.A. (’00 Neuroscience), earned her M.B.A. in finance and international business from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in 2002. Her business training included a semester of study at the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden. She then worked for two years as a pharmaceutical analyst (CNS Group) for Decision Resources in Boston before accepting her current position as a manager of market research (Rimonabant and Portfolio Group) for Sanofi-Synthelabo in New York City. Rangaraj Selvarangan, B.V.Sc., Ph.D. (’00 Microbiology and Immunology), moved from Jackson, Mississippi, to Kansas City, Missouri, to accept a position as director of the Microbiology and Virology Laboratories at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Bryan K. Shipp, Ph.D., M.B.A. (’00 Preventive Medicine and Community Health), finished his M.B.A. in finance and international business in 2002 from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, following a semester-long exchange at the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden. Bryan spent two years working as a toxicologist for Gradient Corporation, a consulting firm located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, before moving to New York City, where he is now a hazard assessment and characterization specialist in the legal division of Pfizer. Yumei Ye, Ph.D. (’00 Pharmacology and Toxicology), has been recruited to be a pharmacologist for pre-clinical anti-cancer drug development at Immunogen in Boston. Previously she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute working on functional genomics of a mouse mammary cancer model. Wenxia Zhou, Ph.D. (’01 Pharmacology and Toxicology), recently joined the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas–Houston Medical School. Zhou is working as a research fellow on stem cells in the treatment of heart failure and atherosclerosis in both animals and human beings. She is excited to embark on this new stage of her career. Kimberley Campbell, Ph.D. (’03 Microbiology and Immunology), is a clinical development coordinator at Symbiotix, Inc., in Danville, Kentucky. Symbiotix is a medical consulting/marketing company that designs and develops medical education programs, mainly for large pharmaceutical companies. Campbell helps develop the clinical content for these educational programs. Kelly Mericle, Ph.D. (’03 Experimental Pathology), is a risk assessor toxicologist with URS Corporation in Houston. Sung Haeng Lee, Ph.D. (’04 Cellular Physiology and Molecular Biophysics), has accepted a postdoctoral position at the Boston Biomedical Research Institute in the Boston area. He is studying the structural biology of actin-actin binding proteins. He reports that he already misses the warm weather in Texas.
School of Allied Health Sciences
Susan McPhail Wittjen, P.T., Ph.D. (’74 Physical Therapy), is an adjunct faculty member at Texas Woman’s University in Houston, where she teaches ethics in the master’s program in health care administration. She also serves as coordinator of a federal grant on geriatric education, teaching ethics to managers of long-term care settings. In addition to her work at TWU, Dr. Wittjen consults with ethics committees at area hospitals and lectures on ethics to various groups of health care providers. She has served as the president and the chair of the ethics committee of the Texas Physical Therapy Association, and currently is the moderator of the Presbytery of New Covenant, consisting of 109 Presbyterian churches. Married to Gaddis Wittjen, she lives in La Marque, Texas.
School of Medicine
1920s
Leroy Bates ’28, turned 100 in March 2004. He still lives in San Antonio, where he practiced family medicine for 65 years until his retirement at 90. He has delivered more babies than he can remember, perhaps in the thousands. Bates continues to be an active and joyous man and enjoys his four children, seven grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
1930s
James T. Billups ’32, turned 100 in October 2004. He lives in an apartment in Houston and remains very alert and agile. He retired five times from work as a general surgeon at Hermann Hospital. Among many accomplishments, Billups is proud to have served in World War II. Muriel Cody, widow of Claude Cody ’36, recently established the Claude Cody Retired Physicians Award for Contributions to the Arts and Literature. The 2004 recipient was Mavis Kelsey ’36, of Houston.
1940s
At a conference hosted by the Association for Community Television in February 2004, Ninfa Cavazos ’45 was honored by Houston’s PBS affiliate, KUHF Channel 8, for being the first Hispanic woman physician in Houston. She was previously recognized by the National Mexican American Historical Society as the first Mexican-American woman licensed to practice medicine in Houston. Cavazos has been inducted into the Hispanic Women’s Hall of Fame, presented with the Met-Life Trailblazer Award, and was named “Moderna Latina for 2000.” Both a psychiatrist and an attorney, her current interests include research on suicidal behavior and the study of maladaptive behavior leading to violence.
1950s
Earnest Pretz ’50, Orange, Texas, still does occasional locum tenens. When he is not otherwise employed, Pretz volunteers his time and expertise assisting veterans with their medical records to help them establish claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Arthur Walker ’53, San Jose, California, is retired. His former avocations of mountaineering, technical rock climbing, and skiing have come back to haunt his back and legs—but he says the fun he had was worth it. Quintous Crews, Jr. ’55, San Diego, California, retired as chief medical officer for the California Department of Veterans Affairs (Chula Vista) in December 2004. Nelson Jones ’55, Waxahachie, Texas, is a retired family practice physician. He now enjoys more time with his family as well as travel (motorcycle touring), community service, and some charity medical work. Marolyn Cowart ’56 is retired and recently moved back to Houston from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She says it is good to be back in Texas, where she lived from 1940 to 1977. Cowart practiced family medicine in Texas from 1957 to 1977 and in Florida from 1977 to 1984. Dora Due Logue ’57, Baltimore, continues to enjoy being a child psychiatrist at Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Duncan (Larry) McKellar ’57, Seven Coves, Texas, retired in October 2003 after 46 years of practicing family medicine. His last employer, Sadler Clinic, in Conroe, Texas, hosted a retirement luncheon for him in February 2004. During the event, the mayor of Conroe read a city proclamation in McKellar’s honor recognizing him for his dedication, medical professionalism, and gentle manner.
Clinton E. “Woody” Woodson ’51 signed copies of his book, A Golden Window in Time: Reflections of a Country Doctor, at the 2004 UTMB Homecoming celebration. Woodson’s book records various vivid memories: of his childhood in the Big Thicket of East Texas during the Great Depression; of his tenure as a clinical laboratory technician at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital and later a hospital corpsman with the 26th Special Naval Construction Battalion in the Pacific during World War II; and of meeting his future wife-of-52-years during a blind date in Chicago. The book also features essays he wrote during his many years as a general practitioner in Wharton, Texas. Many of these essays appeared as a column in the semiweekly Wharton Journal-Spectator. Although most are health-related, they also explore relationships, religion, life in Texas, and what it means to be a doctor.
“In September 1946, I was one of 110 people who began medical school at UTMB,” Woodson wrote of his School of Medicine 50th class reunion. Of the first-year medical students that year, most, like him, were World War II veterans, he wrote. At the reunion, Woodson said, a presenter read a short summary of each doctor’s activities over the past 50 years. “I was astounded at the achievements of these individuals,” he said. “Many had gone out on their own to accomplish their goals. The idea of going into debt to attain their objectives did not deter them. Some of our classmates had distinguished themselves as teachers and researchers. Others had provided missionary medicine in the far reaches of the Earth.”
1960s
Walter DeFoy ’67, Houston, is the medical director of disability services for Aetna Insurance Company. He has worked with the insurance industry for 10 years. He and his wife, Linda, have two grandchildren. Their youngest daughter recently graduated from the University of Texas School of Law.
In Memory
Kerry Wellington McCluney ’64 died on March 24, 2004, at age 70 in Chicago, surrounded by his loving family. A senior member of the American Society of Neuroradiology, he formerly chaired the Department of Neuroradiology at the University of Illinois Medical Center, Peoria. Dr. McCluney served as a paratrooper in the United States Army's 101st Airborne unit prior to matriculating at the Unversity of Texas at Austin and at UTMB. An avid sailor, he was a member of the Chicago Yacht Club. He is survived by his devoted wife of 40 years, Fay Curtis McCluney, daughter Robyn Chruchill McCluney, daughter and son-in-law Cameron and Dr. Brock Satoris, and grandchildren Cate Elizabeth and Owen Burke Satoris. The family requests that those wishing to make contributions in Dr. McCluney's memory do so to: The Cancer Research Fund, UTMB, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0148.
1970s
Ernest Charlesworth ’71, San Angelo, Texas, is a member of the board of regents of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Robert Hunnicutt ’72, Fort Worth, Texas, has been appointed to the Texas Medical Association (TMA) Foundation’s development committee. He is a delegate to the TMA House of Delegates, a member of the TMA Patient-Physician Advocacy Committee, and a past president of the Tarrant County Medical Society. Hunnicutt is an orthopaedic surgeon. Thomas Norris ’73, Seattle, was named vice dean for academic affairs at the University of Washington School of Medicine in June 2004. He is a professor of family medicine and an adjunct professor of medicine, health services, medical education and biomedical informatics, as well as executive director of the University of Washington Physicians Network. Robert Hendler ’74, Dallas, has been appointed chief medical officer of Tenet Healthcare Corporation’s Texas region. He joined Tenet in 1998 and also serves as its vice president of physician relations. Hendler, a board-certified gastroenterologist, continues to teach at the UT Southwestern Medical School, where he is an associate clinical professor. Robert Stroud ’74, Austin, adopted a daughter, Katrina, from China on Thanksgiving Day 2003. He says he also has four biological children—“all blessings from God.” Rachel Griffith ’77 is doing locum tenens in general pediatric practices in the Dallas area after 21 years of practicing neonatology. She also is an adjunct professor in the Department of Biology at Dallas Baptist University, her alma mater. Randall Stickney ’77, Tulsa, Oklahoma, was formally inducted as a fellow in the American College of Radiology in May 2004 at a convocation in Washington, D.C. Stickney is affiliated with the Hillcrest Medical Center and Southcrest Hospital, both in Tulsa, as well as the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. He is active in many medical societies and has been president of the Oklahoma State Radiological Society, which he now serves as a councilor. Sue Chance ’78, Cleveland, South Carolina, is semi-retired and works two days a week as a senior psychiatrist at the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. This keeps her happy and gives her plenty of time for reading, cooking, and walking her golden retriever. Warren Lichliter ’78, Dallas, is currently president of the Dallas County Medical Society as well as program director of colorectal surgery and an associate professor of general surgery at Baylor University Medical Center.
1980s
J. James Rohack ’80, Bryan, Texas, the chairman of the American Medical Association (AMA) Board of Trustees, discussed his priorities for his one-year appointment during a brief pause at the Development Board Weekend in June 2004. The issues include passage of medical liability reform, initiating advanceable tax credits to provide federal dollars for the purchase of private medical insurance for the uninsured, and repairing Medicare’s sustainable growth rate formula, established by Congress for physicians under Medicare. The more the physician sees the patient in an outpatient setting in one year, the less reimbursement will occur the next year. Thus prevention visits and aggressive management of chronic conditions will actually create less reimbursement for the physician for doing what is best for the patient. Rohack, the senior staff cardiologist at Scott & White Clinic in Temple, Texas, and medical director for system improvement of the Scott & White Health Plan, says he also will address enhancing clinical quality and patient safety. He also is a professor at Texas A&M University System Health Science Center. Rohack assumed his current AMA leadership post last June; he has served in several high-ranking positions in the AMA and the Texas Medical Association, including the TMA presidency. Robert Hoddeson ’80, Alpharetta, Georgia, is president of ENT of Georgia. His daughter, Beth, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2004 and subsequently entered the Medical College of Georgia. Allan Supak ’82 writes that he is the father of four and is freezing in “fabulous, frosty Bozeman, Montana.” He is an emergency room physician at Livingston Memorial Hospital. Susan John ’84, Galveston, was appointed chair of the Department of Radiology at the UT Health Science Center in Houston, effective April 15, 2004. John, who was vice chair of radiology and is the chief of pediatric radiology, is the first female chair in the history of the medical school. Ross Scalise ’85 is a family physician at Kaiser Permanente Southern California Medical Group in Fontana, California. Scalise writes that his son, Raphael, 14, is sane, fun, smart, handsome, and already taller than his father. David Chin ’89 continues to serve in the U.S. Air Force and has been reassigned to Lajes Field in the Azores. He is a flight surgeon and chief of clinical services.
A stitch in time
Although the Boston Red Sox last October won their first World Series in 86 years, the historic victory might not have happened at all without an assist from the team’s medical director, William J. Morgan, ’81, of Boylston, Massachusetts. Morgan’s ministrations enabled Red Sox ace Curt Schilling to pitch—and win—game six of the American League championship series against the New York Yankees and game two of the World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals. Before those two games, the sheath that covered two tendons in Schilling’s right ankle was torn, Morgan told the Associated Press. That allowed one tendon to slip out of its groove and rub against a bone, causing unbearable pain. To alleviate Schilling’s misery, Morgan “sutured the tendon into place so it wouldn’t flop over” when Schilling pitched, according to the Los Angeles Times. The fix permitted Schilling to pitch seven innings, allowing just one run when the Red Sox beat the Yankees 4–2 in game six of the American League championship series. In game two of the World Series, when the Red Sox topped the Cardinals 6–2, Schilling was able to pitch six innings without allowing an earned run. Morgan, who chairs the orthopaedic department at Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston, was named the Red Sox team physician in 1998 and medical director in 2002.—Gary Libman
1990s
Cassius Drake ’97, Lakeway, Texas, is pleased to announce that his first child, Noah, was born in April 2004. Amy Simon ’97, Atlanta, opened a solo plastic surgery practice specializing in cosmetic surgery, breast surgery, and oculoplastics. She says it’s a lot of work, but well worth it. Bradley Woods ’98 finished his general surgery residency in 2003 and is stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, as a staff general surgeon on active duty. He lives there with his wife and two children, ages 6 and 12.
Todd Thames ‘95 recently completed nine years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force and has accepted a position on the faculty of the Christus Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency Program in San Antonio, Texas.
While stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Thames was deployed as the medical director for the Humanitarian Food Drop Mission in Afghanistan. From September 2001 to January 2002, the mission flew four times every night over northern Afghanistan. Later, Thames served as director for medical operations for the 409th Air Expeditionary Group flying refueling missions over northern Iraq.
“Both experiences were not something I would be eager to repeat,” Thames said. “During my three-year tour at Ramstein, I was deployed away from my family 40 percent of the time.”
He credits the strength of his wife, Debbie Cardell, SOM ‘95, and the support of their German neighbors with making being gone so much a little easier.
“Nonetheless, being away from my family in times of such global tension was still very unsettling,” Thames said.
Thames, Cardell, and their two daughters now live in San Antonio and can be reached via e-mail at: familythames@earthlink.net.
2000s
Fausto Meza ’00 and Michelle Meza ’01 happily announce the birth of their son, Andrew, at New York Hospital in May 2004. Sina Meisamy ’01, Brooklyn, New York, is a radiology resident at Kings County Medical Center and the State University of New York. He was a first author of an article published in the November 2004 issue of Radiology on the use of MRI and MR spectroscopy for the prediction of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer. For his work with this manuscript, Meisamy received the Research Trainee Prize Award at the 2003 Radiologic Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting. He received the same award at the 2004 RSNA annual meeting on behalf of work which shows how quantitative MR spectroscopy can improve the diagnostic accuracy of breast MRIs by helping radiologists distinguish benign from malignant breast lesions. Meisamy is the first person in 91 years to receive the RSNA’s Research Trainee Prize Award two years in a row. Harvey Castro ’02 is living in Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania, and has shifted from a family practice residency to emergency medicine. Classmates may reach him by e-mail at: harveycastroMD@hotmail.com. Hangnga Vu ’03 is doing well in California at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. She misses everyone and wishes all of her former classmates the best.
School of Medicine Deaths
Martha Madsen Greenlee ’32,
Fredericksburg, Texas,
February 12, 2004
William D. Seybold ’38,
Dallas, July 19, 2004
William S. Hotchkiss ’39,
Charlottesville, Virginia,
August 12, 2004
J.D. Donaldson, Jr. ’40,
Lubbock, Texas,
September 14, 2004
Woolworth A. Russell ’41,
Amarillo, Texas,
August 5, 2004
Peter L. Scardino ’41,
Savannah, Georgia,
July 21, 2004
Henry D. Garrett ’41,
El Paso, Texas,
April 7, 2004
Rhoads Mustain ’41,
Irving, Texas,
February 8, 2004
Presley H. Chalmers ’42 (March),
Wimberley, Texas,
May 4, 2004
Carey J. Hargrove ’42 (March),
Houston
January 28, 2004
Blanche O. Terrell ’45,
Fort Worth, Texas,
August 22, 2004
Dale R. Rhoades ’46,
Crosbyton, Texas,
September 4, 2004
Randolph Clements ’49,
Seattle,
February 29, 2004
William A. Goodrich, Jr. ’50,
Baytown, Texas,
July 1, 2004
George A. Hoffman ’50,
Fort Stockton, Texas,
September 19, 2004
Clifford R. Haynes ’51,
Malakoff, Texas,
January 5, 2004
Stanley M. Woodward ’52,
New Braunfels, Texas,
July 24, 2004
Herbert G. Liberty ’53,
Seguin, Texas,
April 15, 2004
Bob W. Williams ’56,
Bel Air, Maryland,
August 19, 2004
Martin F. Scheid ’57,
Houston,
September 17, 2004
Turner (Ted) R. Sharp ’61,
Georgetown, Texas,
September 3, 2004
Earl J. Stoufflet, Jr. ’62,
Houston,
January 18, 2004
Dale B. Brannom ’63,
Abilene, Texas,
November 26, 2003
Donald L. Thomasson ’67,
Houston, September 6, 2004
School of Nursing
1970s
Jan Bartosh Novosad ’75 has been married to Dr. Bryan J. Novosad, SOM ’77, for 28 years. They have three daughters. Although they live in Kingwood, a suburb of Houston, Bryan commutes and practices medical management in Waco, Texas. Jan is a certified legal nurse consultant (LNCC) and recently served two years as president of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants Greater Houston Chapter.
1990s
Carol V. Anselmo ’95, League City, Texas, received a Master of Science degree in nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Nursing Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program in December 2003. In June 2004 she was certified by the National Certification Corporation for the obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal nursing specialties. She works at Texas Children’s Hospital in the neonatal intensive care unit as a neonatal nurse practitioner.
In Memory
Genil Wharton Economidy ’37,
San Antonio, Texas,
October 25, 2003
Alice M. Gallagher ’36,
Mission, Texas,
March 2, 2004
Alice Lavenia Beasley Dullye ’38,
San Antonio, Texas,
March 30, 2004
Mary Ruth Ernst ’87,
Santa Fe, Texas, May 4, 2004