Winter 2024 E-News About and for Alumni

Student News 

• Second-year medical students at VP&S celebrated their transition to clinical education with the Steven Z. Miller Student Clinician’s Ceremony on Jan. 5. Read more.
• Halil Bequj, who will graduate this spring, is profiled in the Columbia Newsroom. Read more. 
• Michael Denham is quoted in a story about anatomy class and virtual alternatives. Read more.(link is external and opens in a new window) 
• Students from across the medical center met on Haven Plaza in October for a homecoming event. Read more. 
• Occupational therapy students use virtual reality simulations that help them recognize bias, discrimination, and microaggressions in real-world interactions that may include patients and colleagues from different backgrounds. Read more. 

VP&S and CUIMC News 

• Ajay Gupta, MD, has been named chair of the Department of Radiology, effective Feb. 1, 2024. Read more. 
• VP&S faculty who were promoted or received notable appointments, honors, and awards during the 2022-2023 academic year were honored at the annual VP&S Dean’s Honors Luncheon. Read more. 
• New VP&S faculty (July)
• New VP&S faculty (August)
• New VP&S faculty (September)
• New VP&S faculty (October)

Read more news in the CUIMC Newsroom. 

A Selection of Class Notes 

• A new documentary film(link is external and opens in a new window) tells the story of the development of the world’s first successful artificial mitral heart valve by Albert Starr’49. 
• George Davis’72 is running for a seat on the Sarasota County (Florida) Public Hospital Board. Read more.(link is external and opens in a new window)

• Bruce Kessler’72 has received the California Medical Association’s Frederick K.M. Plessner Memorial Award. Read more(link is external and opens in a new window).

• William Theodore’74 began his term as president of the American Epilepsy Society(link is external and opens in a new window) in December.
• Robert Schoen’76 has been recognized as a Master of the American College of Rheumatology. Read more.(link is external and opens in a new window)
• Marc Chamberlain’77 has joined Starlight Therapeutics as its chief medical officer. Read more.(link is external and opens in a new window) 
• Read(link is external and opens in a new window) a Yale profile about Carolyn Rochester’83. 
• Timothy C. Wang’83 was named one of two 2023 Senior Mentors at the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at VP&S.  
• Michael Munier’87 was reappointed to the Halifax Health board of commissioners in Florida. Read more.(link is external and opens in a new window)   
• Geoffrey Higgs’88 has joined Prosser Orthopedic Center in Washington state. Read more.(link is external and opens in a new window) 
• Read(link is external and opens in a new window) about the work of Joseph M. Civantos’89.  
• Baystate Health has named Yvonne Cheung’91 associate chief medical officer and associate chief quality officer for Baystate Medical Center in Massachusetts. Read more. (link is external and opens in a new window) 
• John Barrett’92 has been appointed interim chair of the Department of Family & Preventive Medicine at University of Utah Health. Read more.(link is external and opens in a new window)
• Paul Thesiger’93 has been named to the Board of Directors of the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Read more.(link is external and opens in a new window)
• Magdalena E. Sobieszczyk’98 was named one of two 2023 Senior Mentors at the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at VP&S. 
• OncoNano Medicine named Kartik Krishnan’98 PhD/’99 MD president and head of research and development. Read more.(link is external and opens in a new window)
• Geron Corporation appointed Gaurav Aggarwal’00 to its Board of Directors. Read more. (link is external and opens in a new window)
• Read(link is external and opens in a new window) a Harvard profile of Henry Zhou’22. 

In Memoriam 

• Arthur Phinney’53(link is external and opens in a new window) 
• Dudley Rochester’55 (link is external and opens in a new window)
• John Schullinger’55(link is external and opens in a new window) 
• Christine Lawrence’56(link is external and opens in a new window)  
• Vernon Wendt’56(link is external and opens in a new window)  
• Burton Lerner’57(link is external and opens in a new window)  
• Berish Strauch’59(link is external and opens in a new window)
• Donald Marcuse’61 (link is external and opens in a new window)
• Robert H. Scott’61  (link is external and opens in a new window)
• John A. Talbott’61(link is external and opens in a new window)  
• Jeanne Hoff’63 (link is external and opens in a new window)
• John Thomas Murphy’63 (link is external and opens in a new window)
• Arthur Hoyte’64  (link is external and opens in a new window)
• Robert Carida’65  (link is external and opens in a new window)
• Howard Ginsburg’65  (link is external and opens in a new window)
• Isaac Craig Henderson’68 (link is external and opens in a new window)
• Robert Fischel’74 (link is external and opens in a new window)
• Jerry Seals’74  (link is external and opens in a new window)
• Elizabeth Auchincloss’77  (link is external and opens in a new window)

Send your news to columbiamedicine@columbia.edu(link sends e-mail)  

Note: External links are current at the time of this posting. The Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons is not responsible for the content of external websites.