1960s

Richard A. Lewis (M.D. 1969, Residency 1974) is the recipient of The Jewish Guild for the Blind’s first annual Alfred W. Bressler Prize in Vision Science. He holds professorships at Baylor College of Medicine in ophthalmology, medicine and pediatrics, as well as in molecular and human genetics. His subspecialties at Baylor’s Cullen Eye Institute are retinal diseases and ocular genetics. The Bressler award is given to a vision care professional whose leadership, research and service have resulted in important advancements in the treatment of eye disease. Some of Lewis’contributions to vision science include mapping and identifying some of the first genes for inherited eye disorders, facilitating clinical availability of direct molecular testing, and delineating a molecular pathway important to age-related macular degeneration.

1970s

Elson Haas (M.D. 1972) is founder and director of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin, an integrated health care facility in San Rafael, California, where he specializes in family and nutritional medicine, detoxification and individualized health programs. He also lectures to corporations, conventions and associations all over the world and has authored many books.

1980s

Marcel Salive (M.D. 1985) was chosen for this year’s Department of Health and Human Services Primary Health Care Policy Fellowship based upon a nomination by the American College of Preventive Medicine. The fellows study primary health care policy, education, and research in order to become more effective advocates for improving primary health care at all levels of government and the private sector. Salive is a senior preventive medicine researcher in the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH, where he serves on the research team for major multicenter prevention clinical trials and administers grants. He resides in Rockville, Maryland.

Tor Shwayder (M.D. 1980, Residency 1983) writes from The Netherlands:

Aimee Ergas and Tor Shwayder

“Three years ago I realized that there would always be another 40 patients to see on the next day’s schedule. That plus a desire to give my kids a completely new experience outside of America pushed me to take a year-long leave of absence. So in July 2002, my wife (Aimee Ergas) and I moved our family to a small town outside The Hague. I’m loosely associated with a children’s hospital in Rotterdam (The Sophia Kinderziekenhuis). We are here without car, TV, VCR, or paycheck. We bicycle everywhere and soak in the Dutch lifestyle. It is a wonderful experience, liberating us from the myopic views of the day-to-day grind. One begins to realize what makes life important and what you can do without and still be happy. The most cherished ongoing experience is dinner each night in our tiny Dutch row house. With no competing distractions, we sit and talk with our two children (remaining at home) Kobey, 18, and Maya, 14, while the candles burn low. I recommend such a break in life to all who can finagle it. The very first step is to realize that you are not indispensable to your job. The second step is to envision dinner without your children.”

1990s

Sanjay Gupta (M.D. 1993), a medical correspondent for the health news unit at CNN, delivered a series of live news segments from Kuwait City as military build-up increased there earlier this year. His reports included an intimate look at the work of the Marine Corps’“Devil Docs,” who are responsible for running operating rooms in the field, very close to conflict, to treat soldiers wounded in battle. A practicing neurosurgeon, Gupta’s work with CNN includes daily reports, the half-hour weekend show “Your Health,” and coverage of breaking medical news. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, he also contributes health news stories to CNN.com.

The 85th Annual Galens Smoker

The 85th annual (and first ever murder-mystery) Galens Smoker, “Clue Cells,”was

performed April 18-19 at Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre in the Michigan League. Based on the cult classic 1980s movie “Clue,”which was derived from the popular Parker Brothers board game, the plot involves six well-known hospital personalities summoned to the hospital cafeteria on a stormy night. Weapons, including a reflex hammer and an incompetent intern, are distributed. When a former executive vice president for medical affairs turns up murdered, the game is on to figure out which suspect is responsible, in which room of the hospital and with which weapon.

Each year at the closing of the second show, the Galens Medical Society presents the Silver Shovel Award to the faculty member they deem the most popular and beloved by their students. This year’s recipient was Gilbert Upchurch Jr., M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Surgery.

—MF

Lives Lived

Alan Donald Dawson (M.D. 1956) died Saturday, January 11, in Cape Coral, Florida. Born in Toronto, Canada, Dawson practiced in Toledo, Ohio, for 25 years before joining the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps, where he reached the rank of Colonel.

Robert D. Kiess, M.D. (Residency 1950), died on June 4 in Toledo, Ohio, at the age of 89. Kiess maintained an ophthalmology practice in Toledo for 30 years, was chief of ophthalmology and a member of the executive committee of Toledo Hospital, and served on the faculty of the Medical College of Ohio. Kiess had a strong belief in lifelong learning. Following his retirement from the Medical College of Ohio, he enrolled in their graduate school and earned a Ph.D in 1987, at the age of 73. His research during this time involved the development of a non-invasive test to determine risk factors for diabetic retinopathy.

Ophthalmologist Fleming Barbour Dies at 93

Photo: Lin Goings

Fleming Barbour (M.D. 1936, Residency 1940), age 93, died on March 5 at McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint. The son and grandson of physicians, Barbour graduated from high school in Vassar, Michigan. After receiving his medical degree and completing his residency at the U-M, he opened his own practice in Flint, becoming the city’s first fully trained ophthalmologist. Barbour was extremely active in his community, serving as president of several clubs and organizations, including the YMCA, the Flint Academy of Surgery, the University of Michigan Club of Greater Flint and the Flint City Club. He also helped bring the U-M to Flint and was sponsor of the Flint Cultural Center. Barbour and his wife, Marian Elizabeth (Patch) Barbour, who preceded him in death April 3, 1998, made annual trips to third world countries for more than 20 years and provided eye care to those who would not have received it otherwise. The glaucoma and research unit at the U-M’s W.K. Kellogg Eye Center is named for Barbour, who helped to raise funds for the existing Kellogg building in the early 1980s and established an endowed fund to support vision research there.

Also:

Raynard Kington takes his place in the ‘bigger picture’ as NIH deputy director

The Emergence of Emergency Medicine