Scholar Faculty AlumniJohn P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine

A specialist in disorders of blood clotting and transfusion medicine, Dr. Alperin has been recognized as an exceptional teacher and clinician.

His many teaching awards include the Golden Apple Award presented by the Junior Medical School Class of 1988, the First Place Teaching Award presented by the Alumni Association of the Department of Internal Medicine in 1994 and the Alumni Appreciation Award for Excellence in Teaching from the UTMB School of Medicine Alumni Association in 1998. Earlier this year he received recognition for Commitment to Continuing Education from the School for Specialists in Blood Banking and the Blood Bank Staff.

Dr. Alperin is a member of the faculty in the Division of Hematology and Oncology within the Department of Internal Medicine and is the associate director of the UTMB Blood Banks within the Department of Pathology. He was appointed a professor in Internal Medicine and in Human Biological Chemistry & Genetics in 1983 and in Pathology in 1993.

Dr. Judith Aronson is an emeritus Scholar in the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine, has been on the UTMB faculty since 1994 and teaches pathology in small-group laboratory sessions. The director of the university's autopsy service, she also participates in elective courses for third- and fourth-year medical students as well as an autopsy exercise course for fourth-year students. She is a member of the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, and an associate professor of experimental pathology in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UTMB. Aronson has received several teaching awards at UTMB, including the Experimental Pathology Graduate Student Organization Award for Teaching and Mentoring, and the UTMB School of Medicine Class of 1947 Excellence in Education Award.

Aronson earned her M.D. in 1985 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and spent the next three years in residency training at the University of Washington's affiliated hospitals in Seattle. She spent part of 1988 studying in her hometown of Washington, D.C., at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases. She also served that year as a physician and pathologist at Curran Lutheran Hospital in the West African country of Liberia. Aronson came to UTMB in 1989 as a McLaughlin Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Pathology and became an assistant professor in the department in 1991. She returned to her alma mater a year later to work in the departments of Microbiology and Immunology, and Pathology. Aronson came back to UTMB as an assistant professor in 1994.

Dr. Patricia Beach is Director of the Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Chair of the School of Medicine Curriculum Committee and Chair of the Course Committee for the Year 4 Ambulatory Community Selective. She graduated from medical school at the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. She has received several teaching awards including the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Resident Education, the Department of Pediatrics Outstanding Junior Faculty Award for Education, and the Pediatric Educator Award for Excellence in Medical Student Education.

Dr. Beach has been a member of the UTMB Community on an intermittent basis since starting her residency in Pediatrics in 1979. She spent seven of the intervening years practicing pediatrics in rural North Carolina and in the Upper Midwest. Her commitment to excellence in pediatric education is reflected in the various roles she has served with the National Board of Medical Examiners, and in collaborating with other pediatric educators in the creation of a web-based resource, Guidelines for Pediatric Education, which are widely utilized by residency programs.

Dr. Robert Beach an emeritus Scholar in the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine and a Professor emeritus in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension. He has been the recipient of the Golden Apple award, the James W. Powers award, and the outstanding teacher award in Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Residency programs on numerous occasions. He has been named to Outstanding Physicians in U.S. and Who's Who in Medical Education. In addition, he continues to conduct research and serves on committees devoted to improving patient care at UTMB.

He has been the recipient of the Golden Apple award, the James W. Powers award, and the outstanding teacher award in Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Residency programs on numerous occasions. He has been named to Outstanding Physicians in U.S. and Who's Who in Medical Education. In addition, he continues to conduct research and serves on committees devoted to improving patient care at UTMB.

Osler Project: In order to provide individualized instruction and modeling of Oslerian Medicine, Dr. Beach has developed the Osler student rotations that include preceptorships, electives, and Basic Science/Humanities selectives. During these 4 week rotations, students are assigned periods with each Osler scholar on a weekly basis. The academy and students meet each week to have a scholarly discussion or presentation regarding patient care, the scientific basis of clinical medicine, or topics in medical ethics/professionalism relevant to activities of that week.

Dr. Michael Boyars is a Professor at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He is currently the senior associate program director for the internal medicine residency program and the director of inpatient services for internal medicine. He is also the medical director for St. Vincent's nurse-managed health clinic and medical director for the UTMB community health outpatient care management program.

He received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine in 1972. He completed his internship and residency at Georgetown Medical Division District of Columbia General Hospital 1972-75. He also completed a fellowship in pulmonary medicine at Georgetown 1975-77. Dr. Boyars is board certified in internal medicine. After completing his training, he was appointed as an instructor in medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine from 1977-81. He was appointed director of the chest clinic, the pulmonary function laboratory and director of bronchoscopy services at the D.C. General Hospital from 1977-82. In 1980, he was appointed assistant director of the Georgetown pulmonary division.

Dr. Breitkopf received his MD degree from the State University of New York-Downstate College of Medicine and completed residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Vermont. In 1997, he joined the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, serving as associate professor.

Dr. Breitkopf is the holder of the Faculty Distinguished Professorship in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UTMB and serves as the residency program director. His clinical and research interests include gynecologic sonography, minimally invasive surgery and medical education. He has directed postgraduate courses for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and currently serves as ACOG's representative to the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography. Dr. Breitkopf is an inaurural inductee into the UTMB Academy of Master Teachers.

Dr. Matthew Dacso graduated in 2001 with distinction from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec with a B.A. in Music. He received his MD from the University of Texas Medical Branch 2006. During medical school, he completed a one-year Masters of Science degree in international development studies at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). During his general internal medicine residency at the Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University, Dr. Dacso hybridized his skills in international socio-economic development with the clinical practice of medicine, developing a deep respect for the power of bedside teaching and physical diagnosis. He has since done global health-related work in Argentina, Peru, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. From 2009-2011 he lived in Gaborone, Botswana, where he worked with the Botswana-UPenn Partnership to enhance medical education, develop non-communicable disease treatment guidelines, and provide care for patients affected by HIV, TB, and chronic medical diseases.

Dr. Dacso currently directs the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Center for Global Health Education. He is a primary care clinician-educator and an associate professor in the department of internal medicine at UTMB. Dacso directs UTMB’s 4-year global health track and provides mentorship and supervision to medical students participating in international health electives while collaborating with host partners to design projects that benefit their sites. He has published peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and abstracts in the areas of interdisciplinary global health education, ethics in global health training, e-learning and mobile learning, non-communicable diseases in the developing world, traditional medicine, and medical decision-making in resource-limited settings. He speaks fluent French and Spanish, has studied Mandarin Chinese, and speaks basic Setswana. As a jazz saxophonist, he has also recorded two albums with his Afro-jazz group, the Trans-Kalahari Quintet.

Dr. Gei joined the UTMB faculty in 2001 as an assistant professor in the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He lectures to third-year medical students and family practice residents and supervises the endocrinology course for second-year medical students. Dr. Gei also mentors second-year medical students and teaches nursing students in the midwifery program. He has received such honors as the Leonard A. Charpentier, M.D., Professorship Award for Excellence in Resident Education and the Outstanding Medical Student Teaching Award. He has also earned a National Faculty Award from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Gei received his M.D. from the University of Costa Rica Medical School in 1988 and joined the university's three-year obstetrics and gynecology residency program in 1989. Prior to his residency, the Italian-born Gei worked in Costa Rica as an intern at the National Children's and Mexico hospitals in San Jose, and during his social service year, as the supervisory physician of the Ambulatory Medical Attention Unit, Primary Care Health Center of Limon, as well as in the Pediatrics and Emergency departments at Tony Facio Hospital in Limon. In 1992, Gei became the attending physician in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Max Peralta Hospital in Cartago and at a San Jose gynecology clinic. One year later, Gei arrived in Houston where he repeated his residency training at Baylor College of Medicine. He came to UTMB in 1998 as a fellow in maternal-fetal medicine and later joined the faculty.

Dr. Gugliuzza is an emeritus Scholar in the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine and attended medical school at the University of Illinois and achieved her residency training in General Surgery at Tulane University. She then completed fellowship training in Renal Transplantation at Tulane and Pancreatic Transplantation at the University of Minnesota. She now specializes in Pancreatic and Renal Transplant Surgery here at UTMB.

Her current research projects include effects of new immunosuppressive agents and computer use in the academic surgical setting.

Dr. Richard W. Goodgame is currently a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine and Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency. He teaches advanced gastrointestinal endoscopy (ERCP and EUS) in the UTMB Gastroenterology Fellowship Program. He earned his BA (History-English-Religion) degree from Vanderbilt University in 1971 and MD degree in 1975 from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and was a senior resident in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He completed his Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. Prior to UTMB, Dr. Goodgame served as Chief of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Ben Taub General Hospital, Houston, Texas, and Program Director of the Gastroenterology/Hepatology Fellowship Program at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.

In a former life he spent two years in the Caribbean (St. Lucia) performing chemotherapy trials on schistosomiasis with the Rockefeller Foundation and spent 10 years in the Department of Internal Medicine at Makerere University School of Medicine and Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. His research interests focused on gastrointestinal and hepatic infections, and AIDS related infections. He authored 40 articles in peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Journal of Infectious Disease, and the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

While at Baylor he taught first and second year medical students Introduction to Clinical Medicine, Parasitology, Clinical Nutrition, and a semester long elective entitled God and Medicine. Most of his teaching time was in graduate medical education as attending on the General Internal Medicine inpatient service, the Gastroenterology and Hepatology consultation service, and the GI fellowship program.

Dr. Goodgame is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology/Hepatology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Gastroenterology Association and member of the American College of Gastroenterology, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Holden graduated from UTMB's School of Medicine in 1985 and joined the internal medicine faculty three years later, becoming actively involved as a clinician instructor. The Houston native has contributed to the education of many students and residents in Internal Medicine and has directed four courses at UTMB, including Practice of Medicine 2, Great Syndromes, and Renal, Fluids, and Electrolytes.

He organized the implementation of the Osler Student Societies at UTMB in 2006. Dr. Holden has been recognized for his clinical skills, bedside teaching, and curriculum development, and waws a founding member of the University of Texas Academy of Health Science Education. He serves as the Vice Chair for Undergraduate and Continuing Education for the Department of Internal Medicine.

When selected for the McGovern Academy, Dr. Holden indicated that, "Being appointed as an Osler Scholar is an incredible honor for me, especially considering the excellence of the scholars and the number of outstanding faculty we have at UTMB. As physicians, we all identify with the history of Osler as a role model for high-quality and compassionate care. I am very excited about the opportunity to participate in the academy, to further my own learning, and to enhance the education of others.

Dr. Frederick S. Huang, assistant professor and director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Pediatrics , joined the UTMB faculty in 2001. He is a principal investigator with the Children's Oncology Group, which provides the latest treatments for childhood cancer. He is also a member of UTMB's Child Health Research Center and is conducting research on mucositis, a gastrointestinal injury resulting from the toxicity of chemotherapy cancer treatments. Dr. Huang teaches numerous courses in the university's schools of Medicine, Allied Health Sciences and Graduate Biomedical Sciences and has been recognized as an outstanding instructor, having received the Class of 1947 Excellence in Education Award and the Department of Pediatrics' Golden Rattle Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching.

Dr. Huang earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in 1994 and completed his residency in pediatrics at Baylor's affiliated hospitals three years later. He conducted his fellowship training in pediatric hematology/oncology at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dr. Karnath received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston in 1994. He was an intern and resident here at UTMB from 1994-1997. He also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Texas A&M in Kingsville, TX. Dr. Karnath is Board Certified in Internal Medicine; his special interest is in education.

Since 1998, Dr. Karnath has been involved in numerous education roles such as the UTMB Scholars in Education Diplomat, which is an institutionally sponsored educational program by the Office of Educational Development (OED). He has served as the assistant course director in the Practice of Medicine Course (POM) Year 1 and Year 2, now serving as the course director. He serves as a senior elective course director for the Internal Medicine Electives program. Dr. Karnath, along with another physician, participated in the development of a cardiovascular physical diagnosis self-teaching system (STS) and implemented a computer-based physical diagnosis course in cardiopulmonary medicine.

Dr. Karnath has attained many awards and honors. To name a few, he was given an award in February 2006 & 2007 for "Most Dedicated Faculty" by St. Vincent's Clinic. He was nominated for the "2006 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Humanism in Medicine Award". In April 2005 he won third place for the "Department of Internal Medicine Excellence in Teaching" award, however in April 2006 he won first place. In December 2005 he won the "John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award". Along with all of this, he still finds time to see his patients in the Harborside Medical Clinic.

Dr. Susan McCammon graduated from Columbia University in 1988 with a B.A. in Music History. She then went on to complete an M.F.A. in Historical Musicology at Princeton University. After several years of teaching and researching the role of the surgically altered voice, Dr. McCammon matriculated at the University of Alabama School of Medicine where she received her M.D., magna cum laude, and continued into her chosen field of head and neck surgery, with an internship in General Surgery and a residency in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. In 2005, Dr. McCammon completed her advanced fellowship training in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In March 2006, Dr. McCammon joined the UTMB full-time faculty, where she serves as the Co-Director of the Center for Cancers of the Head and Neck.

Dr. Mileski is Professor in the Department of Surgery and holder of the Chela and Jimmy Storm Distinguished Professorship in Surgical Research. He also serves as Chief of Trauma Services. Dr. Mileski is a skilled and caring surgeon and an exceptional teacher. He has distinguished himself nationally and internationally as an investigator in the area of trauma and critical care. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and has received significant funding from the NIH and fro private industry. Dr. Mileski has presented his work at professional meetings of national and international scope. He serves on the editorial board for Shock, Journal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation, and Surgical Infection Forum. Dr. Mileski earned his MD degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey in 1983.

Dr. Patricia Ann Rogers is a Professor of Pediatrics at UTMB. She is a member of the Academy of Master Teachers as well as has the title of Distinguished Teaching Professor as a member of the University Of Texas Academy Of Health Science Education. Her passion, needless to say is teaching learners who include medical students and residents. Although she has received numerous teaching awards her pride and joy are the two she received for Excellence in Clinical Teaching by the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine. In 2014 she received her second Golden Rattle Award once again for excellence in clinical teaching. She has been featured yearly in the Texas Monthly Magazine as a Super Doctor.

Dr. Rogers graduated from Vanderbilt University, attended Medical School at the University of Tennessee, and subsequently ended up in the Galveston where she did her residency in Pediatrics. She stayed on as Chief-Resident and went to Plano, Texas for thirteen years where she was in private practice. Since her return to UTMB in 1998 she has served on numerous committees, sees her private patients and precepts residents. She is active in the community and has held a position as a board of directors member with the Galveston County Health District. She is active in a medical ministry at her church, Live Oak in Galveston, Texas.

Dr. Thompson earned her M.D. from UTMB in 1971 and completed the university's family medicine residency program in 1974. That same year, she became a diplomat of the American Board of Family Practice, receiving additional qualifications in geriatric medicine in 1987.

Thompson, who grew up in Amarillo, became interim medical director of UTMB hospital clinics and assistat dean for faculty practice in 2009. She is the Sealy Hutchings and Lucille Wright Hutchings Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Thompson also serves on the board of directors of UTMB HealthCare Systems, Inc., a nonprofit organization that acts as an HMO for special needs populations. She has been acknowledge by her colleagues for making her patients feel like participants in their care and for championing patient access to health care.

Dr. Wolf is a Professor of Psychiatry in the Child and Adolescent Division, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at UTMB. He has served as the Department’s Outpatient Medical Director since 2000 and has been the Chairman of IRB-2 since 2010. He maintains an active private practice and provides clinical supervision of the Child Psychiatry fellows and medical students in the UTMB Psychiatry clinics and the St. Vincent’s Clinic. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, both for General and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Wolf attended college at Lamar University in Beaumont, TX, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology with a Minor in Chemistry. Dr. Wolf attended Medical School at UTMB graduating in 1986, completed his residency in General Psychiatry in 1993 and his fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 1995. He joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry in 1995. Dr. Wolf’s areas of interest include Team Based Learning in Medical Student Education, the use of popular cinema in Medical Student Psychiatry Education, Psychopharmacology and Medication Side Effects, and Bipolar Disorder in youth.

Dr. Wolf has received numerous awards including awards for his dedication and service to NAMI Gulf Coast, Most Dedicated Faculty Award at the St. Vincent’s Clinic, and the Medical Student Teaching Award in The Department of Psychiatry. He serves as the course director for the Psychiatry component of the Practice of Medicine course for second year medicals students and the course director for two elective/selective courses; Psychiatry and Cinema, and Diagnosis Simply Through Movies (DSM5). He is a member of the national Team Based Learning Conference Planning Committee and Team Based Learning Collaborative Nominating Committee. His regular lecture modules to the residents and medical students include Developmental Learning Disorders, Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, the Pharmacologic treatment of Depression and Bipolar Disorder in youth, Substance Abuse, Autism, Childhood Schizophrenia, Emergency Psychiatry, and Neurocognitive Disorders. He is a frequent invited speaker to community support groups for those affected by mental illness.