Spring/Summer 2024

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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.

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1950s

Robert A. Kyle, ’52 MD, recently authored A Physician’s Journey: The Memoir of Robert A. Kyle, MD. From the book synopsis: Beginning in the tradition of the prairie reverie with snow-filled winters and single room schoolhouses and ending with a litany of late-life accolades, Dr. Robert Kyle details his life from the farm, to smoke jumper school, to the University of North Dakota, to Northwestern Medical School, the U.S. Air Force and eventually a career at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic.

1970s

Michael T. Lotze, ’75 MD, has been named incoming editor-in-chief of the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC). Lotze serves as professor of Surgery, Immunology, and Bioengineering; director of the DAMP Laboratories at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center; and senior advisor for the Immune Transplant and Therapy Center at the University of Pittsburgh. He previously served as associate editor of the Journal of Immunotherapy for more than 10 years and was on the editorial boards and a guest editor for several other journals including Journal of Leukocyte Biology, Cancer Microenvironment, OncoImmunology, Frontiers in Inflammation, Journal of Innate Immunity, PLOS ONE, Cancer Gene Therapy, and npj Regenerative Medicine. 

Thomas Quinn, ’74 MD, MSc, was awarded the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Distinguished Medical Alumni Award at Alumni Weekend 2024. Created in 1998 by then-vice president and dean of the medical school Harvey Colten, this award is presented annually to recognize alumni whose outstanding professional achievements bring honor to the medical school and merit special recognition. (To learn more about Quinn and his work, see the article Global Health Giant on page 32.) 

1980s

Alan S. Wayne, ’84 MD, has been appointed senior vice president of Academic Affairs and pediatrician-in-chief at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Wayne also serves on CHLA’s board of directors and served as clinical director of the Pediatric Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health for 14 years.

Michael R. Barratt, ’85 MD, ’88 GMER, ’89 GMER, (second from left in photo) and his three crewmates launched successfully from Kennedy Space Center in their SpaceX Crew 8 Dragon to the International Space Station on March 3, where they will be aboard for the next six months. 

Sandra L. Weber, ’89 MD, was awarded the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology’s highest award, the Master of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (MACE®) at the 2023 AACE Annual Meeting.

1990s

Mark Rosenbloom, ’90 MD, recently joined the advisory board of Alzheimer’s Treatment Centers of America. Rosenbloom is a practitioner and pioneer in the field of longevity medicine. He is founder and chief medical officer of LIFEFORCE Medical Institute which focuses on longevity and optimal performance medicine. He also is founder of PEPID LLC (a premier point of care medical/drug and decision support software), the Unicorn Children’s Foundation, and the Boca School of Autism. 

Allen Ghorashi, ’93 DDS, recently published a blog for the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) LifeSmiles portal, “Implant Dentistry: One of Many Dental Disciplines.” Ghorashi is based in Ramsey, New Jersey and has been in practice for 25 years with 15 years in surgery and restorations. He is an AAID fellow and a diplomate in implant dentistry with the American Board of Oral Implantology. 

Kavitha Gandhi, ’94, ’98 MD, ’99 GMER, and Shelly Vaziri Flais, ’95, ’99 MD, ’02 GMER, co-chairs of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Medical Alumni Association (MAA) Board Women in Medicine Committee, were recently celebrated in Crain’s Chicago Business 2023 Notable Women in STEM. Honorees demonstrate leadership through mentoring, involvement in professional organizations, and participation in community and civic initiatives. Gandhi and Vaziri Flais lead efforts to promote women in STEM via programming that includes mentoring high school students interested in STEM, providing panel discussions about STEM careers with a focus on issues facing women in medicine, and participating in twice-yearly mentoring programs with My Block, My Hood, My City. 

Sudip K. Bose, ’95, ’99 MD, is featured in a new, gripping documentary. This intense and heartfelt series, Desert Doc, follows Bose in his work as an emergency physician in West Texas at Medical Center Hospital—the highest-level trauma center for 38,000 square miles. A former U.S. Army combat physician, Bose provided treatment to soldiers in the most dangerous war zones of Iraq and treated Saddam Hussein after his 2003 capture. Bose is a Bronze Star recipient, awarded in recognition of his completion of one of the longest combat tours by any physician since World War II. Desert Doc is an inspiring, must-watch documentary and is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. 

2000s

Jeffrey M. Brandt, ’01 CERT, certified prosthetist-orthotist of Brandt Ventures, recently announced a $10,000 donation over two years to the Orthotics and Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research. The gift will sponsor six prosthetic and orthotic patient-care providers with one-year subscriptions to the National Limb Loss & Preservation Registry (LLPR). 

Gil D. Rabinovici, ’01 MD, gave the Mendelson Annual Lecture at the 30th Annual Alzheimer Day hosted May 3 by the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Rabinovici is the Edward Fein & Pearl Landrith Distinguished Professor at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and director of the UCSF Alzheimer Disease Research Center. Alzheimer Day showcases Alzheimer-related dementia and aging research conducted throughout Northwestern. 

Zebadiah “Zeb” M. Kimmel, ’04 MD, MBA, has been named chief product officer for AMC Health, a leader in end-to-end virtual care solutions. Before AMC Health, Kimmel held vice president positions in both Product and Engineering for Medically Home, a leading provider of hospital-at-home services, and led teams serving governments, hospitals, pharmaceutical firms, and medical device manufacturers worldwide at McKinsey’s Healthcare Technology Practice. 

Hema L. Ramkumar, ’06, ’11 MD, is co-founder and CEO of Oculogenex. Ramkumar, a retinal surgeon, founded the company in 2020 alongside her father, a former aerospace engineer. Together, they developed a targeted gene therapy injection that seeks to stop or reverse blindness, specifically dry macular degeneration. Their research is supported by the National Science Foundation and the International Space Station National Laboratory. 

Sarah Eickmeyer, ’07 MD, ’11 GMER, associate professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, was recently named chair and clinical service chief for the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Kansas School of Medicine (KUSOM). She previously served as KUSOM’s appointed residency program director and was selected for the role of assistant director in the Medical Alumni Society Learning Community Program. Eickmeyer also served as medical director of Inpatient Rehabilitation for The University of Kansas Health System. She was elected to the Association of Academic Physiatrists Residency and Fellowship Program Directors Council and serves as chair of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Self-Assessment Committee. Eickmeyer is an oral examiner, exam item writer, and neuromuscular and electrodiagnostic medicine content specialist for the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; serves on the associate editorial board of PM&R: The Journal of Injury, Function and Rehabilitation; and is a peer reviewer for Medical Teacher.

Himabindu Vidula, ’07 MD, ’10 GMER, ’13 GMEF, ’14 GMEF, was recently elected to serve as chair of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Board of Governors and secretary of the Board of Trustees. Vidula will lead governors from chapters representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, and representatives from the U.S. health services. 

David James “D.J.” Kennedy, MD, ’09 GMEF, was recently elected president of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is professor and chair of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Kennedy is a member of the board of directors of the North American Spine Society, serving as the inaugural director of the Strategic Growth Council, and serves on the board of directors of Nashville Public Television. 

Hercules D. Logothetis, ’09, MD, ’18 GMER, owner of Eye Physicians of Libertyville, a state-of-the-art ophthalmology clinic, recently announced that his company has acquired Northern Illinois Eye Clinic in Mundelein, Illinois. 

2010s

Emma R. Daisy, ’11 MD, ’14 GMER, was recently appointed president of the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP). Daisy is a family physician at Tapestry360 Health. She joined IAFP as a first-year resident and has served in several capacities for the organization. Her focus is on health equity and primary care access for patients of all ages. 

Paul M. Duffin, ’11 PhD, was recently named as one of the inaugural Bingham Endowed Chairs for Teaching Excellence at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. Duffin is also associate professor of Biology at the university and serves as the presiding faculty officer. Duffin’s research includes the areas of molecular microbiology, bacteriology, bacterial pathogenesis, and bacterial genetics. He also works extensively training students in his lab during the summer to provide them with additional experience. 

Amit B. Ayer, MD, ’19 MBA, ’20 GMER, and Nikhil K. Murthy, MD, ’21 MBA, ’22 GMER, recently partnered with Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences alum Casey G. Qadir, ’19 to form Hubly Surgical. The partnership took place as part of NUvention Medical, a graduate-level course offered by the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Northwestern University McCormick School of Engineering. Qadir identified the need to modernize the standard two-person hand-crank cranial drill while studying neuroscience as an undergraduate. As neurological surgery residents, Ayer and Murthy worked with Qadir to develop Hubly Surgical’s battery-powered drill with a variety of safety features including an auto-stop mechanism, a cone-shaped drill bit to protect against over-penetration, and a color-changing LED light that allows users to determine if they are applying the correct amount of force. The Hubly Drill was piloted at Northwestern Medicine and aided in saving the life of an ICU patient. 

2020s

Abigail R. Citterman, ’24 MPO, was recently awarded the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP) Women in O&P Research Award. A recent graduate of Northwestern’s Prosthetics-Orthotics Center’s (NUPOC) Master of Prosthetics and Orthotics (MPO) program, Citterman received the award at the AAOP’s 50th Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium in Chicago. 

DPT

Justin M. Lantz, ’12 DPT, was selected for the Spineline Top 20 Under 40 Award by North American Spine Society (NASS). He is the first physical therapist (DPT) to ever win this award. 

Emily J. Morris, ’09 PT, DPT, was selected as a recipient of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Equity and Inclusion Coin, which recognizes diversity, equity, and inclusion champions who are successfully increasing access and opportunities for all people while building better outcomes for historically and currently disadvantaged populations. Morris was recognized for her recent work, fostering equitable community engagement by challenging long-established policy development practices in favor of more innovative and transformational community engagement techniques. Morris has served in leadership roles on several state government-led special projects and, most recently, led the design and implementation of Michigan’s Medicaid policy introducing coverage for community health worker services. With a board specialty in geriatrics, Morris is active with the Michigan chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association and volunteers across the state at universities and events, teaching and conducting senior athlete health screens. 

Meghan A. Lamothe, ’17 PT, DPT, is co-author of a recent study titled “Management of Concussion in the Young Athlete,” which seeks to analyze the differences in concussion symptoms, treatment, recovery, and psychological implications in children, as well as the role of the physical therapist in the management of pediatric concussion. 

Hannah Sy, ’24 DPT, was named the winner of the 2023-2024 Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation (JHR) Student Essay Contest, co-sponsored by the American Counsel of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT). The seventh in an annual series, this national contest offers a creative opportunity to ignite critical reflection in physical therapy students across the nation to support holistic approaches to patient care.