Alumni Notes

Richard T. Silver, M.D. ’53 chaired the 16th International Congress on Myeloproliferative Neoplasms, which was held in New York City last Oct. 24–25.

Bernie Siegel, M.D. ’57 writes, “Age 92 and still going strong, but more slowly to conserve my energy. I am no longer referred to as ‘the controversial Dr. Bernie Siegel,’ as medicine has opened up to personal empowerment and health and spirituality. I also find the power of patients’ drawings of themselves, and their disease and treatments, can be very insightful. I love the comments from patients who decided to stop everything and do what made them happy and then didn’t die because of the rewards of their changes in life. So, draw yourself working as a doctor and pay attention to what you learn.”

Lawrence Raymond, M.D. ’64 writes, “I retired from Atrium Health and the Medical Corps of the United States Navy last August, so Claire and I are enjoying ourselves in Charlotte’s Windsor Run. Great spot!”

Pat Downs Berger, M.D. ’66 writes, “I am physically healthy, mentally pretty good, but do miss seeing my classmates! Still working on getting a single-payer health-care system for Massachusetts!!!”

Andrew Dahl, M.D. ’66 writes, “Although I remain medically involved as chief medical editor of ophthalmology at WebMD, my retirement from patient care in 2017 has allowed me to undertake a project that has been on the back burner for 20 years. My book, ‘Finding Rose: The Search for my Grandmother,’ has finally been published. It is a historical memoir, spanning three continents, and chronicles the life and fate of my maternal grandmother, Rose Liepmann Oppenheim, a German Jew, during the Holocaust. The book highlights the efforts of my mother, then in China (where I was born), and her two brothers, one in Palestine and the other in the United States, to save her. I never met my grandmother. However, thanks to hundreds of letters written from Rose to her children, and other family documents preserved in old leather ‘suitcases of sadness’ for 80 years, I have come to know her.”

Charles H. Hennekens, M.D, ’67 was named the first Sir Richard Doll Professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine and senior academic advisor to the dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine of Florida Atlantic University.

George A. Arangio, M.D. ’69 published “We Talk with God: A scripture-based guide to God’s advice that will boost our spiritual energy, bring us peace, and enrich our lives.” It is a Christian book that includes ecumenical topical verses, historical references and other eclectic citations, and is available in e-book and paperback from Amazon.

Peter W. Blumencranz, M.D. ’70 writes, “I have stopped clinical practice in surgical oncology. I am now the medical director of the BayCare Cancer Institute, BayCare Health System in Tampa Bay, Fla.”

Warrick L. Barrett, M.D. ’75 shares, “During my recent stay at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo, I attended the Cornell Club of Japan’s 2024 holiday party. Earlier that day, it was my good fortune to meet Mr. Edward Robinson, one of the organizers of the party. When we learned that we both studied at Cornell, he invited me to the party. When we sang the Cornell alma mater, I volunteered to lead. It was an extremely enjoyable event! I hope to attend a future party.”

Stephen L. Hoffman, M.D. ’75 writes, “2024 was an exciting year. Kim Lee and I welcomed our fourth and fifth grandchildren, Sophia and Charlotte. Our first-generation malaria vaccine, Sanaria’s PfSPZ Vaccine, was shown to protect pregnant women in Mali against plasmodium falciparum infection for two years without boosting, and our company, Sanaria, won the Best Logistics Technology and Cold Chain Delivery Award at the Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) Awards. I also received the Walter Reed Medal from the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene for ‘distinguished accomplishment in the field of tropical medicine.’ ”

Vincent deLuise, M.D. ’77 retired from the clinical practice of ophthalmology. He still teaches on the volunteer faculty at Yale University. He is also on the volunteer faculty at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, in the medical humanities and bioethics program. He works with medical students on “Slow Looking at Art and Slow Listening to Music” techniques in the tool kit of clinical diagnosis.

Bruce Ring, M.D. ’79 reports, “The plan in retirement was to continue to make my regular trips providing medical care in Haiti. With intermittent electricity and no internet, the challenge of diagnosis based only on my personal skills and stethoscope, and perusing a closet of samples for treatment, required focus but was stimulating. My introduction of point-of-care ultrasound to this impoverished rural area as the only imaging of any kind has been a high point of my career, with a major impact on maternal-child health. I have since provided care to Ukrainian refugees along the Polish border, taught primary care in the Middle East and deployed to a North Carolina medical clinic after Hurricane Helene. I am always looking for a new experience. I am enjoying our (increasing number of) grandchildren and lots of time on Cape Cod.”

Harley A. Rotbart, M.D. ’79 shares, “We lovingly welcomed our sixth grandchild in 2024, with a seventh due in 2025. I am trying to find the energy to keep up with all of them and with my wife, Sara, who is the best ‘Gramma’ ever. Now retired from my academic career in pediatric infectious diseases for more than 11 years, my soft landing has been writing for real people rather than for doctors and scientists. It’s a relief not to have to worry about a ‘Materials and Methods’ section. My eighth book is a book for young kids based on baseball. It will be published by an imprint of Bloomsbury, the publishers of the Harry Potter books. My co-author, Ken Davidoff, is the former head baseball writer for the New York Post and the foreword is written by NY Mets all-time great David Wright. After that, a book is already in progress about aging. Wishes to everyone for health, happiness and peace in 2025.”

Mark Heitner, M.D. ’80 reports, “I have closed my psychiatry practice and am a graduate student at the Royal College of Art.”

Tim Fischell, M.D. ’81 writes that he is “doing great. Still practicing; running an interventional cardiology fellowship at Ascension Borgess Hospital. My four start-up companies progressing well.”

Roger Blumenthal, M.D. ’85 shares, “I enjoy keeping up with Dave Blaustein, M.D. ’85, Steve Berger, M.D. ’85 and Troy Elander, M.D. ’85. I am busy at Johns Hopkins Cardiology and with American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines activities. Looking forward to our next reunion.”

Sara Dayan Kaner, M.D. ’86 writes, “My husband and I lost our home of 23 years in the fire in Pacific Palisades, along with all our possessions, except a day or two of necessities, computers and our two cats. Our current plan is to rent nearby for two years and rebuild on our property. In my ongoing life apart from that, I’ve been doing musical theater and been cast in two or three community productions each year, while continuing to improve my skills in singing, acting and dancing. I’m taking a break from working in child and adolescent psychiatry for now and am not sure if I’ll return. My husband continues to work as a chemistry professor at UCLA. Both daughters live in Portland, Ore., and our son works on ski patrol in South Lake Tahoe. I’m hoping to attend our 40th reunion in 2026 and to reconnect with old friends.”

Theresa M. Rohr-Kirchgraber, M.D. ’88 and Paul Kirchgraber, M.D. ’88 share, “Paul has recently joined the faculty at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, which is on track to become the University of Georgia School of Medicine in 2026. Great for both of us to be on faculty as the new school becomes a reality. Lots of travel for both of us as we make up for lost time. All those hours of study and learning have been put to good use, and now we are both working to establish the new generation of physicians. Thanks to all who came to our reunion. Had a great time!”

Karen E. Lasser, M.D. ’95, M.P.H. shares, “For the past two years, I have been working as a senior editor at JAMA, which I have really enjoyed. I am excited to have my first sabbatical and will be living with my family in Florence, Italy, until the end of June 2025.”

Gerald Simons, P.A. ’95 was recently selected as the National Surgical Physician Assistant Preceptor of the Year by the American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants (AASPA). AASPA represents more than 24,000 PAs, PA residents and PA students.

Manisha Juthani-Mehta, M.D. ’98 writes, “It was great to be back on campus for our 25th reunion. I really enjoyed participating in the entrepreneurship and innovation panel, seeing the new (and old) dorm and connecting with old friends.”

Henry Wei, M.D. ’02 shares, “I enjoyed the Dean’s Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship on Dec. 18. It was great seeing how the campus has upgraded, and I enjoyed popping over to see Jon Zippin, M.D., Ph.D. ’06 and his lab. I later hustled over to Naomi Hayashi, M.D. ’02’s practice, Apple Ophthalmology, at 8 W. 38th St. Naomi and I have collaborated on some things since our residencies. I’d love to hear from other ’02-era classmates and co-residents, especially anyone interested in a brief 1–2-minute cameo on my YouTube experiment, DoctorTypes.com. As always, first, do no harm, second, get home for dinner. Cheers.”

Aasim Padela, M.D. ’05 writes, “I recently had a monograph published: ‘Maqasid Al-Shariah and Biomedicine: Bridging Moral, Ethical, and Policy Discourses.’ This book addresses a notable gap in scholarship by exploring links between the maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah (the principles that guide Islamic law) and contemporary health care. By addressing questions about the relevance of maqāsid to health and societal well-being, and their potential to inform health-care practices and policies, the book lays the essential groundwork for scholarly engagement at the intersection of Islamic law and biomedicine.”

Alejandro Garcia, M.D. ’07 was promoted to associate professor of pediatric surgery and named vice chair of diversity, equity and inclusion in the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine. He also was inducted into the Society of University Surgeons.

Ali Thrope, M.D. ’18 writes, “I am excited to be finishing a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship in June and to be starting an attending position as an oncology hospitalist at Northwell Health’s Cohen Children’s Medical Center!”

Peter Hung, M.D. ’18 shares, “I am a neuroradiologist at Main Street Radiology in Queens, where we cover NewYork-Presbyterian Queens hospital. My wife and I welcomed our son Winston in July 2024.”

Roberta Weisbrod, Ph.D. ’71 writes, “Still active: running the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association, where we conduct research on sudden hazardous weather precursors at sea, secure grants, consult with the World Bank, sponsor design competitions for maritime students and convene conferences. I am married, with three children and three grandchildren. My husband, Judge David Trager, passed, and I am remarried to Harry Klug. I make Shabbat. I am also friends with Noel Relyea, Ph.D. ’73.”

Neela Winkelmann (née Heyrovská), Ph.D. ’97 writes, “This is the first time I am reaching out to former classmates and alumni since my graduation in 1997. In 2017, I suffered severe burnout, which made me embark on a healing journey. Based on my experience, I developed a holistic burnout prevention and healing program, Online Burnout Clinic. Given the widespread occurrence of burnout, I believe my insights might be useful to others, too. Last year, I graduated from a two-year training course in systemic constellations and body-based trauma healing in Switzerland. Now I am starting to work as a complementary therapist. Best regards from Prague!”

Ashish Rajadhyaksha, M.S. ’19 was promoted to a project leader in managed care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Ofrona Reid, M.D., M.B.A, M.S. ’19 was promoted to president and CEO at Syracuse Community Health.

Xinghuo Li, Ph.D. ’20 reports, “I am excited to share that I joined Frazier Life Sciences, a life science-focused venture capital fund based in Palo Alto, Calif., to continue my passion in life sciences innovation and identifying new opportunities that will transform how we treat diseases.”

Adrienne Benn, M.B.A., M.S. ’20 started a new job in consumer and health care professional marketing at Regeneron.

Vanessa Gutzeit, Ph.D. ’21 writes, “I recently published an article in Drug Discovery Today on a project I led in my former role at Boston Consulting Group titled ‘Speed of innovation: How quickly are different therapeutic areas adopting paradigm-shifting drugs?’ This work shows that in the past decade, the speed of adoption of innovative medicines is increasing over time across many therapeutic areas.”

Cloris Zhang, M.S. ’23 writes, “Reflecting on my journey since graduating from Weill Cornell, I’ve been fortunate to apply the analytical skills and interdisciplinary knowledge gained during my studies to my role as an analyst in the asset management division of Goldman Sachs. The rigorous training in quantitative and qualitative economic analysis has seamlessly translated into the financial sector. Happy to reconnect with the Weill Cornell community and share insights with fellow alumni!”