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Alumni Class Notes Winter 2019

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1970s

Steven Dodge, MD, ’75, is the physician assistant program director for Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. 

Grant Holland, MD, ‘75, is a cardiologist with Intermountain Medical Group in Ogden, Utah.

Pat Zimmermann, MD, ’78, was named Family & Community Medicine Preceptor of the Year by St. Louis University.  

Kerry Florence, MD, ’78, retired from the practice of emergency medicine at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri.

John McMillan, MD, ’79, plans on retiring in Dec. 2018 from his radiology practice in Overland Park, Kansas.

Ann Stroink, MD, ’79, was featured in the AMA Wire May 4, 2018 titled “Members Move Medicine: Breaking Down Barriers to Care.”

1980s

Roy DeFries, MD, ’80, retired in Dec. 2017. 

Linda Hungerford, MD, ’82, is now providing psychiatric care at Albion Community Healthcare in Albion, Illinois. 

Niva Lubin Johnson, MD, ’84, was installed as the president of the National Medical Association on Aug. 14, 2018.

1990s

Timothy Cornell, MD, ’95, is chief of pediatric critical care medicine at Stanford University in California. He and his wife, Rebecca, moved to California in July 2018.

Kent Harshbarger, MD, ‘96, was featured in an episode of PBS Frontline that aired on September 11. “Left Behind America: How Struggling Dayton, Ohio, Reveals the Chasm of American Cities” showed the effects of the economy and the opioid epidemic on the region’s residents. 

Manish Kohli, MD, ‘97, is the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Board of Directors chair. He serves as the chief medical information officer for Advocate Aurora Health System, the 10th largest health system in the US. He also serves as a member of the Joint Commission International Standards advisory panel.

Jason Bredenkamp, MD, ’97, is chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mercyhealth Hospital in Rockford, Illinois. He and his wife, Kristin, and their three children live in Beloit, Wisconsin.

Karina Volodka, MD, ’98, retired from the US Army in July 2018, after more than 20 years of service. She is now the director of neonatology at the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. She and husband Christopher Pflanz live in Lithia, Florida, with their four children.

Senait Fisseha, MD, ’99, and her 13-year-old son, were members of former President Barack Obama’s 25-person delegation to Johannesburg on the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth. Senait also received a formal invitation to become an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in recognition of her “extraordinary leadership and dedicated contribution to the development of women’s healthcare.” 

2000s

Kelly Higgins, MD, ’01, was named the 2017-18 Year 1 Mentor of the Year by the SIU School of Medicine Class of 2021. Kelly is an internist at Shawnee Health Care in Carbondale.  

Scott Cordts, MD, ’02, was promoted to residency program director at Deaconess Family Medicine Residency in Evansville, Indiana.  Scott and wife Kristine also took their three children, Julia, Isaac and Charlotte, on a mission trip to Haiti in July 2018. 

Jamell Walker, MD, ’05, was named director at Jackson Medical Group’s Women’s Center and associate chief of obstetrics-gynecology, both at Jackson South Medical Center. She and her husband, Timothy Carr, and their two children live in Palmetto Bay, Florida.

Jason Gillihan, MD, ‘06, was appointed director of trauma anesthesia for Barnes-Jewish Hospital in March 2018. He also serves as the associate director of clinical anesthesiology for Washington University in St. Louis.

Catherine Gaffigan, MD, ’07, is vice-president of network management and provider partnership innovation at Cambia Health Solutions, Inc. She is also a board member for the Returning Veterans Project, which provides free, confidential health services to post-9/11 war veterans, service members and their families. Read more about Catherine’s commitment to veterans at cambiahealth.com/news-and-stories. 

Jason Kegg, MD, ’07, was the keynote speaker at the graduation of Kankakee Community College and Riverside Hospital’s Class of 2018 paramedic providers, the same program from which Jason graduated more than 20 years ago.  

Holly Hoefgen, MD, ’08, and Erik Hoefgen, MD, ’12, are now practicing at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where Holly works as a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist and Erik works as a pediatric hospitalist. Holly, Erik and their three sons live in Webster Groves, Missouri.

2010s

Rachel Koziczkowski, MD, ’10, and husband Chad welcomed their third child in June 2018.  Evelyn Koziczkowski joins sisters Aubrey and Lydia. Rachel practices dermatology at Forefront Dermatology in Moline, Illinois.

Bryan J. Glaenzer, MD, ’13, received the Roentgen Resident/Fellow Research Award for 2018 while in his radiology residency at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois.

Kristopher Yoon, MD, ’14, completed his residency in internal medicine & pediatrics at West Virginia University in June.  He now works as a clinical instructor of medicine at the UCLA Medicine-Pediatrics Comprehensive Care clinic in Santa Monica, California.

Chris and GaToya Simpson, MDs, ’15,  welcomed another addition to the family with the birth of their daughter Noah Simpson in June 2018. Noah joins siblings Caiden and Ripp.

Alexander Hardwick, MD,’15, is doing a cardiology fellowship at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco.

Michael Clanahan, MD,’16, is chief internal medicine resident at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center Program in Memphis.

Christopher Burnett, MD,’16, and wife Brianna welcomed their daughter, Eleanor, in January 2018. Christopher is on active duty with the US Navy and is based in San Diego. 

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