Progress Notes

Spring 2023

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Share your important milestones with us.

Please share your recent news, accomplishments, and important milestones with us. Submit your updates and high-resolution photos via the linked form, and we will publish them in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

Stathi Bournias, Thomas E. Bournias, ’92 MD, and Themi Bournias, ’23 WCAS, at one of the Feinberg events during the Northwestern v. Nebraska game in Dublin.

1960s

Roger Sheldon, ’68 MD, and Carol Sheldon, MD, both received the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award from Illinois Wesleyan University. Roger Sheldon established one of the nation’s first neonatal nurse practitioner programs at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver. Carol Sheldon was the first woman to chair the Radiology Department at the University of Oklahoma.

1980s

Joel I. Shalowitz, MD, ’80 GME, ’82 MBA, publishes “Healthcare Insights,” a weekday blog of healthcare highlights. The free blog, intended to be “the nexus where medicine and business converge,” provides insights on key healthcare news that may impact industry trends, as well as the state of the U.S. healthcare system. Shalowitz is an adjunct professor of Preventive Medicine at Feinberg.  

Vincent Scott, ’82 MD, recently joined the Summerville Medical Center as part of its hospital medical staff and the Summerville Pelvic Health Specialists. Scott brings more than 25 years of experience providing medical and surgical care for women to his new role, where he will offer pelvic health services.

Boris D. Lushniak ’83 MD, MPH, was reappointed in July 2022 to serve another five years as dean and professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland.  Also in 2022, he was appointed by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve on the Board of Directors of the National Fitness Foundation. He remains on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore as professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and professor of Medicine in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Division. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of Schools and Programs in Public Health, the Board of Regents of the American College of Preventive Medicine, and as co-chair of the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention. As a Ukrainian-American he is involved in supporting humanitarian efforts in Ukraine as a board member of the Ukrainian Catholic University Foundation. He and his wife (Patricia Cusumano, MD) are proud of their daughters, who are now medical students (Washington University and University of California, San Diego). He remains dismayed that Northwestern was not their first choice!     

Ellis Arjmand ’84, ’86 MD, ’96 PhD, recently joined the Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Louisiana’s Board of Directors. Arjmand is the surgeon-in-chief of Children’s Hospital New Orleans and is nationally known for his expertise in healthcare quality improvement and health economics.

Karl J. Sandin ’86 MD, MPH, received the 2022 American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association (AMRPA) National Leadership Excellence Award. It recognizes his work in physician relations, prior authorization, governance, and quality for AMRPA, the nation’s premier organization advocating for patients in medical rehabilitation and the inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and units that serve them. He practices in-patient neurological and trauma rehabilitation, provides medical direction and consultation, and serves as assistant professor of Surgery (Trauma Surgery) at Creighton University School of Medicine. 

Sandra Sanguino ’89, ’93 MD, ’96 GME, MPH, was named a 2022-23 Academic Leadership Program Fellow by Northwestern University’s Office of the Provost. Sanguino is the senior associate dean for medical education at Feinberg and an attending physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

2000s

Eric Tham, ’01 MD, was recently appointed the new senior vice president and chief research operations officer at Seattle Children’s Hospital. In his new role, Tham will focus on research administration, operations, and finance, as well as continue broader leadership in research. Tham has served as interim senior vice president of Seattle Children’s Research Institute since 2021.

Maura George ‘06 MD, FACP, received the 2022 Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award. This award honors a medical school faculty physician who exemplifies the qualities of a caring and compassionate mentor in the teaching and advising of medical students. 

Kenneth Poole Jr., ’07 MD, MBA, was named UnitedHealth Group’s chief medical officer for provider and clinician experience. In his role, Poole will focus on enhancing clinician career experience and fostering an environment that builds clinician connectedness. Previously, Poole was at the Mayo Clinic. 

Pamela C. Luk, ’08 MD, was recently installed as a member-at-large of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Society. After completing a residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at University of Southern California and Los Angeles County Hospital, she pursued a fellowship in foot and ankle surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She practices in the Los Angeles area.

2010s

Sujata Saha ’12, ’16 MD, recently joined the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson’s Department of Surgery as clinical assistant professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology. Saha will also serve as the assistant clerkship director for general surgery. 

GME

Henry Wolstat, MD, ’63 GME, recently had his first poetry collection, “Driftwood,” published by Kelsay Books. His poems have previously been published on the websites Baseball Bard, Haikuniverse, and more.  

Gene Saltzberg MD, FAAEM, ’74 GME, has been promoted to associate professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences (Emergency Medicine) at the Chicago Medical School. In addition to teaching clinical classes at CMS, Saltzberg is the volunteer medical advisor to Lambs’s Farm in Libertyville. Despite being closer to 80 than 70, he has no plans of decreasing his involvement in medical education or volunteerism. 

Mark C. Delano, MD, ’90 GME, was appointed chair of the Department of Radiology at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, where he has been since 1996. His current interests include advanced MR techniques, imaging biomarkers, and pathways to reduce the cost of care and improve outcomes.

June M. McKoy, MD, MPH, JD, ’01 GMEF, ’05 LLM, ’10 MBA, was appointed to the American Board of Internal Medicine’s Geriatric Medicine Board. Dr. McKoy is professor of Medicine (Geriatrics), Medical Education, and Preventive Medicine at Feinberg. She also holds a joint appointment in the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern, where she serves as assistant director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. 

Alison Cowan, MD, ’14 GME, was appointed to Mirvie’s leadership team as head of medical affairs. Cowan brings more than a decade of experience as an OB/GYN to Mirvie to lead the continued development of its proprietary Mirvie RNA platform, which predicts preeclampsia and preterm birth before they occur.

Jillian Bybee, MD, ’16 GMEF, ’17 GMEF, is this year’s ambassador for Harvard Medical School women’s leadership course. Bybee is a specialist in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Spectrum Health. Bybee is an alumna of the Pediatric ICU fellowship at Northwestern.

DPT

Joseph P. Farrell ’76 PT, DPT, co-authored “The Blind Men, the Elephant, and the Continuing Education Course: Why Higher Standards Are Needed in Physical Therapist Professional Development,” published in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. The article offers insights on how to improve the current system of continuing competence in physical therapy. A coterminous faculty member at Feinberg, Farrell is also a past Distinguished Alumni Award recipient in the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences. 

Paul Hildreth ’81, DPT, MPH, received the American Physical Therapy Association Louisiana’s Hall of Fame Award at its 2022 fall meeting. He is pictured (left) with the person who nominated him. Hildreth is a member of the Northwestern University Physical Therapy Alumni Association Board. 

DDS

David H. Hartzell, ’90 DDS, and Sheherazad A. Hartzell, ’91 DDS, both United States Navy Dental Corps Captains, just celebrated their retirement from the Navy after 30 years. A retirement ceremony was held in their honor on August 5. David Hartzell also served as chair of the Navy Comprehensive Dentistry Program. 

MS

Kelle J. Steenblock, ’01 MS, was named the inaugural director of the newly created Genomics Institute at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. With over two decades of experience promoting equitable access to quality healthcare and genetic services, Steenblock will lay the groundwork for the institute as well as develop strategies for the successful launch of its programs and partnerships.

Inclusion and Allyship: Sharing Stories

Working in healthcare is the most rewarding career anyone could have. We spend our days, nights, weekends, and holidays in service to those in need of medical care. This is a privilege. And with every privilege comes responsibility. 

At first, I became an ally because I fundamentally believe that it is our obligation to take care of everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. At its core, healthcare is an academic pursuit, and the research is loud and clear: We do not do a great job executing our obligation. Access, treatment options, and clinical outcomes are just a few examples where the facts tell us we have work to do. At the organization level, the evidence is also clear. Companies with more inclusive leadership and team make-ups deliver greater results. 

As my career evolved and I continued to learn, I realized that being an ally is so much more than working on systems and processes to try and close the gaps that exist in the care we provide. Being an ally is more than supporting a diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative. For me personally, being an ally is sometimes silently being a friend, colleague, and supporter, one-on-one. Being an ally is actively pushing for, promoting, and protecting a culture where everyone has a voice, everyone is supported, and everyone has the opportunity to reach their potential based on their individual effort and drive. Being an ally is working every day to be part of a society and culture where, one day, we won’t need allies. 

Joining the Medical Alumni Association Board and being on the Inclusion and Allyship Committee has been an amazing opportunity to have an impact beyond my immediate work and personal community. The Inclusion and Allyship Committee has brought together a diverse group of individuals who care about the Feinberg School of Medicine greatly, and we are excited about our ability to influence and impact the experiences of current and future students for years to come. Frankly, I am an ally because you either stand up for what is right or you do not — and sitting on the sideline isn’t an option.

— Christopher Rehm, ’98 MD, SVP, chief medical officer at LifePoint Health

We would love to hear your stories of Inclusion and Allyship. Please submit your story by emailing gina.bazer@northwestern.edu.