New Postgraduate Level 2 Residents Started Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialty Training in July 2020
Megan E. Andrews MD attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS (Applied Behavioral Sciences), and she graduated from Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, NE and Phoenix, AZ. She participated in her internship at the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha.
J Christian Yuvienco Belisario DO, MS attended the University of Connecticut in Mansfield, CT (Biological Sciences, Molecular and Cellular Biology), and he graduated from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury, New York where he also received a master of science degree (Neuromusculoskeletal Sciences). He participated in his internship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Katherine Caldwell MD attended Texas A&M University in College Station, TX (Kinesiology), and she graduated from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia, MO. She participated in her internship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Ryan McLoughlin MD attended Skidmore College (Biochemistry, Exercise Physiology) in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and he graduated from State University of New York Downstate College of Medicine in Brooklyn, NY. He participated in his internship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
David H. Quan MD attended the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH (Biochemistry), and he graduated from the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences in Toledo, OH. He participated in his internship at the Mercy St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Toledo, OH.
Clayton R. Walker MD attended Luther College in Decorah, Iowa (Biology), and he graduated from the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucy A. Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, IA. He participated in his internship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
New Subspecialty Fellows Started July 2020
PSOM student enjoyed the honesty of the patients who participated in the disability panel.
Kelly M. Heath, MD, Penn PM&R successfully recruited a new brain injury medicine fellow: Jessica M. Calandra, DO attended Boston College (Biology, Italian) in Chestnut Hill, MA, and she graduated from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; she completed her physiatry residency at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at the Thomas Jefferson University, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. Penn PM&R’s brain injury medicine fellowship is certified by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
Under the direction of Adrian Popescu, MD, Penn PM&R successfully recruited two new spine and sports musculoskeletal medicine fellows: Sahba Oboudiyat, DO, attended Pennsylvania State University (Biology, Health Policy and Administration), in State College, PA and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, VA, and he completed his physiatry residency at the Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Center, NY. Kathy Plavik Temperato, DO also attended the Pennsylvania State University (Neuropsychology, Biology) and then the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, PA; she completed her physiatry residency at Rusk Rehabilitation New York University Health in New York City, NY. Penn PM&R’s spine, sports and musculoskeletal medicine fellowship is certified by the North American Spine Society.
Under the direction of Keith, M. Robinson, MD, and Jasmine Y. Zheng, MD, Penn PM&R successfully recruited its first cancer rehabilitation fellow: Alyssa Mixon, DO attended the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH (Biology, Classics), and she graduated from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford, ME. She completed her physiatry residency at Sidney Kimmel College of Medicine at the Thomas Jefferson University, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, in Philadelphia. Concurrently, she is completing her master’s degree in business administration at the Philadelphia University of the Thomas Jefferson University. This new fellowship joins six established cancer rehabilitation subspecialty training programs across North America. This fellowship offers one year of clinical training and a second optional year of research training. The major training site will be Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center located within the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine. The core Penn PM&R faculty members are Jasmine Y. Zheng, MD (cancer rehabilitation), and Betty Chernack, MD (palliative care medicine).
Under the direction of Kate E. Temme, MD and her colleagues who practice at the Penn Sports Medicine Center and from the Departments of Family Medicine and Community Health, Orthopaedic Surgery, and Internal Medicine, Jasmine H. Harris, MD successfully has been recruited to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-certified Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship within Penn Medicine. Dr. Harris is participating in one of the two fellowship positions that is designated for a physiatrist. She attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ (Exercise Science and Sports Studies), and her medical training occurred at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine in Brooklyn, NY. She completed her residency training in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY.
Penn PM&R Selects New Chief Residents
Postgraduate level-4 resident physicians, Dr. D. Frank Distel and Dr. Mitra McLarney are currently the administrative and educational chief residents, respectively, having initiated these leadership positions on March 1, 2020. Donald Frank Distel, MD, MBA attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO (Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and Psychology/Neuroscience), and he was trained medically at the Albany Medical College in Albany, NY after receiving a master of business administration degree at the University of Colorado in Denver, CO. Mitra Danshevar McLarney, MD, MPH attended the University of Michigan (Engineering), and she trained medically at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, N.J. after receiving a master of public health degree from Yale University in New Haven, CT.
Congratulations to the Penn PM&R Class of 2020!
The virtual graduation ceremony of the six post-graduate level 4 Penn PM&R residents occurred on Friday, June 12, 2020:
Kunj Amin, MD is pursuing subspecialty training in Spine, Sports and Musculoskeletal Medicine at Ascencion Texas Spine and Scoliosis in Austin TX.
Neil Batta, MD is pursuing a Pain Medicine fellowship in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Lindsey Healy, MD is an attending physiatrist at the Spectrum Health Lakeland in St. Joseph, MI.
Alyssa Marulli, MD is pursuing subspecialty training in Interventional Spine and Musculoskeletal Pain Medicine at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation based at MossRehab of the Einstein Healthcare Network in Elkins Park, PA.
Akta Rajani, MD is pursuing a Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship in the Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Vanessa Wanjeri, MD is an attending physiatrist at the Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth, OH.
The advancement of our four subspecialty fellows also were recognized at the virtual graduation:
Jane Han, MD Spine and Sports Musculoskeletal Medicine fellow, joined White Plains Hospital Orthopedics as a spinal interventional physiatrist.
Kenton Hagan, MD, MBA, Primary Care Sports Medicine fellow, joined Advanced Orthopedic Specialists in Fayetteville, AR, and will serve as a sports medicine team physician for the athletic programs at the University of Arkansas.
Christopher Ilacaqua, MD, Spine and Sports Musculoskeletal Medicine fellow, joined Penn PM&R as an attending physiatrist, and he is an Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation on the academic clinician track.
Priyanca Shah, MD, Brain Injury Medicine fellow, is an attending neurorehabilitation physiatrist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Harvard Medical School, based at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network in Boston, MA.
The PM&R Interest Group At Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) Is Alive And Well
Dr. Alyssa Marulli (previous postgraduate 4 resident) and Dr. Chloe McCloskey (current postgraduate 4 resident), along with Penn PM&R faculty member, Dr. Kelly Heath, recently performed several volunteer community service activities with PSOM students including at the Philadelphia Flyers PowerPlay wheelchair hockey tournament. This version of adapted hockey invites men and women of all ages to compete in this team event. Started in 2003, the Philadelphia Flyers PowerPlay program sponsors social and athletic involvement, and peer mentoring, for power wheelchair users with a range of conditions including cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and traumatic brain injury. The 2019-2020 adapted hockey season was started in September 2019 and was planned to extend into early 2020 with up to 18 tournaments occurring every few weeks at various venues across the Philadelphia area and southern New Jersey. The COVID-19 disease pandemic cut the season short. Additionally, Penn PM&R residents and faculty, along with PSOM students, had also participated in the Dance for Health, an intergenerational dance program funded by Penn Medicine’s CARE grant, and sponsored by the Penn Memory Center within the Penn Neuroscience Center, based at the Ralston House on the Penn campus and home of Penn Medicine’s Geriatric Medicine division within the Department of Medicine.
Dr. Ben Abramoff mediated the patient panel for PSOM’s PM&R Interest Group.
Penn PM&R faculty member, Benjamin Abramoff, MD mediated a patient panel of disabled individuals who had spinal cord injury and stroke who elaborated on their life-experiences. This event was organized by previous PSOM student, Dr. Elaine Hong Hatch and current PSOM student, Claudia Hentschel.