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ALUMNI NEWS

(MD ’85, Rheumatology Fellow ’91), cofounder and codirec-


tor of the Lupus Center of Excellence at Magee Womens
Hospital and Pitt associate professor of medicine, developed
a blood test using complement C4 positive proteins that will
help physicians detect lupus. Her research shows that the
protein binds to red blood cells during lupus flare-ups. With
this test, physicians will be able to better diagnose the dis-
ease and start appropriate treatment.
Donald Yealy (Emergency Medicine Resident ’88, Airway
Management and Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Fellow ’89)
is professor and vice chair of emergency medicine at Pitt. In
the past 15 years, he has won five teaching awards, includ-
ing the 2001 National Teaching Award from the American
College of Emergency Physicians. Most recently, Yealy
received the Hal Jayne Academic Excellence Award from
the American Society for Academic Emergency Medicine for
work that helps emergency room physicians determine the
severity of community-acquired pneumonia and heart fail-
ure. He is currently working with Pitt professor of medicine
Michael Fine (Chief Medical Resident ’87) and Pitt professor
of critical care medicine Derek Angus (Critical Care Medicine
Fellow ’91) on ways to identify and treat acute pneumonia
and sepsis in the emergency department.
Steve Burton (Internal Medicine Resident ’89,
medical students into his practice each year for three- Hematology/Oncology Fellow ’92, Radiation Oncology
CL A S S NOTE S week rotations. Last year, Pitt med students honored Resident ’95) is at UPMC Shadyside. Burton uses “high-
him with the Award for Excellence in Clinical Precepting. tech toys” like linear accelerators to treat cancer. The
machines precisely target tumors and destroy them with

’80s
radiation, saving patients from invasive surgery. Burton,

’30s
who is a clinical assistant professor of radiation oncology,
Frightened, desperate, and ill, lupus is conducting research to demonstrate the effectiveness of
patients travel from as far away as the Middle East and image-guided radiation treatment for tumors.
One of only two women in the class South America for a diagnosis. Pittsburgh is where many

’90s
of 1935, Ruth Snyder Masters of them finally learn the cause of their debilitating and
(MD ’35) says she picked her unpredictable symptoms. Lupus is notoriously difficult
future husband of 64 years, the to diagnose. On average, a lupus sufferer waits four Dave Thomson (Emergency Medicine
late Raymond Masters (MD ’35), years before the disease is recognized. Susan Manzi Resident ’90) came to Pitt hoping to be on the front lines of
out as “one of the nice ones” on
their first day of medical school.

Ruth Snyder Masters and


Raymond Masters met
The two married in 1936, though
the infamous flood of that year
GARY WILLIAMS
left the groom tending to flood
on the first day of class.
victims and delayed their wedding TOX I C AV E N G E R
by two weeks. Ruth Masters’ career in family practice
spanned seven decades. She estimates she delivered

A
3,200 babies, including more than 200 home deliver- sk Gary Williams (MD ’67) what he considers to be the most dangerous substance
ies. She saw patients at her East McKeesport office that humans ingest, and you’ll receive a surprising answer: food.
and McKeesport Hospital. In 1979, she became the first “Think,” he says, “every plant is a little chemical factory with substances
woman to be elected president of the hospital staff. to fight off its natural pests.” He explains that these toxins also can affect humans.
Since retiring four years ago at the age of 88, Masters
Other natural toxins run rampant as well, including dangerous molds on peanuts and
has remained an active member of the hospital’s ethics
corn, which contribute to the high incidence of liver cancer in humid Asian climates.
committee.
Williams, professor of pathology at New York Medical College, discussed other
food-borne dangers as a delegate in the World Health Organization’s Expert

’70s As a medical student at Pitt,


Michael Wusylko (MD ’77) never imagined that he
Committee on Food Additives’ June meeting in Rome. An expert in toxicological
pathology and chemical carcinogenesis, Williams researches everything from off-
the-shelf consumer products to pretrial pharmaceuticals. New York Medical College
would stay so close to one of his favorite professors, recently recognized him with the 2005 Dean’s Distinguished Research Award for his
infectious disease specialist and Pitt professor George innovative methods and discoveries.
Pazin (MD ’64). Wusylko, an internist, currently shares Williams recalls a recent incident in the United Kingdom in which six volunteers
his practice in Cranberry, Pa., with Pazin’s son John nearly died during a drug trial. His work attempts to prevent such things from hap-
Pazin. As a clinical preceptor, Wusylko welcomes Pitt
pening. It includes discoveries such as an antibiotic that caused sunlight to mutate

36 PITTMED
medicine. In Pittsburgh, he had the chance to work outside she says, “I realized it was time.” She took the
of the hospital with Pittsburgh EMS as part of his hospi-
tal rotations. “It was an incredible experience,” he says.
MCATs, thinking that a bad score would show
her that she should give up all thoughts of medi-
TH E WAY WE AR E
Thomson was recently named director of emergency medi- cal school. After doing well on the exam, she CLASS OF ’96
cine at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y., then applied only to Pitt, sure that a rejection
where he still enjoys working with the local EMS providers letter would offer proof that she didn’t belong in

D
as medical director for ambulance and emergency services. medicine. She is now one of around 150 neuro- uring med school, the Class of ’96 used to get
He also collaborates with fellow Pitt trainee Kevin Hutton intensivists in the United States. She became together at Doc’s Place in Shadyside for cama-
(Emergency Medicine Resident ’90), CEO of Golden Hour director of neurosurgical intensive care for the raderie and cheesy pizza. What better place to
Data Systems, developing software and communications University of Michigan Health System last year. gather before attending the Class of 2006’s production
tools for air transport providers. Eileen Everly (MD ’99) is the new medical of Scope and Scalpel and recall their own? Ten years
Padmavati Garvey (MD ’92), a classical Indian dancer, director of the Reach Out and Read program
before, they parodied A Chorus Line and themselves.
has trained in the ancient Bharatanatyam style since her at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The
They danced in lab coats and silver top hats, but
childhood in Pittsburgh and now performs with a dance national nonprofit campaign provides children
troupe in New York. She and her daughter are eagerly learn- from birth to age 5 with a new, age-appropriate
instead of singing, “One singular sensation, every little
ing the Kuchipudi style. In her professional life, Garvey, book at each well-baby visit. Everly, who fell in step he takes,” they sang “Done with confabulation
whose father worked in Pitt’s pathology department, is love with the program during her residency at and the new curriculum.”
an ob/gyn at the Westchester Medical Center of New York the University of Maryland, encourages parents Nickie Kolovos (MD ’96) is credited with the
Medical College. Her research examines how economic to spend time every day reading aloud to their chorus line idea. She’s currently assistant professor
factors influence a woman’s decision to use or not to use children, even as newborns. For bilingual fami- of pediatrics and medical director of the trauma
contraception. She also is studying the relationship between lies, the program provides books in other lan- unit in the pediatric ICU of Washington University
breast-feeding and premenopausal breast cancer. guages, including Korean, Spanish, French, and in St. Louis. One Christmas Eve, a 6-year-old girl
As a child, Teresa Smith (MD ’97) admired the Pitt degree Vietnamese. Although she arrived at Pitt intend- with influenza myocarditis, a rare inflammation of
hanging over the desk of John Bono (MD ’48), who removed ing to become a neurosurgeon, Everly is now a
the heart due to influenza infection, was rushed to
her tonsils. He was one of many Pitt doctors who impressed pediatrician. She says, “Kids are just the best
Kolovos’ unit. Her team performed CPR for two
Smith with their intellect, compassion, and skill. Although people. They’re full of joy and hope, and every
she had always been interested in medicine, Smith spent day at least one of them makes me laugh.”
hours. Kolovos doubted her patient would live. Now
10 years teaching high school chemistry and physics, until, —Alicia Kopar, Jaclyn Madden every few months, she gets a friendly visit from her
healthy young patient and the child’s father.
Kolovos says she enjoys working with chil-
Members of the Class of 1996 and family dren because their health issues are uncompli-
gathered at Doc’s Place in Shadyside before
this year’s Scope and Scalpel. From left:
cated by a history of life choices: “Everything
Karen Kreiling, Leila Kahwati, Richard Oh about their physiology makes sense.”
(with daughter, Elena), Anna Peris, Marshal Marshal Peris (MD ’96, Res ’01, Fel
Peris, James Jarvis, Elizabeth Woo, Erica ’02), the class president who admits to stum-
Jarvis, Nickie Kolovos, and Benedict Woo bling through Scope and Scalpel choreography
recall the glories of performances past.
10 years ago, now lives in a place named
Mount Kisco. But his New York plates read:
BLKNGOLD, and he holds Steelers season
tickets. For Super Bowl XL, he traveled to
Detroit with Louis Klieger (MD ’96, Res ’00),
Walter Delgaudio (MD ’96), James Jarvis (MD
’96, Res ’99), and Benny Woo (MD ’96, Res ’00) to
watch the Steelers win the Lombardi Trophy.
DNA—until Williams determined what was responsible and guided the At Northern Westchester Hospital Center, Peris is
pharmaceutical company to engineer it out—and an anti-estrogen drug the only full-time orthopaedic spine surgeon. He treats
that induced liver tumors in rats, but not humans. “We have to have degenerative conditions of the spine as well as trau-
the greatest assurance of safety before administering drugs to any matic injuries. Peris says he is impressed that many of
Williams people,” he says sternly. his classmates went on to pursue specialized training.
Williams is especially proud of receiving the Enhancement of Animal One such colleague is Brian Pettiford (MD ’96,
Welfare Award from the Society of Toxicology for developing testing systems Res ’01, Fel ’03). His father and grandfather were
that don’t use animals. The nutrient medium he developed for culturing liver mechanics well known in Tifton, Ga. Their hands
cells in vitro led to a pioneering way to assess chemical DNA damage and was could fix anything. After his maternal grandmother
one of the many reasons the American Chemical Society named him a distin- died from a heart attack, Pettiford was moved to
guished scientist. devote the skilled hands he inherited to thoracic
In his consumer product studies, Williams has calmed fears about popular medicine. He is now a Pitt clinical assistant professor
substances like tooth whitener and hair coloring. The bottom line for those of surgery, working primarily with lung afflictions.
products? “No harmful substances are released into the body,” he says. He attempts to uphold his soft-spoken grandmother’s
It’s nice to hear some things in the grocery store are safe. gentleman ideal through his interactions with patients
— Jennifer Dionisio and colleagues. — Alicia Kopar

FALL 2006 37
IN MEMORIAM
’40s ’60s was instrumental in the recruitment of transplant surgeon Thomas Starzl
HERMAN BEARZY MELVIN KADEN
MD ’43B MD ’63
in 1981, oversaw the restructuring of the school’s basic science depart-
MARCH 18, 2006 APRIL 1, 2006 ments, and was one of the founders of Family House, a nonprofit that
assists and houses families traveling to Pittsburgh for lifesaving care.
WILLIAM F. BAIRD
MD ’45 ’70s “It really made an impression, both on the city and on those com-
APRIL 15, 2006 RANDALL KRAMER ing,” says Shaver regarding Family House. “It helped to build the
MD ’72 image of Pitt that drastically changed in the 1990s as people came
MARCH 1, 2006
’50s from all over the country and all over the world.” —CS
JAMES L. HOOBLER
MD ’55 ’80s
DEC. 5, 2005 D. RICHARD
STRAUSBAUGH BILL WALLACE
THOMA S E. C ADMAN MD ’80
MD ’56 MAY 13, 2006 FEB. 26, 1944–MAY 28, 2006
MARCH 15, 2006

T
RICHARD DOBIES
hose who knew him say Bill Wallace changed Pitt’s
School of Medicine forever and for the better in Wallace
MD ’57
MARCH 16, 2006 just two years. Arriving as assistant dean of student
affairs in 1979, Wallace became the school’s first dean of minority
affairs before he left in 1981.
“He rallied the medical students, became actively engaged in the
G E RA R D HO G A RT Y admissions process, met with faculty to emphasize the benefits of
JULY 14, 1935–APRIL 7, 2006 diversity, and began surveying all applicants,” said Jeannette South-
Paul (MD ’79), Pitt’s Andrew W. Mathieson Professor and chair of

G
erard Hogarty was a rare gem. With no MD the Department of Family Medicine. “His persistence, dedication, and
Hogarty
or PhD degree, he was a self-taught psychiatric focus created a foundation for reaching out to minorities.”
researcher who had an enormous impact on the Wallace was a graduate of Howard University, New York Medical
way we treat schizophrenia. The professor of psychiatry came to the College, and Harvard University, where he received a PhD in
University of Pittsburgh in 1974 with a master’s degree in social microbiology. His legacy at Pitt, says South-Paul, includes the talented
work and a decade of experience in schizophrenia research. minority students that Pitt attracts annually. —CS
When Hogarty entered the field, schizophrenia treatment was
limited mostly to medication, because it had been demonstrated that
psychoanalysis did not work, says his colleague, Rohan Ganguli, Pitt EUGENE S. WIENER
professor of psychiatry. “Gerry showed that there was a powerful role
for psychological treatments in improving the lives and the outcomes FEB. 28, 1940–JUNE 29, 2006
for those with schizophrenia.” With colleagues at Pitt, Hogarty

E
demonstrated that early intervention that involved and educated ugene S. Wiener was known as a tough taskmaster
the patient’s family could reduce the chance of relapse and improve and star surgeon whose greatest passion was the Wiener
outcome. “That has become absolutely standard treatment around health of children.
the world,” says Ganguli. —Chuck Staresinic The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine professor of
surgery and chief medical officer at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
came to Pitt in 1973 as a pediatric surgical resident, after serving as a
commander and deputy chief health officer in Vietnam.
DONALD LEON Wiener guided multiple research projects directed at improving
AUG. 19, 1932–JUNE 21, 2006 pediatric cancer treatment, particularly in the area of surgical oncol-
ogy. He published more than 85 articles in peer-reviewed journals and

D
onald Leon (Fel ’64) began and ended his medical contributed 18 book chapters.
career at Georgetown University Hospital, but his He was among the best in the surgical suite, colleagues note. Henri
Leon
years there were bookends to a quarter century of Ford (Fel ’93), former chief of pediatric surgery at the University of
service at the University of Pittsburgh. The noted cardiologist was a Pittsburgh and current vice president and surgeon-in-chief at Children’s
master of the American College of Cardiology and former dean of Hospital Los Angeles, called him “the Michael Jordan of surgery.”
Pitt’s School of Medicine. Wiener helped Children’s implement a computerized physician
Leon arrived at Pitt in 1963 as a research fellow in cardiology. Five order entry system designed to cut down on errors engendered by illeg-
years later, as an assistant professor, he was selected as one of the first ible handwriting and provide instant access to medical records.
six American Heart Association Teaching Scholars in Cardiology. Children’s president and CEO Roger Oxendale said Wiener was
“It was quite a feather in his cap,” notes James Shaver, a Pitt pro- pondering retirement but intended to remain involved with the hospital
fessor of cardiology. “He excelled in bedside teaching and lecturing.” in a development role as it moved to its new location in Lawrenceville.
Leon was dean of the school of medicine from 1979 to 1984. He —Joe Miksch

38 PITTMED
HOWARD RABINOWITZ
COU NTRY STYLE
BY J E N N I F E R D I O N I S I O

S
ay a patient broke his leg. As a young
doctor at Sacaton Indian Hospital,
30 miles outside Phoenix on the Pima CO U RT E SY R A B I N O W I T Z

reservation, Howard Rabinowitz (MD ’71)


would find himself loading the x-ray film,
taking the picture, developing the film,
casting the limb, running to the pharmacy
for pain medicine, counting out those pills, Rabinowitz signs his book Caring for the Country for Senator Jay Rockefeller (left) of West Virginia.
affixing the label, and passing the bottle to
the patient. There wasn’t anyone to delegate follow 10 of his graduates and document that took students on a nine-week rotation as
to, and he was one of only four doctors their experiences in his book Caring for the researchers in the Navajo Nation. “It sounded
serving a rural population of 10,000. Country (Springer-Verlag, 2004). From direct fascinating culturally, geographically, and also
“We basically did everything,” Rabinowitz observation in doctors’ offices and 150 hours medically,” he says.
recalls 30 years later, sitting in his Philadelphia of taped interviews, Rabinowitz reveals a He was so impressed by the experience, he
office. The Thomas Jefferson University pro- workforce and patient population as diverse returned to work at Sacaton after his residen-
fessor of family medicine spent two years at as that of any bustling metropolis. These doc- cy—many of his fellow students also sought
Sacaton as a doc-of-all-trades before translating tors—many are the only practitioners within positions in Native American communities.
his knowledge of the issues surrounding small- a 20-mile radius—are certainly generalists, Rabinowitz was driven to write Caring
town health care into a position as director of giving checkups, delivering babies, perform- for the Country by his concern that medical
Jefferson’s Physician Shortage Area Program. ing surgery, and, yes, sometimes making students don’t realize that practicing in such
The program supports med students planning house calls. areas is even an option. What a shame, he
to work in underserved rural areas. Rabinowitz was raised in Pittsburgh’s says now, considering that rural doctors he
“Most people think of Pennsylvania as Squirrel Hill neighborhood and attended observed seemed much happier than many he
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia,” Rabinowitz New Jersey’s Rutgers University. As a med knows in urban areas. Far from considering
says, shaking a head covered in silver hair that student, Rabinowitz says, “I had never been their extra responsibilities a burden, they take
contrasts with his youthful face. Although half out of an urban area in my life.” At least pride in being such integral members of the
of the state’s doctors work in these two cities, until his senior year at Pitt. At the urging of community and enjoy raising their families in
almost 75 percent of the population lives in a fellow student, Rabinowitz signed up in close-knit towns. And despite the assumption
Pennsylvania’s other 65 counties, he notes. his fourth year for professor of community that rural doctors work longer and get paid
Rabinowitz took a year sabbatical to medicine and pediatrics Ken Rogers’ elective less, all those Rabinowitz interviewed felt a
few extra hours in the office equal an urban
doctor’s commute time—and cost-of-living
differences assure financial security.
M E DIC A L A LU M N I A S SOCIAT ION OF F ICE RS Small-town living isn’t for everyone,
Rabinowitz acknowledges. He can tell which
MARGARET LARKINS-PETTIGREW (MD ’94) DALE ADAIR (MD ’85) students will be successful in the program just
President PATRICIA CANFIELD (MD ’89) by asking if their hobbies lean toward opera
JOHN KOKALES (MD ’73)
JOHN F. DELANEY (MD ’64) or fishing.
DONALD MRVOS (MD ’55)
President-elect But his own early experience in the Navajo
BRETT PERRICELLI (MD ’02)
DAVID STEED (MD ’73)
Nation was deeply satisfying. He’s since
GRAHAM JOHNSTONE, (MD ’70)
Secretary Members at Large found that patients in small towns receive
a kind of intimate care often lacking in big
PETER FERSON (MD ’73) SUSAN DUNMIRE (MD ’85) cities like Philadelphia.
Treasurer Executive Director
“I wrote the book for students to get a sense
ROBERT E. LEE (MD ’56) of this,” he says. ■
M-200k Scaife Hall
Historian University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
tel 412-648-9090; fax 412-648-9500
medalum@medschool.pitt.edu FALL 2006 39

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