December 2021 | Issue No. 56 |
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From all of us to all of you—
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season, good health, and happiness in the New Year!
Your Medical Alumni Association and Alumni Relations Team |
Alumni Weekend 2022:
Celebrate in Chicago
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The time has come to gather together and preparations for Alumni Weekend 2022 are well under way! Join us back on campus April 29–30 as we welcome our 2022 reunion classes, as well as our 2021 and 2020 reunion classes for their postponed celebrations—all classes whose graduation years end in 0, 1, 2, 5, 6, or 7.
Registration for Alumni Weekend will officially open on Wednesday, January 5. Be sure to take advantage of our early-bird registration discount! We have a fun-filled weekend planned with a wide selection of talks, forums, Chicago sightseeing opportunities, class dinners, an all-alumni celebration, and more! If you’d like a sneak peek of the weekend’s events, please visit our Alumni Weekend website.
Not your reunion year? Not a problem! This is an all-alumni weekend. All alumni, guests, and family members are welcome to attend.
If this is your reunion year and you are interested in becoming more involved with your class committee, please let us know. Reunion weekend would not be possible without our incredible alumni volunteers.
Mark your calendars and come celebrate with us!
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Dear Alumni,
I hope that you are doing well, staying safe, and enjoying the holiday season. Spring and baseball are just around the corner, and I wanted to let you know that we will be holding our annual Medical Alumni Association Spring Training Game in Mesa, Arizona, on Saturday, February 26 at Sloan Park, the spring training home of the Chicago Cubs. The Chicago Cubs will be facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in their opening season game. We will be offering highly discounted tickets to the rooftop deck which features seating to watch the game and a food buffet with drink tickets. Please save the date and be sure to sign up in early January when we send out the invitation to all alumni. Tickets are limited, and we expect to sell out quickly!
Thank you, and please reach out with any questions.
Thank you,
Babette
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Explorers Program Event Partnership
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My Block, My Hood, My City
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On December 1, our MAA Board Inclusion and Allyship and Women in Medicine subcommittees partnered to host members of the Explorers Program from My Block, My Hood, My City, a local Chicago community organization that supports empowering youth from Chicago neighborhoods and providing them with exposure to different neighborhoods and opportunities throughout the city. Twelve students from the Explorers Program joined us to learn more about different careers in medicine. Panelists included alumni and colleagues from our partner hospitals, as well as a nursing representative from the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, and encompassed our MD, PA, PT, and Prosthetics and Orthotics programs. The Northwestern University Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences department hosted this session and also included a hands-on activity for student participants. Thank you to all who made this event possible! |
Flowing With Breath This Holiday Season
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On December 8, the MAA Board Women in Medicine (WIM) Subcommittee was pleased to once again host a virtual Vinyasa yoga class for women in medicine.
Yogis both seasoned and new joined WIM member and certified RYT-200 yoga teacher, Anjali Gupta ’91, ’94 MD, ’96 GMER, for an early morning session this holiday season. |
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To stay connected with fellow women in medicine and learn more about other upcoming WIM events, join our WIM Facebook group.
Stay tuned for more yoga dates coming in 2022, beginning January 27. Thank you to Dr. Gupta and all who joined us! |
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Anjali Gupta ’91, ’94 MD, ’96 GMER |
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The Virtual Celebrations Continue!
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MD Class of 1982 (pictured above) |
MD Class of 1997 (pictured above) |
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The MD classes of 1982 and 1997 are the most recent reunion classes to gather via Zoom to kick off this year’s reunion season. Classmates had a fabulous time reconnecting, reminiscing, and making plans for Alumni Weekend 2022.
We're thrilled to welcome these alums and all of our reunion classes back on campus next spring! If you are interested in becoming more involved with your class committee or helping to organize a virtual gathering for your classmates in advance of Alumni Weekend, please contact us at medalum@northwestern.edu. |
A message from the Northwestern Medical Orchestra (NMO): |
Thank you to everyone who came or tuned in to the Northwestern Medical Orchestra’s concert on December 10! We welcomed more than 250 people over Zoom and had a lovely, in-person crowd at Hughes Auditorium. Attendees enjoyed a live performance by the NMO String Orchestra and watched premieres of pre-recorded Wind Ensemble pieces. Our 70+ musicians, who are also Northwestern medical |
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students, alums, faculty, and staff, were overjoyed to be able to play for a live audience again. Please join us on January 28 for a chamber music concert, also in Hughes Auditorium at 7 p.m. or available over Zoom. Register here. A recording of our December 10 concert is available here for anyone who missed the performance. |
To learn more about how you can support the NMO, please visit their website. |
To learn more about how you can support the NMO, please visit their website. |
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MAA Digital Series:
Hosted by Joseph Gugenheim, ’72 MD |
“Chicago’s Holiday Mascots” |
We’re thrilled to share with you the newest installment of the MAA digital series, from our fantastic host and historian, alum Joseph Gugenheim, ’72 MD!
Grab your hot cocoa and curl up by the fire as Dr. Gugenheim once again celebrates the holiday season in a very special presentation for our MAA Digital Series. In this episode, Dr. Gugenheim takes a look at Chicago’s famous holiday mascots and their enduring legacy. Learn more about the Windy City origins of some of your favorite holiday characters. This episode will have you shouting out with glee!
Dr. Gugenheim presents “Chicago’s Holiday Mascots.”
On behalf of the MAA, thank you, Dr. Gugenheim, for another year of stellar digital series episodes! Your monthly presentations in this alumni-beloved series continue to provide fascinating insight into the history of our medical school and its Chicago home. |
Another can't-miss episode coming in January 2022. |
Stay tuned in the New Year as our MAA Digital Series continues... Dr. Gugenheim kicks off our MAA Digital Series 2022 season with an intriguing two-part presentation on Pediatrics at Northwestern. Join us for "Pediatrics at Northwestern, Part 1: The Children's Memorial Hospital Era." |
Northwestern Medicine Magazine |
| • | “Let’s All Be Quinquagenarians!”: MAA Board president Edward Kim ’92, ’96 MD, shares the significance of the number 50 and the importance of celebrating milestones along the way in the “Alumni President’s Message” | | • | Read a story of “Inclusion and Allyship” shared by Tacoma McKnight, ’81 BS, ’83 MD, ’87 GMER | | • | Hear from fellow alum Courtney Burnett, ’17 MD, in “Accepting the Difficult Gifts of a Cancer Diagnosis,” an adaptation from her poignant memoir, Difficult Gifts: A Physician’s Journey to Heal Body and Mind, in our “Alumni Perspectives” section | | • | Learn more about how fertility pioneer Sandra Carson, ’75, ’77 MD, ’81 GMER, has devoted her career to finding innovative solutions to reproductive challenges in our “Alumni Profile” feature | | • | Visit our “In Memoriam” section as we honor the lives and legacies of our alumni and dear friends, including the late Lewis Landsberg, MD, former dean of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and chair of the Department of Medicine, and alum Joanne C. Smith, MD, ’92 GMER, president and CEO of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab | | • | Explore the alumni “Progress Notes” to hear personal and professional updates from your fellow alumni | | • | And more! |
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Feinberg MD Program Receives Full LCME Accreditation |
In October 2021, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine received full eight-year accreditation by the Liaison Committee of Medical Education (LCME), the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to the MD degree. The two-year reaccreditation process began in the summer of 2019 and included a comprehensive self-assessment of Feinberg’s performance across the LCME’s 12 overarching standards and 93 elements, led by five subcommittees comprised of more than 85 faculty, administrative staff, students, and residents, as well as an independent student survey and a virtual site visit. Medical students led the Independent Student Analysis, which independently surveys student satisfaction with the educational program, student services, the learning environment, and other areas of relevance to students. Read more about the LCME Accreditation in our Feinberg News Center. |
From Lab Partners to Life Partners |
Enjoy a walk down memory lane with Philip M. Weinerman ’75, ’77 MD, ’80 GMER, and Julia A. (Davidson) Weinerman ’75, ’77 MD, as they prepare to celebrate their 45th medical school reunion:
“Julie and I attended the September 1971 Northwestern University HPME (Honors Program in Medical Education) freshman orientation. We met, talked, and she asked if I would like to be her physics lab partner. I said sure, with no clue that this would lead to...dating, marriage, five children, lots of grandchildren, two satisfying careers, countless hours of community volunteering, and many loving memories.
50 years later, we are still partners.
We retired recently from radiology and physical medicine and love spending time with our 19 grandchildren and continuing our volunteer community work. We both are grateful for the excellent education we received at Northwestern University and for the friendships we made.”
Thank you to Drs. Weinerman for sharing these fantastic photos and memories with us!
If you have your own photos or memories to share with us in advance of reunion, please contact us at medalum@northwestern.edu. |
Dawn S. Brown ’96, ’99 MPT, DPT, has been named the recipient of the 2022 Northwestern University Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Award. Dr. Brown is the first recipient of this award. Dr. Brown is clinical assistant professor of Physical Therapy in the School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders at Northern Illinois University (NIU) and is pursuing a doctor of education degree at NIU. She also is director of Clinical Education for the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy’s National Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission. Congratulations, Dr. Brown! |
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Frank C. Candela, ’82 MD, ’87 GMER, began painting two years ago and recently launched an Instagram page featuring his artwork. Dr. Candela is a California-based general and oncologic surgeon who plans to paint “a lot more as times goes on.” To view Dr. Candela’s artwork, follow him on Instagram (@the_painting_surgeon). Congratulations, Dr. Candela!
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Bria Coates, MD, ’08 GMER, ’11 GMEF, is senior author of a COVID-19 study recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology. Dr. Coates’ research found that age-related differences in immune response to SARS-CoV-2 may increase adults’ risk of developing severe COVID-19. This study was funded by the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (grant K08HL143127), and the American Thoracic Society. Dr. Coates is assistant professor of Pediatrics (Critical Care) at Feinberg. For more information on Dr. Coates’s study and a link to her published research, visit the Feinberg News Center. Congratulations, Dr. Coates!
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Richard E. Heller, III, ’99 MD, ’00 GMER, ’12 MBA, has been elected an at-large director on the Radiological Society of North America's (RSNA) Board of Directors. Dr. Heller is associate chief medical officer for Communications and Health Policy and national director of Pediatric Radiology at Radiology Partners. He also serves as clinical associate at University of Chicago Medicine, Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Heller will serve on the RSNA Board of Directors for a term of three years. Congratulations, Dr. Heller! |
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Christopher S. Kang ’92, ’96 MD, ’00 GMER, has been named president-elect of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). He will serve a one-year term before assuming the presidency next October during ACEP22 in San Francisco, California. Dr. Kang has served in leadership roles on multiple professional organizations at both the state and national level, including the Washington State Medical Association, the Disaster Clinical Advisory Committee of the Northwest Healthcare Response Network, and as a member of the Board of Directors and president of the Washington Chapter of ACEP. He was elected to the ACEP Board of Directors in 2015 and served as treasurer from 2019–2020 and as chair from 2020–2021. Dr. Kang also is a diplomate of the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Congratulations, Dr. Kang!
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Howard S. Kim, MD, ’17 MS, is lead author of a recent COVID-19 opioid study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Health Forum. Dr. Kim’s research, supported by the Davee Foundation, evaluated “Unintentional Opioid Overdose Death Characteristics in Illinois Before and During the COVID-19 Era, 2017 to 2020.” Dr. Kim is assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at Feinberg. Alumni Danielle M. McCarthy, ’06 MD, ’10 GMER, ’12 MS, and Patrick McCafferty Lank, MD, ’10 GMER, ’11 MS, also served as co-authors on the study. For more information on the study and a link to the published research, visit the Feinberg News Center. Congratulations, Drs. Kim, McCarthy, and McCafferty Lank!
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Do you have news to share with us or know of an alumnus/a we should recognize in the newsletter? Post it on our Facebook page or email us at medalum@northwestern.edu. |
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Join Us for These Upcoming Events!
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Did you know that the MAA has its very own Plan It Purple calendar? With the Plan It Purple calendar, you'll never miss a Medical Alumni Association event! You can register for events, download a save-the-date reminder to your calendar, and learn more about all the other University-wide events and offerings. Bookmark the MAA calendar or visit the MAA home page to keep tabs on all of our upcoming events. |
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Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | 6:00–9:00 p.m. PST
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Join your Medical Alumni Association for a gathering with alumni and friends at Yardbird Table and Bar in Los Angeles! All alumni and friends of the medical school are welcome. We encourage LA-area alumni celebrating a milestone or belated milestone reunion this spring to attend this event and learn more about our upcoming Alumni Weekend 2022. |
SAVE THE DATE: WIM Virtual Yoga Class
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Thursday, January 27, 2022 | 7:30–8:00 a.m. CST
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The MAA Women in Medicine subcommittee invites you to save the date for another WIM Virtual Yoga Class. Whether you are a regular yogi or a brand new one, come be part of this Vinyasa class for women in medicine with Anjali Gupta ’91, ’94 MD, ’96 GMER, a certified RYT-200 yoga teacher. All levels are welcome. More information on how to register for this and our other winter yoga dates coming in January. |
Friday, January 28, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. CST
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The Northwestern Medical Orchestra (NMO) is pleased to invite you to its 2022 Chamber Music Concert on January 28.
NMO musicians include alumni, physicians, medical students, staff, and other members of the Northwestern community.
Limited tickets are available for in-person attendance at Hughes Auditorium (303 East Superior Street). Advanced registration for in-person or virtual attendance is required.
For questions or more information about the Northwestern Medical Orchestra, please contact nmorchestra@u.northwestern.edu. |
Thursday, February 3, 2022 | 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. EST
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The NU Club of Naples and the Half Century Club of Northwestern University's Medical Alumni Association invite you to join us at the Bonita Bay Club for a discussion on “Aging and the Beneficial Effects of Exercise” featuring Daniel M. Corcos, PhD, professor of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Corcos will share information about the latest research on how aging affects the brain as well as the neuromuscular system. He will present studies showing the extent to which age-related declines in performance can be mitigated by a wide array of activities. We hope that you will take part in this interactive discussion, and we look forward to answering any questions you may have about Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and our healthcare system. Advance registration required. |
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SAVE THE DATE: Medical Alumni Association Get-Together | San Antonio, Texas
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Thursday, February 3, 2022 | 5:30–7:30 p.m. CST
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Save the date and join your Medical Alumni Association for a gathering with alumni and friends in San Antonio! This event is open to all medical alumni. We are pleased to welcome our physical therapy alumni who are attending the 2022 American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting.
Stay tuned for full details coming soon. |
SAVE THE DATE: Cubs Spring Training Game | Mesa, Arizona
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Saturday, February 26, 2022 | 1:05 p.m. MST
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Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
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The Medical Alumni Association is proud to once again host alumni and friends for a spring training game at Sloan Park in Arizona. Limited tickets will be available, and we expect to sell out quickly.
More information coming next month! |
Stay in tune with Feinberg faculty through candid interviews in the Breakthroughs podcast archives. Listen to their insights, explore recent episodes, claim continuing medical education credit, and subscribe to the show so that you can stay up-to-date with the latest discoveries.
Claim CME Credit—At the bottom of every podcast story page, you’ll find the eligible credit amount and a “claim your credit” button, which will take you to Feinberg’s CME website. Just sign in and fill out the form. Feinberg School of Medicine podcasts are available on: iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Stitcher. |
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Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine | Medical Alumni Association
420 East Superior Street, Rubloff Building, 9th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60611
medalum@northwestern.edu
312-503-8012
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