Alumni News and Notes

Samuel S. Ho, MD ’62, Honolulu, Hawaii, has published a new novel titled “Why Be a Good Samaritan in a Dog-Eat-Dog World.”

Julian R. Taylor, MD ’69, Ahoskie, N.C., retired in January from Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center as one of its longest serving and most beloved physicians. Taylor, who attended medical school as a Reynolds Scholar, came to Hertford County in 1974, after serving as a general medical officer in the U.S. Air Force at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina and completing a family medicine residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C. He chose to work in Ahoskie through family ties – both of his parents were born in Hertford County (his father was one of its first health department sanitarians) and his wife, Jerrie Jenkins Taylor, is from Colerain. When Taylor joined Ahoskie Family Physicians, it was a busy traditional family medicine practice where he cared for all ages, from newborns to the elderly, as well as practiced obstetrics. As the medical community in Ahoskie grew, the practice eventually was able to focus on adult primary care. Around the same time, Ahoskie Family Physicians transitioned to what is now Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center as a way to better meet the substantial medical need in Hertford County. Although there were more services available, cost prevented many people from getting the care they needed. Federally Qualified Community Health Centers, like RCCHC, receive federal funding that allows patients to be seen regardless of their ability to pay, as well as access to the 340b discount drug program, allowing for lower prescriptions prices. RCCHC Chief Medical Officer Geniene Jones, MD, said, “Dr. Taylor has been a reminder to us all of what a family medicine doctor should be: kind, caring, intelligent, persevering and dedicated. I pray for him much rest and joy in this new phase of his career and life.” In January, Ahoskie Mayor Weyling White declared it Dr. Taylor Day “for his vision and four decades of dedication to his patients and community in Northeastern North Carolina.”

James H. Bradford, MD ’75, Statesville, N.C., has retired after 42 years of serving his community as a cardiologist. Since 1980, he has treated cardiovascular diseases and conditions, doing all he could to ensure the health and wellbeing of Iredell County residents. Bradford stated “the advancements of technology, understanding of diseases and treatment of diseases have revolutionized since I’ve been in practice. You can’t even begin to compare the difference between cardiac care then and what it is now.” In his 42 years as a cardiologist, Bradford found applying what he’s learned to helping people most rewarding. “No matter whether you’re in the office or the hospital, my relationship with patients has not changed. I think that’s the beauty of practicing medicine,” he said.

Richard L. McCoy, MD ’75, Rock Hill, S.C., received in October 2021 an alumni service award from Winthrop University. He received the Algeron Sydney Sullivan award, which recognizes a Winthrop alumnus for selfless dedication of time, energy and talent in service to others. Upon his retirement in 2001 as a pediatric physician, McCoy enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at Winthrop. Since 2004, he has been an adjunct professor teaching in the health care management program.

Garland W. Yarborough, MD ’75, Mequon, Wis., published a book in November 2021 titled “Following My Dreams.” The work is a memoir that shares the journey of a young boy born and raised in poverty in Oklahoma who struggles in school but through hard work and continued commitment to his goal, grows up to become a successful doctor.

Edwin L. Robey, MD ’80, Williamsburg, Va., and daughter, Catherine L. Robey, MD ’19, Norfolk, Va., – both urologists – got to spend a couple days together in the OR. Catherine is now in her fourth of five years of urology residency at Eastern Virginia Medical School and is enjoying the work.

Gerald Marshall Isbell III, MD ’82, Dallas, Texas, has retired from the private practice of gastroenterology after 31 years at Medical City Dallas, where he served as both section chief and medicine chair. He was a founding/managing partner of Digestive Health Associates of Texas (DHAT) and Digestive Health Management (DHM). DHAT/DHM comprised over 80 gastroenterologists practicing throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex by the time private equity acquired it in 2020. Isbell began a part-time faculty position with the Division of Digestive Disease at UT Southwestern Medical School in April, working in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic. He spends his spare time visiting children in San Francisco and New York City or working on his ranch in Valley Mills, Tex.

Craig M. Greven, MD ’83, Winston-Salem, N.C., the Richard G. Weaver Chair in Ophthalmology, professor, senior vice president of clinical operations and president of University Group Practice, has been recognized for his ongoing investment in students, residents, fellows and faculty through the James Edwin Byrum Jr., MD ’68, Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Greven is the award recipient in the clinician educator category. He has been a Wake Forest University School of Medicine faculty member for 32 years and has been the chair of the Department of Ophthalmology for 17 years. He has mentored more than 65 ophthalmology residents, 11 fellows and numerous faculty members and has doubled the size of the faculty and prioritized expanding the demographics of the department. He has fostered multiple early career faculty from assistant to associate professor and several to the rank of full professor. The Byrum Award memorializes Byrum, who passed away in 2011. During his 37-year career at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Byrum helped train more than 200 emergency medicine physicians.

David M. Alpeter Jr., MD ’86, Darien, Conn., and daughter, Lindsey Alpeter, MD ’20, Washington, D.C., together at her wedding in November at Boca Grande on the gulf coast of Florida. He remarked it was an honor to be “father of the bride.”

Holly Jean Coward, MD ’88, Winston-Salem, N.C., clinical associate professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine, was part of the groundbreaking ceremony in April for the new Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness at Senior Services on Shorefair Drive in Winston-Salem. At the new center, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist will have significant space to provide primary care geriatrics, consultations for people having memory difficulty, and counseling for families who are traveling the journey of memory loss.

Thomas G. Folk, MD ’91, High Point, N.C., was one of the recipients of the 2021 John and Melinda McConnell Clinical Excellence Awards. These awards recognize amazing physicians and advanced practice professionals who inspire patients and colleagues every day with their clinical acumen, compassion, professionalism and overall excellence.

Garfield A. D. Clunie, MD ’96, New York, N.Y., was installed in August as president of the National Medical Association. In early fall, he moved on from his position at Mount Sinai to become associate professor and inaugural vice chair for diversity, equity and inclusion in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at New York University Langone Health.

Suzanne E. Mitchell, MD ’97, Danvers, Mass., has joined Care Dimensions, the largest hospice and palliative care organization in Massachusetts, as a staff physician serving patients residing at their homes north of Boston and at Care Dimensions’ Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers. She works with an interdisciplinary care team of nurses, social workers, chaplains and aides, including complementary therapies, in very diverse communities. Board certified in family medicine and palliative and hospice medicine, Mitchell is the director of research at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, in Worcester and is a consulting scientist with the serious illness care team at Ariadne Labs, supporting research and dissemination of the Serious Illness Care program across the U.S. and worldwide. She is also a member the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine and the American Diabetes Association.

Thomas H. Marshburn, MD ’89, Pearland, Texas, became the official commander of the International Space Station in March. He was given the keys by Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplevov.

R. Paul Rieker Jr., MD ’97, MBA, Raleigh, N.C., attended the White Coat Ceremony on May 1 with his father, Robert P. Rieker, MD, House Staff ’84, to honor the MD Class of 2024, which includes his daughter, Madeline Rieker. Three generations of the family are proud to wear their white coats.

Alice A. Basinger, MD ’00, PhD, Norfolk, Va., has joined Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters as a medical geneticist. She was previously at Cook Children’s Physician Network as a metabolic geneticist. She specializes in metabolic disorders, newborn screening and congenital disorders of glycosylation. Basinger completed a fellowship and her residency at the University of North Carolina. She received her PhD from the University of California, Berkley.

Michelle L. Mellion, MD ’01, South Easton, Mass., has been appointed senior vice president, head of clinical development at PepGen Inc., a company developing the next generation of oligonucleotide therapeutics with the goal of transforming the treatment of severe neuromuscular and neurologic diseases. Mellion is double board certified in neurology and clinical neurophysiology, has over two decades of clinical development experience and spent the first part of her career treating people living with muscular dystrophies before transitioning to industry to focus on drug development in neuromuscular and neurological indications. She has extensive experience in evaluation and treatment of neuromuscular and neurological indications, having worked in both academic and commercial settings. Most recently, she served as executive medical director at Fulcrum Therapeutics, where she led the design and implementation of Phase I/II/III clinical trials for the company’s novel treatment of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. While leading clinical development efforts at Fulcrum, she also worked as an attending physician affiliated with Tufts Medical Center, specializing in neurology as a member of their pediatrics department. Mellion has also held leadership roles at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Biogen, where she facilitated the preclinical translation and clinical development of treatments for pain, multiple sclerosis and other indications.

Heidi Doss Riney, MD ’02, Atlanta, Ga., has assumed the role of chief medical officer (CMO) of global sleep health leader Nox Health [noxhealth.com]. As CMO, she will lead all medical programming and health care innovation across business units and play a supportive role in medical device technology development. Riney is one of the country’s leading experts on the intersection of sleep and health.

Lt. Col. U.S. Army, retired, L. Andrew Evans, MD ’03, Paducah, Ky., retired from the U.S. Army Reserves on April 1, 2022, after 22 years of service including 14 years as an active-duty Army physician. After completing his urology residency at San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium at Brooke Army Medical Center, he completed tours of duty at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and Fort Campbell, Ky., before transitioning into the Reserves and civilian urology practice. Evans currently specializes in erectile dysfunction and male incontinence with Baptist Health in Paducah.

Christopher T. Whitlow, MD ’04, PhD ’04, MHA, Winston-Salem, N.C., chair and tenured professor of radiology, professor of biostatistics and data science and professor of biomedical engineering, has been named chair of the Department of Radiology for the Atrium Health academic enterprise.

Andrew Woods Ritting, MD ’07, Fountainville, Pa., has joined Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists as a hand and upper extremity specialist. Ritting will provide orthopedic care including minimally invasive arthroscopic procedures, shoulder replacement, trauma care, carpal tunnel syndrome, surgery for arthritis and microsurgery. Ritting said his interest in orthopedics started after sustaining a serious knee injury playing soccer and was confirmed by volunteering at Doylestown Hospital. He calls it professionally and personally gratifying to return to the place where his passion for orthopedics began. He completed his internship and residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and completed an orthopedic hand and upper extremity fellowship at the University of California-Irvine.

Benjamin C. Wood, MD ’07, Raleigh, N.C., has joined The Aspen Group as chief medical officer of Chapter Aesthetic Studio, where he will use his extensive knowledge as a board-certified plastic surgeon and his expertise in nonsurgical aesthetic treatments to further develop and fine-tune training and treatment protocols. In his new role, he will oversee and facilitate training at Chapter University and work to expand the company's credentialing program to provide continued learning opportunities for providers. In addition, he will regularly evaluate protocols to align with the newest technology and nonsurgical treatment options.

David M. Shelburne, MD ’08, Winston- Salem, N.C., was one of the recipients of the 2021 John and Melinda McConnell Clinical Excellence Awards. These awards recognize amazing physicians and advanced practice professionals who inspire patients and colleagues every day with their clinical acumen, compassion, professionalism and overall excellence.

Maxwell K. Langfitt, MD ’09, Winston- Salem, N.C., an orthopaedic surgeon with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery with Wake Forest University School of Medicine, has been named executive medical director for perioperative services at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Davie Medical Center. In this role, Langfitt manages and coordinates the activities required to provide a safe and supportive environment for patients and teammates. He will lead alongside nursing, anesthesia and subspecialty leadership for the operating room and post-anesthesia care unit clinical services. “We are excited to have Max serve in this new role,” said Matthew Cline, MD ’09, Davie Medical Center’s chief medical officer. “He has been a valued member of our team since the beginning, and we look forward to his continued contributions and leadership at Davie Medical Center.”

Roy E. Strowd III, MD ’09, MEd, MS ’20, Winston-Salem, N.C., associate professor of neurology and hematology and oncology and assistant dean for undergraduate medical education, has been appointed editor of Neurology: Education, the newest journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). The journal provides neurology practitioners, clinical educators and trainees with peer-reviewed education research articles, curriculum innovations, evidence-based teaching and commentaries to enhance teaching and learning in neurology and neuroscience. Although designed for clinical educators, the journal will be free to readers worldwide and be an online-only journal with issues compiled two to four times per year. Strowd also is the associate editor and section editor for the AAN’s Resident & Fellow Section of Neurology, where he manages the education portfolio for the journal. He has produced over 100 peer-reviewed research articles and more than 30 are specific to medical education. The AAN is the world’s largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals and is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care.

Brian Shackleford, MD ’16, Greensboro, N.C., served as a webinar panelist for the discussion “Strategies to Respond, Manage and Mitigate the Spread of Monkeypox,” hosted by the American College Health Association’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Coalition.

Benjamin David Smart, MD ’22, Fountain Hills, Ariz., is attending the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, for a Master of Science in Medical Science degree before applying to psychiatry residency.

MD Class of ’89 Members of the MD Class of 1989 attended the Dean’s Leadership Circle/Hawthorne Hill Society dinner in May. Left to right: Melanie Adams, MD; J. Simmons Riggan III, MD; Cathy Snyder Riggan, MD; Douglas Allen Fein, MD, MPH

Thomas B. West, MD ’81
President

Johnnie Ford Jr., MD ’83
President-elect

Kathryn Ashton Grice, MD ’85
Secretary

Stanley N. Tennant, MD ’78
Immediate Past President

Melanie Adams, MD ’89
Tammy Marie Allen, MD ’02
John Alexander Black, MD ’81
M. Jennings Clingan, MD ’06
Paul G. Colavita, MD ’79
T. Arthur Edgerton, MD ’81
Michael T. Flanagan, MD ’93
Lindsay Carter Gray, MD ’99
Elizabeth McCurdy Hueman, MD ’02
A. Kakra Hughes, MD ’99, PhD
Janel Darcy Hunter, MD ’10
Brittany Lynn Lambertus, MD ’15
Kenneth F. Mattucci, MD ’64
C. Douglas Maynard, MD ’59
Wyman T. McGuirt, MD ’96
Charles C. Pitts Jr., MD ’16
R. Paul Rieker Jr., MD ’97, MBA
James D. Sink, MD ’75
Brett T. Starr, MD ’14
Scott L. Vogler, MD ’98
Louis Weinstein, MD ’72

MD Student Representatives
Meron Fessehaye, MD Class of 2023
Katherine Rae Salisbury, MD Class of 2024
Madison Hanley Read, MD Class of 2025
Lydia L. Faber, MD Class of 2026

Ex-Officio Members
Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), DFSVS
Lisa M. Marshall
Beth A. Alexander
Teri C. Lemons, MAEd

Remembering those who have recently passed, through July 31, 2022.

William Gardner Montgomery, MD ’52
Winston-Salem, N.C., July 1, 2022

Thomas Joseph Walsh Jr., MD ’58
Darien, Conn., April 24, 2022

Victor Wang-Ta Ng, MD ’59
Pine Knoll Shores, N.C., May 21, 2022

Robert Henry Fleming, MD ’60
Raleigh, N.C., July 19, 2022

Lewis William Thompson, MD ’60
Tulsa, Okla., June 15, 2022

William “Bill” Henry Biggers, MD ’61
Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 26, 2022

Louis Pikula Jr., MD ’61
Winston-Salem, N.C., June 27, 2022

Harry Lee Galloway, MD ’62
Whiteville, N.C., March 5, 2021

Ray Marshall Woodlief, MD ’64
King and Queen, Va., Jan. 7, 2022

Alfred Lee Baker, MD ’66
Chicago, Ill., March 1, 2022

David Walter Fieselman, MD ’67
Marco Island, Fla., Nov. 15, 2020

Samuel Nowell Smith Jr., MD ’68
Roanoke, Va., July 17, 2022

Irving Barefoot Elkins, MD ’69
Debary, Fla., Feb. 17, 2022

Lynn Mixon Hale, MD ’69
Winston-Salem, N.C., May 6, 2022

William Herbert Shoemaker Jr., MD ’73
Charleston, S.C., Jan. 7, 2022

Bahnson “David” Hall, MD ’74
Salisbury, N.C., May 13, 2022

Norman S. Cohen, MD ’76
Woodstock, N.Y.

Stephen Mart Fall, MD ’77
Boise, Idaho, Oct. 3, 2020

Elbert Andrew Rudisill Jr., MD ’77
Hickory, N.C., Jan. 28, 2022

Charles R. Ellis, MD ’82
Charleston, S.C., Feb. 4, 2021

Linda Lee Farmer, MD ’97
Auburn, Ala., Feb. 15, 2022