Alumni News: Progress Notes and Obituaries

Alumni News

1960s

Lee B. Martin, Jr., MD’69, announced his retirement after practicing family medicine for almost 50 years and serving on the staff at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., and at Northern Virginia Doctors’ Hospital, where he was chief of Family Practice and served on the Board of Directors. He also served as an adviser for the Visiting Nurses’ Association of Northern Virginia and on the Arlington County Board Nursing Home Commission.

1970s

George M. Wohlreich, MD’79, the director and CEO of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and its Mütter Museum, will retire in June. Since 2006, he has overseen the additions of the Center for Education and Templeton veranda, musical programming in concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Delaware Valley Medical Student Wellness Collaborative, and the college’s first comprehensive capital campaign, which was designed to endow staff positions and programs.

1980s

Douglas G. Cole, MD’86, was named the co-founder of Foghorn Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing gene regulation treatments. The company has 10 therapies in development that would target cancer and expects to begin its first clinical trials in the near future.

Jeffrey Alan Golden, M’88, has been appointed vice dean of research and graduate education and director of the Burns and Allen Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. He most recently served as the Ramzi S. Cotran Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and chair of Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Mark Shlomchik, MD’89, PhD’89, and his brother Warren Shlomchik, MD’89, have founded BlueSphere Bio, a biotechnology company that aims to

unlock the potential of personalized T cell therapy for the treatment of cancer using novel TCXpress technology. The platform uses a patient’s own immune defenses to attack their cancer specifically without touching normal tissues. In addition to this newest venture—the latest of many collaborations—Mark and Warren both hold positions at the University of Pittsburgh. Mark is the chair of Immunology and an Endowed and Distinguished Professor of Immunology, and Warren is a professor of Immunology and Medicine, director of the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant and Cell Therapy, and vice-chief of Hematologic Malignancies, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, and T cell Immunotherapy.

 

1990s

Ralph G. Nader, MD, GME’90, has established a concierge medicine program in collaboration with Castles Connolly Private Health Partners, LLC, in conjunction with his existing cardiology practice. He has been in private practice for 30 years as a clinical and interventional cardiologist. He founded the Miami Center for Advanced Cardiology in 2008.

Valerie Dawn Weber, MD’91, MS, FACP, has been appointed dean of the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. She most recently served as a professor of Medicine and the Deborah J. Tuttle, MD, and John P. Piper, MD, Senior Vice Dean for Educational Affairs at Drexel University College of Medicine.

Mark D. Eisner, MD’92, MPH, has been appointed chief medical officer at FibroGen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. He previously served as senior vice president and global head of product development of immunology, infectious disease, and ophthalmology at Genentech.

Mariana Nacht, PhD’93, has been appointed chief scientific officer at LogicBio Therapeutics, Inc., a company that pioneers targeted delivery platforms to extend the reach of genetic medicine. She recently served as chief scientific officer at Cereius, where she led a small internal reearch team and a group of collaborators to develop treatments for brain metastases.

Todd M. Fruchterman, MD’96, PhD, has been named president of the reliability solutions segment of Flex, Ltd., an American Singaporean-based multinational electronics contract manufacturer. He most recently served as president and general manager of medical solutions at 3M Company.

2000s

Daniel M. Skovronsky, MD’00, PhD’01, was named chief scientific officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories, a biotechnology company that announced a global antibody manufacturing collaboration with Amgen. The collaboration would enable rapid production of Lilly’s potential COVID-19 therapies should one or more of them prove successful in clinical testing and receive regulatory approval.

Robert Doebele, MD’01, PhD’01, has been appointed executive vice president and chief scientific officer at Rain Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on target therapies for patients with cancer. He co-founded the company in 2017 and served as chair of the Scientific Advisory Board.

Carissa M. Baker-Smith, MD’03, MS, MPH, has been appointed director of Preventative Cardiology at the Nemours Cardiac Center at Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children. She most recently served as an associate professor of Pediatrics and as the primary pediatric cardiologist for the Cardiovascular Genetics Program and the heart transplantation program.

Amy T. Campbell, JD, MBE’03, has been named associate dean of law and health sciences and is one of the newest members of tenured faculty at UIC Law in Chicago. She specializes in health policy, health justice, and health equity, with a focus on the role of policy in preventing childhood and community trauma.

Dave A. Chokshi, MD’09, MSc, has been appointed commissioner of New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene by Mayor Bill de Blasio. He has served at the highest level of local, state, and federal health agencies, including NYC Health + Hospitals, where he was in senior leadership roles over the past six years. Most recently, he was the chief population health officer, where he transformed healthcare delivery for over one million New Yorkers.

Obituaries

1940s

Howard E. First, BS’46, MD’50, an obstetrician; July 11. After earning both his bachelor’s degree and medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, First completed his residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He practiced obstetrics and gynecology in the Philadelphia area until retiring to Florida in 2000. He also enjoyed giving back to the Jewish community in both Philadelphia and Palm Beach Gardens.

Park W. Gloyd, MD’48, an orthopaedic surgeon; July 21. After earning his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he completed his training at the University of California-San Francisco and the University of Washington. Gloyd served in the U.S. Army as a surgeon during and after the Korean War. He later became director of Orthopaedics and president of the medical staff at Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, as well as a clinical professor at the University of Washington. The Park W. Gloyd annual lecture series was created in 1982 to honor his contributions.

1950s

John Donnell Bacon, MD’51, a surgeon; June 26. After graduating from Swarthmore College, he earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He served in the U.S. Navy, then settled in Florida and practiced medicine for more than 30 years throughout Palm Beach County. Bacon also traveled the world as an underwater and nature photographer.

George P. Highsmith, MD, GME’51, FACP, an internist; Aug. 7. After earning his medical degree at Wake Forest University, he continued his training at Georgetown University, Wake Forest University, and the University of Pennsylvania. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army, then set up his medical practice. Highsmith served the residents of Thomasville and Davidson County, N.C., for over 40 years. He also practiced in the old Thomasville Memorial Hospital and the Community General Hospital of Thomasville.

C. Parker Long, MD’51, a physician; Oct. 6. He served in the Marine Corps during World War II and earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Long practiced family medicine in Naples, N.Y., for nearly 40 years and was a president of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians. He was a man who valued medicine, family, friends, and faith.

Gerald Goldstein, MD’52, an internist; July 23. After earning a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he completed residencies at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Dallas Veterans Hospital, and the Martinsburg VA Hospital. He later became an emeritus professor of Medicine and Microbiology at the University of Virginia, where he established an adult oncology program, served as director of the first inpatient palliative care unit, and conducted research in the field of fluorescent immunology. Throughout his career, he continued to educate himself through apprenticeships around the world in research and clinical oncology, and he served as president of the Virginia division of the American Cancer Society.

Richard M. Barry, MD’54, an internist; Sep. 18. After serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II, he earned degrees from Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed his training at New York Hospital Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital before practicing at Mystic Medical Group, now part of Hartford Health Care. Barry served on the board of managers at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and helped implement the first physician staffing system for the emergency room. He also helped establish the first health maintenance organization (HMO) in southeastern Connecticut, serving as the chairman of the board.

Dwight Jordan Hotchkiss, Jr., MD’54, a physician; Aug. 30. After earning his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany. After his military service, he completed his residency at the University of Colorado Medical School. He practiced at the Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, N.J., for 30 years, where he became board-certified in oncology. Upon retirement, Hotchkiss worked as a locum tenens physician in Keowee Key, S.C., and served as president of the board at the Hospice of the Foothills.

John F. Strahan, MD, GME’55, a dermatologist; July 12. After serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, he completed his dermatology training at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He was appointed the first chief resident in Dermatology at the University of Maryland, then went into private practice in Baltimore for over 50 years. Strahan was an instructor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and an assistant professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He held a variety of additional roles, such as president of the Maryland Dermatological Society.

Stephen Herbert Rovno, MD’58, an anesthesiologist; Nov 2020. After earning his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he completed his training at Albert Einstein Medical Center and the University of California-San Francisco. As a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, he established the anesthesia department at the Naval hospital in Guam. Following his service, Rovno practiced at Mills Memorial Hospital in San Mateo, Calif., for 35 years and volunteered for Vision Health International for 13 years, performing international medical missions for people in need of eye surgery and glasses.

David C. Cottrell, MD’59, GME’66, an orthopaedic surgeon; June 5. After earning a medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he was stationed in Okinawa with the U.S. Army. Following his military service, he completed an internship and residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). Cottrell taught orthopaedic surgery at Penn and was an attending physician at HUP. He worked in private practice in Bryn Mawr and Selinsgrove, Pa., was a surgeon at the Sunbury Community Hospital and Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, Pa., and held many professional memberships.

Thomas French Whayne, Jr., BS’59, MD’63, PhD, a cardiologist; June 19. After earning his chemistry and medical degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, he pursued his biochemistry degree at the University of California-San Francisco. He was a professor at Ohio State University, an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma, and a cardiologist at the Lexington Clinic prior to joining the faculty at the University of Kentucky. Whayne published more than 150 medical articles, gave lectures in Spanish around the world, and was honored with the Thomas F. Whayne Professor of Women’s Heart Health at the U.K. College of Medicine.

1960s

William B. Carey, MD, GME’60, a pediatrician; July 26. After earning his medical degree at Harvard University, he interned at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he taught and practiced for almost 60 years. He was also a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. His research into the temperamental differences in developing children gained international attention, and he advanced the field by helping to create a clinical questionnaire to measure and group children’s behaviors. Carey published more than 130 research papers, reviews, and books. He received the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Aldrich Award in Child Development and its Practitioner Research Award, and he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

David Abraham Sommer, MD’60, an internist; Sep. 12. After earning a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he completed an internship at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, and was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Berlin Crisis. He became a captain in the U.S. Army First Armored Division and received a service commendation from President John F. Kennedy. Following his military service, Sommer completed residencies at Jackson Memorial Hospital in internal medicine and gastroenterology. He entered private practice and joined the staff of some of the most highly-regarded hospitals in Miami-Dade County. Throughout his career, he earned the trust of his colleagues and his patients’ families as much for his professional abilities as for his warmth, joyfulness, and vibrant personality.

MarJeanne (Mimi) Collins, MD’61, GME’66, an emeritus associate professor at the Perelman School of Medicine; Oct. 8. After earning her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, she interned at Bryn Mawr Hospital and completed residencies in physical medicine, rehabilitation, and pediatrics at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She practiced pediatrics in West Philadelphia while advancing her career at Penn, becoming an assistant professor of Pediatrics, an assistant professor at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and director of Penn’s Student Health Services until her retirement in 2000. Collins was instrumental in creating an adolescent medicine unit at CHOP and served as its inaugural director. She published many influential papers and received many awards, including the American College Health Association Edward Buck Award.

Malcolm Henderson Rourk, Jr., MD’63, a pediatrician; Sep. 4. After spending a year studying in Germany as a Fulbright scholar, he earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force before completing his training in pediatrics and pulmonology. Rourk was an associate clinical professor at Duke University, where he created the Division of Pediatric GI and Nutrition, became the director of the Pediatric Residency Program, and served on the medical school admissions committee. Travel, music, gardening, and his beloved corgis were among his greatest loves.

Bertram H. Lubin, GME’66, a pediatrician; June 27. After earning a medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh and completing a pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), he served as an U.S. Army physician in Vietnam, then completed a fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. He returned to CHOP as director of the Hematology Lab and was an assistant professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Lubin later became the president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Oakland, which he affiliated with the University of California-San Francisco, creating UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. He became associate dean for children’s health and founded the Center for Community Health and Engagement.

Donald C. Steckel, MD’67, a physician; Aug. 28. After earning a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he practiced internal medicine at Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, Pa., where he served on the board of directors, as chief of staff and chief of medicine, and founded the hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Center. Steckel was president of the Union County Medical Society and led medical mission trips to Kenya, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. He was also a founding member of the Lewisburg Christian and Missionary Alliance Church and an elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Lewisburg.

Robert P. Gordon, MD’68, a psychoanalyst; Jan. 10. After earning his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he served in the U.S. Indian Health Service and directed a mental health program for eight Native American tribes. He completed a psychiatric residency at the University of Chicago and became a psychoanalyst through the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute, where he joined the faculty and served terms as assistant dean, dean, and director. Gordon also contributed his time and talents to Northwestern University’s department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Feinberg School of Medicine, Friends of the Parks, and Family Focus in both Englewood and Evanston.

E. Barry Topham, MD’68, a dermatologist; Sep. 21. After earning a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he served in the military and completed a residency in dermatology in the VA Long Beach Healthcare System. Returning to his home state of Utah, Topham established his Holladay Dermatology Clinic, where he worked for 46 years in private practice, the last 22 in partnership with his son. His loved ones fondly remember that 15-minute appointments would often run much longer given his love of catching up with his patients.

Ann Hanahoe Hines, MD’69, a pediatrician; Sep. 7. After earning a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, she founded the Cyril and Mary Hanahoe Memorial Children’s Clinic in Danbury, Conn., where she served as sole pediatrician and executive director for 35 years, providing outpatient medical services to children whose families could not afford private pediatric care. Hines’ accolades include the National Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service and the Ladies Home Journal Award.

1970s

Gerd Muehllehner, PhD, GME’72, a radiologist; June 2020. After earning a PhD in nuclear physics at the University of Michigan, he came to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine as a lecturer in Radiology, ultimately becoming a full professor in Radiologic Physics. He helped launch the modern generation of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging devices and commercialized PET technology at UGM Medical Systems. Along with his wife and friends, he established the Gerd Muehllehner Professorship of Radiology.

David Hollander Grossman, MD’76, a physician; May 31. After earning his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he was an emergency room physician for 38 years, including 10 years as chief of the Emergency Department at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pa. Grossman also served as a Board Member of Kitty Cottage Adoption Center.

Martin G. St. John Sutton, MD, GME’79, an emeritus professor at the Perelman School of Medicine; June 8. He earned his medical degree at Guy’s Hospital Medical School in London. As a fellow at the Mayo Clinic, he studied the use of ultrasound in fetal physiology and turned his focus to congenital heart diseases. He joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1979, where he worked on clinical applications of echocardiography and became an assistant professor of Medicine and co-director of the Non-Invasive Cardiac Laboratory. At Brigham and Women’s Hospital of the Harvard Medical School, Sutton’s seminal research began a new era of post-infarction therapy and provided the foundation for all subsequent studies of ventricular remodeling. He returned to Penn in 1993 as the John W. Bryfogle Professor of Medicine, and served as the director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Program and Cardiology Fellowship Program, established the first joint Adult Congenital Heart Disease program between the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and created the Center for Quantitative Echocardiography at HUP.

1980s

John K. Erban III, MD, GME’84, an oncologist; Sep. 2. Between a residency and chief residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, he spent two years in the National Health Service Corps in rural Florida. After a fellowship at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Erban joined the faculty, serving as chief of Hematology/Oncology, co-director of the Breast Cancer Program, and a professor of Medicine. He also served on the boards of the Silent Spring Institute and the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care. A devoted clinician, researcher, and teacher, he worked tirelessly to treat and prevent cancer.

Christina Doll, MD’85, a physician; Jan. 12. After double majoring in biology and chemistry at Seton Hill University, she earned her medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She cared for patients in Pittsburgh, York, and on the campuses of Penn State University and Bucknell University. She worked for an outpatient private practice in Happy Valley, then later at SCI Rockview and Smithfield. She also consulted with Cove Forge Rehabilitation Center and the State College Area School District for student health screenings. When she was not with patients, Doll loved cooking, traveling, and tap dancing.

Margaret Grace Stineman, MD, GME’87, an emeritus professor at the Perelman School of Medicine; July 9. After earning a medical degree at Hahnemann University, she came to the University of Pennsylvania as a resident, was awarded the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholarship, and went on to hold positions in rehabilitation medicine, internal medicine, and biostatistics and epidemiology. She served as vice chair and director for research in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and was a senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. In addition to earning many prestigious awards, Stineman helped develop a patient classification approach that became the basis for Medicare’s national payment system for inpatient rehabilitation, and pioneered the Functional Independence Measure that became the national standard for measuring inpatient rehabilitative progress.

Ned Charlton Sacktor, MD’88, a neurologist; Nov. 11. After earning a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he completed a neurology residency at Columbia University’s Neurological Institute and was awarded a behavioral neurology fellowship at Columbia’s Presbyterian Hospital. There, he launched his research in the cognitive manifestations of HIV/AIDS. At Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine, he was instrumental in developing the HIV dementia program that remains a driver of studies relating to cognitive disorders in HIV/AIDS. Sacktor produced over 190 research articles and gave lectures around the world. He was president of the Maryland Neurological Society in 1998 and was asked to serve as president of the World Neurology Foundation in 2016.

Faculty

MarJeanne (Mimi) Collins, MD’61, GME’66. See Class of 1961.

Trevor R. Hadley, PhD, an emeritus professor at the Perelman School of Medicine; Oct. 29. He received his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh and led a distinguished career across public mental health policy and research environments. He served the mental health center director and then the state mental health deputy commissioner for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and as commissioner of mental health for the State of Maryland. Hadley later became the founding director of the Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research at the University of Pennsylvania, where he created a Fellowship Community Psychiatry program to train future leaders in public mental health systems. He also became an emeritus professor of Psychology in Psychiatry.

Margaret Grace Stineman, MD, GME’87. See Class of 1987.

Martin G. St. John Sutton, MD, GME’79. See Class of 1979.

Donald S. Young, MD, an emeritus professor at the Perelman School of Medicine; July 4. He earned his medical degree at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, his PhD in chemical pathology from the

University of London, and completed his training at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School and Hammersmith Hospital in London. He served as a visiting scientist in clinical pathology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., where he later became chief of the Clinical Chemistry Service and was appointed head of Clinical Chemistry at the Mayo Clinic in 1977. He served the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1984, where he oversaw Laboratory Medicine and the William Pepper Laboratory until 2009. For 20 years, he served on the board of editors for the journal Clinical Chemistry. Throughout his career, he served in many capacities for a variety of organizations, such as the Expert Advisory Panel on Health Laboratory Services for the World Health Organization, and he received numerous awards, such as the Luigi Mastroianni Clinical Innovator Award.

Legacy Giving

Leaving a Legacy of Support for MD/PhD Students

For Theo George Wilson, MD’61, the decision to pursue his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania was easy: “I wanted to go to Penn because it was the best — and it’s still the best.”

When Wilson arrived in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar, he already held a PhD in biochemistry from Imperial College, University of London. He conducted biomedical research at the Enzyme Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Johnson Foundation in Philadelphia, and Princeton University, before attending medical school.

Upon completing his training, Wilson launched a remarkable career that spanned many roles—scientist, physician, internist, administrator, and state official. He held academic appointments at Temple University, Wayne State University, and Stanford; served as an administrator for two hospitals; and served as the chief of medical policy and chief medical officer of the MediCal program. Wilson was also deeply involved with the civil rights movement and human health rights issues, which shifted his focus into public health as his career progressed.

He credits much of his impact to having both a PhD and MD, and he believes this path is important for the next generations of doctors too. “Many disciplines are involved with dealing with medical and physiological problems, so both backgrounds are helpful,” he said. “There is a real future for people who are dually qualified.”

For this reason, Wilson chose to create the Theo George Wilson MD/PhD Scholarship Fund to support students in Perelman School of Medicine’s (PSOM) MD/PhD program—one of the oldest, most influential, and prestigious in the country. The Wilson Fund was the first of its kind for the program, as well as his first gift to Penn Medicine.

Wilson established this scholarship through a blended gift, which means he made one part of the contribution outright and the other part through planned giving using a Transfer on Death (TOD). Unlike making a bequest in a will, TODs allow donors to name beneficiaries who will receive assets at the time of the donor’s death without going through probate.

Naming Penn Medicine a beneficiary is just one of the many ways donors can create a legacy for themselves and opportunities for PSOM students. “I’m the last of my family line, the last of my name. I would like to have it live on in some way,” Wilson said. “I always had great feelings toward Penn, and I want to do as much good as I can with what I am leaving behind.”

Planned giving is often described as the final piece of a philanthropic puzzle. Figuring out how this important puzzle piece can work best for you, your family, and your philanthropic goals is what we do best. Speak with us to learn more about giving options. Contact Christine S. Ewan, JD, executive director of Planned Giving, at 215-898-9486 or cewan@upenn.edu.

For more information, please visit our website at https://www.med.upenn.edu/pennmedplannedgiving/.