Medical School News
From the Dean
Dear Friends,
Medical heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Take the black, pointy-eared hero featured on our cover, for example. Aptly named Batman, he underwent lifesaving but experimental surgery at the University that may someday also be used to treat humans with brain cancer.
Like all good stories, Batman’s is filled with notable figures, including the Medical School’s John Ohlfest, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Pluhar, D.V.M., Ph.D., of the College of Veterinary Medicine, who together made his successful treatment possible. Another standout, Jaime Modiano, V.M.D., Ph.D., directs the University’s new Animal Cancer Care and Research program. Run jointly by the Masonic Cancer Center and College of Veterinary Medicine, the program is expected to quickly become a national leader in comparative oncology.
You’ll also encounter champions in our story about kidney donors. Among them is Maria Rosenbaum, who donated one of her kidneys to her 4-year-old daughter, Lexi. A hero in her own right, Lexi courageously underwent dialysis for nearly 12 hours a night for the last two-plus years, before her transplant in February.
Steve Conroy, who donated a kidney anonymously to someone he has never met, is worthy of recognition as well. Fortunately for donors and recipients alike, new research by University nephrologist Hassan Ibrahim, M.D., suggests that there are no long-term adverse consequences of living kidney donation—a finding he hopes will encourage others to follow Conroy’s example.
Our story on anatomy education highlights another altruistic group: the generous donors who bequeath their bodies to science to help our students become skilled, caring doctors.
In fact, in every story, you’ll find an inspirational story with a real-life hero at its center—that’s the beauty of medicine.
Deborah E. Powell, M.D.
Dean, University of Minnesota Medical School
McKnight Presidential Leadership Chair
