ALUMNI

1964

Eugene M. Edynak has recently published a book entitled Mirth, Medicine and the Military: A Vietnam Survivor's Memoir with Poetic License. This memoir details Edynak’s role in creating the Army Surgical Hospital at the III Corps 5^th Special Forces C Team in Vietnam in 1966 and 1967.

1982

Chi Van Dang (fellow, medicine, 1982 – 85; faculty, cell biology, oncology, and pathology, 1987 – present) cancer researcher, Scientific Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, and the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Cancer Medicine at Johns Hopkins, received this year’s AACR-Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research. The award will be presented at the 2024 AACR Annual Meeting in April.

David F. Martin (HS, surgery, 1982 - 84; HS, orthopedic surgery, 1984 – 87; faculty, 1988 - 90), Executive Director of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS), received the 2023 NCOA Honored Surgeon Award at the North Carolina Orthopaedic Association (NCOA) Annual Meeting for his notable influence in the promotion of the highest standards of orthopaedic care and distinguishment from his peers. The establishment of the David F. Martin, MD, Endowed Othopaedic Resident Leadership Award was also announced, which will be given to a deserving Wake Forest Orthopaedic Resident in honor of Dr. Martin.

1983

Ann Rosenthal and Benson Massey are thrilled to announce their daughter, Ellen Schmitt, has joined them as a geriatrician on the faculty of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Their grandson, Jacob Schmitt, has also arrived to join his older sister Hazel.

1986

As of earlier this year, Emmett Cunningham (fellow, radiology, 1990 - 91) is now serving as Executive Chairman of Eyconis, Inc., a new company formed to develop, manufacture and commercialize TransCon ophthalmology assets globally.

1987

Keith Ablow, founder of life coaching and consulting platform, Pain 2 Power, published “24 Ways to Change Your Life in 2024,” a list of ways to improved one’s life.

1988

Marisa Bartolomei (Ph.D.) received the 2024 March of Dimes Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize. This award annually honors someone who has advanced the science and understanding of pregnancy, birth and prenatal development.

In June 2023, Joshua Hare (faculty, medicine, 1995 – 2010; faculty, biomedical engineering, 2003 – 16) was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors as a fellow. He currently serves as the Louis Lemberg Professor of Medicine at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. Dr. Hare is also co-founder, chairman, and CSO of Longeveron Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing cellular therapies for life-threatening congenital heart diseases and chronic aging-related conditions. He is a double board-certified cardiologist and is the founding director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Hare has received over $25 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, and he has been the recipient of numerous awards.

1990

Yolanda Becker joined LifeGift, a health services organization that offers hope to individuals needing organ transplants in Texas, as their vice president and chief medical officer. She also serves as a member of the organization’s strategic governance council. In her roles, Becker will provide clinical operational leadership and medical direction in organ and tissue procurement activities to maximize and optimize organs recovered available for transplantation, medical therapy and research.

2003

Rita Rastogi Kalyani (HS, medicine, 2004 – 06; fellow, endocrinology, 2006 – 07; fellow, endocrinology, 2007 - 10; faculty, endocrinology, 2010 - present), professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has been named President-elect of Medicine & Science on the American Diabetes Association’s 2024 national board of directors.

2007

In October 2023, Khoi Than was promoted to professor of neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery, with tenure, at Duke University.

2013

Jason Liebowitz (HS, internal medicine, 2013 – 17; fellow, rheumatology, 2017 – 19; faculty, ) started in the position of assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Eugene Shenderov (HS, medicine, 2013 – 2016; fellow, oncology, 2016 – 19; faculty, oncology, 2021 – present), assistant professor of the Department of Genitourinary Oncology and Cancer Immunology and Co-Director of the Prostate Cancer Multi-Disciplinary Clinic at Johns Hopkins, was awarded an annual gift of $20,000 from the Hollander Foundation for prostate cancer research. Shenderov’s lab focuses on understanding the mechanisms of the immune response to prostate cancer and the resistance to immunotherapy.

Carl Streed, Jr. (HS, medicine, 2013 - 16) was appointed to the board of Point Foundation, the nation’s leading scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ college students. In this role, Streed will help the organization’s mission of empowering LGBTQ students through scholarship support, mentoring and leadership development. Additionally, Streed was promoted to associate professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine based on his work regarding LGBTQ health, which has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

2016

Nicole Jiam has been recognized as the recipient of the 2024 Hearing Health Foundation Emerging Research Grant Award and the 2023 Doris Duke Physician-Scientist Fellowship Award to study neuroplasticity and neural responses in cochlear implant users. Jiam is a Neurotology & Skull Base Surgery Fellow at the Mass Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School and a faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Her research expertise includes cochlear implantation, complex sound processing, music perception, healthTech, and flat-panel CT imaging.

FORMER FACULTY, FELLOWS, & RESIDENTS/HOUSE STAFF

Enrique Hernandez (HS, obstetrics and gynecology, 1977- 81) stepped down as department chairman at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University after 21 years. He remains as a tenured professor of obstetrics and genecology at the institution, where he holds the J. Robert Willson endowed chair.

Previse, a gastrointestinal health company co-founded by Stephen Meltzer (faculty, oncology, medicine, 2006 – present) and Daniel Lunz announced the relocation of its headquarters and opening of a new state-of-the-art CLIA high complexity laboratory in Baltimore, Maryland.

Peter Rowe (HS, pediatrics, 1981 – 85; fellow, 1985 - 86; faculty, pediatrics, 1991 - present) professor of pediatrics and director of the Children's Center Chronic Fatigue Clinic, has published a new book called “Living Well with Orthostatic Intolerance” about how to live with circulatory disorders like recurrent fainting and postural tachycardia.