Faculty news
Posted: November 1, 2011
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Douglas Wood, D.O., Ph.D., senior vice president – academic affairs, received the Walter F. Patenge Medal of Public Service from Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSU-COM) in May.
The award is given to members of the community and profession who have shown an outstanding dedication and commitment to serving the public good and is the highest honor the college can bestow.
Dr. Douglas Wood
Named for the first president of the Michigan Osteopathic Medicine Advisory Board, the medal is awarded annually for excellence in medicine, government, and public service. Dr. Wood was one of four to receive the award this year.
Dr. Wood served as associate dean of MSU-COM from 1987-91 and as dean from 1991-95. He left to become president of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine until 2005, when he joined ATSU to become the founding dean of the School of Osteopathic Medicine dein Arizona, a position he held until assuming his current duties in 2010.
Among his many tributes, Dr. Wood has received the Phillips Medal for Public Service from Ohio University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, the State of Michigan Senate Concurrent Resolution for contributions to the diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease, the Outstanding Nephrologist Award from the Michigan Kidney Foundation, and numerous others.
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Dr. Vineet Singh
Vineet Singh, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology, hosted faculty from Thammasat University in Thailand for research training in his laboratory. Sungunya Utaida, Ph.D., studied with Dr. Singh from April 2 to June 15.
The following faculty members have been promoted from the title of associate professor to professor. The promotions are based on their performance in the areas of teaching, research, and/or scholarly activity and service.
- Neal Chamberlain, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology
- Stephen Laird, D.O., Department of Surgery
- Neil Sargentini, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology
- Karen Snider, D.O., Department of OMM
Two ATSU-KCOM faculty awards were handed out this spring, with one faculty member taking home two coveted awards – Anatomy Chair Peter Kondrashov, Ph.D., who is profiled in this issue.
The Max T. Gutensohn award recognizes outstanding teaching and is a special merit award decided by first- and second- year students who vote on the professor they believe went above and beyond to teach.
The first-year class chose Dr. Kondrashov, who earned his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in zoology and ecology from Moscow State University. He received his Ph.D. in paleontology from Russian Academy of Sciences and worked as a researcher for three years. He taught anatomy, histology, and zoology at Northwest Missouri State University for six years before coming to Kirksville in 2006. He is an avid nature photographer and goes on digs in Mongolia, Siberia, China, and all over the southwest United States.
In addition to receiving the Gutensohn award, Dr. Kondrashov also was awarded the A.T. Still Staff Award, established to recognize full-time KCOM faculty who demonstrate excellence in teaching osteopathic philosophy and principles.
David Kermode, D.O., associate professor in the Department of Surgery, also received the A.T. Still Staff Award.
Dr. David Goldman
The second-year class chose David Goldman, D.O., J.D., ’91, as its Max T. Gutensohn award winner. Dr. Goldman graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign before attending Washington University School of Law. He worked as secretary-treasurer and corporate legal counsel until he decided to attend KCOM. He completed a traditional rotating internship at Kirksville Osteopathic Medical Center, after which he began residency in psychiatry and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. He serves as a medicolegal consultant and operates a private psychotherapy management practice. Most importantly, he is a professor at KCOM, as well as Southern Illinois University Medical School in Springfield, Ill.
ATSU-KCOM Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean (Arizona region) Robert D. Ligorsky, D.O., FACOI, FACP, FAHA, has been honored by the American College of Osteopatic Internists (ACOI). He will be inducted into the Gillium Society of Master Fellows, one of ACOI’s highest honors for service to the college and profession. His induction will take place in San Antonio on October 14.
The Gillum Society of Master Fellows honors active ACOI members who have demonstrated outstanding past and present contributions to the college or to osteopathic internal medicine on a local, regional, or national level. The society is named for Grover Gillum, D.O., past ACOI president and outstanding clinician. Dr. Gillum was, for many years, the department chair and residency program director at the Department of Internal Medicine at the Kansas City College of Osteopathy.
Established in 1994, The Gillum Society honors members who have demonstrated exceptional service and dedication to both the college and profession.
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Tamara Valovich McLeod, Ph.D., ATC, CSCS, associate professor, Athletic Training, was interviewed for the article “A Warning on Overuse Injuries for Youths,” which was featured April 4 in the personal health section of The New York Times.
Dr. McLeod has also been named a 2011 National Athletic Training Association (NATA) fellow and is also the recipient of the Arizona Athletic Training Association (AzATA) 2011 Warren H. Lee Certified Athletic Trainer of the Year Award.
The NATA Fellows program recognizes professional achievement in research and/or education, combined with service to the profession. Only the most accomplished scholars in the athletic training profession earn this distinction and are allowed to use the prestigious designation of FNATA.
The AzATA Warren H. Lee Certified Athletic Trainer of the Year Award is the second highest honor bestowed by the association, and is named after the longtime certified athletic trainer at the University of Arizona, a pioneer in the profession.
Dr. McLeod, regarded as an international expert on pediatric sport-related concussion, works with dozens of local schools, athletic teams, and policy bodies to implement appropriate sport concussion diagnosis and management practices to keep children safe.
ATSU Emeritus Professor Randy Danielsen, Ph.D., PA-C, senior vice president of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants and former ASHS dean, is co-author of the new book “The Preceptor’s Handbook for Supervising Physician Assistants.”
Dr. Les Schmeltz
Les R. Schmeltz, Au.D., CCC-A, assistant professor of Audiology, was re-elected to the Educational Audiology Association (EAA) Board of Directors as a director-at-large for a term expiring in 2013.
The EAA is an international professional organization for audiologists that was established in 1984 to advocate for educational audiologists and the students they serve.
John Parsons, Ph.D., ATC, AT, assistant professor, interdisciplinary health sciences and director, athletic training, has been named the 2011 NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award (ATSA) winner. The ATSA recognizes NATA members for their contributions to the athletic training profession as a volunteer at the local, state, and district levels. ATSA recipients have been involved in professional associations, community organizations, grassroots public relations efforts, and service as a volunteer athletic trainer.
Interdisciplinary Health Sciences staff Eric Sauers, Ph.D., ATC, FNATA, chair, and Alison Snyder Valier, Ph.D., ATC, associate professor, athletic training, were recognized with the 2011 AzATA President’s Award. This award recognizes exemplary service on behalf of the association and/or the profession of athletic training. Drs. Sauers and Valier are recognized for their tireless efforts in support of association legislative and governmental affairs activities.
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Dr. Thomas McWilliams
Thomas McWilliams, D.O., FACOFP, received the Distinguished Service Award from the Arizona Society of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians at its annual meeting April 8. Dr. McWilliams, clinical professor and interim dean of ATSU’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, is recognized for his leadership to the society and for exemplifying the role and impact of an osteopathic physician and educator.
A third-generation D.O., Dr. McWilliams entered the Indian Health Service as one of the first Public Health Service scholarship recipients. He is a diplomate for the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians and the American Board of Emergency Medicine and has completed fellowships in rural medicine, national health policy, teaching and learning, and leadership. He has held teaching appointments at the University of Washington and at ATSU-KCOM and is past president of both the Arizona and Missouri Rural Health associations.
Frederic Schwartz, D.O., ’69, FACOFP, associate dean for community campuses, and professor, Family and Community Medicine, is the 2011 recipient of the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association’s Excellence in Osteopathic Medical Education Award. The award honors a physician or nonphysician who has contributed significantly to the advancement of osteopathic medical education in Arizona.
Dr. Schwartz was the founding chair of community medicine at the University of New England’s New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. He also has served as vice president of Midwestern University and as chair of family medicine at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine.
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Michael Samuels, Dr.P.H., professor and chair, public health, contributed to and presented the research paper “United States/ Mexico Rural Border Health Issues” at the Rural Health Association’s 34th Annual Rural Health Conference in Austin, Texas, in May.
Keith Earnshaw, Ph.D., adjunct professor, public health, has created Coastal Giving, a charity that asks North Carolina owners to donate their beach houses for a week to either reunited military families, injured service members, or families with children who have life-threatening medical conditions. Donations may be made to Coastal Giving Inc., P.O. Box 99566, Raleigh, N.C., 27624.
Larry Leaming, D.H.A., FACHE, SHM assistant professor and CEO of Roosevelt General Hospital in Portales, N.M., presented to the Nebraska Hospital Association’s Rural Hospital Conference in Kearney, Neb., “Bridging the Leadership Gap: Challenges and Best Practices for Sustainable Leadership Through Succession Planning.” The presentation was a review of his research on rural hospital CEO turnover and best practices for minimizing the negative impact of gaps in leadership through succession planning.
Dr. Jerimy Blowers and family
Jerimy Blowers, Ph.D., LMHC, NCC, CAS, CGAS, assistant professor for the Doctor of Health Education program, spoke for the New York State Council of SUNY Community Colleges Chief Student Affairs Officers in Lake Placid in June. He spoke on college student mental health issues.
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Four current and past faculty members were published in the January 2011 edition of the Journal of Dental Education. Janet Woldt, Ph.D., M.S., associate dean for academic assessment; Wayne Cottam, D.M.D., M.S., associate dean of community partnerships; Robert Cederberg, D.D.S., M.A.; and Kneka Smith, M.P.H., all contributed to the article “The Arizona Model: A New Paradigm for Dental Schools.”
Mounir Kharchaf, D.D.S., M.D.S., associate professor and associate director of prosthodontics, has been certified as a diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics (ABP). The mission of the ABP is to certify individuals who have demonstrated special knowledge and skills in prosthodontics. Certification as a diplomate requires a yearlong exam administered by the ABP.
Jae Hyun Park, D.M.D., M.S.D., M.S., Ph.D., director of ASDOH’s postgraduate orthodontic program, pictured left, recently published four articles.
“Nonextraction treatment of the labially displaced maxillary canine” was published in the spring 2011 issue of International Journal of Orthodontics in collaboration with Kyle S. Jackson, D.M.D., D.H.Sc., ’09, a graduate of the ATSU-ASDOH postgraduate orthodontic program, and Denton Rex Rogers, D.D.S., M.S.D., former clinic director of ATSU-ASDOH’s postgraduate orthodontic program.
Two other articles, “Tooth autotransplantation as a treatment option: A review,” and “Orthodontic treatment of a bilateral cleft lip and palate patient with bilateral tooth transpositions and congenitally missing teeth,” were published in the Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry. “3-Dimensional cone-beam computed tomography analysis of transverse changes with Schwarz appliances on both jaws“ was published in Angle Orthodontist.
Dr. Park also received the Joseph E. Johnson Clinical Award (Best Clinical Award) at the American Association of Orthodontists Table Clinic Competition. Dr. Park’s award-winning article titled, “3-Dimensional Accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Images: An in vitro Comparison of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Cone-Beam Computed Tomography,” was coauthored by Kiyoshi Tai, D.D.S., visiting adjunct assistant professor, postgraduate orthodontic program, ATSU-ASDOH.