Tag Archives: Appointments

SOM alumnus selected new internal medicine endowed chair

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Clarkston, WendellThe UMKC School of Medicine announced that alumnus and former docent Wendell Clarkston, M.D., ’84, will serve as the new Arthur W. Robinson Endowed Chair in Internal Medicine.

The University of Missouri-matched position is based at Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, where Clarkston, a professor of medicine and director of the GI fellowship program, will continue to serve as a mentor and educator, working to promote quality care and supporting the academic path for faculty.

He called the appointment a tremendous honor and thanked leaders at the School of Medicine and Saint Luke’s and the search committee.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Department of Medicine to continue to optimize patient care and medical education at Saint Luke’s Hospital and UMKC,” Clarkston said.

In addition to his roles as academic and administrative chair of internal medicine at Saint Luke’s, Clarkston is also vice chair of the Department of Medicine for Saint Luke’s programs at the School of Medicine.

He has also held many teaching and administrative roles at the School of Medicine and Saint Luke’s. In addition to serving as a School of Medicine docent, he has been both an assistant and associate dean for graduate medical education, a member of the UMKC promotions committee and chair of the credentials and professional affairs committees. As chair of the graduate medical education council, he worked with faculty, program directors and administrators at the school’s clinical partner hospitals to ensure successful Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accreditation for many of the school’s post-graduate programs in their early years. He has also been a member of the Saint Luke’s quality board.

After receiving his medical degree from the School of Medicine, Clarkston completed both an internal medicine/pediatrics residency and a gastroenterology fellowship at UMKC. A nationally recognized expert in advanced endoscopy training, transplant hepatology and care of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, Clarkston has authored more than 80 papers, book chapters and national abstract presentations. He was honored in 2008 with the UMKC School of Medicine Alumni Achievement award.

Donald Campbell, M.D., was appointed inaugural Arthur W. Robinson Endowed Chair in Internal Medicine in 2007 and has served in the role since. During his tenure, he worked on behalf of learners and trainees in the Department of Medicine to provide quality inpatient and outpatient clinical care, develop and implement enhanced quality monitors and to retain and recruit high quality faculty.

“The UMKC/Saint Luke’s endowed chair program is a truly amazing resource for both institutions,” Campbell said. “The program facilitates the recruitment and retention of thought leaders, master clinicians and researchers to both institutions.”

School of Medicine announces two new GME program directors

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Amelia Sorensen, M.D., (left) and Devika Maulik, M.D. (right)

The School of Medicine and the Office of Graduate Medical Education have announced the appointment of two new program directors for the school’s Orthopaedic Surgery Residency program and the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship.

Amelia Sorensen, associate professor of surgery, began serving as the new program director for the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency on Sept. 1. Devika Maulik, an associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, will serve as the new Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship director beginning Nov. 1.

Sorensen joined the orthopaedic surgery staff at Truman Medical Centers in 2015 and has represented the School with numerous publications and presentations.  She received her medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis. She remained in St. Louis to complete her orthopaedic surgery residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, then went to the University of California-San Diego to complete her hand and microsurgery fellowship. She has worked nationally and internationally with the National Institutes of Health and has served as a HIVCorps Fellow.

Maulik has been a member of the School of Medicine faculty since 2015, during which time she has received numerous honors and awards from organizations including the National Institutes of Health. She has represented the school nationally and internationally through multiple publications, presentations and invited lectures.

A graduate of Weill Medical College at Cornell University, Maulik completed her residency at the University of California-Los Angeles and moved to Kansas City where she did a fellowship in maternal fetal medicine at UMKC School of Medicine before joining the faculty.

Jennifer Ramsey joins School of Medicine as STAHR program coordinator

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Jennifer Ramsey
Jennifer Ramsey

Jennifer Ramsey recently joined the staff at the School of Medicine as coordinator of the school’s $3.2-million Students in Training, in Academia, Health and Research (STAHR) pipeline grant program. She will support the grant leadership team and the senior program coordinator once those positions are filled.

Ramsey is a certified health education specialist. As such she brings to her role excellent skills in program support and coordination, data management, and reporting on analysis results for reports and strategic decision making.

In addition, she has worked in higher education at the UMKC School of Dentistry, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, and in secondary health, math, and science education while living in Arizona.

Her office will be located between the dean suite and admissions. Her contact information is:  ramseyjm@umkc.edu and 816-235-6169.

The STAHR program is a two-pronged initiative to increase the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds entering healthcare programs and better prepare them for success.

Stacey Algren, M.D., appointed chair of Council on Evaluation

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Stacey Algren, M.D.

The School of Medicine has announced that Stacey Algren, M.D., clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, will serve as the chair of the Council on Evaluation.

Algren, a 2001 graduate of the School of Medicine, begins her new role as council chair in June, 2018. The appointment is for a seven-year term that will run through 2025.

The Council on Evaluation develops and applies policies and procedures to assess the academic and professional development of medical students as they progress through the School of Medicine. Its decisions affect the careers of our students, and the Council strives to render decisions that are consistent and in the best interests of our students and the medical program.

In 2009, Algren joined the Council on Evaluation, and most recently served as the vice-chair. She also serves as associate program director for the School of Medicine’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program and maintains a busy clinical practice at Saint Luke’s Hospital on the Plaza.

After receiving her medical degree in 2001, Algren completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at UMKC. She successfully completed fellowship training in pelvic surgery at Emory University. She returned to Kansas City in 2007 and joined the staff at Saint Luke’s Hospital, where she is the medical director of the Women’s Care Clinic.

The School of Medicine also recognizes the conspicuous service of Sara E. Gardner, M.D., who completed a seven-year term as Council on Evaluation chair.

Dr. Go appointed to special purpose exam oversight committee

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Go, Steven
Steven Go, M.D.,

The Federation of State Medical Boards and National Board of Medical Examiners have appointed Steven Go, M.D., professor of emergency medicine, to serve on a newly formed Special Purpose Examination (SPEX) oversight committee.

The committee will manage a special purpose exam for physicians who currently hold, or who have previously held, a valid, unrestricted license to practice medicine in a United States or Canadian jurisdiction.

It is responsible for a wide range of exam topics, such as selecting appropriate testing methods; evaluating and approving blueprints, objectives, and test material formats; adopting test polices, and oversight of a research agenda and other uses of the exam.

The SPEX is provided for physicians seeking licensure reinstatement or reactivation, or those involved in disciplinary proceedings that determine a need for evaluation. The oversight committee is a new group that assumes the responsibilities of the governing  and program committees of the Post-Licensure Assessment System.

Go’s appointment officially began in January. His new role is a continuation of his interest in medical student and physician competency assessment and credentialing issues. He is also serving on the United States Medical Licensing Examination management committee that is responsible for all USMLE step examinations. In addition, Go has also served as a board member for the National Board of Medical Examiners.

Two UMKC SOM students selected for national ACP positions

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Maheshwari, Jung

Sixth-year medical student Rahul Maheshwari and fourth-year medical student Diana Jung have been selected to take part in national initiatives with the American College of Physicians.

Maheshwari has been chosen to participate in a four-week ACP Health Policy Internship. Jung has been selected to the ACP’s national Council of Student Members. The appointments were announced by the ACP Missouri Chapter following its inaugural Advocacy Day at the Missouri state capital in Jefferson City in March.

At the end of April, Maheshwari will travel to Washington, D.C., where he will work directly with ACP staff. The internship provides medical students learning opportunities in health policy and advocacy.

Interns also learn about the legislative process as they assist in the research and analysis of current health and medical issues and policies. Part of Maheshwari’s role will be that of advocate, attending Congressional hearing and coalition meetings and working with government affairs staff in lobbying efforts with members of Congress. He will also be part of leading the ACP’s Leadership Day to discuss medical issues of particular interest to medical students and residents/fellows.

Jung was selected to an at-large position with Council of Student Members. The group works closely with the ACP Board of Regents and Board of Governors to review programs, products and services. It also promotes internal medicine as a career, the value of ACP membership to medical students, and aligns council activities with the ACP’s strategic plan.

ACP is a national organization of more than 150,000 internists, internal medicine subspecialists, medical students, residents and fellows. It is the largest medical-specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States.

Brandt Wible, M.D., appointed interim chair of radiology

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Brandt Wible, M.D.

School of Medicine Dean Steven L. Kanter, M.D., has appointed Brandt Wible, M.D., interim chair of the Department of Radiology effective April 1, 2018. Under Wible’s leadership, the Department of Radiology will continue its important role in the School of Medicine’s undergraduate and postgraduate education and research programs.

Wible received his M.D. from the Rush Medical College. He completed his residency in diagnostic radiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin and a fellowship in interventional radiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Wible is a former United States Peace Corps Volunteer and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters and recently published a second edition of a textbook on interventional procedures in radiology. His clinical interests include oncologic and vascular imaging and treatment and clinical research at Saint Luke’s Plaza and Lee’s Summit Hospitals.

Kanter expressed his thanks and appreciation to Jeffrey Kunin, M.D., for his leadership as interim chair of the UMKC School of Medicine from 2016 to 2018.

Betty Drees appointed president of the Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research

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Former School of Medicine Dean Betty M. Drees, M.D., F.A.C.P., has been appointed president of the Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.

“We are fortunate to have recruited a physician-scientist of Betty Drees’ caliber to lead the Stowers graduate program,” said Robb Krumlauf, a member of the Board of Directors and scientific director of the Stowers Institute. “Her pioneering work in the study of type 2 diabetes mellitus and her experience training medical students in the art and science of biological investigation will prove invaluable in shaping our young scientists into tomorrow’s leaders.”

With more than 25 years in clinical practice, research, education, and administration, Drees is Dean Emerita and the immediate past dean of the School of Medicine. She served thirteen years in that role, from 2001-2014.

“It is an honor to be elected to lead the program at the Graduate School of the Stowers Institute,” said Drees. “The graduate school has a very committed faculty and talented predoctoral researchers, so I hope the administrative experience I bring can help them continue to grow. I want to help the researchers who join the program meet their career goals and get experience that prepares them for the future.”

Drees serves as an endocrinologist and a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics at UMKC, roles she will continue to serve concurrently with her role at the Graduate School of the Stowers Institute.

Her interests center around community impact and improved quality of health care, such as prevention of diabetes mellitus and prevention of fractures. She leads a study on community interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus, titled “Reducing the Burden of Diabetes in the KC Area: Accelerating Innovation through Collaboration” and funded by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City. She currently serves as president of the Community Leadership Board of the Kansas City American Diabetes Association.

School of Medicine appoints new William T. and Marjorie Sirridge Professor in Medical Humanities

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Brian Carter, M.D.

The UMKC School of Medicine has announced that Brian Carter, M.D., will serve as the next William T. and Marjorie Sirridge Professor in Medical Humanities.

Carter joined the School of Medicine and Children’s Mercy Hospital in 2012 as a Professor of Pediatrics and Bioethics. He serves as co-director of the Children’s Mercy Bioethics Center’s Pediatric Bioethics Certificate Course and practices at Children’s Mercy Hospital as a neonatologist.

An internationally-recognized expert in medical bioethics and neonatal palliative care, Dr. Carter is the recipient of numerous NIH grants. He has published extensively in the areas of neonatology, neonatal intensive care, palliative care, and bioethics. Carter is the author of three textbooks on neonatal intensive and palliative care.

Carter is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He completed his postgraduate training at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

He is board certified in pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine. Carter served as an active duty U.S. Army Medical Corps officer from 1983 though 1996 and is a decorated Gulf War veteran.

The William T. and Marjorie Sirridge Professorship in Medical Humanities was endowed in 2008 though the generosity of Drs. William and Marjorie Sirridge, two of the UMKC School of Medicine’s Founding Docents.

SOM announces interim chair of psychiatry

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Dr. Stephen Jarvis

The UMKC School of Medicine has announced that Stephen Jarvis, M.D., will serve as interim academic chair of the UMKC Department of Psychiatry.

Jarvis received his medical degree from University of Missouri-Columbia, and completed residency and fellowship training from the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

As a UMKC faculty member, Jarvis has held multiple administrative positions at Truman Medical Centers and at the former Western Missouri Mental Health Center. He serves as the associate chief medical officer and clinical department chair for Psychiatry at Truman Medical Centers.

Jarvis assumed his new role on November 20, 2017.

He replaces Nash Boutros, M.D., who served as chair of the UMKC Department of Psychiatry and  medical director for the Center for Behavioral Medicine from 2014 to 2017. Boutros, a professor of psychiatry, holds tenure in the department of Biomedical and Health Informatics. Boutros will remain at UMKC to continue his research program.