Class Notes for summer 2024

1950s

Fern Esther Mac Allister (M.D. 1950) celebrated her 100th birthday on May 5. She spent her career as a child and adult psychiatrist. When she graduated in 1950, Mac Allister was one of a handful of women in the graduating class. (Nearly 60% of the class of 2024 are women.) She was married to the late Albert Sjoerdsma, M.D. (Residency 1950). Mac Allister still exchanges letters with her childhood pen pal from New Zealand, also a centenarian, and shared a phone call with her on her birthday.

1960s

Gary Peck (M.D. 1962) retired from a career at the National Institutes of Health in 1990. Recently, the NIH archiving office created a file on his career from 1969-1990 when he discovered that isotretinoin (aka Accutane) was a highly effective treatment for formerly treatment-resistant, scarring, nodulocystic acne and other disorders. He received the Dermatology Foundation’s Discovery Award in 2002 for that work. The American Academy of Dermatology recently interviewed him for their Titans of Dermatology podcast series. After leaving NIH, Peck created and directed the Melanoma Center at the Washington Cancer Institute and was there until his retirement in 2015. Since then, he’s worked part time for a private skin cancer surgery practice. He plans to retire fully this year at age 85.

Thomas Corbett (M.D. 1963, Residency 1969) published PBB: An Environmental Disaster (Mission Point Press, 2023), which chronicles a chemical company’s 1973 blunder that led to the shipment of PBB, a flame-retardant chemical, to a livestock feed mixing plant in Michigan instead of magnesium oxide, a dairy cow food supplement. The book also highlights the recent findings regarding the chemical’s long-term environmental impacts.

Monica Starkman (M.D. 1963, Residency 1972) isan active professor emerita of psychiatry at U-M and working on data analysis of her research on the effects of cortisol onthe brain and cognition. She attends virtual book clubs for groups discussing her psychological suspense novel The End of Miracles (She Writes Press, 2016). She’s also working on a memoirand writes the column “On Call” on Psychology Today’s website, where she says her 37 posts have had about 300,000 reads. “My beloved husband, David Eduardo Schteingart, M.D. (Residency 1962), who some of you knew as a physician/teacher in med school, died 11 years ago, and I miss him every day,” she says. Her eldest child is an ophthalmologist, and she has six grandchildren — the eldest is about to graduate with a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University and join the Hoover Institution think tank, and the youngest, age 15, keeps her abreast of the latest tech and culture.

Bill Woodhams (M.D. 1964) says, “I am still upright and have 12 grandchildren that are all above average!” We say, “Congrats, Bill!”

James Ravin (M.D. 1968, 1974 Residency) co-authored The Artistic Eye (Karger, 2023), part of a series of books on famous artists’ eye diseases, including Monet and Cassatt’s cataracts, Pissarro’s lacrimal problems, and Cezanne’s diabetes. Ravin is a member of the alumni advisory committee to the U-M Health Kellogg Eye Center and has received the distinguished alumniaward in ophthalmology at U-M.

1970s

Cary J. Stegman (M.D. 1970) has published What’s Up, RAD? (Page Publishing, Inc., 2023), a collection of vignettes about brave patients, consulting colleagues, collaborating physicians, notable nurses, and ancillary medical personnel. Stegman practiced as a board-certified diagnostic radiologist and nuclear medicine physician for 43 years. Book proceeds will be donated to the Medical School.

Jay H. Kleiman (M.D. 1971), recently published Art of the Heart: The Doctor-Patient Partnership (Heartfelt Press, 2023), which explores the importance of the human connection in medicine to maximize patient and doctor satisfaction and prevent burnout. Using patient stories as teaching tools, the book follows the journey of a young pre-med student through training andinto the world of research and clinical practice. Intended for an audience of physicians in training as well as mature physicians, the book shows how technology can be harnessed without sacrificing the human touch.

Richard Bohjanen (M.D. 1974) recently celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife, May, in New Zealand, which completes their travel to all seven continents. During his career, he had a rotating internship in Grand Rapids and “took a three-year Gray Boat cruise with the U.S. Navy,” before returning to Grand Rapids for ob/gyn residency. He did five years of general practice in Marquette, followed by 25 years as an ob/gyn specialist. He then became part-time medical supervisor at Marquette Branch Prison and medical director of Biolife Plasma Services. Bohjanen has participated in township politics, with stints on the Board of Trustees and planning commission and is currently township supervisor. His kids are in Dubai, Pittsburgh, and Duluth, and he has eight grandchildren.

John Fink (M.D. 1974, Residency 1978) retired in 2007, after surgeries on both shoulders, to a life of volunteering. He volunteers with his church, the Texas Ramps, the Medina County Food Pantry, the Medina County Emergency Medical Management Officer, Vets Helping Vets Anderson, the Good Neighbor Cupboard, and Rebuild Upstate. In 2019, Fink won the Community Leadership Award from the state of Texas. “Pray, exercise, always grow closer to God, volunteer more,” he says.

Thomas Schwenk (M.D. 1975) retired from the position of dean of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine in 2021. He recently published Beyond the False Summit (Surrogate Press, 2024), a medical historical novel set in Park City, Utah, in the 1890s.

David Chudwin (M.D. 1976) retired in December 2023 after 41 years of practicing in allergy and immunology in the Chicago suburbs. He has been busy promoting his new book, The Magical Decade: A Personal Memoir and Popular History of 1965-75 (LID Publishing, 2024).

Elizabeth “B.J.” Hayes (M.D. 1976) of Mill Creek, Washington, is a practicing radiologist with Radia Medical Imaging, which she says is the largest radiology group in the Pacific Northwest. In her spare time Hayes and her husband, Stephen Donner, a chemical engineer, enjoy traveling and have visited more than 75 countries and all seven continents.

M. Margaret Knudson (M.D. 1976, Residency 1982) gave the Churchill Lecture at the 2023 American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress. She was joined by ABC reporter Bob Woodruff (J.D. 1987), who described his care by military surgeons after suffering a severe traumatic brain injury while embedded with troops in Iraq in 2006.

Gary Nichols (M.D. 1976) is living on the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. He continues to practice and do sports medicine with high school athletics and sports events in Minnesota. He also does global medicine consultancy with FAME Medical in Tanzania. “I love the teaching opportunities and culture, and [my] Swahili is gradually improving (pole pole [slowly, slowly]),” he says.

Bruce Feldstein (M.D. 1978) was the keynote speaker at the third International Symposium on Spiritual Care in Healthcare in Taipei, Taiwan, in January. Bruce specializes in spiritual care as a chaplain at Stanford Medicine hospitals, and is adjunct clinical professor at Stanford School of Medicine, where he teaches Reflection Rounds and classes on spirituality. He is a member of Stanford’s WellMD and Lifestyle Medicine program.

Bruce Stark (M.D. 1978) retired in June of 2020 after practicing general ophthalmology for 38 years in a western suburb of Philadelphia. “Surprisingly, I became a snowbird andspend winters in Boynton Beach, Florida,” he says. He still keeps in touch with classmates Burt Rochelson (M.D. 1978), Bob Pincus (M.D. 1978), Dan Mankoff (M.D. 1978), Dahlia Sataloff (M.D. 1978), and Robert Sataloff, M.D. (Residency 1980). He’d love to reconnect with fellow alums from the Medical School or undergrad who are in South Florida or Philadelphia, and he hopes to make it to Ann Arbor for his 50th Medical School reunion in 2028.

1980s

Elliott Sumers (M.D. 1981) published Operation Storm King (Wolfhound, 2023), an explosive alternative history about the death of President Franklin Roosevelt. FDR died of a stroke in Warm Springs, Georgia, but Sumers’ novel imagines an alternative version of events, with an audacious Nazi raid to kidnap FDR from West Point.

Chris Harner (M.D. 1981) attended a tailgate at Crisler Arena before the Ohio State game, where he and his wife, Cindy Martinez-Harner, met U-M president Santa Ono.

Rob Ross (M.D. 1981), Mike Otto (M.D. 1981, Fellowship 1989), and their friend Chris celebrated the big win of the National Championship!

Lew Sandy (M.D. 1982) and his wife Sue Hassmiller, M.D., watched the Michigan Wolverines win the 2024 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

Elena Fuentes-Afflick (M.D. 1986) has been named chief scientific officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges. She currently serves as professor of pediatrics and vice dean for the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Fuentes-Afflick has held national leadership roles as council member and president for both the Society for Pediatric Research and the American Pediatric Society. She has been inducted into the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and she received the Joseph W. St. Geme, Jr., award from the Federation of Pediatric Organizations in 2023 for sustained, impactful contributions to child health.

Daniel Stulberg (M.D. 1987, Residency 1990) has published the book Dermatologic Procedures in Office Practice (Saunders, 2024). He is currently the chair of Family and Community Medicine at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine.

Christine E. Lee (M.D. 1989) published the book, Happy Successful You (Capucia Publishing, 2024), which uses a philosophical framework to view life choices.Lee was a philosophy major at the U-M Honors College. “I wrote the book to empower the readers with intentional choices to create a purposeful and meaningful life,” she says.

Rosalind Wright (M.D. 1989) was appointed as the inaugural dean for public health and chair of the new Department of Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. In her new role, she will spearhead a state-of-the-art curriculum in public health research, education, and practice that will systematically integrate with medicine, population health, global health, neurosciences, environmental medicine, data science, and artificial intelligence disciplines to bring better outcomes to patients and communities.

1990s

Loree Kalliainen (M.D. 1991, Residency 1999) moved with her husband to New Zealand where she works as a plastic surgeon.

David McRae (M.D. 1992) is currently a partner anesthesiologist with USAP-Nevada. He’s been practicing in Nevada for 22 years and loves the weather there. McRae visited Ann Arbor for the UNLV vs. Michigan football game at the start of the National Championship season. “[It’s] amazing how much the campus has changed since I was an undergrad and med student. Always proud to represent the Maize and Blue! Had to show off a Michigan Championship Hawaiian shirt in Oahu last month. GO BLUE!”

Niraj Patel (M.D. 1994), Sanjay Gupta (M.D. 1993, Residency 2000), and Darrell Calderon (M.D. 1994) cheered on the Michigan Wolverines at the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship in Houston.

Mark Feng (M.D. 1995) recently visited the hoodoos of Cappadocia in Turkey with his family and caught up with classmate Pat Fabrizio (M.D. 1995) at the Chromatic Gate in Santa Barbara, California.

Phil Rodgers (Residency 1998), the George A. Dean, M.D. Chair of Family Medicine and professor of internal medicine at the Medical School, co-chaired the Hospice Policy Ad Hoc Work Group, which was recently presented with the Gerald H. Holman Distinguished Service Award, one of 10 awards given by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Rodgers is also co-director of the Adult Palliative Care Program at Michigan Medicine.

2000s

Aaron Zima (M.D. 2001, Residency 2006, Fellowship 2007) and his daughter Lucia attended the Rose Bowl. “An ‘amaizing’ time to be a Wolverine!” he says. “Go Blue!”

Tashfeen Ekram (M.D. 2008) is the founder of a patient engagement platform called Luma Health, which, Ekram says, has touched more than 300 million patients.

2010s

Angad Singh (M.D. 2013), the associate chief medical information officer for University of Washington Medicine, recently received the University of Washington’s 2024 David B. Thorud Leadership Award, which is considered the highest leadership honor at UW and is given to just one person out of the more than 4,000 faculty members across the university’s three campuses. “I would not be where I am today without the education I received at Michigan,” he says. He recalls a memorable lecture on leadership in medicine by Tim Johnson, M.D. (Residency 1979), the former chair of obstetrics and gynecology. “I have carried the lessons from that single lecture throughout my career, particularly the lesson to be the best doctor I can be in order to be the best leader possible.”

Tyler Ladue (M.D. 2014) met up with fellow 2014 Medical School alum Zachary Koloff (M.D. 2014) at the 2024 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California!

Sara Walker’s (M.D. 2018) Utah Sports Medicine/Eating Disorders Clinic (ThePEAAC.com) recently celebrated its 1-year anniversary. Walker was the Team USA/U.S. Figure Skating doctor for the 2024 Bavarian Open. She was also elected to the Utah Academy of Family Physicians Board and inducted as the youngest full member of the Brighton (Michigan) Area Women’s History Roll of Honor.

2020s

Whit Froehlich (M.D. 2020) graduated from Stanford Law School in June 2024.