10 Alumni Journal - SUNY Upstate Medical University

AlumniJournal
U p s t a t e
Published by Upstate Medical Alumni Association
S p r i n g 2 0 1 0
n AnAtomy lAb technology
n Fighting FireArm violence
n views From hAiti: beFore And
AFter the eArthquAke

2010 Medical Alumni
Board of Directors
Charles J. Ryan, III, MD ’82, President
Zella Small, MD ’77, Vice President
Debra Buchan, MD ’87, Treasurer
K. Bruce Simmons, MD ’79, Secretary
A. Geno Andreatta
Thomas A. Bersani, MD ’82
Blanche A. Borzell, MD ’73
Richard M. Cantor, MD ’76
Dennis D. Daly, MD ’83
Richard W. Doust
Robert A. Dracker, MD ’82
Mark Erlebacher, MD ’79
Brian J. Gaffney, MD ’72
Sadri Garakani
Diane Green-El, MD ’78
Douglas W. Halliday, MD ’79
Ruth Hart, MD ’80
Karen Heitzman, MD ’83
Kirsten Magowan, MD ’87
Patricia J. Numann, MD ’65
Mark Persky, MD ’72
Andrew J. Rurka, MD ’70
David R. Smith, MD
Ralph L. Stevens, MD ’81
Gregory A. Threatte, MD ’73
Willie Underwood, MD ’94
Jack Yoffa, MD ’69
Ex-Officio Members
Vincent J. Kuss, MBA, MS
Steven J. Scheinman, MD
Julie White, PhD
Student Representatives
Russel Kahmke ’10
Christopher Pray ’10 (Binghamton)
Toby Anderton ’10
Jewel Appleton ’10
Ambrish Patel ’11 (Binghamton)
Dominick Maggio ’11
Ryan LaFollette ’12
Anthony Rossettie ’13
Emeritus
Frederick R. Davey, MD ’64
E. Robert Heitzman, MD ’51
Michael H. Ratner, MD ’68
Harold H. Wanamaker, MD ’56
Honorary Member
Frederick N. Roberts, MD ’42
On the Cover: C. William Schwab,
MD ’72, chief of the division
of Traumatology and Surgical
Critical Care at the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Photo by Gregory Benson.
Table of Contents
7 Triggered By Violence
Trauma surgeon Bill Schwab, MD’ 72, is fighting back against the torrent of firearm
injury in America.
12 Room with a View
High-tech video equipment transforms the process of learning gross anatomy.
Departments
2 Courtyard
14 Student Rounds
19 Class Notes
23 In Memoriam
Upstate Medical Alumni Journal
Spring 2010 Issue
Published three times in 2010
in spring, fall, and winter.
Published by the Syracuse (HSC) Medical
Alumni Foundation of Upstate Medical
University, Setnor Academic Building #1510,
750 E. Adams St., Syracuse, New York
13210-9976
Issue Number: 49
Submissions and address corrections should
be sent to Director of Medical Alumni
Relations and Giving, SUNY Upstate Medical
University, Setnor Academic Building #1510,
750 E. Adams St., Syracuse, New York
13210-9976
Phone:315/464-4361
Fax: 315/464-4360
Email: Kussv@upstate.edu
7 14 22
Vincent J. Kuss, MBA, MS
Executive Editor
Renée Gearhart Levy
Managing Editor
Sarah Burns
Donna Gataletto
Laura Glose
Lori Murphy
Chere Raven
Contributing Editors
Kiefer Creative
Design and Production
Darryl Geddes
Doretta Royer
Contributing Writers
Gregory Benson
Robert Dracker
Nathanial Herr
Gloria Wright
Upstate Medical Photography
Photographers
Andrew Rurka, MD ’70, chair
Debra Buchan, MD ’87
Fred Davey, MD ’64
Diane Green-el, MD ’78
E. Robert Heitzman, MD ’51
Willie Underwood, MD ’94
Editorial Board
Just a Click Away
Visit the Medical Alumni web page at
www.upstate.edu/medalumni for special
event information, excerpts from past
Alumni Journals, giving opportunities,
and more. Plus, you can now make secure
financial transactions on our web site!
Career Opportunities
Are you or is someone you know seeking
a new career opportunity? Review faculty,
research, and other positions available at
SUNY Upstate Medical University at
www.upstate.edu and click on
“Jobs at Upstate.”

Upstate Trains Physicians in a Setting of Science and Scholarship
Steven J.
Scheinman, MD
The education we provide
to our medical students is
enriched by the environment
of scholarship and inquiry
created by our productive
faculty. There is a great deal
of groundbreaking research
done at Upstate, both by
faculty members of long
standing and others just
recently recruited. There is
too little space here to describe more than a few,
but I want to share with you some of their activities.
Our Department of Microbiology and Immunology
houses a unique SCID mouse facility, in
which immunodeficient mice, engrafted with
human stem and immune cells, are a remarkably
robust animal model with a human immune
system. This allows our faculty to study growth
of human cancers, effects and metabolism of chemotherapeutic
agents, and gene therapy, as well
as antiviral agents and for the study and development
of human vaccines. Led by Drs. Rosemary
Rochford, Gerold Feuer, and Jennifer Moffat, it
is supported by major grants from the NIH and
the NYS Stem Cell Board. Tim Endy, MD, MPH,
chief of Infectious Diseases in the Department
of Medicine, is expressing the human receptor
for dengue virus in these mice rendering them
susceptible to infection and creating an animal
model for human dengue disease.
The SCID facility was one reason that Bill
Kerr, PhD chose to come to Upstate. Dr. Kerr is
an Empire Scholar in Microbiology/Immunology
and Pediatrics and the Murphy Professor supported
by an endowment through the Golisano Children’s
Hospital campaign. His work has had a major
impact on our understanding of graft-versus-host
disease in bone marrow transplantation, and childhood
leukemia.
Dr. Ruth Weinstock has built the Joslin
Diabetes program into a substantial center for
research into the delivery of care to diabetics,
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0 1
Message from the Dean
with major active trials into new therapies and
approaches, such as using computers and video
connections to manage diabetes from a distance.
Meanwhile, in the laboratory, George Holz, MD,
Empire Scholar and Professor of Medicine, is
studying a new class of glucose-lowering agents,
incretin mimetics, which hold the promise of more
effective and safer therapy for type-2 diabetics.
Our Center for Vision Research comprises
faculty from the departments of Ophthalmology,
Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology working
on retinal function and diseases. Leaders such as
Francesca Pignoni, PhD, our third Empire Scholar,
and Barry Knox, PhD, professor
of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology, work
on retinal development and
the molecular structure of
photoreceptors. It is is one
of the most significant
vision research programs
in the nation.
On another occasion,
I will fill you in on our
nascent Cancer Research
Institute, headed by our
new chair of Pharmacology,
Francesca Pignoni, PhD
Ziwei Huang, PhD.
Altogether, research at
Upstate is growing even at a time of financial
austerity because it is so essential to our identity
as an academic medical center and to the climate
in which we train future physicians. Our research
funding is now at the highest level ever in our
history. Recruitments for researchers are currently
active in most of the basic science departments
as well as in several clinical departments, seeking
investigators who can bring discoveries from the
bench to the bedside—as well as the classroom.
Medicine is a learned profession, and not
merely a trade, and the best physicians—the kind
produced by Upstate—are prepared for their careers
in a setting of science and scholarship.
Ruth Weinstock, MD, HS ’85

Gary Johnson, MD
c o u r t y A r d
Gary Johnson, MD, named
Chair of Emergency Medicine
gary Johnson, MD, interim chair of the
Department of Emergency Medicine since
October, was appointed to the permanent position
as of January 1. He succeeds John McCabe,
MD ‘79, who accepted the position of CEO of
University Hospital and senior vice president for
Hospital Affairs.
As chairman of the Department of Emergency
Medicine, Dr. Johnson leads the emergency room
at Upstate University Hospital, one of the area’s
busiest, receiving about 56,000 visits annually.
Johnson has been a member of the university’s
emergency medicine faculty since 1990, after
completing a residency in emergency medicine
at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He has
authored numerous publications, and has served on
the New York ACEP’s (American College of Emergency
Physicians) Board of Directors and serves
on numerous Upstate and statewide committees.
career Advisory network dinner. In January, the Medical Alumni Association sponsored
two Career Advisory Networking Dinners for second- and third-year medical students,
providing an opportunity for them to learn more about the career paths they are interested
in pursuing from faculty, staff and alumni. The dinners were held in Syracuse and on the
Binghamton campus. Pictured clockwise from the bottom left at the Binghamton dinner
are: Daniel Sperry, ’11, Joseph Morgan, ’11, Stephen Gomez, MD, and Natalie Roney, MD ’04
Upstate Partnership to Aid North
Country Education Efforts
in late January, Upstate Medical University
became the third partner institution in Jefferson
Community College’s Higher Education Center
initiative, which aims to provide increased access
to bachelors, masters and professional certifications
for residents in New York State’s North Country
region. The partnership with Upstate will help meet
workforce needs in the healthcare field as well as
provide several in-demand educational opportunities
for current healthcare professionals in the region.
“Dr. Smith and Upstate Medical University
have long been supporters of the higher education
center concept,” said Carole A. McCoy, president
of Jefferson Community College. “They recognized
the critical shortage of nurses, physicians and other
healthcare professionals in the Jefferson County
area and the need for advanced education programs
for those currently working in the field.”
Initially, Upstate will offer four programs on
JCC’s campus in Watertown: a master of science
degree in family health nurse practitioner, a
master of science degree in family mental health
nurse practitioner, a bachelor of science degree
in respiratory therapy, and a bachelor of science
degree in medical technology. Classes for both
master’s programs began in the fall 2009 semester
and enrollment continues for Summer and Fall
2010 start dates.
The partnership between Jefferson and Upstate
Medical University will have a direct impact on the
North County medical community’s ability to serve
the needs of the region. A comprehensive needs assessment
undertaken by the Fort Drum Regional Health
Planning Organization (FDRHPO) identified that
the single greatest limiting factor in the delivery of
quality healthcare is a critical shortage of health care
professionals and a lack of educational pathways to
support local workers in health occupations.
“The link between our two campuses is not
new,” says Upstate President David R. Smith, MD.
“For years, Jefferson students have been among
our very best recruits. This agreement allows us
to expand that relationship in ways that help the
region and support the healthcare needs of the next
2 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0

generation. We are very proud to ‘co-brand’ our
campuses and look forward to a long and productive
relationship with Jefferson Community College.”
Upstate continues to work with many partners
in the Watertown, Fort Drum, and North Country
region to establish a full branch campus for its College
of Medicine. While a medical school branch
campus would oversee students in the region’s
healthcare facilities, the Higher Education Center
will provide a home for student and administrative
support resources.
Upstate Unveils New Bone and Joint Center
in February, Upstate unveiled the new 92,000square-foot
Upstate Bone and Joint Center.
Located on Fly Road in East Syracuse, the $19.2-million
facility accommodates a complete range of
orthopedic services for patients and houses the
SUNY Upstate Department of Orthopedic Surgery,
as well as physical therapy and pain management
services. A highlight of the facility is a state-of-the-art
6,000-square-foot conference and training center.
The new state-of-the-art Upstate Bone and Joint Center
New System Increases Heart
Attack Positive Outcomes
university Hospital has purchased the
LIFENET System, the first web-based system
that reduces treatment time for patients who experience
a dangerous form of heart attack known
as STEMI (ST elevation myocardial infarction).
c o u r t y A r d
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / sw Pi rn it ne g r 2 0 10 0 8 3
STEMI poses a serious threat to the heart muscle.
The quicker patients receive treatment, the more
likely they are to have a positive outcome.
Studies show that the time from onset of
symptoms to treatment—usually stent placement
or angioplasty—is critical to improving survival
and outcomes for these patients. Having this new
system will enable University Hospital to better
meet the guideline of treatment in 90 minutes or
less, as recommended by the American Heart Association
and the American College of Cardiology.
The LIFENET System goes beyond just transmitting
a 12-lead ECG to the hospital. It helps
manage care for STEMI patients by alerting care
teams and transmitting diagnostic-quality ECGs
via a secure web-based STEMI alert system to
everyone involved in the patient’s care. University
Hospital personnel can prepare for the patient’s
arrival while the patient is being transported so
door-to-ballon (D2B) time is reduced and heart
muscle can be saved. (D2B is the amount of time
between a heart attack patient’s arrival at the hospital
to the time he or she receives percutaneous
coronary intervention, such as angioplasty.)
The Journal of the American College of Cardiology
(2006) reported that mortality for acute cardiac
events has been shown to increase 40 percent if D2B
time stretches from 90 minutes to 120 minutes.
celebrAting sArAh
loguen FrAser dAy
Upstate Medical University
celebrated its sixth annual Sarah
Loguen Fraser Day in February,
honoring one of the nation’s
first African-American women
physicians, and an 1876 graduate
of the Geneva College of
Medicine (a precursor to Upstate).
A variety of events were planned
for the day, including the Sarah
Loguen Fraser, MD, 1876 scholarship
presentation. Pictured
above are Nakeia Chambers,
Upstate Director of Multicultural
Resources, 2009 scholarship
recipient Farah Daccueil ’12, and
Bruce Simmons, MD ’79.

N. Lynn Eckhert, MD, MPH, DrPH
c o u r t y A r d
Upstate Observes 25th Elizabeth
Blackwell Day Celebration
the Upstate community celebrated
its 25th observation of Elizabeth
Blackwell Day with a lecture on global
health priorities and a dramatic presentation
of the life of Elizabeth Blackwell.
On February 9, N. Lynn Eckhert,
MD, MPH, DrPH, president of the
Association of American Medical Colleges
and director of academic programs
at Harvard Medical International, presented
“Global Health: Progress, Priorities
and Pitfalls.” Dr. Eckhert’s talk
addressed changing trends in global
health and its impact on U.S. academic
health centers in improving health
around the world.
Dr. Eckhert is also a playwright, and on the
following day, her play, A Lady Alone, Elizabeth
Blackwell: First American Woman Doctor was
performed by actress Linda Gray Kelley.
medical Alumni book distribution. Thanks to the generosity of our alumni, the
Upstate Medical Alumni Foundation was able to provide each of our MSII students with
a copy of the First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 book this past January. Pictured from left to
right are Sam Richter ’12, Zac Williamson ’12, Kasandra Scales ’12, and Medical Alumni
Foundation Executive Director Vince Kuss.
Actress Linda Gray Kelley portrays Dr. Elizabeth
Blackwell in a dramatic performance that was part
of the Elizabeth Blackwell Day observance.
Upstate Joins Network to Create
Healthcare Reimbursement Database
upstate Medical University is one of four New
York academic institutions forming a research
network to create and develop a new healthcare
database for consumer reimbursement and a website
for consumers to compare prices before they
choose doctors.
The research network will be spearheaded by
FAIR Health Inc., a new not-for-profit company
headquartered at Syracuse University, and SUNY
Buffalo, Cornell University, the University of
Rochester and Upstate.
“FAIR Health and the research network headquartered
at Syracuse University will bring much
needed transparency, accountability, and fairness
to a broken consumer reimbursement system we
have called Code Blue,” said Attorney General
4 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0

Andrew M. Cuomo. “By spending almost $100
million in settlement proceeds from health insurers,
this initiative will create new jobs and contribute
to the development of the upstate economy that
is vital to New York.”
“We are pleased to participate in this collaborative
research project,” says Upstate Medical
University President David R. Smith, MD. “The
accurate processing and analysis of health claims
data is extremely important within the healthcare
industry.”
The creation of FAIR Health arises from a
wide-ranging investigation by Cuomo’s office into
how the health insurance industry reimburses consumers
for out-of-network health care charges. The
investigation uncovered a fraudulent and conflict
of interest ridden reimbursement system affecting
millions of patients and their families.
c o u r t y A r d
Upstate Becomes Test Site for
Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Device
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0 5
upstate Medical University researchers are
participating in an FDA approved, multi-site
clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of
an implantable device to treat moderate lumbar
spinal stenosis. The FDA will evaluate the data
collected from this study to determine whether
the device—the Superion Interspinous Spacer
(ISS)—should be made commercially available in
the United States.
Upstate’s study is being conducted by principal
investigator Richard A. Tallarico, MD ’00,
and co-investigators William F. Lavelle, MD, and
Mike H. Sun, MD, of Upstate’s Department of
Orthopedic Surgery.
“Superion ISS is a potential alternative to traditional
spinal surgery and has been designed to
relieve leg, buttock, and groin pain resulting from
pressure on the spinal nerve roots that can develop
from walking or standing for long periods,” says
Dr. Tallarico.
The Superion ISS is limited to investigational
use within the United States. It belongs to a new
category of treatments designed to relieve pressure
on the compressed nerve roots while preserving the
patient’s anatomy and ability to maintain motion.
The clinical trial will compare the effectiveness of
Superion ISS to the X-STOP Interspinous Process
Distraction Device, an FDA-approved interspinous
spacer that is implanted in a slightly different
manner. “We are investigating whether Superion
ISS may offer a minimally invasive alternative to
spinal decompression surgery for some patients,”
says Tallarico.
Medical Admissions Workshops Offered
t he Upstate Medical University Office of
Admissions will offer an interactive workshop
for “friends” of Upstate, children of alumni,
employees, and other supporters. The day-long
workshop will be held on Monday, May 24, and
will provide advice on topics ranging from the
application, to the interview, and even what to
Richard A. Tallarico, MD ’00

c o u r t y A r d
wear. Participants will be able to practice mock
interviews with Upstate faculty and staff.
While there is no fee for the workshop, those
interested must register by May 17 by calling the
admissions office at 315 464-4570, or online at
www.upstate.edu/com/admissions/friends_reg.php.
Information sessions for high school students
considering a career as a doctor will be held in
several locations throughout Central New York
in April. No registration is required.
n April 7, 6:30 to 7:30 pm - NOPL - North
Syracuse Public Library
n April 8, 6:30 to 7:30 pm - OASIS at Shoppingtown
Mall
n April 13, 6:30 to 7:30 pm - Baldwinsville
Public Library
n April 28, 6:30 to 7:30 pm - Solvay Public
Library
n April 29, 6:30 to 7:30 pm - SUNY Upstate
Medical University, Weiskotten Hall, Medical
Alumni Auditorium, 766 Irving Ave.
college oF medicine phonAthon A greAt success!
Thank you to all of our donors who answered their phones during our annual College
of Medicine Phonathon. Upstate medical students worked diligently making calls to our
alumni helping to raise funds to increase scholarship awards. As a result of those phone
calls, students engaged in wonderful conversations with alumni of all ages.
Upstate Establishes Industry
Relationship Policy
upstate Medical University has adopted a new
policy that establishes guidelines for university
employees and students in their relationships with
pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology
industries.
“The Policy on Relations with the Pharmaceutical,
Medical Device and Biotechnology Industries”
covers almost all aspects of industry relations with
university personnel, from purchasing decisions
and speaking engagements to continuing medical
education and research sponsorship.
Under the new policy, Gregory L. Eastwood,
MD, professor of bioethics and humanities, will
serve as Upstate’s Conflict of Interest Officer.
Eastwood said the policy builds on current laws
and policies governing public employees, but
provides even greater transparency in key areas of
the university’s operations.
One example is the requirement that all individuals
teaching at Upstate must disclose to students
any relations they have with the pharmaceutical,
medical device, or biotechnology industries at the
beginning of a course.
The new policy also restricts Upstate employees
and students from accepting “giveaways and gifts”
from industry representatives, including notepads,
pens, stethoscopes, textbooks, food, conference
fees, or any other hospitality. The policy prohibits
researchers from taking gifts from research sponsors
and puts tighter controls on what industry can
support at continuing education events.
The policy was developed by a group of faculty,
staff, and students across Upstate Medical
University under the direction of Kathy Faber-Langendoen,
MD, director of Upstate’s Center for
Bioethics and Humanities.
6 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0

Triggered by
V olence
Bill SchwaB, MD ’72, iS fighTing To enD
whaT he callS aMeRica’S UnciVil waR –
a “PReVenTaBle ePiDeMic” of fiReaRM injURy
ThaT haS MaDe hiM one of The naTion’S
foReMoST TRaUMa SURgeonS. By renée gearhart levy
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0 7

Bill Schwab’s work as a trauma surgeon and advocate for gun safety
have earned him international recognition.
He had to do it too many times—tell a mother her
teenage son was dead from gunshot wounds, after
another senseless shooting. Despite the best surgical
skills and medical technology, nothing could save
her son. Everything was done but all was lost.
That experience, night after night, week after
week, was so emotional for trauma surgeon C.
William Schwab, MD ’72, that he decided to turn
to others for help.
In 1997, Dr. Schwab, chief of the Division of Traumatology
and Surgical Critical Care and Professor of Surgery at the University
of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, resolved to fight back at
what he calls “a preventable epidemic,” by founding the Firearm
and Injury Center at Penn (FICAP).
“We wanted to do more than the surgery,” says Schwab.
“We wanted to understand the root causes of gun death and
look for interventions that might save these kids.”
The intent was to stimulate a movement among health professionals
to see handgun injury as a public health issue rather
than a political issue, and lend their expertise to evidence-based
prevention. To that aim, FICAP has created a community of
scholars that collect and analyze data on all types of firearm
violence, as well as associated risk factors and repercussions.
These efforts are developed to help create safer communities
with fewer gun injuries and deaths.
“Only through legitimate research will we be able to identify
the causes of violence,” says Schwab. “At the same time, we
need short-term solutions to lower the death toll and live
more safely.”
Schwab emphasizes that FICAP’s focus is on injury prevention,
not gun control, a clarification that focuses on strengthening the
body of effective evidence rather than ideology.
“We’re not an advocacy group. We’re a group that uses
interdisciplinary scholars to examine data and attempts to inform
policy,” he says. “FICAP opposes gun violence, not guns.”
on the front lines
Despite his public policy work, Schwab is first and foremost
a surgeon, one who is known far and wide for developing and
refining techniques to improve survival in multiple gunshot
wounds. In a paradigm shift in trauma surgery,“damage control”
as he calls it, is now being used to save the lives of soldiers
injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Through both research and surgical skill, Schwab and his
team have saved many victims of violence in Philadelphia. But,
thousands of miles away, in countries as disparate as Iraq and
Sweden, Schwab is also saving countless lives because of his
unique role in their surgeons’ training. Surgeons from Sweden
and other countries who rarely see gun wounds in their home
communities visit Penn to observe and learn from Schwab. “In
two weeks here, they’ll have more experience than they would in
a lifetime at home,” says the surgeon.
“Throughout history, war has been the greatest stimulus for
the advancement of medicine and surgery,” says Schwab, who in
2006, became the first senior visiting-surgeon at the U.S. Army’s
Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, operating on
wounded American and Canadian soldiers through a volunteer
program developed by the American Association for the Surgery
of Trauma and the American College of Surgeons’ Committee
on Trauma.
“Whether an injury is from an IED in Iraq or a shooting on
the streets of Philadelphia, the consequences are the same,” says
Schwab. “Surgical techniques such as damage control, originated
in major trauma centers in the United States during the last 15
years” in direct response to urban gunshot injury.
8 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0

Dr. Schwab with the Penn STAR Flight team, a program he established in 1987.
According to Schwab, “damage control” is unconventional
surgery used when someone is dying from wounds. Minimal surgery
is done to stop bleeding, limit contamination and save life.
Definitive repair is delayed for several days until organ perfusion
and function is reestablished. Taking the time to perform definitive
surgery immediately often resulted in “a fully repaired but
dead patient,” says Schwab, co-editor of The Trauma Manual
and the recently published text on the subject Damage Control
Management of the Poly Trauma Patient. He and his colleagues
instead began to use this abbreviated resuscitative surgery to halt
the downward death spiral associated with these injuries.
To control bleeding from damaged vessels or restore flow
where needed, they inserted plastic tubes or vascular shunts,
“like a quick fix in a broken plumbing system,” explains Schwab.
They clamped, stapled or sutured bowel ends to control intestinal
spillage and contamination. After packing all raw or dissected
surfaces, they then temporarily closed the abdominal or chest
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0 9
wall. Patients were then moved to intensive care. After restoration
of normal physiology and re-examination of all injuries, the
surgeons then did definitive repair surgery a day or so later.
The improvement in survival for gunshot victims was so
profound using these techniques that the U.S. Armed Forces
Medical Corps, which directs care on the battlefield, added
damage control as a principle technique. This abbreviated far
forward surgery is felt by many surgeons to provide a significant
improvement in survival. “It’s a way to take what is a terrible
liability in the United States (urban gunshot injury) and translate
it into a survival advantage,” says Schwab. “It is the fulfillment
of the teaching mission of academic medicine—saving lives.”
Innate to being a trauma surgeon, says Schwab, is an interest
in injury prevention. Early in his career as a trauma surgeon at
the Eastern Virginia Medical School, where many of his patients
were victims of automobile crashes, Schwab became an advocate
for motor vehicle safety. Working through organizations such as

the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine,
he pushed for seat-belt laws, airbags, and road improvements.
As a result of his work, he was included among 272 honorees in
Esquire magazine’s inaugural register of “Men and Women under
40 who are Changing America” in 1984.
Three years later, Schwab joined the faculty of University
of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, just as the 9-mm semiautomatic
pistol was released for commercial sale. As a result, the
spectrum of handgun injury changed from single-shot, minimally
destructive wounding to multiple-shot catastrophic wounds,
typically injuring multiple organs.
By the early 1990s, Philadelphia had one of the worst epidemics
of urban firearm injury in the United States, and at times
led the nation in gun homicide. The Hospital of the University
of Pennsylvania, located in West Philadelphia, was the receiving
center for hundreds of gunshot victims a year, peaking at more
than 500 cases in 1992.
Schwab was uniquely suited to treating such gun violence.
Following medical school at Upstate, Schwab joined the U.S.
Navy and did five years of surgical training at the Portsmouth
Naval Hospital in Virginia, where nearly all faculty members had
extensive experience treating combat wounds in Vietnam.
“The very core of surgery at Portsmouth was trauma surgery
and the focus was on how to manage the wounded warrior with
Dr. Schwab looks over a brain scan with a colleague.
“Only through legitimate research will we be
able to identify the root causes of why people
become violent. . . .At the same time, we need
short-term solutions to lower the toll and live safer
in a society that has chosen to live with guns.”
—C. WIllIAM SCHWAB, MD ’72
extensive injuries,” he says. He learned ballistics and triage—how
to make very important decisions about life and death (and to be
comfortable with it) with a minimum amount of data.
It was perfect training for being a future inner-city trauma
surgeon. The only problem was Philadelphia wasn’t supposed
to be a combat zone. Many of the deaths he saw were entirely
preventable. “The number of deaths of young, African-American
males was moving, to say the least,” Schwab says. “All these kids
who had just a few years earlier been seventh or eighth graders
were now dead on the operating room table.”
As a responsible physician, Schwab says he couldn’t continue
to just fix the anatomical injuries and turn the kids back out on
the street. “After awhile, you’ve got to ask, ‘Why is this happening,
and how can we get it to stop?’” says Schwab, whose
research helped inform the passage of the 1993 Federal Brady
Bill requiring background checks for gun buyers.
Schwab viewed the situation as a military surgeon would.
“You have to know something about the war you’re fighting,”
he says. He turned to data on firearm injury as a start. The only
problem was that the data did not exist.
“That was unusual,” says Schwab, considering such statistics
were readily available for death from causes such as motor vehicle
accidents, infectious disease, or drowning. In terms of firearm
injury, the most detailed available information was the FBI
Uniform Crime Reports, because they recorded every crime by
firearm. Although the availability of data has improved, partly
due to FICAP’s efforts, assembling comprehensive data on
firearm injury in the United States remains a challenge. FICAP
helped develop and support the implementation of the Center
for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Violent Death Reporting
System (NVDRS) that is now active in 16 states to study
patterns and risk factors for all violent injury.
In 1997, Schwab and colleague Therese Richmond, PhD,
Associate Professor of Nursing at Penn, created FICAP. They
10 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0

envisioned an interdisciplinary center that
would encourage collaboration between
researchers and local leaders to take a
public-health approach to gun violence,
similar to other multi-causal epidemics
such as smoking, drug addiction, alcoholism,
or auto crash deaths.
None of those issues, however, precipitate
the same political polarization
as guns. “If you use the word ‘gun’ in a
sentence, there is an immediate political
reaction. You’re either a gun advocate
or you’re a gun-control advocate,” says
Schwab. Framing firearm injury as a public
health problem allows FICAP to engage
in data-driven dialogue about decreasing
injury and death, he says, a very different
approach than the classic pro-gun versus
anti-gun debates.
Nonetheless, the politics surrounding
guns present significant challenges. Schwab
points to roadblocks, such as the Tiarht
Amendment, which prohibits the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
from sharing information from its
firearms trace database unless for a criminal
investigation. He also points to the national
dearth of funding for study of the issue, and
what he calls a “government gag” against
funding the necessary science to answer the
questions about gun violence and death.
Since 1996, Congress has restricted appropriations
to the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) for any research that could affect
legislation to restrict the use or purchase
of firearms. Current efforts seek to put similar restrictions on
research supported by the National Institutes of Health.
firearm injury in
the United States*
An AmericAn problem
While it’s initial focus was on gun safety, FICAP now looks
beyond guns to understanding the root causes of and repercussions
from gun violence. The center collects data on the circumstances
leading to gun violence, the impact of exposure to violence, and
explores the incidence of long-term, rehabilitative care for surviving
victims. Researchers are studying the role of alcohol in
firearm injury and have identified the need to address firearm
suicide in rural areas.
n Over the last four decades, the U.S.
averaged 32,000 deaths a year from
firearm injury, the second leading
cause of death from injury after auto
crashes.
n More than half of these deaths
were from firearm suicide.
n The total number of U.S. firearm
injuries (fatal and nonfatal) is
estimated to be 100,000 per year.
n Firearm injury is a leading cause
of death for young Americans.
Homicide ranks second and suicide
third among the leading causes of
death for 15-24 year olds; the majority
of both causes are firearm related.
n Among wealthy nations, the U.S.
ranks near the bottom in terms of life
expectancy. Firearm deaths account
for about 27% of U.S. males’ excess
mortality when compared to other
peer nations.
n As of 2001, an estimated 35 percent
of U.S. households had a firearm.
* Data from FICAP’s website: www.
uphs.upenn.edu/ficap and from LDI
Issue Briefs: “Firearm Injury in America”
and “The Effect of Firearm Deaths
on Life Expectancy and Insurance
Premiums in the United States”: www.
upenn.edu/ldi/publications.html
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0 11
Interestingly, the risk for gun death
in rural areas is the same as in the inner
city. The difference is the victim and the
mechanism of wounding: older white
males dying by self-inflicted gunshot
wounds (rural suicide) versus young males
shot by others (urban homicide). Upstate
New York, says Schwab, has a bigger
problem with suicide from guns than
with either unintentional firearm death or
firearm homicide.
“We have worked diligently over the
years to distinguish risk factors for suicide,
so that primary care providers can
identify patients who may be at risk for
suicide, specifically, for suicide by a gun,”
says Schwab. Many of these risk factors
are correctable: a medical condition out of
control, untreated pain, depression, and
social isolation.
Despite FICAP’s efforts, the numbers
of gunshot wounds remain unacceptably
high. Twelve years of asking the question,
“Why?” has led to some answers, although
not enough solutions. “We, as a society,
have chosen to live with guns,” says
Schwab. “We are never going to reverse
that; it’s part of our history and culture.”
Nonetheless, he also believes that as a
society we should balance the right to be
armed with the public’s right to be safe.
“We need to continue to educate
people about gun carrying and ownership,”
he says. “We know from numerous
studies that people living in a home with
a gun have a four to five times increased risk of gun suicide or
homicide.” Another recent study found that, on average, guns
did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in
an assault, suggesting that the probability of successful defensive
gun use may be lower than the public perception, at least for
civilians in urban areas.
“FICAP continues to conduct evidence-based studies with a
goal to make the public safer,” Schwab says. “By understanding
the circumstances surrounding firearm injuries, a community is
more likely to develop policies that address the circumstances
around shootings, identify populations at risk, and intervene
before the trigger is pulled.” n

Room with a View
High-tech video equipment transforms the process of learning gross anatomy.
Fans of early James Bond films may
recall that Bond’s first villain, Dr. No,
survived a gun shot wound to the left
chest because of the unique medical
condition situs inversus, in which all
major visceral organs are reversed or
mirrored from their normal positions.
(The heart, for example, is located to
the right of the thorax instead of the left.)
As this condition occurs in only one
of 22,000 people, it was a unique learning
opportunity when a cadaver with the condition
was discovered in gross anatomy class.
“It was an 87-year-old man who had
fallen off a ladder, so in addition to the situs
inversus, he had a blood clot on the brain
and a broken shoulder. It was a great learning
case,” says N. Barry Berg, PhD, who directs
the Upstate anatomy program.
The learning opportunity may have
ended with that group of students had it
not been for the addition of high-definition
video equipment to the lab. The ability
to film the dissection of the situs inversus
“patient” in high definition and show it
on multiple large screens throughout the
lab, preserves the case for future classes of
medical students to come.
“Every person’s body has some variation
and we want the students to understand
that,” says Joseph W. Sanger, PhD, chair of
the Department of Cell and Developmental
Biology. “One in 1,200 people are walking
around with just one kidney. With this
type of camera, we can record the interesting
variations to reinforce this concept
to students.”
If a student discovers something unusual
or interesting in their cadaver, “we can bring
it over to the camera area and display it on
the monitors throughout the lab so that
all students can get a good look and ask
questions. It makes the class much more
interactive,” says Dan Jaeger, laboratory
director. “In addition, the films are saved
for future use.”
While the opportunity to save unique
cases for future generations of students is
undoubtedly valuable, the principle benefit
of this technology is the assistance it provides
in teaching gross anatomy by providing visual
guidance to the students during dissection. A
high-definition video camera and six large flatscreen
monitors placed strategically around
the lab allow the instructor to demonstrate
the dissection of a specific body part while
student groups observe that demonstration
from their own station with their own cadaver.
Instead of having 140 students attempting to
crowd around the instructor and cadaver, the
students are able to watch the demonstration
live on-screen while examining the same body
part on their own cadaver.
“The new system allows every student
to experience one-on-one instruction and
provides the entire class with an ideal viewing
angle and great detail on small structures,”
says first-year medical student Giancarlo
Rondash, who was named one of the top
dissectors in Gross Anatomy last fall.
In the past, students would be given general
instruction and a manual describing the
procedure, and faculty would rotate among
the students offering assistance. With 140
students, that can take awhile. “Instead of
taking three days for a dissection because we
have to go from group to group, the instruction
can be done in half an hour,” says Dr.
Berg, providing better use of time because
students have a better understanding of what
they’re doing.
“Before the students dissect the heart,
for example, we play the video of the heart
dissection on the screen, demonstrating what
to look for. Then we stop and let them begin
the dissection and the faculty and TAs are
there to help them. Then we stop, show
them the next step, and let them continue,”
he explains. “They know what to look for.”
After the dissection, the filmed demonstration
is placed on Blackboard, an
e-learning site that houses lecture notes and
other course materials, so students have it to
refer to after hours.
12 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0

StAtE Of tHE ARt
Six years ago, the anatomy lab underwent a
major renovation, updating the space built
in 1953 into a modern state-of-the-art classroom
for learning about the human body.
Although essentially one large room, the
space is organized into five teaching modules,
four containing six dissecting stations
and the fifth used for demonstrations and
presentations to small groups of students.
The video equipment effectively brings all
those spaces together into one. It began as a
gift from Hansen Yuan, HS ’74, former chair
of the Upstate Department of Orthopedics
in the name of his son and daughter-in-law,
David Yuan, MD ’99, and Ellen Young,
MD ’99. Dr. Yuan provided funds for the
high-definition digital camera, the only one
on the Upstate campus, and the Department
of Cell and Developmental Biology followed
with the purchase of six large flat-screen
monitors, allowing instructors to teach a
particular dissecting procedure to a large
group at once.
The technology has not only expedited
the process but improved the ability to learn
from the dissection.
Once a year, Berg brings in two orthopedic
surgeons who do hip and knee replacement
on an unfixed cadaver. Previously—in
order for all students to see—the procedures
had to be conducted in the ninth-floor
auditorium, which created issues with
body fluids and sterility. Now, the procedures
can be done in the anatomy
lab, allowing students closer access
and the opportunity to interact with
the surgeons.
And it’s not just gross anatomy
students who are benefiting. Students
in the doctorate of physical therapy
and physician’s assistant programs have
summer programs in the anatomy lab.
“The technology allows the instructor
to assist a maximum amount of students at
one time,” says physical therapy graduate
student Maggie Reinhard, who has both
taken anatomy and assisted Berg in teaching.
“When working on dissections in small
groups of five or six, it is incredibly difficult
for the primary instructor and one teaching
assistant to be present and helpful to all the
groups. The use of the technology allows for
the instructor to point out things and teach
the whole class and ensure that everyone
in the class is able to view the dissection.”
It’s also altered the way courses are
taught. “In anatomy, many of the lectures are
purely descriptive (the anatomy of the arm
or leg, for example). This can now be done
in the lab using the video system allowing
lecture time to be used for case studies or
problem-solving activities,” says Reinhard.
Clinical departments—such as orthopedics,
anesthesia, and emergency medicine—
are making use of that same advantage.
“We’ve got clinical departments who now
combine the didactic portion of a lesson with
the lab portion by hooking up a laptop and
showing a PowerPoint presentation on the
screens instead of having to do that across
the hall first,” says Dr. Sanger.
Upstate’s facilities are ahead of the curve.
Recently, a contingent from the
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0 13
University of Rochester paid a visit to get
ideas for their own upcoming lab renovation.
And Berg believes they have only
scratched the surface on how the technology
might be used. “My goal is to make the lab
experience increasingly interactive, so students
not only know how to find structures
but know how to use that information in the
real world,” he says. He envisions projecting
live demonstrations from the anatomy lab
to even larger groups in the ninth-floor
auditorium, and using the technology to
combine the teaching of gross anatomy and
anatomic pathology as future possibilities.
“The dissection laboratory is the most
unique experience medical students are going
to have in at least their first two years,” says
Berg. “We want to maximize the experience
for them and this technology gives us that
capability.” n

helping haiti
the world turned its attention to Haiti
in mid-January after news that a 7.0
earthquake had inflicted mass destruction and
loss of life on capital-city Port au Prince. The
disaster had particular significance for five
Upstate Medical students—three of whom
are natives of the country—who had just
returned from a two-week medical mission
in Haiti a week earlier.
Although communication was difficult,
Claudy Zulme ’13, Farah Daccueil ’12 and
Marvinia Charles ’12 would soon confirm
that family members were alive (including
Zulme’s wife and children), although all
had lost homes. Loved ones had either fled
to other family in neighboring areas or, like
most residents of Port au Prince, were living
on the streets. “Even if the homes are still
partially standing, it’s recommended by both
the Haitian and American government not
to go back inside because they may not be
stable,” says Charles.
The three Haitian natives, along with
classmates Nathaniel Herr ’12 and Brian
Buckley ’12, spent two weeks over the
December break working in and witnessing
some of Haiti’s most desperate and shortsupplied
conditions.
The trip germinated in early fall, spurred
by the summer experiences of Zulme, who’d
spent part of his summer in Port au Prince
volunteering at the General Hospital, efforts
to give back to a country whose medical
system he viewed as in great decline. A
native of the country, Zulme moved to the
United States at age 20 and came to medical
school after three years in the U.S. Navy.
Over the next several months, four classmates
signed on to join him in a medical
mission over the holiday vacation. They
delivered much-needed medical supplies to
s t u d e n t r o u n d s
Five medical students spent two weeks on a medical mission in haiti.
A week after their return, the earthquake hit.
Nate Herr ’12 and Claudy Zulme ’13 learn the framework for clinically assessing patients and making
rational therapy choices given the limited resources available.
the General Hospital in Port au Prince and a
smaller clinic in Zulme’s home village, where
they also were able to observe and assist the
medical professionals, and visited some of
the countries many orphanages.
These experiences provided a unique
perspective to understand how the earthquake
has overwhelmed an already fragile
healthcare system, where at the best of times,
supplies are low or non-existent, and there
is no ambulance service, fire department or
disaster care. The following are excerpts from
writings Herr made during and after the trip:
general hospital
We’ve been staying at an apartment on the
mountainside overlooking Port-au-Prince.
Some doctors at the public hospital have
been gracious enough to let us round with
them this week and see some serious, dire,
and desperate states of health. For example,
at the public hospital your bed and physician
consult is free. The beds are random, come
with or without sheets, and are packed into
an open-air hall. Health-care professionals,
about three or four per hall, do their best to
round to the patients, examine, and move
the treatment to the next step. If a procedure
or test is needed, it is the patient’s or
their family’s responsibility to go and get
the x-ray, lab results, medication or casting
material from a pharmacy or lab across the
street. There just isn’t the infrastructure or
human resources to provide the connections.
Everything medical is bigger here. People
tend to wait until the very last minute to seek
14 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0

care. Due to lack of education and/or money,
voodoo and spiritual reasons are sometimes
explored first. We rounded through the
emergency, internal medicine, and surgical
wards to see many infections with the only
option left being amputation because they
had progressed too far and risked poisoning
the entire body.
At the end of the week we delivered the
donated supplies from University Hospital.
The generous amount of supplies ranged
from surgical kits to gloves and were divided
and placed directly into the inventory of six
departments at L’Hopital General: pediatrics,
orthopedic surgery, general surgery, anesthesiology,
emergency, and urology. Thanks to
all, for a desperate need was relieved.
Aside from our experiences at L’Hopital
General, one says that Haiti is like crazy-glue;
once you touch it you’ll always come back.
Today being Christmas, we’ve made the
rounds to family house parties, greeted far
too many aunts and cousins, and had some
thrilling conversations.
Farah Daccueil ’12, Brian Buckley ’12, and
Claudy Zulme ’13 help Dr. Calixte and orthopedics
residents inventory supplies donated by
the Upstate community, which were divided
between six departments at the hospital.
s t u d e n t r o u n d s
st. marc
On the weekend, we visited Claudy’s home
village, a moderate two-hour drive north of
Port au Prince. Road conditions varied as
they always do—thankfully we had a 4×4.
Getting out of the city was beautiful, as we
often had a coastal view of the mountains
meeting the Caribbean.
Once in St. Marc, or the small village
outside of it for that matter, we met a childhood
friend of Claudy, who has since become
a doctor in Haiti and uses his salary to run a
weekend clinic in their hometown farming
village. This weekend, however, we had
free medications to fill a month’s worth of
doses, paid for by donations collected prior
to our trip.
We saw close to 200 people, assisting
him in taking vital signs, measuring blood
sugar levels, and learning first-hand the pharmacological
treatment of common maladies
in the area (ranging from osteoarthritis to
hypertension to parasite infections).
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0 15
Marvinia Charles ’12 (top left), Nate Herr ’12, Brian Buckley ’12 (top right), and Claudy Zuime ’13
(bottom right) with children at an orphanage.
Resources were limited and we soon
understood a new framework of assessment
and therapy choices when there is no lab,
microscope, or x-ray available. After a long
day that ran three-hours overtime, we swam
away the weariness at the beach and enjoyed
an impromptu joy ride in a passing fisherman’s
boat.
pJs and checkups
The week following Christmas we joined an
American group in Port au Prince that was
traveling to several struggling orphanages.
We were told that Port au Prince alone has
approximately 200 registered orphanages
and a few hundred more off the record,
often struggling for food and money. This
group’s goal is to visit, bring some cheer and
a needed boost of supplies.
I’ve found that most trips have a hallmark
unpredicted event that makes everything
worth it. Ours was meeting Dr. Olivier
Calixte, a young doctor who had just completed
his residency and was supposed to be

taking his vacation before starting his year
of service at L’Hopital General in January.
He welcomed us that previous week at the
hospital and wanted to come along to our
later visits to the orphanages. Now we had a
Haitian doctor at our side to give kids their
checkups, diagnose some serious cases of
malaria and other disease, and arrange for
their admittance to the hospital.
Once the physicals were completed, out
of the suitcase came the pajamas that many
donated in holiday spirit back home. Funny,
no one asked at airport security why I was
travelling with 67 sets of pajamas, a third of
them sporting Sponge Bob.
Under the supervision of a local physician,
Upstate medical students Marvinia Charles ’12
and Nate Herr ’12 put their PE skills to good
use performing health assessments at local
orphanages.
thousands of words
The most memorable time of my two-week
visit to Haiti has no pictures, and rightfully
so. One afternoon after visiting an orphanage
in the morning we went to a nutrition center
where more than 100 severely malnourished
and developmentally delayed children waited
in cribs as a staff of nuns, staff, and volunteers
rotated through a day of constant feedings
and diaper changes in hopes of getting the
s t u d e n t r o u n d s
Farah Daccueil ’12, Dr Calixte, and Claudy Zulme ’13 arrive at L’Hopital General with medical supplies
donated by the Upstate community.
children back into a life of thriving energy
and curiosity. Sadly, the rooms were surprisingly
quiet, as crying in hunger or stress was
too tiresome.
No cameras are allowed inside when the
center opens to the public for two hours
each afternoon. This way the open hours are
not for tourism, but for help in giving the
children something they desperately need,
caring contact and attention. Many, if not
most, suffered from reactive attachment
disorder and couldn’t hold eye contact. It
was striking and unforgettable.
As I approached Rose’s crib, she soon
understood what was happening as I helped
her to her feet—stretching out her arms.
Soon glued to my chest, she found the
plastic flowers hanging from the ceiling to
be hilarious as she reached for them, not
wanting to let go. However, soon she was
deep asleep, arms occasionally twitching.
Just like that we spent the next two hours,
walking slowly around the floor. Later I
discovered the true relief of sitting in a chair
when holding a child.
Too soon it was time to leave and I foolishly
imagined a perfected and supported
transfer of the sleeping Rose back to her crib.
Such was not the case. Not even an inch from
my now sweated shirt, she awoke from her
sleep and instantly cried. Having no other
choice, I had to leave her in her crib, taking
only the solace that she had enough energy
to muster up a loud and emotional wail.
then and now
Reading the breaking headlines about the
earthquake in Haiti has been a shock. It was
a fragile health-care system to begin with,
held together by incredible and intelligent
health professionals who had the biggest
hearts I’ve ever met, something I believe is
essential to be able to work in such conditions.
So much is unknown as most all
communication and infrastructure has been
demolished. Reports trickle in on the news
and social-networking sites. From reading
a combination of primary source blogs and
news articles, I’ve personally concluded that
the General Hospital, where we spent much
time and donated the medical/surgical supplies,
has suffered from severe collapse. After
some initial shock, processing, and rallying
of support and awareness, I’m finding myself
wanting to forget a little and find a distraction—then
the sight of the green paint at the
General Hospital surfaces again on the news
and brings it all back. There is no doubt in
my mind that there is a stark suffering and
immediate need in Haiti, which will require
all of our support and graciousness.
16 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0

Tales from the front
robert Dracker, MD ’82, may be back in
Syracuse, but every night, in his dreams,
his thoughts return to Haiti. “It’s like I’m still on
rounds and I still have things to do,” he says.
“I keep seeing the children’s faces and their
smiles and injuries.” And he continues to smell
the country’s distinct odor—a unique mixture
of “burning mahogany, vanilla, spice, and
brown dirt,” he says.
Dr. Dracker, a Syracuse pediatrician and
hematologist/oncologist spent the second
week in February at Sacré Coeur, a hospital
75 miles north of Port-au-Prince, which has
become an epicenter for victims of January’s
devastating earthquake.
In his role as president of the Onondaga
County Medical Society, Dracker solicited the
greater-Syracuse medical community in the
immediate aftermath of the Haiti earthquake
to encourage physicians to assist in whatever
way they were able. He was contacted by
gastroenterologist Michael Fitzgerald, MD,
who told him about his involvement with
CRUDEM, a foundation that helps support
Hópital Sacré Coeur in Cap Heitien, which
was receiving the sick and injured from Port
au Prince.
Just a couple weeks later, Dracker traveled
to Haiti with Dr. Fitzgerald and a small group
of other medical professionals. They were
among approximately 100 medical volunteers
(physicians, nurses, and dentists) working at
the facility that week from around the globe.
While the initial medical need in Haiti
had been surgical/trauma, by the time
Dracker arrived, the focus was more medical
in nature—treating infections and managing
wounds and amputations. “I had absolutely no
idea what to expect,” says Dracker of his first
glimpse of his patients.
The hospital housed more than 300 adult
patients in tents and 50-60 children in a pediatric
unit.
“Two-thirds of the children had undergone
amputations—arms or legs or both. They were
s t u d e n t r o u n d s
A week in haiti gave robert dracker, md ’82, a new perspective on
medicine and public health policy.
Top: Bob Dracker, MD ’82, treats a patient for
injuries suffered in the Haiti earthquake.
Right: A young patient recovers from an
amputation.
all scattered along the dirty floor on sheets
and mattresses. It was always very noisy,” he
says. “At first it was overwhelming, but we just
dove in and started to provide the care that
was necessary.”
Each day began with a review of the daily
medications with the nursing staff, followed
by examinations of each patient. “We might
examine a wound, or change dressings on
amputation sites,” he says. “Unfortunately,
there was always a lot of pain management
necessary for the wound care of the physical
therapy we made the children perform.”
On top of their injuries from the earthquake,
Dracker said the children were uniformly
protein calorie malnourished and vitamin and
iron deficient, and many had intestinal parasites
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0 17

and ascariasis, or roundworm infections. He
had brought 25,000 doses of vitamins and iron
supplements with him, as well as 1,000 tetanus
vaccinations and 500 doses of an immuneglobulin
preparation used to treat tetanus, all of
which he arranged to be donated.
Dracker diagnosed a 16-year-old girl with
both leukemia and malaria and subsequently
arranged for her transport to Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic, for treatment. He also
recruited a neurosurgeon from Johns Hopkins
to come down to treat three children with
hydrocephalous that would have died without
a specialist’s care.
In addition to medical care, Dracker and
the other volunteers worked hard to buoy the
emotional spirits of the children. “We did a lot
of typical American activities with them, such
as making paper chains, playing hot potato,
and teaching them songs,” he says.
One day, they even held a parade. “We took
all the patients—either carrying them, pushing
them, or helping them to use crutches, and
paraded through the adult tents singing the
taught songs,” he says. “Everyone loved it and it
made the children and the adult patients smile,
something they had not very much of.”
Over and above the sick and injured,
Dracker was struck by the conditions in Haiti
s t u d e n t r o u n d s
Top and right: The pediatric unit at Hópital Sacré Couer in Cap Heitien, Haiti.
itself. “Nearly all the roads are dirt, and in bad
condition. Most of the housing is cement, with
no doors or windows and there are goats,
dogs, chickens and pigs everywhere. There’s
no running water or sewage treatment. There’s
no garbage disposal, so people burn things
to get rid of them,” he describes. “It was fairly
shocking to see the general condition of the
country, even without the further devastation
created by the earthquake.”
The experience has made him view things
at home in a new light. “We complain about
the ‘health care crisis’ in the U.S., but when
you’ve been somewhere where health care
is severely limited or non-existant, our complaints
seem ridiculous,” says Dracker. “The
little I was able to accomplish without modern
facilities or instruments was light-years beyond
what they ever have access to.”
Dracker is currently a student in Upstate’s
new MPH program, but since returning from
Hait,i is exploring the possibility of pursuing
a PhD in global health-care planning. “There
are too many rapid decisions being made by
people who are totally uninformed,” he says.
“They mean well but don’t understand the
ramifications or the sufficiency of the decisions
they’re making.”
—Renée Gearhart Levy
upstate medical students Claudy
Zulme, Farah Daccueil, and Brian
Buckley are planning to return to Haiti
this summer to further develop the
burgeoning relationship between
SUNY Upstate and the State University
of Haiti’s General Hospital in Port au
Prince. The trio have been in contact
with the administration of the General
Hospital, and, in accordance with their
expressed needs, are collecting medical
supplies and equipment to donate.
In addition, they will also be returning
to Camp Mary, a small town one hour
north, to provide both material and
physical support for the weekly clinics
run by Wilton Cherubin, MD. Any assistance
in acquiring medical equipment
or transporting the donated items to
Haiti would be greatly appreciated.
Support for this effort may be directed
through Upstate’s Alumni Office.
Please contact Vince Kuss at
(315) 464-4361 or kussv@upstate.edu
for more information.
18 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0

Peter J. Adasek, MD ’65
Barry Kutner, MD ’82
12/’43
Joseph J. Gadbaw, of Mayfield, MI, writes
that his son, Joseph Gadbaw, Jr., MD, is head
of infectious disease and chief of medicine in
New London, CT, and his grandson, Michael
Gadbaw, MD, who graduated from UCLA, is
interning at Stanford. He also has daughters
in medicine as nurses, a certified mid-wife,
and an echocardio technician. Dr. Gadbaw is
leaving a legacy.
1958
Richard Schoenfeld, of Bethesda, MD, finally
retired on June 30, 2009. Dr. Schoenfeld is
enjoying his large family and spending much
of his time with nature bird photography.
1959
Sheldon Kapen, of West Bloomfield, MI,
attended Reunion 2009 with his wife, Rachel.
After returning home, Mrs. Kapen wrote a
limerick to express her feelings about the
wonderful weekend.
c l a s s n o t e s
To Celebrate the Great Five-O
To celebrate the great five-o
To Syracuse they came with awe.
And wined, and dined, enjoyed the zoo
And asked old friends: how do you do?
Then said: goodbye, and home they’d go.
1962
Steven N. Berney, of Bala Cynwyd, PA, has
stepped down as chief of the section of
rheumatology at Temple University School of
Medicine, but continues to work on a parttime
basis. Dr. Berney is also a master of the
American College of Rheumatology and was
elected again in the Best Doctors in America.
1964
Gene R. Moss, of Vero Beach, FL, writes that
his second book, Inescapable Consequences,
represents the first novel in a generation based
upon behavioral science and the first novel
ever written from the biobehavioral orientation.
Dr. Moss’s first book, Healthcare Reform
D.O.A., received two nominations for national
awards by the American Risk Insurance
Association.
1965
Peter J. Adasek, of Little Falls, NY, lectured on
child abuse at Motol Hospital in Prague, Czech
Republic in April 2009.
1967
Sheldon Cohen, of Miami, FL, writes that he
and Sandy celebrated their 45th Anniversary.
They have two married sons and four wonderful
grandchildren. Dr. Cohen retired in May and
they are now traveling often to be with their
grandchildren.
1972
Hugh D. Curtin, of Wellesley, MA, was presented
by the American Society of Head and
Neck Radiology (ASHNR) with the 2009 Gold
Medal during the ASHNR 43rd annual meeting
in October 2009. Dr. Curtin has lectured widely
both nationally and internationally—almost
350 times—and has received numerous awards
for his teaching excellence. He served as the
head and neck editor of the American Journal
of Neuroradiology and has served on numerous
committees for at least 14 societies. Dr. Curtin
is a reviewer for at least 11 major journals and
has received many awards for the excellence
of his reviewing. He has authored about 130
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0 19
peer-reviewed articles and 71 chapters. Many of
these articles are considered sentinel articles as
they have influenced the way images are interpreted
in head and neck radiology. He is the
co-editor of Head and Neck Imaging, presently in
preparation of the fifth edition.
1975
Glen Mogan, of Short Hills, NJ, was recently
appointed vice president for medical affairs for
the St. Barnabas Medical Hospital Outpatient
Ambulatory Care Center. Dr. Mogan’s son,
Doug, is a freshman at Syracuse University.
James A. terzian, of Vestal, NY, writes his son,
Jim terzian, MD ’07, is a radiology resident
at Jefferson Medical Center in Philadelphia. His
daughter, Susan, is a corporate finance lawyer
in Virginia. Dr. Terzian says his wife of 38 years,
Dolly, is still the love of his life.
1978
Edward f. Higgins, of Mission Hills, KS,
continues to practice vascular and general
surgery. Dr. Higgins went on a medical mission
trip to Ghana, Africa, in January. “Warmest
regards to my classmates,” he writes.
1981
David C. Goodman, of Etna, NH, is the director
of the Center for Health Policy Research
at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy
and Clinical Practice, where he co-directs the
Dartmouth Atlas of Healthcare project.
1982
Barry Kutner, of Lakewood, CO, recently
returned from Bulgaria, where he won a Silver
Medal in the World High Speed Telegraphy
Championship. Now that the kids are in
college—Lauren, 20, a psychology/education
major at the University of Colorado and
Robin, 18, a chemical engineering major at
the Cooper Union—he sold his suburban
Philadelphia ophthalmology practice and
retired. He and his wife, Holly, recently relocated
to Colorado to continue life as ski bums.
1986
Michele and Marc Simmons, of Westfield,
NJ, write that their daughter, Amanda, 19, is a
freshman at the Medill School of Journalism at
Northwestern University and their son, Josh,
16, is a junior in high school. Michele is an
internist in private practice working part-time
near their home and Marc is an attending

Stafford C. Henry, MD ’87
Max, son of Melissa Petras, MD ’05, and David
Zlotnick, MD ’05
Christine Granato, MD ’09, with
her father, Paul Granato, PhD
Jennyanne Parr and Toby
Anderton ’10
c l a s s n o t e s
radiologist specializing in body imaging at
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in
Basking Ridge, NJ.
1987
Stafford C. Henry, of Chicago, IL, writes
that 2009 proved to be a great year. First he
was appointed medical director of the Illinois
Professionals Health Program, an EAP-like
program advocating for physicians who are
either impaired or alleged to be impaired in
the state of Illinois. Secondly, he recertified
with the ABPN in addiction psychiatry, retaining
his status as triple-board certified (also
in general adult and forensic psychiatry). Dr.
Henry’s downtown private practice continues
to thrive, even in these market conditions, with
the addition of some international clients. He
remains quite grateful and pleased regarding
this growth. Henry sold his home in Glencoe,
Illinois, last summer and bought a new one in
the East Lincoln Park area of Chicago. He had
a terrific time spending the holiday with Lisa
freedman, MD ’87, who, amazingly, manages
a sole OB/GYN practice in Syracuse, while
being incredibly available to her three wonderful
children. In the fall, Henry had the opportunity
to have dinner with Martin Heslin,
MD ’87, and Colleen Davis, MD ’86, both of
whom have mastered the balance of being
committed parents and full-time physicians.
Henry is looking forward to the 25th Reunion!
1991
timothy C. Brown, of Randolph, NY,
announces the birth of his daughter, Mallory
Bennett Evans Brown, born on November 4,
2009.
1994
Sharon A. Mcfayden-Eyo, of Salisbury, MD,
completed her MBA program in healthcare in
October 2009 from the George Washington
University in Washington, DC. “What a challenge!”
she writes.
1996
Amy and Jeff Green, of Paris, KY, announce
the birth of their second child, Eric James, on
November 22, 2008. He joins big brother Kevin
and all the family pets. Jeff is in private practice
in Paris, KY, and Amy stays home with the
children and works PRN in urgent care in the
Lexington area.
2000
Jennifer Aller Hamm, of Orlando, FL, and
her husband, Jason, welcomed their daughter,
Katherine, into the world in June 2008. Dr.
Aller Hamm is an assistant program director
for the OB/GYN residency at Winner Palmer
Hospital in Orlando and the OB/GYN clerkship
site director for the new University of Central
Florida Medical School.
2005
Amanda Lloyd, of Webster, NY, is working
in pediatrics in Rochester, NY. Dr. Lloyd and
her husband, Don Henry, welcomed their first
child, Madelyn Grace Henry, born in August
2009.
Melissa Petras and David Zlotnick, of White
River Junction, VT, are proud to announce the
birth of their son, Max, this past July. David
has completed his internal medicine residency
and chief resident year at Dartmouth
Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH.
He began a fellowship in cardiology this past
July at Dartmouth. Melissa has completed her
residency in pathology at Dartmouth and will
begin a fellowship in transfusion medicine this
coming July, also at Dartmouth.
2009
Christine Granato, of Cicero, NY, married Ben
Cimino on October 17, 2009.
Leo Urbinelli, of New York, NY, writes he is
engrossed in his internship at NYU Medical
Center. Dr. Urbinelli is in year one of a combined
general surgery/plastic surgery residency.
2010
toby Anderton, of Syracuse, NY, married
Jennyanne Parr on October 24, 2009, at the
Salt Lake Temple in Utah.
house staff
Serdar Ural, MD, HS’97 attended Johns
Hopkins University for maternal fetal medicine
(MFM) fellowship training and then to the
University of Pennsylvania, where he ran the
high risk obstetrics clinic. Dr. Ural is currently
the chief of the division of maternal fetal medicine
and the medical director of the labor suite
at Penn State University in Hershey, PA, where
he began a MFM fellowship training program
and established an AIUM certified Fetal
Imaging Suite. Dr. Ural has two daughters and
stays in close touch with Larry Orbuch, MD
and David friedman, MD.
20 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0

Zaven s. Ayanian, md ‘59
Teacher, Mentor
and leader
in March, Zaven S. Ayanian, MD ’59,
received the American Medical
Association’s 2010 Jack B. McConnell,
MD, Award for Excellence in
Volunteerism, an honor presented to
senior physicians who increase access to
health care for underserved and uninsured
patients in the United States.
It was a well-deserved honor for the
retired, Matawan, New Jersey, internist,
who has spent the last decade caring for
underserved populations in his home community.
As the second physician volunteer
to be recruited to launch the Parker Family
Health Center in 2000, Dr. Ayanian has
been there from the beginning. The free
clinic evolved from a walk-in clinic in a
modified trailer open two nights a week
into a six-day-a-week comprehensive
healthcare facility. Ten years later, Ayanian
has helped build an organization that provides
10,000 patient visits annually with
support from 200 volunteers.
The Parker Family Health Center differs
from many “free clinics” in that it does
not seek reimbursement from Medicare,
Medicaid or other payers, but operates solely
off the basis of charitable contributions and
fundraising. “There are hard-working people
in low paying jobs who cannot afford insurance.
Some of them are immigrants who are
sending money home to families. These are
not derelicts or ne’er-do-wells, they’re just
working poor,” says Ayanian.
The son of Armenian parents who
escaped the Turkish genocide, Ayanian
grew up in Syracuse understanding that he
had to work hard for what he wanted in
life. He doesn’t remember a day he didn’t
want to be a doctor and worked his way
through Syracuse University in three and a
half years. After serving in the U.S. Army
c l a s s n o t e s
during the Korean conflict, he attended
Upstate Medical University, where he met
his wife, Lorraine Chesna, a nursing student
at Syracuse University.
After completing his training, he joined
a multi-specialty practice in Matawan, New
Jersey. Shortly thereafter, Ayanian became
involved in the creation of a new acute care
hospital needed by the community, and
upon its opening, became the first medical
staff president of the 225-bed Bayshore
Community Hospital and chairman of
its Department of Medicine. He was later
elected to the hospital’s board of trustees.
But he never forgot his roots. In
1988, following the massive earthquake in
Armenia, Ayanian was contacted by the
Armenian General Benevolent Union, an
international organization that was started
by the diaspora of Armenians who had
escaped the first genocide of the 20th century.
Subsequently, he arranged for four
young people to be brought to Bayshore
Community Hospital. Over a four-month
period, he coordinated their care and rehabilitation,
which included multiple surgeries,
amputations, and rehabilitation. After
his retirement in 1999, he made a pilgrimage
to Armenia to reconnect.
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0 21
At the AMA Annual Meeting, Dr Ayanian is pictured with (left to right) leadership award recipient
Maya Babu, a fifth-year MD/MBA candidate at Harvard, Valerie Pronio-Stelutto, MD, assistant
professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, his grandson, Luke Zaven Pereles, his wife
Lori, and his daughter Susan Pereles.
It was following his return that he got
involved with the Parker Family Health
Center, treating patients on Wednesdays
and mentoring third-year medical students
from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical
School. “For me, it’s intellectually stimulating.
I maintain my medical skills and continue
to think as a doctor. I get satisfaction
and the patient gets quality medical care,”
says Ayanian. He also serves on the board
of trustees of his local YMCA Foundation,
continues as an active emeritus trustee of
the Bayshore Community Hospital, and
with his wife, has endowed scholarships at
Upstate Medical University and Syracuse
University. “I’ve always enjoyed giving
back in any way possible. I seem to have
an inborn desire to help anyone who is
attempting to improve his or her lot in life.”
In announcing his award, AMA
Foundation president Richard Hovland
praised Ayanian’s enduring presence with
the Parker Family Health Center and his
commitment to serving the working poor.
“Dr. Ayanian is not only a compassionate
physician,” said Hovland, “he is also a
teacher, mentor and leader.”
—Renée Gearhart Levy

Alan Foster, md, hs ’74
improving with age
when Alan Foster, MD, HS ’74,
won the New York Super Senior
Amateur in September, he became the first
golfer to win the New York State Amateur,
Mid-Amateur, Senior Amateur and Super
Senior Amateur during the course of a
career.
While the unique feat illustrates the
strength of Dr. Foster’s game over more
than 40 years, it was just another tournament
for the Manlius, New York, radiologist,
who holds a handful of national and
international titles and was ranked the top
U.S. senior golfer by Golf Weekly in 2005.
Alan Foster MD, HS ’74 at the New York Senior
Amateur
GlORIA WRIGHT
c l a s s n o t e s
Humble of his talents, Foster attributes
his success primarily to course management
and his ability to limit mistakes under pressure.
“I’m a good putter and driver of the
ball, but so are my competitors,” he says.
Foster actually spends more time off
the course than on. In his professional life
he is the managing partner of St. Joseph’s
Imaging, a prominent Syracuse radiology
practice that provides all imaging services
to St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center
and through seven offices throughout the
greater-Syracuse area. Although he practices
general radiology, Foster has fellowship
training in nuclear medicine and reads a
lot of PET scans. He is also the group’s
primary mammographer.
Foster took up golf as a youngster,
playing competitively throughout high
school and college at DePauw University.
He put away his clubs for almost a
decade—while in graduate school, then
medical school at Indiana University, and
as an intern at St. Joseph’s Hospital—but
resumed playing casually near the end of
his radiology residency at Upstate. When
he began medical practice, Foster became a
weekend golfer and resumed his competitive
career. Despite his sabbatical from the
game, he won the New York State Amateur
Championship that same year.
Over the next three-and-a-half decades,
Foster aged through the tournament system,
moving from amateur tournaments to
mid-ams, to senior ams, and now qualifying
for super-senior tournaments (for those
over 65). While he qualified four times for
the U.S. Amateur Tournament, three times
for the U.S. Mid-Amateur, and once for
both the British Amateur and the British
Mid-Am, his greatest success has come at
the senior level. In the last five years alone,
Foster has participated in the U.S. Senior
Open (twice), and the British Senior Open,
and won the British Senior Open Amateur
and the British Super Senior Open
Amateur.
Alan Foster MD, HS ’74 celebrates sinking a putt.
Aside from Florida visits during the
winter, he’s done all this primarily as a
weekend golfer playing between April and
October. “When I’m working, I don’t get
out during the week,” says Foster, who’s
had a handicap of +2 (less than scratch)
since 1985.
“It’s a challenge. It’s always different,”
he says of the game’s appeal. “You never
can repeat what you did the day before.
You’re always attempting to improve,
but you usually go sideways or backwards
before you get better.”
At his peak, Foster competed in up to
15 tournaments a year. Now, he’s down to
six or eight.
Regardless of the number, he relishes
the opportunity to travel, meet new people,
and experience different golf courses. Says
Foster, “Most of the people I know really
well, most of my better friends, are all
through golf.”
— Renée Gearhart Levy
22 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0
GlORIA WRIGHT

1941
frances A. Harmatuk, of New Bern, NC, died
September 23, 2009.
1942
Howard D. Kelley, of Homer, NY, died
January 23. Dr. Kelley began his medical career
in Tully. In 1952, he opened his own practice
in Cortland, where he served the community
for more than 50 years. He is survived by his
daughters, Susan, Cathy, and Kristina; and
several other relatives.
1945
leon A. harris, of Beverly Hills, CA, died
January 12, 2005.
1946
Jean C. Smith, of Trumansburg, NY, died
January 8. Dr. Smith was a family practitioner
and a member of the Chenango Bridge
Medical Group, which served the surrounding
rural and suburban region near Binghamton,
NY. Smith loved her medical practice, and even
after retirement many of her patients still kept
up with her. She served three generations of
many families and numerous patients considered
her part of their family circle. She is
survived by her friend, Betty J. McKnight; and
many relatives.
1947
David L. Poushter, of Rochester, NY, died
January 18. Dr. Poushter completed his residency
at Harper Hospital in Detroit. He then
served as a captain in the United States Air
Force. During more than five decades of
practice as an ear, nose and throat doctor in
Syracuse, he held the positions of chief of staff
at Crouse-Irving Memorial and Community
General Hospitals, president of the Onondaga
County Medical Society, president of the
Triological Society and clinical professor at
Upstate Medical University. He is survived by
his daughters, Linda, Susan and Karen; and
many other relatives.
A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0 23
i n m e m o r i a m
1957
lewis m. neporent, of Kingston, NY, died
September 29, 2009. Dr. Neporent was a
Diplomate of the American Board of Internal
Medicine and a Fellow of the American
College of Cardiology, the American College
of Physicians and the American College of
Geriatrics. He served as Chief of Staff and Chief
of Medicine at both Kingston and Benedictine
Hospitals and on the Board of Directors of
Kingston Hospital. He was a founder of the
Mid-Hudson Rural Family Practice Residency
Program and served there as instructor of
Internal Medicine. He was a member and
President of the Hudson Valley Society of
Internal Medicine and served on the State
Board for many years and served as liason
to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New York State.
He was a member of the AMA and served as
President of the Ulster County Medical Society.
He is survived by his wife, Arlene; his sons,
Mark and Richard; his daughters, Elizabeth and
Jill; and many other relatives and friends.
1965
David t. Armitage, of Silver Springs, MD,
died November 17, 2009. Dr. Armitage,
who was a retired Army colonel, had a long
career as a medical officer before becoming
a senior medical adviser to the Army’s
Physical Disability Agency. He joined the
Army in 1965 after graduating from medical
school. Armitage was board certified in five
specialties: psychiatry and neurology, child
psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, family practice
and hospital administration. He was also a
lawyer and often worked on cases in which
legal and medical issues overlapped. After
early tours of duty in Hawaii, at Walter Reed
and in Germany, Armitage became chairman
of the psychiatry and neurology department at
Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at
Fort Gordon, GA. He returned to Walter Reed
in 1984 and became associate director of the
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. At the
same time, he served as co-director of Walter
Reed’s forensic psychiatry fellowship and
associate chairman for forensic sciences and
litigation support at the Department of Legal
Medicine. Armitage retired from the Army in
David T. Armitage, MD ’65

Lanny Taub, MD ’67
Robert Barlow, Jr., PhD
i n m e m o r i a m
1995 but continued to work as a civilian medical
adviser on military disability matters until
his death. He was the co-author of “Principles
and Practice of Military Forensic Psychiatry”
(1997) and served as an expert witness, writer
and consultant. Armitage was also an examiner
for the American Board of Psychiatry and
Neurology. He is survived by his wife, Barri; his
son, David; and several other relatives.
1967
Lanny taub, of Laguna Beach, CA, died
June 28, 2009. Dr. Taub completed his pediatrics
specialty training at the Children’s Hospital
of Los Angeles, where he was the chief resident.
He then served as a major in the U.S.
Air Force and chief of pediatric services for
Turkey and North Africa, before entering into
private practice. He served in many capacities
for a number of hospitals and medical
centers as well as serving as medical director
of the Chapman University’s student health
service and consultant for the Orange, Irvine
and Tustin Unified School Districts. He is survived
by his wife, Jane; his sons, Aaron and
Ethan; and other relatives and numerous close
friends.
1972
michael J. walker, of Columbus, OH, died
September 1, 2008.
1973
Chester R. Jarmolowski, of Allison Park, PA,
died November 24, 2009. Dr. Jarmolowski completed
an internship in medicine and received
a fellowship in cardiovascular radiology at
Upstate. Later he joined the staff of Upstate’s
Radiology Department. He spent the remainder
of his career in Pittsburgh as an interventional
radiologist and was named a Fellow
in the Society of Interventional Radiology,
the American College of Radiology and the
Council on Cardiovascular Radiology of the
American Heart Association. He is survived by
his wife, Nancy; his daughters, Maggie and
Christina; and several other relatives.
Joseph J. Rainone, of Apple Valley, CA, died
September 3, 2009.
2006
Abby M. Ezero, of Williamsport, PA, died
November 2, 2009. Dr. Ezero was accepted
into the Family Medicine Residency Program
at the Williamsport Hospital and Medical
Center in Williamsport, PA. After completing
her residency in June 2009, she pursued her
dream of being a family practice physician
and began working for Susquehanna Health
System at the Community Health Center in
Williamsport. Ezero was a member of the
American Medical Association, American
Academy of Family Physicians, and the
American College of Physicians. She is
survived by her husband Dan; her son, Liam;
her parents, Bob and Lynne Borow; and
several other relatives.
Faculty
Robert Barlow, Jr., PhD, of Jamesville, NY,
died December 24, 2009. After receiving
his doctorate from Rockefeller University in
New York City, Dr. Barlow became a scientist,
researcher, and professor at Syracuse University
for 28 years until the late 1990s, when he joined
the faculty at Upstate Medical University. He
was the driving force to establish the Center
for Vision Research, a group that now numbers
50 people and is the largest clinically focused
research group at Upstate. His leadership
was critical in establishing the SUNY Upstate
Foundation’s endowment to support vision
research and the SUNY Eye Institute, a collaboration
of all four SUNY medical schools performing
vision research. Throughout his career,
Barlow had been the recipient of numerous
awards and held many leadership positions on
several boards. He had been a visiting scholar at
Harvard University, University of Cambridge in
England, and the University of Tsukuba in Japan
and had a long list of invited presentations as a
lecturer. He was featured in many scientific journals
and programs, including Nature magazine,
the Discovery Channel, and the BBC. Barlow’s
work has been published in more than 103
scientific papers, and there are five more that
will be published posthumously. Due to his
thoughtful preparation, his important work on
macular degeneration will be continued under
the guidance of his colleagues at Upstate. He
is survived by his wife, Patricia; his daughters,
Kimberly and Jill; his son, Jack, and many other
relatives.
24 A l U M n i J o U r n A l / s P r i n g 2 0 1 0

SAVE THE DATE
Reunion Weekend 2010
october 1 & 2
Classes of
1945 l 1950 l 1955 l 1960 l 1965 l 1970 l 1975 l 1980 l 1985 l 1990 l 1995 l 2000
Information:
call 315-464-4361
Email murphyl@upstate.edu
www.upstate.edu/medalumni
Distinguished Alumni,
Outstanding Young Alumni and
Humanitarian Award Nominations
Nominate someone you think has “made a difference.”
Supporting information about nominee(s) appreciated.
Nominations must be received by April 23, 2010
for 2010 Awards.
Nomination(s) for Distinguished Alumna(us):
Awarded to an Alumna/us who graduated
more than 20 years ago.
Nomination(s) for outstanding Young Alumna(us):
Awarded to an Alumna/us who graduated
within the last 20 years.
Nomination(s) for the Humanitarian Award:
Awarded to an Alumna/us who exceeds normal expectations
in improving the lives of those in need.
For nomination guidelines, please visit our website at:
www.upstate.edu/medalumni. Mail, fax or e-mail nominations
to: Upstate Medical Alumni Office, Setnor Academic Bldg.,
#1510, 750 E. Adams St., Syracuse, NY 13210. Fax: 315/464-4360.
medalum@upstate.edu.
Awards will be presented at Reunion 2010

Upstate Medical Alumni Association/Foundation
SUNY Upstate Medical University
Setnor Academic Building, Suite 1510
750 E. Adams St.
Syracuse, New York 13210
Upcoming 2010 Regional events
Medical Alumni Association on the Road
The Medical Alumni Association will be hosting receptions in the following cities—
Watch for your invitation in the mail.
New York City
Friday, April 16th
Cornell Club
6 East 44th Street
6pm-8pm
San Francisco
sunday, April 18th
The Westin St. Francis - Union Square
Olympic Room
335 Powell Street
6pm-8pm
Buffalo, NY
Friday, June 11th
6pm-8pm
Venue TBD
Huntington, NY
Friday, June 18th
Hilton Hotel
Melville, NY
Route 110
6pm-8pm
Washington D.C.
sunday, november 7th
6pm-8pm
Venue TBD
non-PRofiT
oRganizaTion
U.S. PoSTage
PAID
SyRacUSe ny
PeRMiT #994