Stories About Alumni

fALL 2009

Alumni Spotlight | Joy Ngobi, M.D., M.P.H.

Joy Ngobi, M.D., M.P.H., knows hopelessness. One of her brothers was killed in a bar fight the week he graduated from college, and two more of her 11 siblings died of HIV—devastating Ngobi’s family, especially her mother.

Reunion Weekend: Catching up with classmates

Excitement filled the air at the University of Minnesota in September as the campus literally buzzed with activity. On the same weekend Gopher football returned to campus, Medical School alumni reconnected at this year’s Reunion Weekend.

Alumni reconnect with pediatrics at the U

University of Minnesota pediatrics faculty and alumni gathered to reconnect and learn about developments in children’s health at the University. Heidi Roy Hubbard, M.D., alumni class of 1997, cohosted the event and spoke about the impact alumni are making in the community.

Spring 2009

Start your class reunion early!

You don’t have to wait till this fall’s Alumni Reunion (September 11-12) to reconnect with your Medical School friends and classmates—now you can reestablish old bonds online. The Medical Alumni Society has created a page for Medical School alumni, students, faculty, and staff on Facebook.

Filling a need: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

“I’ve been interested in food since I was a kid,” says Jeffrey Hertzberg, M.D., M.S., a resident alumnus in internal medicine and author of a popular new book on bread baking. “It’s the opposite of science: You can be creative.” Now an adjunct assistant professor in the University’s Institute for Health Informatics, Hertzberg began baking in 1987.

Medical Alumni Society honors five with annual awards

The University of Minnesota Medical Alumni Society has selected five exceptional physicians to receive two of its awards in 2009. Please join us in congratulating and thanking these deserving doctors for their work in the service of the medical profession.

Finding Ways to Give Back During Tough Economic Times

The poor economy is on everyone’s mind, including last year’s medical students, who graduated with an average debt of $174,000 each. While many unknowns remain, we do know that Minnesota is facing a historic budget shortfall, which will affect the Medical School as well.

Alumni Spotlight | Arne Vainio, M.D.

A family physician who had worked hard to build trusting relationships with his Native American patients at the Min-No-Aya-Win Human Services Clinic, Arne Vainio, M.D. Vainio put himself in his patients’ shoes. He went to his doctor for a complete workup.

In memoriam

Freedolph D. Anderson, M.D., Philip L. Blumenthal, M.D.,Robert J. Campaigne, M.D.,John H. Draheim, M.D., and more.

 

Winter 2009

David Wallinga: Creating a healthier environment for children

Every day, David Wallinga, M.D., M.P.A., sees missed opportunities to prevent chronic disease. As director of the food and health program at the Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Wallinga examines how environmental factors affect human health.

Gerald Hill: Doctor, mentor, leader

Tiffany Beckman, M.D., the first Native American endocrinologist in the nation, stepped up to the podium and took a deep breath. “I told myself I wasn't going to cry," she began, but cry she did as she told Gerald Hill, M.D.

Renewing medical school connections

Nearly 150 alumni reconnected with their classmates during Alumni Reunion Weekend on September 26–27, 2008. In total, 258 alumni and guests attended the weekend's activities. View a slideshow of the festivities

Former dean was committed to students, international collaboration

N. L. (“Neal”) Gault Jr., M.D., beloved former dean and alumnus of the University of Minnesota Medical School, died December 11 of pancreatic cancer at his St. Paul home. He was 88.

Remembering a trusted adviser

Helene Horwitz, Ph.D., spent her entire career mentoring and helping students. As associate dean for student affairs at the Medical School for the last 19 years, she helped U of M medical students get through difficult academic and financial times.

In Memoriam

Carole J. Bland, Ph.D., Samuel W. Hunter, M.D., Robert G. Bjornson, M.D., and more.

Honoring a pioneer: Daughter's $50 million gift in father's honor names children's hospital.

As she stood before a crowd saluting her with a loud standing ovation, Caroline Amplatz, J.D., was momentarily overcome by emotion. University of Minnesota officials had just announced Amplatz's $50 million gift to its children's hospital in honor of her father.

Fall 2008

Arthur Aufderheide: Wrapping up a career in paleopathology

Arthur Aufderheide, M.D., enters his office near the loading dock of a research building several blocks off the U of M Duluth campus. Inside his office are the usual items. Inside a broken-down incubator he salvaged from another department, he stores about 5,000 samples of mummified body tissue.

Class of '58 alumnus pens award-winning children's book about dying

Like many of his 1958 Medical School classmates who were reunited at this fall's Reunion Weekend, September 26-27, Jerrold Johnson, M.D., has remained active in his medical and social communities. He retired from his family practice but continues to volunteer at Bozeman, Montana.

Alumnus's book provides a layperson's look at stem cell science

As a career-long faculty member at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Leo Furcht, M.D., has had a front-row seat for many breakthroughs in stem cell science over the last few decades.

Mentoring program pays off for students and physicians

Looking back on his early years of Medical School at the University of Minnesota, Pete Stiles feels fortunate that he's had someone to turn to for support and advice. "I lucked out enormously in this program," he says, referring to the Mentoring Program that paired him with Frank Indihar, M.D.

Alumnus, cystic fibrosis expert receives U's outstanding service award

In a ceremony last spring, Warren J. Warwick, M.D., a longtime professor in the Medical School's Department of Pediatrics, received the University of Minnesota President's Award for Outstanding Service.

Gault, Ollila receive Alumni Service Awards

Medical School alumni Neal Gault Jr., M.D., and Eugene Ollila, M.D., are among those being honored this fall with the U of M Alumni Service Award. Medical School Dean Deborah Powell, M.D., presented Gault and Ollila with their citations earlier this fall.

Honoring Duluth Campus medical legends and leaders

"As charter dean, Bob Carter was hired to break eggs and make this medical school omelet," says Richard Eisenberg, Ph.D., recalling the early days of the two-year Duluth Medical School, which admitted its first class in 1972.

In Memoriam

Howard A. Andersen, M.D., Austin M. "Mac" McCarthy, M.D., Philip Y. Paterson, M.D., and more.

Summer 2008

In gratitude for education and opportunities, family gives back to the University

C. Walton Lillehei‚ M.D.‚ Ph.D.‚ known to many as "the father of open-heart surgery‚" earned all five of his degrees at the University of Minnesota. His widow‚ Katherine "Kaye" Lillehei‚ earned two degrees in nursing here. His brothers are all University graduates‚ as are their wives.

Spring 2008

Doing us proud

Emotions—from anxiety to joy to relief—ran high at this year's Match Day ceremony. The 202 students from the Medical School's Class of 2008 who matched learned on March 20 where they'd spend the next several years of their medical training.

MAS president's column: Fostering connections between students and alumni

On behalf of the Medical Alumni Society, I congratulate the Medical School's newest 209 alumni, who received their medical degrees on May 2. Naturally, this class is full of bright, talented doctors, and we're proud to have them as colleagues.

Sanne Magnan: In a top policy job, alumna finds her clinical work feeds her passion

As the recently appointed Minnesota commissioner of health, Sanne Magnan, M.D., Ph.D., has an ambitious to-do list: prevent disease, advance health-care reform, and ensure that the 5 million-plus people living in Minnesota are protected from public health threats.

Medical Alumni Society honors five physicians

The University of Minnesota Medical Alumni Society has selected five exceptional physicians to receive its three awards for 2008. Please join us in congratulating and thanking these doctors for their work in the service of the medical profession.

U honors Medical School alumnus

Glen D. Nelson, M.D., Medical School Class of 1963, has been selected to receive the University of Minnesota's Outstanding Achievement Award.

In Memoriam

M. Elizabeth Craig, M.D., Class of 1945, Edina, Minnesota, Malcolm M. Fifield, M.D., Class of 1950, Duluth, Minnesota, Robert W. Hollenhorst, M.D., Class of 1940, Rochester, Minnesota, and more

 

Alpha Omega Alpha: A centennial of service

The condition of American medical education at the turn of the 20th century would shock all but the medical historian. Only a handful of the 155 entities identified as medical schools in the United States offered scientifically based training, hands-on laboratory experience, or practical rotations.

A lifelong investment: Alumna's estate gift to U Medical School honors life she and her husband shared

Born in 1907 in Browns Valley, Minnesota, Mary LaDue was ahead of her time. An independent-minded young woman, she graduated from high school at age 15 and completed her degree at the University of Minnesota in three years.

Winter 2008

Bill Roberts: Going the distance in sports medicine

The heat—74 degrees with 87 percent relative humidity at the race's 8 a.m. start—contributed to several other records as well, says William (Bill) O. Roberts, M.D., M.S., a Medical School alumnus (Class of '78) and the marathon's medical director.

Memories of medical school

Nearly 200 alumni reconnected with their classmates during Alumni Reunion Weekend on September 28–29, 2007. A total of 359 alumni and guests attended the weekend's festivities.

In Memoriam

Robert B. Bailey, M.D., Ronald N. Berry, M.D., Charles M. Binger, M.D., and more.

 

Travel awards to give medical students a chance to study in Israel

For 20 years the Phi Delta Epsilon Jewish Medical Fraternity Fund has provided scholarships to medical students at the University of Minnesota. Alumni and members of the fraternity are hoping to boost support for the fund and make travel to Israel for students for part of their medical training.

Act now to invest in the future of medicine

In the last 18 months, the University of Minnesota Medical School has hired nationally recognized leaders in surgery, orthopaedic surgery, otolaryngology, cardiology, stem cell research, pediatrics, and neurology.

New directory to keep alumni connected

Want to find a long-lost medical school classmate? Wondering what your fellow alumni are up to? A new alumni directory can help.

 

Supporting students: Donors share their motivations for giving to SPH scholarships

Whether it's honoring a dedicated educator, "paying it forward," or simply supporting a longtime interest, donors to the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health (SPH) have many reasons for giving to student scholarships.

Fall 2007

Mentoring program offers learning opportunities for students and physicians

Less than a year after meeting her mentor through the Connections Physician-Student Mentoring Program, medical student Adrienne Schwartz, M.P.H., found herself working as part of his research team at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center for a summer.

Alumnus receives award for book on homicide

Psychiatrist Carl P. Malmquist, M.D., has received the prestigious Manfred S. Guttmacher Award for his book Homicide: A Psychiatric Perspective, now in its second edition.

 

Sarah Nunneley: Feeling the pull of aerospace medicine

As a young doctor in aerospace medicine, Sarah Nunneley, M.D., M.S., didn't want merely to observe her study participants spinning in a human centrifuge. She wanted in.

In Memoriam

Kenneth E. Ahola, M.D., Leslie E. Arnow, M.D., James A. Berlin, M.D., and more

 

Spring 2007

Alumnus to lead Lillehei Heart Institute and Division of Cardiology

Distinguished University alumnus Daniel J. Garry, M.D., Ph.D., will hold the St. Jude Medical Cardiovascular Chair in Biomedical Engineering as the Medical School's new director of the Lillehei Heart Institute and of the Division of Cardiology.

Match Day—a different kind of March Madness

"I want to welcome you to medicine's March Madness," Medical School Dean Deborah Powell, M.D., told the fourth-year medical students and their families and friends gathered at the McNamara Alumni Center on March 15 for Match Day.

Bruce Dahlman: Alumnus helps establish Kenya's first family medicine residency program

Bruce Dahlman's first taste of international medicine, when he was a medical student in 1980, lingered, took hold, and eventually lured him back.

Medical Alumni Society honors six physicians

The University of Minnesota's Medical Alumni Society has selected six physicians to receive its three awards for 2007. Please join us in congratulating and thanking these hardworking doctors for their exceptional work in the service of the medical profession.

Learning about our alumni

Ninety-two percent of Medical School alumni are satisfied with how well the U of M prepared them to succeed in their careers, according to the U of M Connecting with Alumni survey. The survey asked 300,000 U of M alumni about their connections to their alma mater.

Having a ball

This year's Winter Ball, held February 9 at the Nicollet Island Pavilion in Minneapolis, drew a record attendance of 560, including medical students from the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses and their guests. Sponsored by the Minnesota Medical Foundation.

In Memoriam

Franklin C. Anderson, M.D., John W. Anderson, M.D., Solveig M. Bergh, M.D., and more.

 

A pioneer in oncology

B. J. Kennedy promoted the creation of medical oncology as its own specialty. In the 1960s, cancer most often meant a dire prognosis. Cure rates for many cancers were in the single digits. In the years that followed, a group of physicians and scientists was working to improve those numbers.

Winter 2007

Alumni Spotlight: Three alumni help rehabilitate soldiers in VA's polytrauma unit

For three University of Minnesota Medical School alumni, news headlines drive home their daily reality: Fewer soldiers are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, but more are coming home severely injured.

Setting the pace: What do you get when you combine a heart surgeon and an electrical engineer?

December 1957. As snow swirls around a garage-turned workshop in northeast Minneapolis, the young man inside hunches over a collection of wires, resistors, switches, and other electrical bits and pieces. History is being made: The man is Earl Bakken, and the device taking shape in his hands is the world's first wearable transistorized pacemaker.

Our list of achievements is 2,200 feet long

The University of Minnesota is celebrating its scholars by putting their accomplishments on display. Dedicated in September, the University's Scholars Walk prominently and permanently recognizes the intellectual successes of faculty, students, and alumni whose academic and professional endeavors have changed the world.

Alumnus's book on prisoner abuse draws international attention

A book written by Medical School alumnus and faculty member Steven H. Miles, M.D., on the medical mistreatment of prisoners in U.S. military prisons continues to draw international attention.

In Memoriam

Donald S. Amatuzio, M.D., Arthur H. Bearon, M.D., John M. Douglas, M.D., and more.

 

Fall 2006

A global investment Resident alum's gift starts endowment for international outreach

Before an old Army acquaintance asked him to volunteer his medical services abroad, Philip Gardner, M.D., hadn't given much thought to participating in international humanitarian work. But because of his friend's request, Gardner made a trip to Guatemala in 1994. And he's been hooked on helping others in developing countries ever since.

Three honored for their accomplishments at annual banquet

The Department of Ophthalmology celebrated accomplishments by faculty, alumni, and volunteers in advocating for and supporting visual health and eye research at its 2006 Annual Banquet. The event, cohosted by the department and the Minnesota Medical Foundation, was held at the McNamara Alumni Center.

Penny Wheeler: Alumna takes reigns as Allina's chief clinical officer

While working as a full-time clinician at Women's Health Consultants‚ an independent practice affiliated with Abbott Northwestern Hospital‚ she was chair of the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department. She then became medical staff president for Abbott and later chaired the quality committee while serving on the Allina Hospital.

Making memories at Alumni Reunion Weekend 2006

More than 400 University of Minnesota Medical School alumni and their guests returned to campus last spring to reconnect with classmates.

Reunion Weekend moves to September

Reunion Weekend is moving from May to September. Beginning with the classes scheduled to reunite in 2007—Medical School graduating classes of 1947, 1952, 1957, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, and 1997—Reunion Weekend will move to the fall to better accommodate busy summer schedules.

Stuart Bloom: Former actor and comedian finds place for humor in career as oncologist

Before thoughts of anatomy lab and pathology textbooks even crossed his mind, Stuart Bloom, M.D., Class of 1995, was cracking one-liners onstage in New York City.

In Memoriam

Jon H. Bayer, M.D., Ronald E. Cranford, M.D., Sidney Esensten, M.D., Robert J. Fink, M.D., and more.

Spring 2006

The envelope, please

Match Day 2006 portends the future for fourth-year students. It's a rite of spring—and a rite of passage—on every U.S. medical campus. Match Day is the day when fourth-year medical students gather nervously, to simultaneously open small white envelopes that hold important news about the next big step in their medical careers.

James Baumgaertner: Bridging a great divide

James Baumgaertner, M.D., knows the power of one. Twenty years ago he began driving a simple children's art project aimed at soothing Cold War tensions between the US and the Soviet Union. Along the way, the project became the foundation for a rich relationship.

Does your alma mater matter?

As alumni, you know that our Medical School ranks high in many measures of higher education. But to help the University of Minnesota achieve its goal of becoming one of the world's top three public research universities, our school needs to become even stronger.

Medical Alumni Society honors seven physicians

The University of Minnesotas Medical Alumni Society board has selected seven physicians to receive its three awards for 2006. Please join us in congratulating and thanking these recipients for their exceptional work in the service of the medical profession.

In Memoriam

Willam H. Card, M.D., Marojorie Hartig, M.D., Jerome L. Keefe, M.D., Arnold J. Kremen, M.D., and more.

Winter 2006

Cunningham to lead American Society of Plastic Surgeons

The world's largest plastic surgery association and the foremost authority on cosmetic and reconstructive surgery is looking to a University of Minnesota alumnus and faculty member to lead the organization.

Alumni spotlight: UMD's pioneering Class of 1976

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the graduation of the first class to begin its medical training at the University of Minnesota Medical School-Duluth. This diverse group, which included a set of identical twins, two Native Americans, and a nun, entered a school that had been accredited only six weeks before.

Where are they now? H. Jerome Stulberg

H. Jerome Stulberg, M.D. As a recent retiree, Jerry Stulberg is enjoying a little more spare time, which he usually spends at his beach home, surfing, fishing, skiing, traveling, or doing charity work.

Where are they now? Louise A. Town

Louise A. Town, M.D. Louise Town was one of just 10 women in her medical school class of 170 students, but she says she always felt very much a part of the group. Today, 40 years since she earned her M.D., she's glad to see nearly equal proportions of male and female medical students in school.

Where are they now? Roger K. Waage

Roger K. Waage, M.D. Roger Waage can't believe it's been 30 years since he graduated from medical school. He was one of the first to start his medical education at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and he just might finish his medical career there, too.

Where are they now? Charles J. Lick

Charles J. Lick, M.D. Working for Allina Hospitals & Clinics, Charles Lick wears many hats. Twenty years after his graduation from medical school, he's the medical director for Allina Medical Transportation and the Emergency/Urgent Care department at Allina's Buffalo Hospital.

Where are they now? Janice M. Sinclair

Janice M. Sinclair, M.D. Janice Sinclair's favorite class in medical school was ophthalmology, so it's no surprise that she chose a career in comprehensive ophthalmology. Sinclair completed her residency at the University of Minnesota and received the Richard T. Olson Best Teaching Resident Award from the Department of Ophthalmology.

In Memoriam

Leon L. Adcock, M.D., Carl L. Biorn, M.D., John M. Dolan, Ph.D., John R. Gates, M.D., and more.