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alumniGrad scales new heightspursuing interest in wilderness medicineAs Jefferson Livermon, MD, stood at the summitof Mount Kilimanjaro earlier this year, the altitudewas so great he could see the curve of the Earth.“It’s humbling,” he says. “It really shows you yourplace in creation.”He was there as part of a medical conference.Far from the typical meeting space, the conferencebrought together doctors studying the field ofwilderness medicine.“Wilderness medicine is all about improvising withwhat you have to deal with emergencies in the wild,”Dr. Livermon says.Dr. Livermon is a 1983 graduate of Eastern VirginiaMedical School now in family practice in Winchester,Va. At age 58, his love of the outdoors has taken himfrom hunting trips with his father while growing up inHampton Roads to the mountains and caves of centralVirginia to the top of the world in Tanzania.“My Dad exposed me to hunting and a respect forthe outdoors,” he says. “Now on family vacations I’mthe guy saying ‘What kind of tree is that? What’s thatmushroom?’ ”His love of the natural world grew during his timeat Virginia Tech, where he explored the mountainsaround him.Jefferson Livermon, MD, at the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro.“Blacksburg was a whole new area — mountains,caving, the Appalachian Trail,” he said. “I couldn’tget enough.”Dr. Livermon continued his explorationsthroughout his time at EVMS and his early jobs.Later, he shared his love of the outdoors with his sonthrough Boy Scouts and through that involvement,discovered the field of wilderness medicine.Dr. Livermon learned much firsthand — fromsuturing himself without anesthetic after a fall duringa hike in Virginia to dealing with mountain sicknessContinued on page 392005 graduate startup is a winnerPitou Devgon, MD Class of 2005, enjoyed a rarehonor recently when he rang the closing bell at theNASDAQ stock exchange.The event was the result of his role as a cofounderof the company Lumina Diagnostics.Dr. Devgon completed his training in internalmedicine at the University of Pennsylvania inPhiladelphia. “Since finishing residency in 2008, Iwork part-time as a hospitalist and decided to getback into my entrepreneurial ventures,” he says.“I am currently half way through my MBAin healthcare entrepreneurship at the WhartonSchool (part of Penn). I formed a team with twoother Wharton graduate students and a scientistand started Lumina Diagnostics — a medicaldevice startup company commercializing a newnear infrared diagnostic technology that candramatically improve chronic wound care,” Dr.Devgon reports.“My team and I won the Wharton Business PlanCompetition this year and as part of the 1st placeprize our company was able to ring the closing bellat the NASDAQ stock exchange in NYC on August11th,” he says.Dr. Devgon says major news networks coveredthe event — “for all of 10 seconds!”His team took home the Michelson Grand Prizeof $20,000 cash with an additional $10,000 worth ofPitou Devon, MD, second from left, on Wall Street.legal and accounting services. Dr. Devgon alsoreceived the most votes in the People’s ChoiceAward, securing an additional $3000 prize for beingthe audience’s favorite.34 Fall 2009 www.eVMS.EDUALUMNI
Graduate named toleadership post atUniversity of South CarolinaJoshua T. Thornhill IV, MD, Class of 1989, hasbeen named associate dean of medical education andacademic affairs at the University of South Carolina(USC) School of Medicine.A nationally recognized psychiatrist, Dr.Thornhill received a BA in chemistry from theUniversity of Virginia and after EVMS completedhis general psychiatry residency at the William S.Hall Psychiatric Institute in Columbia, SC.In 1993, Dr. Thornhill joined the faculty of theUSC School of Medicine as an instructor in thedepartment of neuropsychiatry and behavioralscience and also served as the assistant director forthe medical school’s general psychiatry residency.“It is a great honor and privilege to be selected forthis important role that is responsible for academicallypreparing future physicians and scientists for athriving career in medicine,” Dr. Thornhill saidin a news release from the school. “I firmly believethat the right combination of medical education,extracurricular activities and strong faculty andstaff support is the key to helping students becomecompassionate and skilled clinicians.”Dr. Thornhill has contributed significantlyto the growing reputation of the department ofneuropsychiatry as a distinguished professor andpsychiatric clinician. In his most recent positionas assistant dean for clinical curriculum, Dr.Thornhill played an integral role in helping theschool of medicine secure the maximum allowableaccreditation by the Liaison Committee on MedicalEducation (LCME).Dr. Thornhill has been named to “Best Doctors”for five consecutive years. As an educator, he wastwice honored by medical students as a “String ofPearls lecturer” and has received a number of awards,Joshua T. Thornhil IV, MDincluding the Humanism in Medicine Award andthe Dean’s Distinguished Service Award.He is a general psychiatry examiner for theAmerican Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Anactive participant in professional organizations, hehas served as the president of the South CarolinaPsychiatric Association and serves as councilor forthe South Carolina Beta Chapter of Alpha OmegaAlpha, the medical honor society. Dr. Thornhillhas authored a number of journals, books andabstracts.Annual Fund CampaignComes Full Circle For AlumnusUnlike the rest of the alumni, Rick Campana,MD, Class of 1982, didn’t receive an AnnualFund solicitation letter from Michael J. Bono,MD, president of the EVMS Medical AlumniAssociation.His letter was from Mike Bono, a gentlemanhe had met nearly 30 years earlier when Dr.Campana, then a student, was among thepanelists who interviewed Mike for admissionto EVMS.When Dr. Campana’s 18-year-old son sawthe letter from Dr. Bono, he asked his dad if heknew the author. Dr. Campana had an instantflashback to when the two first met.“I interviewed a number of applicants andI can honestly tell you Dr. Bono was by far thesingle most impressive applicant,“ Dr. Campana saystoday.Dr. Campana was compelled to contribute to theAnnual Fund campaign and also to send a letter backto Dr. Bono.“It is great to know that I had some input in youracceptance to EVMS, and it’s even more rewardingto know that we have someone like you at the helm ofthe alumni association,” Dr. Campana wrote. “I agreewith you very much that EVMS is an outstandingschool, and I too, am very proud to tell everyone thatI am an alumnus of such a great medical institution.”Dr. Campana’s son has his sights set on attendingEVMS.“I am very proud of my son and I support hisdecision to pursue medicine, despite all the negativesMike Bono, MD, enjoys a light moment at the 2009Medical Alumni Reunion with Paul Phrampus, MD,left, and Dan Neumann, MD.that our profession is dealing with today,” hewrote. “Who knows, maybe when he goes forhis interview at EVMS, you will be one of thefaculty members who interviews him!”Dr. Bono’s letter touched more people thanjust Dr. Campana. This letter brought inmore than $18,000 from 65 donors for theAnnual Fund.To donate to the EVMS Annual Fund, go towww.evmsfoundation.comALUMNIwww.eVMS.EDU Fall 2009 35
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Page 37 and 38: philanthropyCosmopolitan Internatio
Page 39 and 40: Faculty and staffinvest in EVMScont

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