Tag Archives: Faculty

Army skills come to the physician assistant program

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Major David Walker announced as faculty member in the PA Program

Major David Walker has been added as a new faculty member to the Physician Assistant (PA) program at the UMKC School of Medicine. Walker’s path to UMKC was a bit unique.

Initially, Walker came to the department for an internship through the Army Career Skills Program, which sponsored his time at UMKC. The Army initiative helps veterans transition to civilian careers. During the internship, Walker worked closely with the PA faculty on day-to-day delivery of the curriculum, while he was involved in all aspects in the classroom including skills instruction and assessment.

Julie Banderas, assistant dean, Graduate Health and Professions, said it’s the first time the Physician Assistant program has worked with the Army Skills Program. “We saw this as an excellent opportunity with mutual benefits,” she said.

Walker experienced many teaching opportunities in the military, teaching areas such as biology as well as training medics and mentoring fellow troops. “As you move up the ranks in the military, you’re always looking behind you to train your subordinates and bring them up as well,” he said. “Those opportunities gave me a great deal of experience with the student-teacher and mentor-mentee dynamic.”

According to Walker, there was much to like about UMKC and its PA program. “I was drawn to the mission at UMKC, how involved they are with the community,” he said. “The program’s emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion was important as well and their focus on recruiting students with diverse backgrounds.”

Walker enlisted straight out of high school, two weeks after graduation to be exact. “With my birthday in July,” he said “I wasn’t even 18 yet at the start of basic training.”

He originally served as a military intelligence technician. According to Walker, the job sounds like a big deal but adds, “I was basically an IT guy.” An “IT guy” with top security clearance nonetheless. He worked the first couple of years for the National Security Agency, deployed in Iraq. That’s where he met his wife and after their son was born, he began looking at his future after the military.

He landed on the physician assistant program through the military, an inter-service PA program accredited through the University of Nebraska. Through the program, military members train at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, then perform clinical rotations at a military treatment facility. Through the program, he not only received his bachelor’s degree but a master’s degree and then a commissioning to officer as a first lieutenant as well.

Walker was drawn to a physician assistant career for a number reasons, in particular the challenge the position would offer. “I like putting puzzles together,” he said. “My patient is telling me their symptoms, I’m performing the physical exam. I’m finding the pieces to put together to figure out a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan with them.”

According to Eric Johnson, program director for the PA program, Walker is a great addition to the team in the PA program.

“Major Walker’s military experience, while significant, is not the only contribution he brings to the PA program,” Johnson said. “He brings racial and gender diversity to the program faculty as well as a role model to all our students, but especially to those whose background and experience may be similar. Often overlooked is David’s correctional medicine experience, which presents unique complexities that few clinicians encounter.”

The UMKC Master of Medical Science Physician Assistant Program is a seven-semester program based in the UMKC School of Medicine and has been accredited since 2014, with more than 100 alumni PAs. Walker joins a faculty team of three other full-time PA faculty members and nearly 60 current students.

School of Medicine’s Peter Koulen honored for achievements, advocacy in vision research

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Koulen, Peter
Peter Koulen, Ph.D.

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) has recognized Peter Koulen, Ph.D., director of basic research at the UMKC School of Medicine’s Vision Research Center, with a major honor, its 2021 Achievements in Eye and Vision Advocacy Award.

ARVO is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. As part of its annual Advocacy Awards, the Achievements in Eye and Vision Advocacy Award recognizes members who have dedicated the core of their careers to advancing eye and vision research.

Koulen, a professor of ophthalmology and biomedical sciences, is the School of Medicine’s Felix and Carmen Sabates Missouri Endowed Chair in Vision Research. He is an internationally recognized expert in biophysics, biochemistry and physiology of nerve cells with more than 50 extramural grants totaling more than $15 million. His focus on the retina as part of the central nervous system has resulted in peer-reviewed publications in more than 100 prestigious journals. He has also received three patents.

Koulen said the award from ARVO is an “amazing honor” that underscores the importance of his research efforts.

“The many opportunities ARVO has afforded me during my professional career taught me early on that service and giving back are not just integral to research, but are the key ingredients to growing research programs and maximizing their impact,” he said. “The award will also serve as a constant reminder to me that the important work of advocating and providing outreach opportunities for eye and vision research is never done.”

Koulen is a review panel member for national and international funding agencies including the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institutes of Health. While chair of ARVO’s Advocacy and Outreach Committee, Koulen participated in Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill to discuss the importance of increasing funding for the NIH and the National Eye Institute.

This is the latest major award Koulen has received for his research at UMKC. The university Board of Trustees also honored Koulen in 2020 with its Trustees’ Faculty Fellow Award given to an established faculty member for a nationally and internationally recognized record of research and creative achievements at UMKC.

SOM researcher receives NIH grant to study treatment for chronic lung disease

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UMKC School of Medicine researcher Paula Monaghan Nichols, Ph.D., has received a $867,000 National Institutes of Health grant to look into a treatment that minimizes neurological side effects for a chronic lung disease that affects a significant number of premature babies.

The project is part of a multi-principle investigator initiated proposal between Monaghan Nichols, Dr. Venkatesh Sampath from Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City, and Dr. Donald DeFranco at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, that totals more than $3 million in NIH funding over a 5-year period.

The research will explore the use of Ciclesonide (CIC), an inhaled steroid currently used to treat asthma, as an alternate therapy for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). BDP causes tissue damage in the tiny air sacs of the lung leading to severe respiratory distress. It is often the result premature birth and mechanical oxygen ventilation. The disease touches nearly seven of 10 infants born before 28 weeks of gestation. In the United States, that is an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 babies a year.

There is currently no cure for BPD but clinical treatments to limit inflammation and the progression of BPD include long-acting synthetic drugs such as dexamethasone. Those drugs, however, also come with a significant risk of adverse effects on a child’s systemic growth and neurodevelopment that can lead to long-lasting changes in brain structure and function.

Monaghan Nichols, associate dean for research, professor and chair of Biomedical Sciences, said infants that acquire BPD face significant mortality rates. Survivors often have recurrent hospital visits, need for respiratory therapies and persistent limitations in pulmonary function.

“Therefore, there remains a need for a pharmacotherapy for BPD in neonates that will have beneficial anti-inflammatory and lung maturation effects, but limited adverse neurological side effects,” Monaghan Nichols said.

Preliminary studies have found that Ciclesonide, even with intermittent doses, can suppress acute lung inflammation with limited neurological alterations in rat models.

“Given the established safety of CIC in very young children, the clinical translation of our proposed studies to human neonates could be expedited, particularly given the limited, safe and effective therapeutic options available for treating or preventing BPD in susceptible premature infants,” Monaghan Nichols said.

Dr. Beth Rosemergey chosen as new chair of Community and Family Medicine

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The UMKC School of Medicine and University Health have announced the appointment of Beth Rosemergey, D.O., as the new chair of the Department of Community and Family Medicine. Her appointment takes effect Jan. 10, 2022.

Rosemergey, an associate professor of community and family medicine, currently serves as vice chair of the department. She is also medical director of the Bess Truman Family Medicine Center at University Health Lakewood Hospital and director of the Family Medicine residency program and will continue in those roles as well.

A 1988 graduate of the Kansas City University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine, now Kansas City University, Rosemergey completed her community and family medicine residency, including a year as chief resident, at UMKC before joining the School of Medicine faculty in 2016.

“I am honored to be appointed as chair of the Department of Community and Family Medicine and work with an amazing group of faculty, fellows and residents,” Rosemergey said. “I hope to partner with our patients, learners, healthcare system, medical school and community to develop innovative ways to serve our patients by expanding primary care access, educational endeavors and scholarship.”

Rosemergey is an active member of many committees and boards. She is on the Physician NTT Initial Academic Appointment and Promotion Committee, the Professional Development Committee, Graduate Medical Education Committee and Honor Council.  She is also a co-faculty advisor for the School of Medicine chapter of Gold Humanism Honor Society and a mentor in the Faculty Mentor Program. With University Health, she serves on the Physicians Board of Directors and Finance Committee. She is also a board member on the Kansas City and Missouri Academies of Family.

In 2020, the Independence Examiner honored Rosemergey with a Woman of Distinction Award. The award recognizes outstanding women of Eastern Jackson County, Missouri, in in the fields of business, government, education and non-profits based on their accomplishments and community involvement.

Stephen Griffith, M.D, professor and past chair of community and family medicine, has served as interim department and academic chair since April. Beginning Jan. 10, he will serve as vice chair for the department.

SOM researcher receives NIH grant to study treatment for chronic lung disease

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Monaghan-Nichols, Paula
Paula Monaghan-Nichols, Ph.D.

UMKC School of Medicine researcher Paula Monaghan Nichols, Ph.D., has received a $867,000 National Institutes of Health grant to look into a treatment that minimizes neurological side effects for a chronic lung disease that affects a significant number of premature babies.

The project is part of a multi-principle investigator initiated proposal between Dr. Monaghan Nichols, Dr Venkatesh Sampath from Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City, and Dr. Donald DeFranco at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, that totals more than $3 million in NIH funding over a 5-year period.

The research will explore the use of Ciclesonide (CIC), an inhaled steroid currently used to treat asthma, as an alternate therapy for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). BDP causes tissue damage in the tiny air sacs of the lung leading to severe respiratory distress. It is often the result premature birth and mechanical oxygen ventilation. The disease touches nearly seven of 10 infants born before 28 weeks of gestation. In the United States, that is an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 babies a year.

There is currently no cure for BPD but clinical treatments to limit inflammation and the progression of BPD include long-acting synthetic drugs such as dexamethasone. Those drugs, however, also come with a significant risk of adverse effects on a child’s systemic growth and neurodevelopment that can lead to long-lasting changes in brain structure and function.

Monaghan Nichols, associate dean for research, professor and chair of Biomedical Sciences, said infants that acquire BPD face significant mortality rates. Survivors often have recurrent hospital visits, need respiratory therapies and experience persistent limitations in pulmonary function.

“Therefore, there remains a need for a pharmacotherapy for BPD in neonates that will have beneficial anti-inflammatory and lung maturation effects, but limited adverse neurological side effects,” Monaghan Nichols said.

Preliminary studies have found that Ciclesonide, even with intermittent doses, can suppress acute lung inflammation with limited neurological alterations in rat models.

“Given the established safety of CIC in very young children, the clinical translation of our proposed studies to human neonates could be expedited, particularly given the limited, safe and effective therapeutic options available for treating or preventing BPD in susceptible premature infants,” Monaghan Nichols said.

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.

SOAP Notes

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SOAP Notes
for August 2021

Peter Koulen, Ph.D., director of the UMKC Vision Research Center, has been named to the editorial board of the journal, Neurochemical Research. He will serve a permanent appointment on the board after previously serving as a peer-reviewer and contributing author. He has also been selected to chair a National Institutes of Health panel that reviews neuroscience research in general and neuropathology, new therapies and diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases in particular.

Sixth-year medical student Divya Jain is participating in the Jerome H. Grossman, M.D., Graduate Fellowship in the Healthcare Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Recipients of the highly competitive award are selected on the basis of potential for and commitment to contributing to the shaping of health care policy in the United States. Licensed physicians are given first preference for the award but consideration may also be given to accomplished candidates currently pursuing their medical degree. Fellowship recipients receive full tuition and fees to pursue a two-year master’s degree in public policy or administration. As part of the curriculum, fellows are invited to participate in symposia, workshops and other activities at Harvard that explore health care policy.

We want to know what is going on at the UMKC School of Medicine. Send us your story ideas and we will consider them for publication in “SOAP Notes,” a new feature on our School of Medicine PRN news page that will include short, interesting tidbits about our students, faculty and staff.

To submit a note or story idea, email edwardske@umkc.edu:
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Your email:
Student ___ / Faculty ___ / Staff ___
Story idea or note (150 words or less):

Medicine students make strong showing in annual Health Sciences Student Research Summit

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Health Sciences Student Research SummitThe UMKC School of Medicine made a strong showing with 10 students among the winners in the 10th annual UMKC Health Sciences Student Research Summit. For the second year in a row, the event that takes place each May was held in a week-long virtual, online format.

Students from the schools of medicine, pharmacy and biological and chemical sciences shared their research with 20 PowerPoint and oral presentations and 31 poster presentation during the week. More than 50 students participated in this year’s event.

Caroline Olson won first place with her oral PowerPoint presentation in the graduate division for fifth- and sixth-year medical students, master’s degree and Pharm.D. students and medical residents. Sejla Turnadzic and Karina Shah tied for third place for poster presentations.

In the undergraduate division for first-year through fourth-year medicine and biological and chemical sciences students, Parth Patel and Rohan Ahuja tied for first place in poster presentations. Siddarth Balaji was the first-place winner for oral PowerPoint presentation. Anika Mittal place second and Ahuja was third in poster presentations. Josephine Nwanka and Anthony Le tied for second and Fahad Qureshi was third in oral PowerPoint presentations.

The summit promotes collaborations across disciplines and schools to produce economic, health, education and quality of life benefits for the Kansas City community in a forum that brings the UMKC health sciences community together to highlight student research.

A panel of judges from the School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy and Children’s Mercy Kansas City hospital selected the top three in each category.

2021 Health Sciences Student Research Summit

Graduate Clinical Poster Presentations

(BA/MD and MD Years 5 and 6 medical students, master’s students, Pharm.D. students and medical residents)

1st Place: Nitish R. Mishra, School of Pharmacy. Method Development of Stable Isotope-Labeled Marfey’s Reagent Derivatized Physiological Amino Acids Stereoisomers Using LCMS 9030 Q-ToF. Authors: Nitish R. Mishra, Amar Deep Sharma and William G. Gutheil. Mentor: William G. Gutheil

2nd Place: Jordan Frangello, School of Pharmacy. Impact of a Pharmacist-led Preventative Screening Intervention During Comprehensive Medication Reviews. Authors: Jordan Frangello, Yifei Liu and Chad Cadwell. Mentor: Yifei Liu

3rd Place Tie: Sejla Turnadzic, School of Medicine. Influence of Racial Disparities on Length of Stay in Hospital in Patients with Cerebral Venous Thrombosis. Authors: Leslie Shang, Sadhika Jagannathan, Sejla Turnadzic, Divya Jain, Monica Gaddis, Jean-Baptiste Le Pichon. Mentor: Jean-Baptiste Le Pichon

3rd Place Tie: Karina Shah, School of Medicine. The Impact of COVID-19 on the Clinical Component of the Surgical Clerkship. Authors: Karina Shah, Donya Jahandar, Christopher Veit, Jennifer Quaintance and Michael Moncure. Mentor: Michael Moncure

Graduate Oral PowerPoint Presentations

(BA/MD and MD Years 5 and 6 medical students, master’s students, Pharm.D. students and medical residents)

1st Place: Caroline Olson, School of Medicine. Systemic Fat Embolism-Induced Accumulation of Fat Droplets in the Rat Retina. Authors: Caroline G. Olson, Landon Rohowetz, M.D., and Peter Koulen, Ph.D. Mentor: Peter Koulen

2nd Place: Shelby Brown, School of Biological and Computer Sciences. Phase separation of both a plant virus movement protein and cellular factors support virus-host interactions. Authors: Shelby Brown and Jared May. Mentor: Jared May

3rd Place: Nitish R. Mishra, School of Pharmacy. Application of LCMS 9030 Q-ToF in Biomarkers Analysis for Pre-term vs. Term Delivery Patients. Authors: Nitish R. Mishra, Donald DeFranco, Paula Monaghan-Nichols and William G. Gutheil. Mentor: William G. Gutheil

Undergraduate Poster Presentations

(BA/MD and MD Years 1 to 4 medical students, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences students)

1st Place Tie: Parth Patel, School of Medicine. Predicting Recurrent Coarctation of the Aorta in Infants with Single Ventricle Heart Disease Using Home Monitoring Data. Authors: Parth S. Patel, Shil Shah, Keith Feldman, Lori A. Erickson, Amy Ricketts, Hayley Hancock and Ryan A. Romans. Mentor: Ryan Romans

1st Place Tie: Rohan Ahuja, School of Medicine. Intracellular calcium changes in intact mouse heart mediated by Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 – implications for chronic kidney disease. Authors: Rohan Ahuja, Shaan Patel, Nabeel Rasheed, Derek Wang, Julian A. Vallejo and Michael J. Wacker. Mentor: Michael Wacker

2nd Place: Anika Mittal, School of Medicine. Vascular Inflammation in the Brain Following Fat Emboli. Authors: Anika Mittal, Fahad Qureshi, Suban Burale, Neerupma Silswal, Alan Poisner, Agostino Molteni and Paula Monaghan Nichols. Mentor: Paula Monaghan Nichols

3rd Place: Rohan Ahuja, School of Medicine. Absence of Cardiac Immune Pathology in a Rat Model of Fat Embolism Syndrome. Authors: VanDillen A, VanDillen M, Hamidpour S, MateescuV, SilswalN, Wacker M, Patel S, Vallejo J, Ahuja R, Monaghan Nichols AP, SalzmanG, Poisner A, Molteni A. Mentor: Michael Wacker

Undergraduate Oral PowerPoint Presentations

(BA/MD and MD Years 1 to 4 Medical students, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences students)

1st Place: Siddharth Balaji, School of Medicine. Comparing Usage of FDA 510(k) and Premarket Approval Pathways within Orthopaedics to Other Specialties. Authors: Siddharth Balaji and Jonathan Dubin. Author: Jonathan Dubin

2nd Place Tie: Josephine Nwankwo, School of Medicine. Increasing Representation of Black Women in Orthopedics Starts with Medical Students. Authors: Josephine Nwankwo and Ali Khan. Mentor: Dr. Ali Khan

2nd Place Tie: Anthony Le, School of Medicine. Patient Perception of Paralysis-Inducing Spinal Cord Injury Through Twitter and Instagram. Avi Gajjar, Anthony Huy Dinh Le, Rachel C Jacobs and Nitin Agarwal. Mentor: Avi Gajjar

3rd Place: Fahad Qureshi, School of Medicine. Social Determinants for Explaining Disparities in COVID-19 Rates: A Population Analysis From 10 Large Metropolitan Areas. Authors: Aarya Ramprasad, Fahad Qureshi, Bridgette L. Jones and Brian R. Lee. Mentor: Bridgette Jones

SOM’s Dr. Bridgette Jones receives Gold Award for Humanistic Care

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Bridgette L. Jones, M.D., M.S.C.R., associate professor of pediatrics and assistant academic dean in the medical school’s Office of Student Affairs, is one of three UMKC health care community members recognized by the University as 2021 Gold Foundation Champions of Humanistic Care.

She will be among those from across the country honored at a virtual gala June 10, where three national honorees, including Anthony Fauci, M.D., will also be recognized.

The three winners were all nominated by the UMKC School of Medicine and its dean, Mary Anne Jackson, M.D. Joining Jones, an allergy, asthma and immunology specialist at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, as award winners are Obie Austin, F.N.P., M.S.N., UMKC Student Health and Wellness director and UMKC School of Nursing alum, and Pam Bean, R.N., B.S.N., M.H.S.A., M.B.A., Truman Medical Centers/University Health vice president for practice management and ambulatory care.

Sharing vital information

Jones was commended for working to ensure humanistic care for patients, providing COVID-19 education along with other trusted messengers and sharing her voice to eliminate health inequities for those most affected by the pandemic.

Her activities included working with a medical student leader to distribute masks to medical centers and communities in need, and collaborating with a faculty colleague to launch a fund-raising campaign to support Children’s Mercy employees who had unexpected financial need during the pandemic. She also discussed COVID-19 with community teenagers to answer their questions and was the host and moderator of a panel discussion with other trusted physicians and faculty focused on COVID-19 disease and vaccination in the Black community of Kansas City.

“Over the past year the pandemic has brought so much grief, sorrow, loss and pain to so many individuals, communities and our entire world,” Jones said. “I have been blessed to have my calling and purpose as a physician and as a human being to be a helper. I am blessed and privileged to be able to use my knowledge, skills and my voice to advocate and speak up for those who are most often thought of last or not thought of at all.”

Caring and collaborating

Austin, the longtime director of student health services for the university, was praised as “one of our true heroes over the past year” for his leadership in fostering a culture of care and service. He was commended for quickly learning about COVID-19 and continuing to say up on the latest information so he could be a trusted source for the broader UMKC community and as a member of the university’s Coronavirus Planning Team.

“Providing care never takes the back seat,” Austin said. “I learned that from so many beautiful souls that poured into me as a student here at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s School of Nursing and Health Studies, and it has been an honor to give back to the community educators making a difference in the Kansas City community.”

Austin, a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves, reflected on the past year.

“This war on COVID has tested our resiliency, fueled our compassion for others and most definitely our ability to see each other in an equal light fighting together as one people to save our humanity,” he said.

Rapid response throughout pandemic

Bean was praised for her efforts that kept Truman Medical Centers, a vital member of the UMKC Health Sciences District and a key affiliate for the School of Medicine, on top of the pandemic. Her nomination for the award said Bean “could not have been replaced in the early, uncertain days of the pandemic.” She helped design the protocols that enabled TMC to initially provide more than 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines, and her quick work allowed TMC to be the first medical center in the metro area to vaccinate its staff.

“Providers worked quickly, and with compassion, to match the cruel reality of patients dying without family by their bedside,” Bean said. “Patients turned to providers for emotional support, and I am proud of my team for answering that need while offering high-quality, comprehensive care.”

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is dedicated to the proposition that health care will be dramatically improved by placing the interests, values and dignity of all people at the core of teaching and practice. In addition to Fauci, this year’s national Gold Awards will honor Wayne Riley, M.D., president of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and head of the Board of Trustees of the New York Academy of Medicine, and Eric Topol, M.D., founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and professor of molecular medicine at the Scripps Research Institute.

School of Medicine announces changes in Department of Community and Family Medicine

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O'Dell, Michael
Michael O’Dell, M.D.

Change is coming to the UMKC School of Medicine Department of Community and Family Medicine where Michael O’Dell, M.D., chair of the department, has announced his retirement after nearly 40 years in academic medicine.

The School of Medicine announced that R. Stephen Griffith, M.D, has been appointed interim department and academic chair while a search for a permanent chair is completed. The appointment is effective April 12. Griffith previously served nine years as chairman of the department.

“I am pleased to be asked to serve as interim chair during the time of transition from Dr. O’Dell’s leadership until a new permanent chair is named,” Griffith said. “As a previous chair, I know the challenges of the position and look forward to working with the outstanding faculty of the department to prepare for the next chapter in the department’s journey.”

Griffith, Robert Stephen
R. Stephen Griffith, M.D.

Griffith is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine and completed his Family Medicine residency at the University of Arizona. A faculty member in the UMKC Department of Community and Family Medicine and Truman Medical Centers medical staff member since 1984, he was chair of Community and Family Medicine from 2001 until 2010. He has also served as residency program director and as the school’s rural health director.

O’Dell announced his retirement effective July 1. He will take a 10-week personal and educational enrichment break beginning April 12.

During his appointment as chair of Community and Family Medicine starting in 2010, O’Dell furthered the department’s clinical, educational, and scholarly missions. He also significantly expanded the faculty.

Before coming to UMKC, he served on faculty and held leadership positions at the University of Kansas, the University of Texas Medical Branch, the University of Alabama Birmingham’s Huntsville Campus, and the North Mississippi Medical Center.

O’Dell is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Medicine and the University of Kansas Family Medicine residency program. He served on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserves and retired holding the rank of captain. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and other awards during his Naval career and was deployed in the first Gulf War.