DO - Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

perspectives from
DO
the college of osteopathic medicine
TODAY’S
summer/fall 2 0 0 7
ohio university
Our Alumni

Second-year student
Kristen Conrad is the
“Hamburgler” during
the annual OU-COM
Talent Follies.

DO
the college of osteopathic medicine
TODAY’S
perspectives from
DO
TODAY’S
F e a t u r e s
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14
18
20
A Family Physician takes an
Alternative Path
Out in “Custer Country,” Cmdr. George
Ceremuga, D.O. (’93), provides health
care to Native Americans on the Northern
Cheyenne Reservation.
Melting Pot Medicine
A new intercultural communications seminar
at OU-COM fosters cultural competency in
future physicians.
Global Health
By participating in international programs,
students become aware of cultural differences
and learn how to interact with patients from
diverse backgrounds.
The Long Road Back
Injured when his humvee was hit by an
improvised explosive device, Capt. Larry
Robinson, D.O. (’02), describes his experience
in Iraq.
On the cover…
Incoming Society of Alumni and
Friends President Jeffrey A.
Stanley, D.O. (’82), congratulates
Kerwyn Flowers, D.O. (’07), after
OU-COM’s 28th commencement
exercises Saturday, June 2..pher:
Christian Stork
3 On Campus
7 CORE News
9 Commencement
24 Research
26 Alumni Note
28 Alumni Board
31 Alumni Events
32 Class Notes
36 Congratulations

DO
TODAY’S DO
volume 25.2
Today’s D.O. is published two
times a year by the Office of
Communication of the Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Editorial offices:
Room 330, Grosvenor Hall,
Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 45701.
Editorial Board
George Dunigan II
Director of Governmental Affairs
Ryan Palmer
Student Government President
Edwin Rowland, Ph.D.
Chair, Department
of Biomedical Sciences
John Schriner, Ph.D.
Director of Admissions
Sharon Zimmerman
Director of Medical Development
Executive Diretor Alumni Affairs
Content Editor
Susan Green
Copy Editor
Shelby Mullins
Design
Marie Graham
Kari Gunter-Seymour
Photography
Leonardo Carrizo
Tim Creamer
John Sattler
Writers and Contributors
Anita Martin
Mary Reed
Jared Rutecki
Carla Saavedra-Santiago
Tracey Thomas
Andrew Tillotson
Administration
Roderick McDavis, Ph.D
President, Ohio University
A New Osteopathic Oath
Recently, the Ohio Board of Regents commissioned the
Robert Graham Center to perform a physician workload
analysis for Ohio. The report showed that approximately 62
percent of OU-COM graduates practice in Ohio—by far the
most successful medical school in the state. This compares to
42 percent of all the Ohio medical schools combined. It also
showed that D.O.s are more likely to practice in underserved
areas of the state.
What explains these findings? While there are a number of factors,
I believe the primary reason for our success is the CORE
training hospital consortium. The seventeen institutions that
make up the CORE provide exceptional training to students
who enjoy a different atmosphere from most medical schools.
Our clinical faculty teach because they enjoy it, and CORE
staff develop personal relationships with our students. Our clinical faculty live the osteopathic
physician’s oath they took when they graduated:
“To my college I will be loyal and strive always for its best interests and for the interests
of the students who will come after me.”
Now the Ohio CORE is embarking on a new and broader mission. By 2020, it is estimated
that there will be more than 95,000 active osteopathic physicians. That will be 79 percent
higher than today. Recognizing the deficiency in postgraduate positions required to
accommodate the large increase in graduates, the AOA has appealed to the profession to
establish new postgraduate training programs. A large part of this responsibility will
rest on the shoulders of the osteopathic colleges, particularly those in states with high
concentrations of D.O.s, such as Ohio. The Ohio CORE is rising to the task.
Medical centers all over Ohio are interested in establishing new osteopathic GME
programs. CORE hospitals have put aside their individual interests to support the
profession’s rapidly developing need for additional outstanding GME programs. It is
exciting to watch the CORE grow in size, stature and quality. No wonder so many
OU-COM students elect to stay in Ohio. As the premiere postgraduate training
institution in the United States, the CORE provides osteopathic physicians an
unparalleled environment in which to train and practice. The CORE hospitals have
clearly adopted a variant to the osteopathic oath:
“To our profession we will be loyal and strive always for its best interests.”
I couldn’t be prouder of them.
Dean’s Message
John Brose, D.O.
Dean, College of Osteopathic Medicine
Karoline Lane
Director, Office of Communication
Opinions expressed in Today’s D.O. are
those of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect
viewpoints of the editors or official
policy of the Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Jack Brose, D.O.
Dean, Ohio University College of
Osteopathic Medicine
© ’07 Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Address updates for Today’s D.O.
should be referred to Sheila Bycofski
OU-COM, 332 Grosvenor Hall
Athens, OH 45701
phone: (740) 593-2346
e-mail: bycofski@ohio.edu
www.oucom.ohio.edu
2
oucom.ohio. www.
edu

On Campus
“…a gem in the neediest setting”
This is how Joe Hallet, a senior editor at The Columbus Dispatch,
described OU-COM in an editorial he wrote after a campus visit in
February. In the photo below right, John Schriner, Ph.D., director
of admissions, points out OU-COM’s Parks Hall clinic to Hallet during
a campus tour. Hallet lived in Parks Hall as an Ohio University student
more than 35 years ago
In his editorial, Hallet wrote about the tough funding situation in
Ohio for higher education and the reality that every college “soon may
have to prove its worth to obtain state funding. That challenge is not
feared by Dr. Jack Brose … His medical school is attracting the best
and the brightest – 3,200 applicants for 100 first-year slots in 2006
– in the state’s poorest and medically neediest region.”
Thanks to Dean Jack Brose, D.O., and college advocacy efforts,
government constituents are getting the same message that 54 percent
of OU-COM alumni practice in primary care fields, and more than 60
percent remain in Ohio, where they are more likely to practice in rural
and other physician-shortage areas.
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Representative Jimmy Stewart, OHIO
President Roderick McDavis and Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio
Board of Regents, toured campus in April, where they spoke to Dean
Brose aboard OU-COM’s
mobile health clinic, top and
above right.
State Senator Steve Stivers,
and his brother Alan, also
visited the college this spring.
Here, left, they look at
plasticized models with
Dean Brose in the anatomy
lab. Stivers is vice chair of the
Senate’s Finance and Financial
Institutions committee.
-Karoline Lane
summer/fall 2007 3

Rodeo roundup
Karen Montgomery-Reagan, D.O.,
assistant professor of pediatrics,
above, has fun with bubblemaking
during the 5 th annual
Bike Rodeo held at the Athens
Community Center.
James Schulz, an emergency
nurse at O’Bleness Hospital,
right, teaches Lander Zook, age
9, left, how to handle his bike
on rough terrain. Each year, the
Bike Rodeo, which aims to teach
young children about bicycle
safety and helmet use, donates
up to 200 helmets to local children
and raffles off one bicycle.
About 20 OU-COM students and
faculty volunteered alongside
community members at this
year’s event.
-Carla Saavedra-Santiago
4 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Go!
Nearly 90 people participated in the annual 5k Medicine Run despite the cold, cloudy weather. A health fair,
which provided free screenings for blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol, and a children’s obstacle course
were part of the event as well. Booths were also available to educate people on a variety of health conditions.
Close to 50 students volunteered their time throughout the year to make it all happen, noted second-year
student Nicole Veitinger, who chaired the events. “Knowing we are giving so much back to the clinic as a
result of our hard work is all the reward I need,” she said. The Medicine Run raised $2,000 for the Free Clinic,
an amount that exceeds last year’s record donation of $1,350.
-Andrew Tillotson
OU-COM “Today”
Jacqueline Wolf, Ph.D., associate
professor of social medicine, far left,
appeared on NBC’s “Today,” April 26,
to discuss professional and informal
wet nursing. Wolf, a nationally
recognized expert in the history of
breastfeeding, is the author of Don’t
Kill Your Baby: Public Health and the
Decline of Breastfeeding in the 19 th
and 20 th Centuries.
Sinn to serve on national board
Second-year student Clarice Sinn, right, was recently selected to serve on the
national board of the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) as the
organization’s “preventative medicine” director. She was “preventative medicine”
and public relations chair in SOMA’s OU-COM chapter last quarter.
In her new position, Sinn will develop programs at osteopathic medical schools
nationwide and collaborate with local coordinators to identify problems in
specific regional populations. Her duties include developing relationships with
national medical organizations like the American Lung Association and working
with other members of the national board to develop the SOMA Fall
Convention National Philanthropic Project in San Diego.
This fall, Sinn begins her third year-clerkship at St. Vincent Mercy Medical
Center in Toledo.
-Jared Rutecki
summer/fall 2007 5

Grant to benefit
area children
Young children and
their families living in
Appalachian Ohio will
have greater access to
health care thanks to
a federal grant that
will fund an innovative
community-university
partnership. The federal
Health Resources and
Services Administration
has awarded a threeyear,
$540,000 grant
to Ohio University to
support Interprofessional Partners for Appalachian
Children.
“We are a community-university partnership with
participants who are lay consumers trying to improve
our community’s ability to identify, to refer and to
provide comprehensive, coordinated care to young
children with behavioral and developmental concerns,”
says Jane Hamel-Lambert, Ph.D., director of
interdisciplinary mental health education in the
Department of Family Medicine and principal
investigator of the program.
-Mary Reed
Rewarding community service
Sarah McGrew, B.S.N., received the Outstanding
Arthritis Educator Award from the Ohio Rheumatic
Diseases Coalition for her participation in arthritisrelated
initiatives in the Appalachian region. For
several years she has helped the Ohio Department
of Health with teaching the Arthritis Foundation’s
six-week, self-help program in several Southeastern
Ohio communities. She is also a charter member of
the Ohio Rheumatic Diseases Coalition. McGrew,
coordinator of clinical and community experiences at
OU-COM, is the first person to receive the award.
-Carla Saavedra-Santiago
A winning proposal
Earlier this year, the College of Osteopathic Medicine received a Canon REALiS Sx6
projector from Campus Technology magazine. The publication asked educators interested
in bringing ultra-high-level projection capability into their classrooms to submit proposals
to the magazine for an opportunity to win a projector.
Out of 149 entries, OU-COM was among the four schools chosen to receive a top-ofthe-
line video projector with a price tag of $5,999. Allen Reed’s winning proposal
detailed how the projector would enable the college to deliver content in a new way
in the Grosvenor 128 microbiology lab. The new equipment was installed at the end
of January, replacing dated monitors, and has been in use since then.
As part of an ongoing project, the magazine is studying the real-life usage of the
projectors and will share with their readers the innovative ways educators and students
are using the latest “smart classroom” equipment.
This spring, Reed reported on the projector’s usage. Please visit campustechnology.
com/articles/48230/ to read how the projector is making a difference in teaching and
learning at OU-COM.
6 www.oucom.ohio.edu

C O R E N e w s
Whether working with students
or members of the community,
Nicholas Espinoza, D.O., is dedicated to
making a difference By Anita Martin
As a new assistant dean in the CORE, Nicholas Espinoza, D.O. (’90), coordinates third- and
fourth-year clinical experiences for students at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in
Toledo, Ohio.
Espinoza’s got a knack for forging connections, whether between students and doctors,
community members or among cultural groups. For years, he served Adelante, Inc.,
a not-for profit resource center providing the Hispanic community in Northwest Ohio
with mental health services, support for victims of domestic violence and substance
abuse prevention and intervention.
“I served as a board member, assisting the development for programs to help people with
substance abuse problems, which ranged from tobacco to crack cocaine,” he says.
When he wasn’t practicing family, occupational or urgent medicine—or facilitating
migrant health care—Espinoza has also moonlighted as a ringside physician for the
Toledo Golden Gloves boxing club.
These days, he’s focusing more on his private practice in Perrysburg, Ohio. But he
still makes time to work around the greater Toledo area—Oakmont Medical Hospital,
Bay Park Community Hospital, St. Charles Mercy Medical Hospital and St. Anne’s
Hospital, where he has courtesy privileges.
Ohio Occupational Health also employs Espinoza to help manage the return of plant
workers who have sustained work-related injuries. And some weekends he provides
urgent care at the Blanchart Valley Hospital.
“I think that’s about enough,” he laughs.
But even with all of his commitments, he still makes time to connect daily with third- and
fourth-year medical students at the hospital. Espinoza began working with students
as a CORE medical equity teacher with Harold C. Thompson III, D.O., to oversee
and advise them, if necessary, on multicultural issues pertaining to their internships
and residencies.
And now as an assistant CORE dean, Espinoza supervises about 35 students, interns
and residents from OU-COM and other participating colleges in Ohio and surrounding
states.
“I’ve always enjoyed working directly with students,” says Espinoza, who fondly remembers
his own time spent as a student at Ohio University.
Espinoza’s talent for making connections extends to his private practice, too. His group
practice makes use of hospitalist internal medicine specialists (Intermed) to care for
acutely ill patients who need in-hospital medical care.
“Our Intermed colleagues, Drs. J. Retholz, Sheldon, Cifuentes, Orlo, Hooker, Blood
and M. Retholz—all D.O.s—work great with us, our patient families and continually
support the CORE teaching activities of the students, interns and residents,” Espinoza
says. “Many of the Intermed physicians themselves trained right here at this CORE site
and have chosen to stay here and practice. We are very fortunate for that.”
Occasionally Espinoza returns to Athens to talk with students, and he fondly recalls the
euphoria of spring. “I remember how nice it felt when the weather warmed up and the
trees started to bloom,” he says.
Espinoza interned at Parkview Hospital, and received board certification in family medicine
in 1999. He and his wife, Carole, have two daughters, Valerie and Jacqueline.
summer/fall 2007 7

Seven alumni named
Master Faculty
Honorees received a plaque and a gold lapel pin
–lapel pin enlarged for detail
Seven alumni are among the 28 physicians named a Master
Faculty by Ohio Universty Co llege of Osteopathic
Medicine: Jeffrey Garman, D.O. (’84), Firlands
Regional Medical Center; Joni Koren, D.O.
(’84), Grandview Medical Center; Leonard
Tamburro, D.O. (’85), Affinity Medical
Center; Thomas Wehmann, D.O. (‘85),
Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital;
Roger Wohlwend, D.O. (’87), St.
Vincent Mercy Medical Center;
John Wolf III, D.O. (’88), St.
John West Shore Hospital and
John Yuhas, D.O. (’87), Firelands
Regional Medical Center.
The appointment of Master
Faculty is the highest honor
that the college gives to clinical
faculty members at its Center
for Osteopathic Research and
Education (CORE), a statewide
consortium of 15 hospitals
across Ohio.
“The award is truly an honor to
receive,” Koren says. “Many times
those of us who take students into our
offices wonder if we are appreciated, and it’s
very encouraging to see that we are.
“I’m thankful to be rewarded and recognized for
teaching the students,” she adds. “It’s something I’ve
always been passionate about and hope to continue
doing for many years.”
Master Faculty are chosen from hundreds of nominations and
awarded once every four years. The college recognizes the doctors as innovators and leaders in clinical education
and the osteopathic profession. They have excelled as teachers and mentors. Medical students, interns and residents
respect and esteem Master Faculty members for their contributions to undergraduate and graduate medical
education, as well as for being outstanding role models.
“One of the greatest parts of my job is recognizing my colleagues who have played such an important role in
preparing our students, interns and residents to become caring, compassionate and competent physicians,” says
Dean Jack Brose, D.O.
For a complete list of Master Faculty, visit www.oucom.ohiou.edu/MasterFaculty.
8 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Congratulations, you’re a D.O.
Jubilation, hugs, pride and family were in abundance
during the Ohio University College of Osteopathic
Medicine’s 28th commencement exercises Saturday
morning, June 2, in Templeton-Blackburn Alumni
Memorial Auditorium.
President Roderick McDavis, Ph.D., hailed the college
as “ … an outstanding example of our larger university
mission … ” and congratulated the student doctors
on the significant role they’ve played in the health of
Ohio’s citizens.
In addressing the 102 graduates—59 women and
43 men—Dean Jack Brose, D.O., said, “You have
exceeded my expectations. … In a short while, you will
understand why this ceremony is such an emotional
event. There is no more profound moment that
watching you come to the stage as a lay person, and
leave as a physician. As dean, congratulating each of
you is my favorite part of the job. I can’t imagine a
greater honor.”
Keynote speaker Alison Clarey, D.O. (Hon. ’98),
president of the American College of Osteopathic
Surgeons, left the newly minted physicians with two
thoughts: Know no limitations, and one person can
make a difference.
summer/fall 2007 9

Kerwyn Flowers
the ministry of medicine
By Mary Reed
Ministering to people has been at the root of Kerwyn Flowers’
lifework—from her stint as a 12-year-old Sunday school teacher
to a medical school tutor to a doctor of osteopathic medicine.
“God gives us gifts,” says Flowers, who received her medical
degree from the Ohio University College of Osteopathic
Medicine June 2. “I think being a physician is a ministry
within itself. Physicians are engaged in every aspect of their
patients’ lives—they encourage, they counsel, they listen and
so much more. In my opinion, physicians don’t heal, but rather,
God gives us the opportunity and privilege to facilitate healing.”
Even at a young age Flowers was resolved that her life’s work
would focus on health and healing. The support of her
mother, Sharon Smiley Gainous—the pastor of New Israel
Church of Jesus Christ in Quincy, Florida—was a foundation for
Flowers’ success in medical school. “My mother said you
could be whatever you wanted to be. From the beginning she
has always believed in me and supported me.” Flowers also
observed her mother’s role as a teacher to the church
congregation, and Flowers even dabbled in teaching Sunday
school as a girl herself. It turns out that she was a natural
teacher, a gift that would serve her well years later in
medical school.
After graduating with a degree in chemistry from Florida
A&M University, Flowers worked as a chemist for
GlaxoSmithKline and Lannett Pharmaceuticals. When she
decided it was time to attend
medical school, she needed more
background in biological sciences.
That’s when Flowers enrolled in
the OU-COM Summer Scholars
Program, a rigorous six-week
medical school preparatory
program for underrepresented
minority students, and then the
Post-Baccalaureate Program, a
similar preparatory program that
lasts one academic year.
Flowers says she had never heard
of osteopathic medicine prior to
coming to OU-COM. But when
a friend introduced her to the
osteopathic principles of approaching
the whole person, Flowers was
sold. “The philosophy was so similar
to what I had always believed
about health and wellness.”
After excelling in the Summer Scholars and Post-Baccalaureate
programs, Flowers became a tutor and mentor for both.
“Name it, I tutored it,” she says. She also became a mentor
to first-year medical students as part of a program called
COMrade. When she won COMrade of the Year in 2005,
she was surprised—but she shouldn’t have been. “I tutored a
lot of them,” she says, figuring that “all of the students who
I tutored voted for me!” But in fact, she received even more
votes than that.
During that time, Flowers also served as president of the
OU-COM Chapter of the Christian Medical and Dental
Association. She organized a Bible study group every Wednesday
night. “I tried to make sure the topics were relevant to people
of our age group and (were) topics specific to physicians.”
Now about to begin a residency in family medicine at Akron
City Hospital, Flowers is embarking on yet a new ministry
and believes that by becoming a physician, her destiny and
purpose are fulfilled. She will bring her faith with her to every
patient interaction. “I think faith gives us hope beyond
our circumstances.”
Flower‘s mother, left, and 25 members of her childhood church
congregation from Quincy, Fla., were in Athens to see Flowers,
center, receive her medical degree June 2.
10 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Eric Greenfield
all the right reasons
By Mary Reed
The ink is still drying on the Ohio University diploma that
names Eric Greenfield a doctor of osteopathic medicine, but
he has already made more house calls than most physicians will
make in their entire careers. This is because prior to medical
school, Greenfield was a paramedic for nine years – an experience
that shaped his professional trajectory as well as his philosophy
as a practitioner and teacher of emergency medicine.
“You get to make a big impact on people’s lives,” Greenfield
says about his paramedic career. He remembers treating five
cardiac arrest cases on five consecutive Christmas days.
“When you’re in somebody’s house and you see somebody
who’s collapsed literally in front of the Christmas tree, it
gives you a perspective you can’t see anywhere else.”
This in-home, pre-hospital assessment as a paramedic was
the formative beginning to Greenfield’s medical career.
He eventually earned a nursing degree through Regents
College, and then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in
health sciences through Excelsior College. He was making
a good living as a nurse when he became a part-time
paramedic instructor at the University of Alabama, but he
again changed careers to help establish a paramedic degree
program at nearby Calhoun College. “It was the best job I
ever had,” Greenfield recalls.
Medical school had always been on his mind, however,
and he eventually hit an educational ceiling as a nurse and
a paramedic instructor. He knew it was time to pursue a
medical degree, and he knew it would be at an osteopathic
medical school.
One of the things that drew Greenfield to OU-COM was
the patient-centered continuum program, a student-directed
curriculum where small groups of medical students are presented
with patient cases, and they come up with their own learning
objectives. “It was good for me because of my nontraditional
background,” Greenfield says. Describing a typical PCC
discussion, he says, “We might have a patient with a cough
or pneumonia. We’d start talking about the differential
diagnosis of a cough … a microbiologist in a previous life
might say, ‘These are the typical bugs we see.’ My contribution
is typically, ‘This is what you see in real patients, this is what
you look for.’”
Now Greenfield interacts with patients from the perspective
of a resident physician—he’s starting an emergency medicine
Eric Greenfield, left, and his mentor, Henry Gaillard, M.D.
residency at the Medical College of Georgia. “I didn’t really
want to do emergency medicine when I started medical school,”
he says. “I wanted to do a little bit of everything—which left
me with family medicine or emergency medicine. Then I realized
it was emergency medicine that made me want to go to
medical school to begin with.
“From seeing people die to delivering babies—that experience
at a formative age really changed me. I think life is precious
and I think we have a duty to give back to people.”
summer/fall 2007 11

A Family Physician Takes
an Alternative Path
By Tracey Thomas
photo provided by Cmdr. George Ceremuga
Out in “Custer Country,” Cmdr. George Ceremuga, D.O. ('93), plays an active
role in the Indian Health Services’ commitment to promoting healthy American
Indian communities.
Every week, he makes a three-hour commute from his home in South Dakota to the
pine-covered landscape of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Lame Deer,
Mont., where he provides medical care to Native Americans on the reservation.
“One minute I could be delivering a baby and the next I could be dealing with an
alcohol-related trauma patient,” he says. “I see much more than runny noses.”
As clinical director of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation Health Center, the
ongoing struggle to stem the rampant spread of alcoholism, teen pregnancy, obesity,
diabetes and drug addiction in native populations looms large in Ceremuga’s professional
life. And these are only a few of the pressing social issues on the reservation.
12 www.oucom.ohio.edu
He also works with tribal organizations to promote preventive
health activities to improve the health and well-being of the
reservation community.
Facing serious health problems every day can take its toll,
but Ceremuga has a prescription for that.
“It’s important to separate yourself from your patients, which
means not taking it personally when someone’s diabetes is
getting worse because they won’t take their medicine,” he
explains. “I see my role as a cheerleader for change, and if
only one person makes a lifestyle change for the better, no
matter how small, I’ve succeeded.
“What I do is not glamorous, but it’s honorable,” he adds.
“Sure we have problems and we’re understaffed, but we’re
helping to make needed change.”
He encourages medical students to do the same, taking what
they’ve learned and using it to help people with the most
need. And he’s quick to point out that helping others doesn’t
mean living a diminished life.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
For Ceremuga, it meant exchanging an 80 – 100 hour work
week in private practice, for a 40 – 50 hour work week on
the reservation. Shorter weeks have allowed him to spend
more time with his five children and to live the active and
healthy lifestyle he advocates for his patients.
“I’m constantly challenged in my work and really feel energized
when I can provide patient care to those in need,” he says. “It’s
the reason why I went into medicine.”
TODAY’S
DO
Don Shoulderblade, “sacred hat keeper” or holy man for the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation,
prays daily for the safety and security of his people. Cmdr. Ceremuga and Shoulderblade are
collaborating on a plan to integrate western medicine with traditional Northern Cheyenne medicine.

photo provided by Cmdr. George Ceremuga
The Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation Health Center is a modern, ambulatory
care facility staffed with five family physicians, a pediatrician and two nurse
practitioners who offer outpatient care as well as 24-hour urgent care to nearly 5,000
patients. Services offered include optometry and dental care, physical and behavioral
health therapy, and a full service lab and radiology unit. The clinic also includes
a Healing Room for traditional ceremonies.
In partnership with the Northern Cheyenne Community, the health center staff strives
to raise the physical, mental, social and spiritual health of the population to the
highest level in a culturally sensitive manner.
Dr. Ceremuga is a Commander in the U.S. Public
Health Service Commissioned Corps and is currently
detailed to the Indian Health Service. The
Commissioned Corps provides highly trained
and mobile health professionals who carry out
programs to promote the health of the nation,
understand and prevent disease and injury, assure
safe and effective drugs and medical devices,
deliver health services to federal beneficiaries,
and furnish health expertise in time of war or
other national or international emergencies.
Cmdr. Ceremuga also participated in the
Commissioned Corps relief effort immediately
following Hurricane Katrina.
For more information about the Commissioned
Corps please visit www.usphs.gov.
summer/fall 2007 13

Melting Pot
By Anita Martin
14 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Medicine
N e w i n t e r c u l t u r a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n
t r a i n i n g s e r i e s f o s t e r s c u l t u r a l
c o m p e t e n c y i n f u t u r e p h y s i c i a n s
michaeldibari.com
Medical school sharpens the senses. Eyes detect
subtle imbalances, hands track changes, and ears
listen with heightened diagnostic awareness. But
anatomical savvy and keen diagnoses alone won’t
cut it in today’s medical world. The various views
and priorities of humanity’s diverse cultures
rival—and perhaps surpass—the complexity of the
human body itself. Culture informs a patient’s
perception of, and decisions about, health care.
From 1990 to 2000, the United States Census saw
an increase in every minority population, including
a 23 percent jump in the Hispanic population.
Columbus, Ohio, is home to growing enclaves
of East Asian Indian, African and other minority
populations. “You don’t have to go very far to
encounter enormous diversity,” says Pat Burnett,
Ph.D., director of student affairs at the Ohio
University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
That’s why the staff of OU-COM’s Center of
Excellence (COE) is committed to sharpening
the cultural acuity of the college’s diverse student
body. Their latest project: a professional development
seminar conducted by Mark Orbe, Ph.D., an expert
in cross-cultural medical communication.
Cultural demand
Orbe starts each session of his “Professional
Development in Cultural Competency” series for
OU-COM by counting “1 – 2 – 3 … ”
“Dumela!” his students shout on cue. The word
dumela is a South African greeting that also
means “I affirm you, I believe in you, and I see the
great potential within you.” Orbe weaves this
Mark Orbe, Ph.D., reviews material covered during the seminar—
basic communication concepts, communication styles and
explanatory models.
michaeldibari.com
summer/fall 2007 15

theme through the COE’s newly developed certificate
program in intercultural communication at OU-COM.
As warm and welcoming as this sounds, Orbe’s program is
no feel-good affirmation fest. In fact, it can be downright
uncomfortable. Participants must critically examine their
own cultural identities, assumptions and biases; learn to
implement communication principles and practice negotiating
patients’ culturally based beliefs about medical care through
simulated interviews.
“This is not cultural sensitivity training. This is about developing
strong communication skills so you get the most meaningful,
productive exchange out of a 15-20 minute meeting with a
patient,” Orbe says.
Developing this dynamic series was a team effort. Burnett,
Ann Brieck, associate director of student affairs, and Harold
C. Thompson III, D.O., director of multicultural affairs, worked
with Orbe to develop the OU-COM certificate program in
intercultural communications, funded by a federal Health and
Human Services Center of Excellence grant.
“Cultural training is growing because of the demand of students,”
Thompson says. “Our world is changing, and students
understand the need to grasp it. We want to provide them
with more practice inside and outside of the classroom.”
Mindful approach
As a biracial, first-generation college student, Orbe was drawn
to the cultural aspects of communication. After earning his
bachelor’s degree at Ohio University, he returned for a doctorate,
also in communication studies, during which time his wife gave
birth to their first child at O’Bleness Hospital. He now teaches
intercultural communication at Western Michigan University.
“There’s an inextricable relationship between culture and
communication,” he says. “I explore ways in which that
relationship manifests.”
Orbe led his first OU-COM seminar, called “Physician-Patient
Communication in a Multicultural Society,” during winter
quarter 2006. Participants met twice, for a total of nine
hours. They earned two academic credits and were given an
overview of basic communication concepts and theories
and how they relate to practical medical settings.
“In terms of health-care communication, what you say and
how you say it leads to different interpretations among
different people,” says Becky Teagarden, a second-year
medical student who attended this first seminar.
In addition to differing disease propensities across cultural
groups, there are differences in healing methods. Many
groups trust traditional remedies—such as indigenous herbs
and healing rituals—to Western medicine. Cultures can also
express differences in their radius of personal space or level
of family involvement in decision-making.
Such cultural tips can be helpful, but it’s impossible to
memorize the genetic predispositions, medical practices and
social etiquette of every culture. The trick, according to
Orbe, is to ask probing questions and cultivate mindfulness.
michaeldibari.com
From left, first-year students Nicholas Niemiec, Michael Finamore, Aaron Wolkoff, Ismail Oshogwemoh, Brett Buller, Jason
Lane, and Baldassare Pipitone toss a ball of yarn to create a network of gratitude, admiration, appreciation and humanity as
the seminar draws to a close.
16 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Second-year students Rachel Polinski, left, and Antwon Morton, right, listen to second- year student Victoria Tong, center, as she
relates one of her father’s experiences from World War II.
“Most of us don’t communicate mindfully; we just say what
we’re thinking and assume that there’s a shared meaning,”
Orbe says. “I teach receiver orientation, a concept that says
what’s more important is not what I’m saying, but how you
receive it.”
Investing in connecting
Burnett, Brieck and Thompson knew, from the overwhelmingly
positive response to the first seminar, that they needed to
do more. Orbe returned to speak to OU-COM’s incoming
first-year students in August 2006. They all participated in
Orbe’s four-hour presentation on intercultural communication
as it relates to medical practice.
Meanwhile, second-year students who had attended Orbe’s
winter quarter two-credit class and wanted more could
attend a refresher course. Both groups had the option to
attend three subsequent five-hour classes, but they earned
the certificate in intercultural communication only if they
attended all three.
About 50 percent of this year’s first-year class completed this
elective course. It’s no small feat considering the seminar’s
extensive reading list and the fact that sessions are often on
Friday evening or Saturday morning. This is in addition to
the students’ already rigorous medical training schedule.
“It’s a significant time commitment, but what you get out
of it is well worth the hours you give up,” Teagarden says.
“At medical school you’re so bombarded with the science
that you don’t take the time to appreciate how intricately
individual each situation is.”
Through Orbe’s seminar, students gain new levels of cultural
competency and mindful physician-patient communication,
but they also deepen their bond with one another.
Before bringing the final seminar class to a close, Orbe gathers
his students into a circle and tosses a colorful ball of yarn to
a young woman across the room. Still holding onto his end
of the yarn, he affirms the humanity of that student, who
tosses the yarn to another, and he to another. Soon multi-hued
strands, each representing gratitude, admiration or appreciation,
crisscross into an elaborate network of yarn.
“It is through communication that we establish this web
of dumela—of affirmation,” Orbe says. “Even though you
didn’t speak to everyone in this room, and despite our
many differences—look: we’re all connected.”
TODAY’S
DO
summer/fall 2007 17

Gl bal Hea
International programs offer research and clinical exp
improve cultural sensitivity By Anita Martin
A
lthough Shawn Horwitz was born in South Africa, he
grew up in the United States. Last year, as a second-year
student at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine,
he made his first trip to Africa as an adult to conduct health
care research through the Kenyan Grandparents Study.
“I wanted to see the culture and the medical system of an
African country,” says Horwitz, who also plans to explore the
medical practices of South America and Asia. “I’m interested
in going back to the third-world area. I’d like to have some
kind of impact where it’s most needed.”
Every year, Gillian Ice, Ph.D., founder of the Kenyan
Grandparents Study and director of international programs
at the college, facilitates training trips for students from
the college and other participating medical schools across
the country. Programming expanded last year to include El
Salvador and the Dominican Republic, and participation in
all programs—averaging about 30 students a year over the
past few years—is growing.
“Having experiences in international medicine helps students
to think about the system in the U.S. with a different
perspective—to not just assume that we provide the best
system, but to really think about the decisions we make and
why,” says Ice, also an associate professor of social medicine.
The college’s international programs feature tropical disease
research in Ecuador, clinical and research rotations in Kenya,
geriatric training in Scotland, new clinical rounds in El
Salvador and the Dominican Republic, and, until recently,
traditional medicine training in China.
“If a third or fourth-year student wants to travel to a destination
or participate in a program not offered by OU-COM, they
can set one up themselves with our approval,” Ice says. “But
we still have a structure in place to ensure the student’s safety
and a solid educational experience.”
This past year students Andrea Molcutt and Zarinah Hudd,
set up their own projects in Ghana and Ethiopia, respectively.
Two more third-year students, Joseph Davis and Petter
Vaagenes, traveled to Norway in 2005 to learn more about
the practice of socialized medicine. All returning students
Second-year student Shawn Horwitz, right, and Gillian Ice,
Ph.D., distribute school uniforms to the local orphans.
write and present papers comparing international medical systems
based on their experiences.
“Whether you practice right here, in Appalachia, or in some
urban setting, it helps to be open to all cultures and be aware

lth
eriences that
of potential differences,” Horwitz says. “This is a good way
to learn to interact with patients from different backgrounds
within different health-care systems.”
For example, students participating in the geriatric tutorial in
Edinburgh often note how differently the United Kingdom
rations care for its elderly. According to Ice, American doctors
more often take extreme and intensive measures with elderly
patients than do English doctors.
Ice, herself, studied in the U.K. at the London University
while still a junior at Washington University. At the time, she
majored in anthropology and worked in nursing homes on
the side. Later, for her doctoral dissertation in gerontology at
the University of Minnesota, Ice conducted research on the
stress levels of U.S. nursing home populations.
A few years after coming to OU-COM, Ice decided to diversify
her research. “I was aware of the HIV epidemic in Africa
and that many grandparents of orphans have unexpectedly
become caregivers again,” she says. “I started thinking about
the potential for stress there.”
She headed to Kenya for the first time in 2002, to establish
the Kenyan Grandparents Study, which examines how
unanticipated childcare responsibilities affect the stress levels,
nutrition and health of the elderly. What’s more, she fell in
love with the place, and she’s returned every summer since
with students in tow.
“There are many situations in Kenya that will frustrate you or
break your heart, but it’s amazing how much people appreciate
the little things you do for them,” Ice says. “I always learn
something new about myself and about Kenya. ... It’s neat
to watch students go through the same process.”
Even if students never return to the country where they studied
or treat a tropical disease as physicians in the U.S., Ice believes
international experience inspires better physicians.
“Culture permeates everything,” she says. “We are an immigrant
country, and immigrants arrive with their own attitudes, diseases
and customs. It helps to be aware of all of those factors.”
TODAY’S
DO
Charles J. Cannon Edinburgh Geriatric Tutorial
This clinical and educational program gives third-year medical
students an opportunity to experience health care for the
elderly in Scotland’s National Health Service.
Deborah Meyer, Ph.D., director, 740.593.2266
meyerd1@ohio.edu
Community-Based Tropical Disease Research-Ecuador
With a focus on Triatominae insects and mosquitoes in domestic,
peridomestic and sylvatic habitats, this program seeks to
reduce the spread of Chagas disease in Ecuador. Community
education activities, including the production of educational
tools to be used in the region, are also an important part of
this project.
Mario Grijalva, Ph.D., director, 740.593.2192
grijalva@ohio.edu
Introduction to the Galapagos Islands Natural History
This program provides an introduction to one of the most sensitive
ecological habitats in the world. By visiting uninhabited
and inhabited islands, students have a chance to compare and
evaluate the impact of human activities on the island ecosystems
and to discuss the struggle between economic development
and conservation.
Mario Grijalva, Ph.D., director, 740.593.2192
grijalva@ohio.edu
Tropical Disease Biology Workshop in Ecuador
The objective of this multidisciplinary adventure is to gain a
deeper understanding of the complex factors that play a role
in the biology of tropical diseases.
Mario Grijalva, Ph.D., director, 740.593.2192
grijalva@ohio.edu
Kenyan Grandparents Study
This research project seeks to examine the effect that caregiving
for orphaned children has on the health and wellbeing
of Luo elders.
Gillian Ice, Ph.D., M.P.H., director, 740.593.2128
iceg@ohio.edu
SHARE Kenya-Ohio
In this clinical program, students, faculty and clinicians deliver
health care to residents in rural western Kenya.
Christopher Simpson, D.O., M.A., director, 740.593.2257
simpson@ohio.edu
Village Mountain Mission
This clinical program provides health care to the people of
Pueblo Nuevo, Dominican Republic. Identification of specific
health conditions, for which there may be some immediate
strategies, as well as those that require long-term strategies
are an important part of this program.
Roy Bontrager, M.D., director, 740.593.2207
rbon@hocking.net
Ohio University and CEDEINFA Partnership:
Medical care for the “poorest of the poor” in San Salvador
provides care for children and their families in collaboration
with the Center for the Complete Development of Children and
their Families.
Eddith Dashiell, Ph.D., director, 740.593.2581
dashiell@ohio.edu
Clinical rotation in Ecuador
This program provides students with an opportunity to rotate
for four weeks in a variety of disciplines in select hospitals
in Quito, Ecuador. Students will take orientation and training
at Catholic University of Ecuador, receive classes in medical
Spanish and conduct clinical rotations in the different services
offered by the participating hospitals.
David Drozek, D.O., Ph.D., director, 740.593.2489
drozek@oucom.ohiou.edu
summer/fall 2007 19

Capt. Larry Robinson, D.O. (’02), was injured March 1, 2007, when an
IED (improvised explosive device) hit his armored humvee. He required
a craniotomy, cranioplasty and facial reconstruction surgery before
returning to Ohio, where he’s recovering with the help of his wife,
Emily, and his family.
This is his story.
This was my first deployment.
I arrived in Iraq in August 2006 as part of the 5-73 Cavalry
Squadron, which is part of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team,
82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C.
As a family physician in the Army, it was my job to keep the
nearly 600 people on my contingency operating base (COB)
healthy with the help of one physician assistant and 24 medics
in the squadron. We were based out of COB Caldwell in eastern
Iraq, a short distance from the Iranian border. Medically, we
were what the Army calls a level one aid station, which means
personnel available to treat wounded soldiers. On these
missions I felt well protected by the disciplined and
professional soldiers in the squadron.
At the end of February, we left COB Caldwell to set up
patrol bases in the Diyala River Valley, an area that had been
infiltrated with terrorist and Al-Qaeda affiliated groups. It’s
a dangerous place where many people, including U.S. soldiers,
were killed. We used these bases to launch attacks and raids
against terrorists.
The long
we had no radiology, laboratory, surgery, physical therapy or
dentistry. But there was a small pharmacy along with supplies
to stabilize trauma and to take care of sick call. The base
was also home to around 3,000 Iraqi soldiers and to the 5th
Division of the Iraqi Army.
While accompanying the Iraqi Army and their medical
team, we went out on several combined medical engagements
where we provided free medical care to people in the
village. These missions were generally well accepted by the
Iraqi people and were an important way for them to see that
their Army cared about them. The missions were fun for me
because it gave me a chance to see Iraqi families with their
children. It was also nice to help relieve a little of their suffering
by treating some of their illnesses—even if it was just
a temporary fix.
I also went on many combat missions with my squadron.
Treating trauma in the field is very different than treating
trauma in an aid station or a hospital. Bombs and gunfire
may be going off, and there’s less equipment and fewer
On what was to be my last mission, I went out with a
platoon-sized element on a 24-hour mission to watch a
dangerous stretch of road. The plan was to catch insurgents
placing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the road.
We were out all night watching and caught several insurgents.
On the way back to the patrol base, we took a detour to observe
a nearby town that was supposedly controlled by “The
Islamic State of Iraq,” an Al-Qaeda-linked group.
On the outskirts of town, our vehicle got stuck in a mud hole
and began to sink. I was sitting in the back of the vehicle and
could see angry villagers approaching us with Russian-made
AK47 rifles and a few rocket-propelled grenades. Needless to
say, I was concerned because our 50 caliber machine gun turret
had malfunctioned and wouldn’t swivel. A vehicle behind us
finally managed to pull us out of the mud hole. As we headed
toward our patrol base, I praised God for getting me out of
that situation.
Then my vehicle hit was hit by a large IED.
20 18 www.oucom.ohio.edu

photo courtesy of Abigail Bobrow/Sandusky Register
Road back
A family physician recounts
his experience in IraqBy Capt. Larry Robinson, D.O
summer/fall 2007 21

When I woke up at Warhorse, I kept repeating “My head
hurts!” I don’t remember any of this, but the doctors at
Warhorse, good friends of mine, suspected I had an intracranial
bleed and had me flown to LSA (logistical support area)
Anaconda for treatment.
Thankfully, my Kevlar helmet stopped the IED shrapnel
from penetrating my skull. But the shrapnel did cause
several comminuted fractures of my skull, along with facial
bone fractures and epidural, subarachnoid and subdural
hemorrahages. The increasing intracranial pressure from
the bleeding inside my skull caused extreme nausea and
unrelenting vomiting.
My head hurt and I was confused.
When my squadron commander, Lt. Col. Poppas, my
physician’s assistant, Maj. Rather, and a few other friends
from the squadron explained what happened to me and the
extent of my injuries, I couldn’t believe it. I asked to see my
CT scan right then and there.
Lt. Col. Poppas pinned a Purple Heart on my shirt, and I
remember thanking him and then jokingly told him it wasn’t
the medal I wanted to receive in Iraq. Maj. Rather and
I always referred to the Purple Heart as the “Iraqi Marksmanship
Badge.”
Capt. Larry Robinson on the Iranian border.
Shrapnel struck me in the helmet and knocked me unconscious.
Paratroopers in my squadron quickly pulled me from the
burning wreckage before the ammunition exploded. I was
taken to FOB (forward operating base) Warhorse and treated
in the same trauma room that I’d worked in as a physician.
Amazingly, I was the only one injured in the explosion!
After that, I was evacuated to Landstuhl, Germany, and had
surgery soon after landing. They performed a craniotomy
with evacuation of the epidural hematoma and cranioplasty
to stabilize my fractures. Four days later, I was able to fly
back to the United States to the National Naval Medical
Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, Md. I was very anxious to get
back to the U.S. and to see my wife. I was told she had been
flown to NNMC and was waiting for me.
Capt. Larry Robinson,
center, with Maj. Brad
Rather, a physician
assistant, left, and 1Lt.
Braden Hestermann, a
medical platoon leader,
right, at LSA Anaconda
before his evacuation
to Germany.
22 www.oucom.ohio.edu

Emily’s story
I remember that morning very clearly.
While chastising myself for sleeping in and leaving
only 30 minutes to get ready for work, my cell phone
rang. It was 7 a.m. A few days earlier, Larry told me
that he was leaving for a month-long mission and
would not be able to call me until the end of March.
I answered. A male voice identified himself as the
rear detachment officer for 5-73 CAV and he had news
about Larry. I thought the call might be about some
paperwork that Larry and I needed to fill out. It
never occurred to me that he might have been hurt.
Capt. Larry Robinson with an Iraqi child during a
combined medical engagement mission.
At NNMC I received first-rate medical care, for which I’m
grateful. I wasn’t the most pleasant patient to care for—I
would often awake from horrible nightmares where I thought
the nurses were all trying to kill me. I was discharged from
NNMC on March 13 to begin my three-month rehabilitation
at Firelands Regional Medical Center.
I did my internship and residency in family practice at Firelands.
My father-in-law, Dr. James Preston, is the director of medical
education there and was my first boss during my training.
He’s become a great friend and an inspiration to me.
The medical education I received at Firelands was great. It
gave me everything I needed to be confident of my skills
while in Iraq. My focus on hospital and in-patient training at
Firelands—central lines, intubation, chest tubes, etc.—made
procedures and trauma much easier for me in the field.
Almost all soldiers in Iraq suffer from chronic thoracic and
lumbar back pain. It’s one of the consequences of wearing 50
pounds of body armor, spending hours sitting and sleeping in
cramped humvees and sleeping outdoors on the ground while
on missions. Because of my excellent OMM training, I was
able to use manipulation to relieve their back pain.
I still have some lingering problems, but I’m rapidly
improving and expected to make a full recovery. After a few
more months of rehabilitation, I’ll receive an extensive
cognitive evaluation in the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic at
Walter Reed Army Hospital to see if I’m ready to return to
active Army duty as a physician.
My squadron has been hit really hard since my injury—I was
the first—18 have been killed and over 40 have been injured
during their long mission in the Diyala River Valley.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever be asked to deploy to Iraq again.
But this brush with death has made me realize that every
day is a gift from God, and it’s important to make the
most of every moment.
TODAY’S
DO
When he told me that Larry had a skull fracture, my
mind went blank. He continued talking, but I couldn’t
comprehend what this guy was saying. I gave the
phone to my dad, hoping he could understand what
was happening.
The look on my father’s face told me the news wasn’t
good—Larry had sustained a skull fracture and they’d
call us when they had more information.
I couldn’t stop crying. After praying and more crying,
I called Larry’s brother, Mark, who is an OU-COM
medical student at Firelands. He and his wife, Valerie,
joined me and my parents for a prayerful wait at the
kitchen table.
We waited for what seemed like an intolerably long
time, then, at 2 p.m., Larry called! His speech was
slurred, but he assured me that his injuries weren’t
“life-threatening,” he was going to be okay and that
he loved me.
I arrived in Bethesda, Md., at the National Naval Medical
Center just a few hours after Larry checked into the
ICU. When I saw him, he had 67 staples holding his
scalp together, two black eyes from the broken bones
in his face and the head trauma, and one blood-red
eyeball. But I couldn’t take my eyes off him—it was so
good to see him.
He’s had an amazing recovery. The doctors at Walter
Reed Army Hospital are impressed with the care he’s
receiving at Firelands and pleased with how well he’s
healing. They expect a full recovery.
We’re so blessed that we can resume our life together.
What a gift.
-Emily Robinson

quality
Research
of care
Improving the
By Susan Green
It’s no secret that type 2 diabetes is on the rise.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 3
people born in the United States in 2000 will develop
diabetes in their lifetime. And over the next 50 years
as those who develop diabetes continue to do so
at a younger age, the number of people in nursing
homes with diabetes will also increase due to the
complexity of the disease in an aging population.
“The fastest growing population of young people
with diabetes is in this region,” says Rachel Holt, a
second-year medical student at OU-COM. “Imagine
the implications of this.”
To examine the implications, Jay Shubrook, D.O.
(’96), and Frank Schwartz, M.D., both affiliated
with the Appalachian Rural Health Institute Diabetes
Center at Ohio University, designed a research study
to look at the quality of care diabetes patients receive
in nursing homes. Holt joined the project in its early
phase and was instrumental in its completion.
The goal of the study was to examine physician
management of patients with type 1 and type 2
diabetes residing in extended care facilities and to
compare this management to the American Diabetes
Association Standards of Care for outpatients.
After reviewing patient charts of more than 100
elderly residents with diabetes in 11 nursing homes
in Ohio and West Virginia, the researchers discovered
that patients who had their diabetes under control
either as outpatients or while hospitalized, had less
success after entering a nursing home.
Holt says an analysis of the data revealed the lack
of a systematic approach to diabetes treatment in the
facilities studied. The findings demonstrate that practice
guidelines for this population are needed.
Working closely with medical directors and directors
of nursing, Schwartz and Shubrook are developing
specific guidelines regarding the care of diabetes in
the nursing home population. “The guidelines give
physicians and nursing home staff a solid framework
for developing treatment plans for this challenging
population,” Shubrook says. “Phase 2 of the study,
a second chart review of patients, will determine if
following the treatment protocols results in quality
of life changes for the residents.”
This project is an excellent example of how the
RSAF program gives medical students like Holt an
opportunity to conduct valuable research. “I really
enjoy research and had done basic science bench work,
but I wanted to try clinical research,” she says. “And
Dr. Shubrook’s project was a good fit. Next year I’ll
be doing a family practice fellowship and will continue
to work on phase 2 of the nursing home study.”
As Holt’s research advisor, Shubrook gives her
credit for the success of the project. He says she
kept the project on track, analyzed the data and was
the lead author on their research paper published in
Diabetes Care.
“The college is very supportive of research
opportunities for students by helping us navigate
our way through the process,” Holt adds. “Being
here at OU-COM is advantageous. Through this
experience and others, I’ll be better prepared to
do my residency.”
Holt RM, Schwartz FL, Shubrook JH. Diabetes Care
in Extended Care Facilities: Appropriate Intensity of
Care? Diabetes Care. 2007 Jun;30(6):1454-1458;
DOI: 10.2337/dc06-2311.
From left, Jay Shubrook, D.O., Rachel Holt and Frank
Schwartz, M.D.
24 www.oucom.ohio.edu

“I really enjoy
research and
had done basic
science bench
work, but I
wanted to try
clinical research.”
Curious Clinicians
In an editorial in the New York Times, Susan Love, M.D., writes about the decline of “curious clinicians” in an age of increasingly
complex medical and scientific research. What was common in the past—physicians who observed their patients and then went
into the lab to test their hypothesis—is seldom practiced. Love advocates a return to medical research that begins with the
patient and then leads to the lab.
For nearly 30 years, the Research and Scholarly Advancement Fellowship (RSAF) has given selected OU-COM students an
opportunity to conduct research. This ten-week summer program gives osteopathic medical students an introduction to
scholarly work under the guidance of COM faculty members.
And while not all research projects begin with the patient in mind, many do. Projects range from contributing to an ongoing
faculty research project in the laboratory or clinic, to developing a review of a specific body of literature, or to an original
research project designed by the student. In addition to conducting research, students are required to attend seminars on
research-related topics, write a research paper and present a poster of their project during OU-COM’s annual Research Day
held each fall quarter.
This experience helps to set a strong foundation for future research they may pursue as clinicians.
summer/fall 2007 25

A l u m n i a n d D e v e l o p m e n t
Building our future together
By Sharon Zimmerman
This year has proven to be one of exciting changes.
In January 2007, the offices of alumni affairs and development merged in order to create a more
unified outreach effort to our graduates and friends of the college. As a result of the reorganization,
I’ve been named director of medical development and executive director of alumni affairs. While
I’ll continue to oversee alumni programs at the college, most of my time will be dedicated to furthering
the college’s fundraising efforts and working with you to enhance the alumni donor base.
Our new director of alumni affairs, Jill Harman, who joined the office in May, is now responsible
for planning alumni programs and events. Jill had been the associate director of admissions for the past
five years, and she brings a wealth of knowledge about the college to her new position. Her energy and
enthusiasm are unlike any I’ve seen, and if you haven’t already heard from Jill, you will. One of her first
projects is to develop an easy way for you to stay in touch with us and for us to communicate with you.
She has a lot of ideas and is interested in your input. Her e-mail address is: harmanj@ohio.edu.
It is also my pleasure to welcome Jeffrey Stanley, D.O. (’82), as president of the Society of Alumni
and Friends. Dr. Stanley joins the board after 20 years of practice as a vascular surgeon in Cleveland,
Ohio. He was president of the Ohio Osteopathic Association in 2004, and in 2005 was recognized
by OU-COM as Alumnus of the Year for his professional achievements and for service to his alma
mater. Also new to the board are Daryl Sybert, D.O. (’86), vice president, and Timothy Barreiro,
D.O. (’97), secretary.
Under Dr. Stanley’s leadership, the board has created several committees that will offer suggestions
concerning improved communication among alumni, and concerning alumni involvement in student
recruiting, curricula and teaching, continuing medical education and development. It’s an exciting
time to be an OU-COM graduate.
I would like to thank Thomas Anderson, D.O. (’83), former president of the OU-COM Society
of Alumni and Friends, for his three years of dedicated service to the board and to the Society.
Dr. Anderson has just completed his first year of a three-year term on the Ohio University Alumni
Association Board of Directors, where he’s representing 188,000 graduates. Congratulations Dr.
Anderson!
Congratulations also are in order for board member William ‘‘Rusty’’ Emlich, D.O. (’86), who
was installed as president of the Ohio Osteopathic Association June 22, 2007.
It remains our goal to engage each of you into the life of the college, whether through your time, talents
or resources. Alumni are vital to the future of OU-COM’s continued success, and we look forward to a
lasting relationship with you.
To learn about supporting the
integrated learning and research
facility with a gift, contact Sharon
Zimmerman, 740.593.2176.
26 www.oucom.ohio.edu

C
onstruction of the integrated learning and research
facility—a special collaboration between the College
of Osteopathic Medicine and the Russ College of
Engineering—will mark the second time in Ohio University
history that a building has been constructed using funds
primarily from private gifts.
Members of the osteopathic medical community have
demonstrated an unprecedented show of support for
this project.
For instance, Thomas Anderson, D.O. (’83), and
his wife, Barbara, were the first to fund a named medical
laboratory. Of his reason for giving, Dr. Anderson says,
“ … Because it is our school, our osteopathic family and
our future.”
Richard A. Vincent, president of the Osteopathic Heritage
Foundations, which made a considerable gift, says, “This
facility provides a significant opportunity to advance the
Osteopathic Heritage Foundations’ mission of improving
health and quality of life while supporting the vision of
Ohio University.”
Our own Society of Alumni and Friends made history at
Ohio University with their gift of $50,000—the single
largest gift ever made on behalf of an OHIO alumni society.
These contributions are part of the remarkable $16.3
million in private gifts garnered for the $30 million facility.
Even with additional support from the State of Ohio and
the University, we still need to raise $2.3 million to reach
our goal.
We will be asking for your support. So watch your mail for
an important letter from Dean Jack Brose, D.O., and
Jeffrey Stanley, D.O. (’82).
As we continue fundraising efforts, I invite each of you to join
fellow alumni and friends who have shown their support of
our commitment to excellence in learning and research.
Just like Cutler Hall—built in 1819—this new facility
symbolizes our pioneering spirit and sense of community.
Sharon Zimmerman is the director of medical development
and executive director of alumni affairs.
www.oucom.ohio.edu/researchbuilding/
An artist's rendering of the new the integrated learning and research facility.
Research that will be
enhanced by the new facility
Diabetes
Molecular biologist John Kopchick, Ph.D., is
creating new therapies and diagnostics.
Chemist Tadeusz Malinski, Ph.D., is developing
therapies to accelerate wound healing.
Scientist Leonard Kohn, M.D., and engineer
Douglas Goetz, Ph.D., are developing new
compounds to selectively target disease
sites, and Kohn is studying how to detect
early-stage diabetes.
Heart Disease
Goetz is combining engineering and biology
to develop novel ways to treat heart disease.
Technology
The Center for Intelligent, Distributed and
Dependable Systems is helping doctors diagnose
patients, treat illnesses and plan for surgery.
Engineer Robert Williams, Ph.D., in collaboration
with John Howell, Ph.D., associate professor of
biomedical sciences, is developing The Virtual
Haptic Back to teach palpatory diagnosis.
summer/fall 2007 27

Meet the
Society of Alumni
Jeffrey Stanley, D.O. (’82)
president
Vascular Surgery, Meridia South Pointe Hospital
Words or phrases that
describe you:
Honest, fair, workaholic,
generous, impatient
Passion:
My work as a vascular
surgeon; this is what I was
born to do
Favorite movie:
The Doctor
Nicole Wadsworth, D.O. (’97)
Emergency Medicine, OU-COM
O’Bleness Memorial Hospital
Words or phrases that
describe you:
Quiet, thoughtful, fair,
driven, organized
Wildest dream
concerning health policy:
Universal health care
Peak patient
experience:
When patients ask me if
I have an office practice
because they would like
me to be their physician.
I’m deeply honored when
this occurs
Words or phrases that
describe you:
Out-of-the-box, inventive,
integrative, humanistic,
socially concerned
Passion:
Building systems that
make life better for people
Peak patient experience:
Recognition for writing
policy and developing
a system that improved
health care for the State
of Ohio
Ronald Moomaw, D.O. (’80)
Psychiatry,
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and
Correction, Bureau of Mental Health Services
28 www.oucom.ohio.edu

and Friends Board
Daryl Sybert, D.O. (’86)
vice president
Orthopedics, New Albany Surgical Hospital
Words or phrases
that describe you:
Optimistic, humorous,
professional, impatient,
adventuresome
Inspiration:
My father, who was
an osteopathic family
physician
Timothy Barreiro, D.O. (’97)
secretary
Internal Medicine – pulmonary, Pulmonary Medicine Consultants
Words or phrases that
describe you:
Researcher, teacher,
learner, overweight
Perfect day:
Save a life, cure a
disease, learn something
new, and go home to
family
Daily edification:
Knowing I can make a
difference in someone’s
life by caring and listening
Words or phrases
that describe you:
Patient, balanced, happy,
motivated
Biggest professional
challenge:
Balancing practice and
research
Perfect day:
All days are good
Daily edification:
I truly believe in the
power of an optimistic
attitude in life
Mitchell Silver, D.O. (’89)
Cardiology,
MidOhio Cardiology Consultants
summer/fall 2007 29

Sharon Van Nostran, D.O. (’98)
Family Medicine,
Primary Care Physicians
Words or phrases that
describe you:
Dedicated educator,
physician, bird watcher,
ice cream eater
Professional bane:
“What are you, some kind
of chiropractor?”
Peak patient experience:
Hand-drawn cards from
pediatric patients
William Emlich, D.O. (’86)
Internal Medicine - gastroentology, Consolidated
Medical Specialists
Tinisha Jordan, D.O. (’00)
Family Medicine, Kaiser Permanente Marlow Heights
Medical Center
Paige Gutheil, D.O. (’02)
Family Medicine,
Family Practice West, Inc.
Words or phrases that
describe you:
Honest, determined,
reliable, open-minded,
intelligent—with a touch
of “blonde”
First job:
Filling out billing forms for
my dad’s family practice
office
Professional bane:
Patients that come to the
doctor expecting service
equivalent to a fast-food
drive-through: “I’m here
for Nexium, Allegra, Viagra,
and that medicine for
your legs that I saw on TV.”
Georgenna Riley, D.O. (’95)
Radiology, Parma Medical Center
Charles Mehlman, D.O. (’89)
Orthopedics – pediatric, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Medical Center
Jay Shubrook, D.O. (’96)
Family Medicine, OU-COM
Cornwell Center for Cardiovascular Care
Eric Beck, EMT-P, OMS IV
30 www.oucom.ohio.edu

“Listening to doctors talk about the path they took in their career is a very educational experience
because it helps students find their own paths,” says Tim Neely, a second-year medical student.
Alumni on Campus
This spring alumni talked about their work to OU-COM students during
Career Medical Specialties Week and Minority Health Month.
“There are many barriers to treating the under- and uninsured.
Some of the barriers are cultural, but whatever they are, it
prevents patients from seeing you, which means that they
are less likely to receive appropriate care. To reach these
people, you have to be a physician and a social worker.”
–Tinisha Jordan, D.O. (’00), is a physician at Kaiser
Permanente Marlow Heights Medical Center
“I went to Honduras as an expert, and I returned to Athens a
student looking to increase my knowledge.” Other advice:
“Provide spiritual, medical and social help to people in need.”
–David Drozek, D.O. (’83), is an assistant professor
of surgery at OU-COM
“If you don’t respect their traditions or cultural differences,
then you can’t expect elderly minorities to respect your
advice.”
–Michael Gerardo, D.O. (’01), was a fellow at
Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University; beginning
July 1, 2007, he will be an assistant professor of
geriatric medicine at OU-COM
“I want students to know that being an
osteopathic doctor does not limit you to
just primary care.”
–Karen Thomas, D.O. (’96), treats
patients with motor complications at
the Movement District Center, Ohio
State University
“If you’re looking for a career with lots of hands-on
with patients, radiology should probably not be your first
choice. Patient interaction is very limited.” Other advice:
“If you’re interested in becoming a radiologist, get as
much exposure—no pun intended—as you can.”
–Bradley Cole, D.O. (’99), ), is a cross imaging
radiologist at the Cleveland Clinic
summer/fall 2007 31

1980
MacGregor E. Poll, D.O., is medical director of Northridge
Surgery Center in Madison, Tenn.
Gary W. Welch, D.O., was recently reappointed chairman
of the board of directors at the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems
Foundation, the agency which accredits all trauma centers in
the state.
1982
Barbara A. Girz, D.O., was elected president of the New
Jersey Maternal-Fetal Medicine Society for the 2006-2007
term.
David Lance, D.O., is senior medical director at Hospice
and Palliative Care of Greater Wayne County in Wooster,
Ohio.
William Polinski, D.O.,
gave an informative and entertaining
presentation about
cardiovascular medicine to
OU-COM students in January
2007. A practicing cardiologist
for 18 years, Polinski talked about future testing
and drug programs that could revolutionize cardiac
care. He also offered tips on vascular health, post-heart
attack care utilizing aspirin and statin drugs, exercise,
and metabolic syndrome to an audience that included
his daughter, second-year student Rachel Polinski.
His talk was sponsored by the OU-COM chapter of
the Student Osteopathic Medical Association, of which
Rachel is vice president.
OhiO University AlUmni AssOciAtiOn
The Offical Ring of
Ohio University
Find information on
the ring and how to order
in our Bobcat Store.
OHIO Alumna of the Year
1984
Roberta L. Kalafut, D.O., was appointed by Governor
Rick Perry to the Texas Medical Board, as chairman of
licensure in 2002. She is currently serving as the board’s first
female president.
Louis B. Kasunic, D.O., is practicing at Castle Rock
Family Physicians and is the director of the Colorado
Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Center in Castle Rock,
Colo.
Anthony Montanaro, D.O., was named the Cleveland
Clinic Foundation’s annual Educator of the Year for 2006.
1986
Kyle Allen, D.O., received a federal grant from the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality to study a care management
model for low-income elderly.
E. Joseph Carter, D.O., was named a fellow of the
American College of Osteopathic Internists.
Amelia Tunanidas, D.O. (’82), was
named Ohio University Alumni Association
2007 Alumna of the Year. She was recognized
for her service to the osteopathic profession
and for her support of Ohio University.
“I am most humbled and thrilled to have
been selected for this recognition from
my alma mater,” she says. “There are so
many wonderful graduates of Ohio
University who are truly deserving of
this award, and I am spellbound to have been selected among such
worthy honorees. It is quite an honor to join the ranks of OU’s
finest, and I am grateful to the Lord to be blessed with this honor.”
Tunanidas will be honored, along with other Ohio University
alumni at an awards ceremony during Homecoming Weekend,
October 12-14, 2007.
Gregory Hill, D.O., joined Spectrum Orthopedics in
Canton, Ohio, after completing his second tour of duty in
Iraq in December 2005.
www.OhiOAlUmni.Org/stOre
Robert Vaschak, D.O., recently gave a cardiovascular physical
exam presentation to 3rd and 4th-year medical students
in the OU-COM Internal Medicine Club.
32 www.oucom.ohio.edu

1988
Robert A. Cain, D.O., was named director of medical education
at Grandview Hospital in Dayton, Ohio.
Vicky Leo, D.O., is chair of the American Osteopathic
Board of Internal Medicine for the 2006-2007 term.
Gwendolyn E. Niebler, D.O., accepted the position of
vice president of medical affairs at Shire Pharmaceuticals in
Wayne, Pa.
Michael Reeder, D.O., received the 2006 Teacher of the
Year Award from St. Mary’s Family Practice Program in
Grand Junction, Colo.
Jill Vosler, D.O., published her first novel,
Legal Larceny, a fictional depiction of the
malpractice travails that shape the practice of
modern medicine. Inspired by a lawsuit leveled
at a fellow physician, Vosler decided to take a
closer look at “…our overly litigious climate”
and the way it changes the practice of medicine.
A family practitioner for over 17 years, Vosler practices
in the same building where two of her three brothers also
practice. Along with maintaining a busy practice, she serves as
the Eaton High School team physician and also sits on the
Preble county Mental Health and Recovery Board. And she
recently became president of the Eaton Little League. How
does she have time to write? “It’s tricky,” Vosler says. “But
I’m quite good a making a few hours count.” Her next book
will target the medical insurance industry.
1990
Franklin Demint, D.O., was certified by the AOA/
AOBNMM in Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and Osteopathic
Manipulative Medicine. He is also board certified in Family
Medicine by the AOBFP and credentialed in pain management
by the AAPM.
1992
Macy (Artis) Fox, D.O., started a solo ob/gyn practice
in Snoqualmie, Wash., after relocating to the area with her
husband and children.
Roy Harris, D.O., received the Community Preceptor
All-Star Award, selected by Ohio State University medical
students. He is married to Mary “Beth” Harman, and they
reside in Bucyrus, Ohio, with their two children.
Tracy Marx, D.O., completed a Primary Care Faculty
Development Fellowship with an emphasis on research
methodology at Michigan State University.
1994
David D. Powell, D.O., has established a solo oncology
practice, Cancer Care of West Central Ohio, in Lima, Ohio.
John C. Sarantopoulos, D.O., and his wife Christina G.
Sarantopoulos, D.P.M, announce the birth of a daughter, Kyra,
born May 9, 2006.
Charles E. Steiner, D.O., gave a lecture on somatic
dysfunction and osteopathy at the Tennessee Academy of
Physicians Assistants CME conference Oct. 10, 2006.
Timothy Wagner, D.O., and Joanne Nohra were married
in July 2006. He was given command of Cc. 235 BSB (Med)
in August, and was deployed to Iraq for the second time in
December 2006.
John J. Wilson, D.O., completed an Interventional
Physiatry/Spine Fellowship at Orthopedic Specialists of the
Carolinas in Winston-Salem, N.C. He opened a new practice,
Piedmont Spine Specialists, PA, in Raleigh, N.C., with John G.
Bentley, M.D. (B.S., ’93), and also serves as an instructor for
the North American Spine Society spinal injection course.
1996
Susan Schrimpf Davis, D.O., completed a fellowship in
geriatric medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of
Medicine. She is also an assistant professor of family medicine
at the college. She and husband, Craig M. Davis, Ph.D., have
a 2-year-old son, Vincent.
Deborah Gallo, D.O., and John Burlock Jr. were marred
Aug. 5, 2006.
Joseph M. Fabry, D.O., is practicing general and vascular
surgery at the Santa Cruz Medical Clinic, a 150-physican,
multi-specialty group in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Michelle Kantor Herring, D.O., and husband, Jefferson
Herring, M.D., have a son, Jacob, born Jan. 14, 2005.
Miguel Krishnan, D.O., is an assistant professor of pediatric
otolaryngology at the University of Southern California, Keck
School of Medicine. He and wife, Norma Marie Salmhofer,
welcome their third daughter, Sara, to the family.
Wayne J. Myles, D.O., is an assistant professor of family
medicine at OU-COM. He started a “practice within a
practice” for people between 13 and 25 called TeenMed. He
recently gave a presentation for the Ohio University Center for
International Business Education and Development to business
leaders and physicians from Brazil on how to start and run
a successful family medicine practice in the U.S.
Vernon Reynolds, D.O., and wife, Julie, announce the
birth of a daughter, Lainey, Oct. 10, 2005.
summer/fall 2007 33

William E. Saar, D.O., is the director of foot and ankle services
at University Hospitals Health System-Primary and Specialty Care
Practices.
Mark J. Veronneau, D.O., opened an ear, nose and throat practice
in Prestonsburg, Ky. He and wife, Lisa, announce the birth of a
daughter, Adelle Grace, Feb. 4, 2006.
1998
Christopher Cirino, D.O., spent six weeks in the summer of 2006
working as an HIV clinical mentor in Lesotho, Africa. He recently
completed a Master of Public Health in Global Health at George
Washington University School of Public Health and is currently
working for St. Vincent’s Health System in Erie, Pa.
Jessie Clairvil, D.O., announces the birth of a daughter, Justine,
Sept. 14, 2005.
Jason A. Fried, D.O., is in a vascular surgery fellowship at South Pointe
Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
Robert W. Garner, D.O., is the community physician liaison to the
executive committee of Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, precepting for the
St. Louis University Community and Family Medicine residency program
as an individual mobilization augmentee.
Vipin Koshal, D.O., is completing a Cardiology Fellowship at the
University Hospital/University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Cheryl Leuthaeuser, D.O., presented a lecture on integrated medicine
and osteopathy for autism at the Autism and Asperger Association’s first
international meeting last summer in Park City, Utah, August 2006. In July
2006, the offices of OsteoMed II in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, where Dr.
Leuthaeuser’s practice resides, were destroyed by fire.
Douglas Maurer, D.O., is completing a Madigan Faculty Development
Fellowship at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Wash., through
which he’ll receive a Masters in Public Health from the University of
Washington this summer. He also is a recruiter for the Army Health
Professions Program.
Leslie (Apacki) Nowell, D.O., and husband, Rob, announce the birth
their second child, Ryan, Dec. 11, 2005.
Ronald J. Russ, D.O., was named residency director of family medicine
at Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital in January 2006.
Jean (Weis) Schall, D.O., and husband, Steven, welcomed son, Jack,
Nov. 30, 2005.
Beth Schulz-Butulis, D.O., completed her Army duty last summer and
entered private practice with Family Dermatology in Raleigh, N.C.
Thomas Wagner, D.O., and wife, Lisa, announce the birth of a son,
Jacob Thomas, born in April 2006.
2000
Lisa (Knight) Flarey, D.O., and her husband Anthony Flarey,
D.O., (’97), finalized the adoption of a daughter, Noelle Christine,
from China. Noelle was born April 3, 2005.
James D. Heddleson, D.O., will complete a pulmonary/critical
care fellowship at Doctors Hospital of Columbus in July 2007.
Alexander Hewlett, D.O., received a Masters of Science in
Clinical Investigation from the University of Texas Medical Branch in
Galveston, Texas.
Wendy (Morehead) Kissinger, D.O., and husband, Dan, welcomed
their second son, Nicholas, to the family Dec. 16, 2005.
Rebecca (Hauser) Tat, D.O., and David Tat, D.O. (’99)
are the happy parents of twin girls, Madison and Kaitlyn, born June
21, 2005.
Marc Tressler, D.O., received the 2006-2007
Orthopedic Trauma Association Kenneth Johnson
Traveling Fellowship, which he is completing at the
Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Wash. He’s
focusing on foot and ankle trauma and post-traumatic
reconstruction. He also completed an orthopedic
trauma fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical
Center, where he is now an assistant professor.
Kristin (Stenzel) Woodard, D.O., and husband, Todd, announce
the birth of a daughter, Morgan Elizabeth, on Aug. 1, 2006.
2002
Gregory Applegate, D.O., completed an Anesthesiology Residency
at Case Western Reserve University/University Hospital of Cleveland
in June 2006 and accepted a position as an anesthesiologist at Walter
Reed Army Medical Center.
Dustin (Humienny) Blakeslee, D.O., is medical director of
consultation psychiatry at Akron General Medical Center and also
maintains an outpatient private practice with the Center for Akron
Psychiatry. She is involved in training NEOUCOM medical students
and psychiatry residents.
Patrick Blakeslee, D.O., is employed by Premier Medical Partners
and is a hospitalist at Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital, Summa Health
System, and Akron General Medical Center. He is a CORE assistant
professor of internal medicine.
Catherine Kunzler Champagne, D.O., is an attending emergency
medicine physician with Timberline Emergency Physicians in Saginaw,
Mich.
Marie Demosthenous, D.O., is in a child and adolescent psychiatry
fellowship program. She and her husband, Greg Behbehani, M.D., Ph.D.,
reside in Chicago.
34 www.oucom.ohio.edu

James D. Heddleson, D.O., is currently the chief pulmonary/
critical care fellow at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Brock Herring, D.O., will start an orthopedic foot and ankle fellowship
at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac, Mich., in August.
Anthony Karam, D.O., is a volunteer clinical faculty member
for the University of California, Davis, and teaches family practice
residents who rotate through emergency medicine at Mercy Medical
Center in Redding, Calif.
Sanjiv Lakhia, D.O., is working for Cincinnati Group Health
Associates practicing PMR, OMT and acupuncture. He and wife,
Teresa, announce the birth of a son, Kyran Sanjiv.
Kari (Mann) Lucas, D.O., and husband, Jason, announce the birth
of a son, Ethan, Nov. 23, 2006.
Daniel Maurer, D.O., has accepted a shoulder and elbow surgery
fellowship with Dr. Tom Norris in San Francisco, Calif. He announces
the birth of a daughter, Mia, Aug. 9, 2006.
Craig Peters, D.O., is completing a cardiology fellowship at the
University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz.
Larry Robinson, D.O., was deployed as a surgeon with the 5-73
CAU (Recon), 82nd Airborne at FOB Caldwell in Iraq in August
2006. He was wounded in February 2007 and flown to Germany,
then on to Bethesda, where he underwent surgery at the National
Naval Medical Center. The surgery went well.
Tiffani Singleton, D.O., joined the family medicine faculty at the
University of Alabama in Birmingham after completing an ob/gyn
fellowship there.
2004
Andrew Guglielmi, D.O., and wife, Julie, announce the birth of a
daughter, Alyssa. Andrew is a second-year radiology resident in the
Aultman-NEOUCOM program in Canton, Ohio.
Sarah Haley-Wien, D.O., received a Masters in Public Health from
the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Alexis Johnston, D.O., received the Gold Foundation Humanism
and Excellence in Teaching Award from the Northeastern Ohio
Universities College of Medicine.
Deanna Ohms, D.O., and Joseph Anderson were
married in November 2006 in Clearwater Beach, Fla.
2006
Jennifer (Paglia) Breedlove, D.O., and husband, Aaron, announce
the birth of a son, Benjamin Aaron, Aug. 22, 2006.
Jennifer A. Painter, D.O., will start aviation medicine training this
summer with the U.S. Navy in Pensacola, Fla., for six months. She will
then be stationed as a flight surgeon with a Navy Aviation Squadron.
Keep us posted
Please send us your news for the next issue.
Fax: 740.593.0761
E-mail: harmanj@ohio.edu
Alumni Affairs, 203 Grosvenor Hall, Athens, Ohio, 45701
Career_______________________________________
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John J. Parente, D.O., will become an attending physician this summer
at the Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk, Ohio. In addition,
he will be teaching at the University of Toledo Medical School.
Year of graduation __________________________
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summer/fall 2007 35

Peter Johnson, Ph.D.
Three OU-COM
professors retire
after 81 years of collective service
David Stroh, D.O.
William Duerfeldt, D.O.
David Stroh, D.O.
associate professor of family medicine
“The college has been a wonderful
place to work, full of new adventures,
great people and challenges. I’ve met
lifelong friends here and had the
opportunity to influence more than a
few students.”
Life after OU-COM “I’ll continue
to teach one quarter each year and
will continue my clinical practice in
Coolville. I also plan to spend time
reading, golfing, socializing and taking
up new endeavors.”
Peter Johnson, Ph.D.
professor of biomedical sciences
“As a founding faculty member at
OU-COM, I have been very pleased
about the way our college has matured
and strengthened over the years. Not
only in terms of teaching, but also in
that the college has developed a strong
research focus. I have so much enjoyed
working with the different units in the
college, and I’m sure that I’ll undergo
withdrawal symptoms in the early years
of my retirement.”
Life after OU-COM “I’ll be moving
to the mountains of western North
Carolina, but will be back in Athens
for the next few summers to continue
teaching in the Prematriculation and
Summer Scholars programs. In North
Carolina, I plan to continue some
of my research, writing and editing.
And, I also want to do some volunteer
tutoring in middle and high schools.”
William Duerfeldt, D.O.
associate professor of family medicine
“I’ve been truly blessed to have had
the opportunity to teach and practice
medicine at OU-COM. It has been a
privilege to share my experiences, and
my patients, with the scores of medical
students who rotated through my
Nelsonville office these past 27 years.
I think that is what I’m going to miss
the most.”
Life after OU-COM “My wife and
I are moving to Asheville, N.C., and
visiting family in Oregon this summer.
We plan to spend 3-6 months each
year—beginning in September—working
in Jerusalem for the humanitarian aid
organization “Vision for Israel.”
36 www.oucom.ohio.edu

June 21 – 24, 2007
Ohio Osteopathic Association Annual Convention
The Lodge at Sawmill Creek Resort, Sandusky, Ohio
Alumni Reception: June 21, 2007
5:00 – 7:30 pm, Wolf Room
Recognizing William Emlich, D.O. (’86)President,
Ohio Osteopathic Association
OU-COM Alumni Board Breakfast Meeting: June 23, 2007
8:00 – 9:30 am, Moose Room
Save the Date
alumni calendar
June 27 – 30, 2007
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic
Medicine Annual Meeting
Renaissance Harborplace Hotel, Baltimore, Md.
August 1, 2007
OU-COM 1st Year Classes Begin
August 18, 2007
OU-COM Convocation and White Coat Ceremony
10:00 a.m., Templeton Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium
September 5, 2007
OU-COM 2nd Year Classes Begin
September 30 - October 4, 2007
American Osteopathic Association Annual Convention
San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, Calif.
Alumni Lunch & Reception: October 1, 2007
Marriott/Omni
October 12 - 14, 2007
Ohio University Homecoming & Alumni Awards Ceremony
Recognizing Amelia G. Tunanidas Pantelis, D.O. (’82)
Alumna of the Year
October 18 - 21, 2007
Annual OU-COM Reunion/CME and Alumni Awards Program
Hilton Hotel at Easton, Columbus, Ohio
OU-COM Alumni Board Meeting: October 18, 2007
Center of Excellence Reunion: October 19, 2007
Class of 1982 25 Year Reunion: October 20, 2007
Hotel Reservations 614.414.5000
October 18 - 21, 2007
2007 Annual Clinical Assembly of Osteopathic Specialists
San Francisco Marriott, San Francisco, CA
January 18 – 19, 2008
Cleveland Academy of Osteopathic Medicine
Winter CME
Embassy Suites, Independence, Ohio
Alumni Reception, January 18, 2008
Co-sponsored by OU-COM Society of Alumni & Friends
February 2008
Cincinnati District Academy of Osteopathic Medicine
Cincinnati, Ohio
Alumni Reception, Co-sponsored by
OU-COM Society of Alumni & Friends
February 2008
Winter OU-COM Alumni Board Meeting
Hilton Hotel, Easton, Columbus, Ohio
March 12 – 16, 2008
ACOFP 45th Annual Convention
Hyatt Regency, Denver, Colo.
Alumni Recepton, Co-sponsored by
OU-COM Society of Alumni & Friends
cme
All Class Reunion
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine
& Society of Alumni and Friends
&
October 19–21, 2007
Hilton at Easton
Columbus, Ohio
Mark your calendar now for this this weekend of exciting medical education programs! You
can earn up to 20 hours of CME credit and have the opportunity to meet with many of your
colleagues and former classmates as well as members of the OU-COM faculty and staff.
Special social events are planned, so call your classmates now and ask them to join
you in Columbus.
Make your reservation now for a special room rate. Call 614.414.5000 or go online at
Hiltoncolumbus.com and enter Code OHU.
Watch your mail for more information.
For additional information, please call:
740.593.4232
Or e-mail:
harmanj@ohio.edu
To register online:
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/Alumni/
Sponsored by:
OU-COM Society of Alumni & Friends
OU-COM Area Health Education Center

what’s inside?
a p r e v i e w o f t h e s u m m e r / f a l l i s s u e . . .
Capt. Larry Robinson, D.O. (’02),
recounts his experience in Iraq
20
Second-year
24
student Rachel Holt leads
the way in a research paper published
in Diabetes Care.
College of Osteopathic Medicine
332 Grosvenor Hall
Athens, OH 45701
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