Alumni News & Obituaries

Alumni News

1980s

Jacob Paul Lalezari, MD’86, has been appointed Interim Chief Medical Officer at CytoDyn, Inc., a late-stage biotechnology company developing leronlimab, a CCR5 antagonist with the potential for multiple therapeutic indications. He is currently Chief Executive Officer and Director of Quest Clinical Research, and previously was Co-Director of the HIV Clinical Research Center at Mt. Zion Medical Center at the University of California, San Francisco.

David B. Sable, MD’86, has been appointed to the board of directors at Ohana Biosciences, a clinical stage biotechnology company pioneering reproductive health through sperm biology platform. He is widely acknowledged as a reproductive health innovator and early adopter of preimplantation genetic diagnosis to detect chromosomal abnormalities in IVF embryos. He currently directs healthcare and life sciences investing for the Special Situations Life Funds and serves as an adjunct professor of biology at Columbia University.

Marc Jeffrey Kahn, MD’87, GME’90, has been appointed dean of the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Most recently, he served as Senior Associate Dean at Tulane University’s School of Medicine, where he oversaw admissions and student affairs departments. He was also a Professor of Medicine and the school’s Peterman-Prosser Professor, a position established to introduce students of science-oriented disciplines to the humanities.

Edward Gordon Eventash, MD’89, has been appointed chief medical officer at Alydia Health, a clinical-stage medical device company dedicated to making childbirth safer. Most recently, he was medical director and vice president of Global Medical Affairs at Hologic, where he helped expand the company’s portfolio to include products that improve women’s health and well-being. He previously served as division chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tufts Medical Center.

1990s

Elyse G. Seltzer, MD, GME’93, has been promoted to chief development Oofficer at UroGen Pharma Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to building novel solutions that treat specialty cancers and urologic diseases. Prior to UroGen, she served as chief medical officer at Nabriva Therapeutics and as vice president of Global Clinical Sciences and Operations at GlaxoSmithKline.

Peter Linde, MD, GME’96, has been appointed chief medical officer at Morphic Therapeutic, a biopharmaceutical company developing a new generation of oral integrin therapies for the treatment of chronic diseases, where he will oversee the development of small molecule integrin inhibitors as the company advances toward clinical trials. Previously, he was vice president of medical research at Acceleron Pharma Inc., and was a Project Leader in Clinical Asset Development at AbbVie, Inc.

Christina M. Coughlin, MD’99, PhD’99, has been appointed chief medical officer at Rubius Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that focuses on engineering red blood cells to create medicines. Prior to Rubius, she served as chief medical officer at Tmunity Therapeutics, Inc., where she developed the CAR-T and TC-T cellular therapy pipeline across preclinical, regulatory, and clinical development activities.

2000s

James M. Metz, MD, GME’00, has been appointed medical advisor and member of the Board of Directors at Proton Therapy Partners, a health care services company that offers a joint venture model to provide health systems with access to proton therapy. He is a Henry K. Pancoast Professor and Chair of Radiation Oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine, where he oversees the operations of the Roberts Proton Therapy Centerandalso serves as the executive director of OncoLink, an online tool for accurate educational cancer information.

Lara S. Sullivan, MD’01 has been appointed chief executive officer and director at Pyxis Oncology, an immune-oncology company focused on developing antibody-based immunotherapies derived from novel insights into the tumor microenvironment. Most recently, she served as founder and president of SpringWorks Therapeutics, where she conceived of and executed the clinical stage spin-out from Pfizer and raised the Series A funding.

Tapan Nitin Maniar, MD’03 has been appointed head of clinical development at Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, where he will aid in the development of Dragonfly’s novel TriNKET and cytokine programs, and will lead the company’s clinical development on phase 1 clinical trials of novel immunotherapies.

Obituaries

1940s

Bertram A. Ruttenberg, BA’44, MD’46, GME’50, a child psychiatrist; Apr. 8. After earning a medical degree and completing an internship at the Perelman School of Medicine, he became a pioneer in the field of autism, later founding The Center for Autism in Philadelphia.

Jacob Shragowitz, BA’43, MD’47, an obstetrician and gynecologist; Apr 13. After earning a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine, he joined the U.S. Army and later served during the Korean War as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. After his military service, he practiced privately in Port Chester, N.Y. for more than 30 years. He later worked at Queens General Hospital and then at the Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. He was an associate clinical professor emeritus at Albert Einstein College of Medicine when he retired from medicine.

1950s

Richard H. Seibert, MD’50, an internist; Sep. 17, 2019. After earning a medical degree at the Perelman School of Medicine, he completed an internship and residency at University Hospitals (Case Western Reserve) of Cleveland, with specialties in infectious diseases and cardiology. He was an officer in the U.S. Public Health Service, where he was a major contributor to the Salk Poliomyelitis Vaccine Field Trial Evaluation of 1954. He served on the part-time teaching staff of University Hospitals of Cleveland, practiced full-time at Euclid Meridia Hospital, holding the position of Chief of Medicine for four years, and received a Meritorious Service Award after retiring in 1991. He authored or contributed to seven articles in medical journals including that of the Salk Vaccine Field Trial Evaluation and also wrote on infectious disease for the Lincoln Library encyclopedia. He was a fellow of the American Geriatric Society, a member of the American Medical Association, a member of the Cleveland Medical Aesculapian Society, and an associate member of the Benjamin Franklin Society of the Perelman School of Medicine.

Milton C. Westphal, Jr., MD’51, GME’55, a pediatrician; Jan. 2. After earning a medical degree at the Perelman School of Medicine, he joined the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston as chairman of the Department of Pediatrics.

H. Alan Hume, MD’53, GME’57, a surgeon; Feb. 20. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he earned a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine, later completing an internship and surgical residency at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and a then a surgical fellowship at The Lahey Clinic. He maintained a private surgical practice in Philadelphia while holding various positions such as chief of Surgical Services at Penn Presbyterian and chief of staff at two hospitals in Delaware County. He then became Director of Emergency Medical Services for the state of Maine before serving as chief of staff at Mid-Maine Medical Center. He helped establish the Colby-Hume Center at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where he became an overseer and later worked as director and attending physician in the Colby Student Health Center. He was a founding member of the American Trauma Society and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery.

Marilyn Rohrer Curran, BA’50, MD’54, a child psychiatrist; Jan. 19. After earning a medical degree at the Perelman School of Medicine, she completed her residency in psychiatry at Norristown State Hospital and subsequently received additional training in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychoanalysis in suburban Philadelphia, where she maintained an outpatient psychiatry practice, staff positions at area hospitals, and active membership in professional organizations until her retirement. She attended continuing medical education well into her 80s, several times receiving the American Medical Association’s Physician Recognition Award for her dedication.

Ruth Gottlieb, BA’50, MD’54, GME’58, a pediatrician; May 2. After earning a medical degree at the Perelman School of Medicine, where she was one of only four women in her class, she worked as a general pediatrician and a pediatric nephrologist. She practiced at Thomas Jefferson University, where she also served as a clinical professor of pediatrics.

Gifford Grimm, MD’54, GME’58, an obstetrician and gynecologist; Jan. 16. After earning a medical degree and completing a residency in obstetrics and gynecology from the Perelman School of Medicine, he served in the U.S. Army, where he served at Ft. Bragg as a general surgeon and delivered more than 5,000 babies. He was deployed as a MASH surgeon, attending to casualties in the aftermath of multiple earthquakes in Chile. Upon honorable discharge, he joined Monmouth County Associates in Neptune, N.J., where he was a practicing OB-GYN for 53 years until his retirement.

Abraham H. Miller, BA’50, MD’54, a cardiologist; Jan. 16. After earning a medical degree at the Perelman School of Medicine, he interned in Denver, followed by a residency at Pennsylvania Hospital and a cardiology fellowship at Hahnemann Hospital. He then served with the Public Health Service in Florida, before moving to Manhattan, Kansas, where he practiced with the Manhattan Medical Center for nearly 30 years. Upon retiring, he practiced medicine for another 17 years at the Boeing aircraft facility in Everett, Wash.

Frank H. Barranco, MD’56, GME’60, a physician; Mar. 14. After earning a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine and completing his family practice training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, he served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, serving at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. He joined the Santa Ynez Valley Medical Clinic in Solvang, Calif., where he practiced family medicine for over thirty years. He helped establish the Santa Ynez Valley Community Hospital, serving as its chief of staff for many years, and he was a clinical instructor at UCLA Medical Center in the Division of Family Practice.

Norman N. Cohen, MD’56, GME’60, an internist; Apr. 16. After earning a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine, he completed an internship at Philadelphia General Hospital, a medical residency at the Philadelphia Veterans Hospital, and a gastroenterology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He became chief of Gastroenterology at Mercy Fitzgerald and Misericordia Hospitals, and then served as chairman of the Department of Medicine at Mercy Catholic Medical Center, where he founded and oversaw the gastroenterology fellowship program. He pioneered the use of fiberoptic endoscopy and served as the president of the Pennsylvania Society of Gastroenterology and chairman of the Board of the Philadelphia Gastroenterology Training Group for over 25 years.

Henry J. Powsner, MD’56, GME’60, a radiologist; Aug. 12. After earning a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine, he completed a residency at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and was certified by the American Board of Radiology and the American Board of Nuclear Medicine. He served as an Air Force physician at Eglin in Florida, and at Burderop and South Ruislip in England. He then moved to Princeton, where he worked as a radiologist, later specializing in mammography. He also served on the boards of the Princeton Regional Schools, N.J. Commission on Radiation Protection, Princeton Board of Health, and Physicians for Social Responsibility of Central N.J.

Saul Winegrad, BA’52, MD’56, professor emeritus at the Perelman School of Medicine; Mar. 13. After receiving a BA in chemistry and a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, he interned in Boston and held a research fellowship at the NIH. He was invited to spend a year at University College London, after which he joined the Perelman School of Medicine as assistant professor of physiology and medicine. He became a full professor and organized the Biomedical Graduate Studies program. Upon his retirement, the Saul Winegrad Award for Outstanding Dissertation was established. He was also recognized internationally for his research and was a Fulbright Fellow, National Science Foundation Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow, and Fogarty-CNRS International Fellow. He was a founding member of the Pennsylvania Muscle Institute, and also served as vice president for research for the American Heart Association (AHA), receiving the National Award of Merit from the (AHA).

C Theodore Blaisdell, MD’59, GME’62, an anesthesiologist; Apr. 3. After serving in the Field Toxicology Branch of the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, he earned a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine, where he also completed an internship and an anesthesia residency. He was the first board-certified anesthesiologist at Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, Pa., where he became director of anesthesia. He helped to build the Allentown/Sacred Heart Hospital Center, which became the Lehigh Valley Health Network, and was a member of the American Board of Anesthesiology and the Pennsylvania Society of Anesthesiologists. He also frequently served as an examiner for the American Anesthesia Boards.

John L. Wanamaker, MD’59, GME’63, a cardiologist; Jan. 29. After earning a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine, he completed an internship at Philadelphia General Hospital and a cardiology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He served 10 years in the U.S. Air Force as a cardiologist at Wilford Hall, San Antonio, and as a flight surgeon at Andrews Air Force Base. He then moved to Sayre, Pa., to practice at the Guthrie Clinic, where he was elected to the board of physicians and later served as chief of Cardiology.

1960s

Eric Papineau Gall, BA’62, MD’66, GME’70, a rheumatologist; Feb. 26. After earning an undergraduate and medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, he completed an internship and first year of residency at the University of Cincinnati. Amid training, he served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and received the Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal, before completing his residency at the Perelman School of Medicine. He spent 27 years at the University of Arizona, where he was section chief of Rheumatology and was the co-founder and director of the Arthritis Center. He also served as chief of Rheumatology at the VA and then as the chair of the Department of Medicine at Rosalind Franklin Medical School in Chicago. He served on many national committees and was the president of the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals. He also won numerous awards, including Master in the ACR, Master in the American College of Physicians, and the Freedom of Movement Award from the Arthritis Foundation.

Chalmers E. Cornelius III, MD’64, GME’68, a dermatologist; Dec. 3. The author or co-author of 28 articles in leading national medical journals, his research and early clinical trials contributed to the development of the pharmaceutical Retin A, which revolutionized the treatment for acne and aging skin. He earned a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine and completed an internship at Temple University and a residency in dermatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He then served for two years in the U.S. Public Health Service at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. He later joined the staff of Bryn Mawr Hospital in Pa. and practiced in the Philadelphia area for 45 years.

Thomas D. Mull, MD, MD’65, GME’74, an anesthesiologist; Feb. 20. After earning a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine and completing an internship at Walter Reed Army Hospital, he served tours of duty in El Paso, Texas and in Vietnam. He returned to Penn and completed a residency in anesthesiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). He served on the faculty and staff at HUP and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Hospital before accepting a position at Bryn Mawr Hospital, where he was chief of Anesthesiology for many years.

Peter R. Heisen, MD’69, GME’73, an infectious disease physician; Feb. 23. After earning a medical degree and completing an internship at the Perelman School of Medicine, he took over his father’s medical practice at Mercer Hospital in Trenton, N.J. He later began developing commercial software for use in organizational management, and as chair of the Methodology Committee at William M. Mercer, Inc., he oversaw statistical modeling used for the annual 100 Top Hospitals report. 

1970s

William L. Meadow, MD’75, GME’76, a pediatrician; Sep. 14, 2019. A pioneer in the development of neonatal bioethics, he co-authored a book, lectured extensively throughout North America and Europe, and published more than 90 academic papers on medical and neonatal ethics, as well as more than 200 scholarly abstracts. After earning a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, he began his residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, followed by a year at the University of Chicago Hospitals, where he also completed fellowships in infectious disease and medical ethics. He joined the faculty there, eventually becoming full professor of pediatrics, taking over the neonatology fellowship program and becoming co-director of Neonatology.

William G. DeLong Jr., GME’79, an orthopaedic surgeon; Mar. 13. After earning his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine, he completed an orthopaedic surgery residency at the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS). He served leadership roles at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J, UPHS, and Temple University Hospital. As network chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Pa., he oversaw the rapid development of a community program into a large network of academic specialists. He was the team physician for the Philadelphia Flyers and consulted with multiple professional, collegiate, and youth sports teams. He was a member of the Trauma Critical Care Team of the Department of Homeland Security for many years and was also a board member of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, the Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society, and Healing the Children of Philadelphia County. He lectured nationally, wrote numerous book chapters and scientific publications, and was recognized with multiple professional, teaching, and research awards.

Michael J. Forsythe, MD, GME ’79, an anesthesiologist; Sep. 30, 2019. He attended the University of Virginia School of Medicine and completed a fellowship in adult and pediatric cardio thoracic anesthesia at the Perelman School of Medicine. After working in academics for a few years, he practiced privately at South Miami Hospital in Miami; Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh; and for the last 13 years at JFK Hospital in Atlantis, Fla.

1990s

Robertson Buell Tucker, BA’90, MD’95, a psychiatrist; Nov. 10. After earning a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine, he completed a residency at Thomas Jefferson University and a fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He specialized in adolescent medicine and child and adolescent psychiatry at the Warren E. Smith Health Center in Philadelphia, where he worked for nearly 20 years. He also had a private psychiatry practice with adult patients and specialized in anxiety disorders.

Faculty

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Richard L. Tannen, MD, a retired senior vice dean at the Perelman School of Medicine; Feb. 22. After attending Vanderbilt and earning a medical degree from the University of Tennessee, he completed his residency and fellowship in nephrology at the Brigham Hospital in Boston. He was a Major in the U.S. Army at Walter Reed Hospital during the Vietnam War. Before becoming senior vice dean at the Perelman School of Medicine, he started the Department of Nephrology at the University of Vermont, served as division chief of Nephrology at the University of Michigan, where he was also director for the Kidney Research Center, and then was appointed Chair of Medicine at USC. He co-authored several textbooks on nephrology, published numerous scientific articles, lectured nationally and internationally, and received research support from the NIH for most of his career. He served as president of the American Society of Nephrology and on the board of the American Heart Association. Upon retirement, he studied computerized ambulatory medical record databases, laying the foundation for continued research in the field of biostatistics.

Saul Winegrad, MD; See Class of 1956.

Remembering The Doctor Behind A Brilliant Breakthrough

Stanley J. Dudrick, MD’61, GME’67, was widely regarded among the country’s most accomplished surgeons for developing total parenteral nutrition (TPN), a groundbreaking discovery that has saved the lives of tens of millions of infants, children, and adults.

Born in Nanticoke, Pa., Dudrick earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, later completing a general surgery residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. As a young resident, Dudrick felt compelled to invest his time researching ways to save patients who underwent successful surgeries yet were still dying. His devotion to research led him to discover that malnutrition was a major cause of these deaths. TPN, his medical breakthrough, allowed those struggling to eat to receive the nutrients essential to their physical health, saving millions worldwide.

After completing his residency, Dudrick later joined the school’s faculty, ascending from instructor to professor of Surgery, and eventually became chairman of Surgery at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia.

Dudrick held a number of other esteemed titles, including as the first professor and founding chairman of the department of Surgery at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, professor of Surgery at the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Cancer Center, chairman of the department of Surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital, and professor of Surgery at Yale University Medical School. Later, he joined Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa., as the first Robert S. Anderson, MD, Endowed Chair, professor, and medical director of physician assistant studies. He then became professor of Surgery at the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton.

Known as the “father of intravenous feeding,” as well as the founder of LifeFlight—the first helicopter acute care ambulance service in the United States—Dudrick contributed to more than 800 publications and held membership in more than 100 academic, professional, and honorary medical and scientific societies. For his innovative efforts in medicine, he was awarded more than 210 honors, including the Distinguished Graduate Award from the Perelman School of Medicine and the American Surgical Association Medallion, its highest honor.

“I want to leave something better behind when I go,” Dudrick said in a 1978 interview with People, “rather than just practice medicine the way it has always been done.”