Medical Alumni Board April 2020 Newsletter

GUSOM Medical Alumni Board Newsletter

Hoya Happy Hour March 7, 2020

Dr. Bill Ayers with students

Dr. Ray & Ellen Mitchell, Dr. Nancy Ripp Clark with students

Drs. Steve & Jenifer Luck with students

Letter from the Board Chair

Dear Medical Alumni Board Members,

Many thanks for all of your help this year. Below is a summary of Virtual MATCH Day on March 20 as students received their results on-line. Many of you responded to their Instagram posts which were great.

CURA Recruitment letters for Medical Alumni Mentors and the Class of 2020 were sent out. Obviously, the process of meeting them 1:1 will be virtual. I hope some of you can join me with welcoming those joining the front lines (i.e., 25 graduates heading to NYC) by joining together to have a Zoom Gathering in the major cities.

Samantha Poremba organized the CURA outreach even while preparing to join the staff at the Law School where she joined their Alumni Staff. I have volunteered to assist with matching CURA Alumni and graduates. We sincerely thank Samantha and the rest of their staff for their hard work.

Dean Mitchell will be joining us for our Medical Alumni Board meeting and has made sure that the graduation for the Class of 2020, although virtual, will be memorable.

Just a reminder that Annual Giving to the Medical School is a requisite for

membership on the Board. If you haven't yet donated, please consider designating it to the Mitchell Scholars Fund in honor of Dean Ray Mitchell.

SAVE THE DATE: the next MAB meeting will be held via Zoom on Saturday, May 30, 2020 from 4-5 pm. We have a great deal of business to accomplish


	Darnall Hall "hearts" Covid-19 responders

during this meeting but to respect your time have shortened the Zoom meeting to one hour. Each Committee has been busy at work and will summarize activity.

Thank you again and I look forward to your participation.

Sincerely,

Regina Torsney-Durkin, M.D. C'73, M'77

Calendar Updates

Saturday, May 30, 2020 4-5 pm	Medical Alumni Board Spring meeting by Zoom
Weekend of October 30-31, 2020	GU School of Medicine Reunion for graduation classes ending in "0" and "5" Medical Alumni Board Fall meeting (specific date and time TBA)
Weekend of February 5-6, 2021	Medical Alumni Board Winter meeting (specific date and time TBA)

Match Day


	Dr. Mitchell toasts the Class of 2020

A very different type of Match Day ceremony was held on March 20 to accommodate the Covid-19 restrictions. Dean Mitchell addressed students through Facebook Live from the LA-6 auditorium, and students were sent their Match results via email at the end of the ceremony. The 190 students in the GUSOM Class of 2020 will be moving to a total of 31 states for a variety of top-notch programs.

Read more about the ceremony here.

In Memoriam

Dr. Daniel H. Connor (1928 - 2020)

Renowned pathologist and infectious disease specialist Dr. Dan Connor passed away in early April. From 1988 to 1999, Dr. Connor taught pathology at Georgetown University where he was awarded three Golden Apple awards (a Golden Orchard) by the medical students for professional and personal qualities that enhanced their medical education. He was a colleague and friend of Dr. Don Kerwin.

Dr. Connor spent five years in tropical Africa where he researched infectious, parasitic and tropical diseases. He was a Division Chief at AFIP and traveled all over the world as a n advisor for the World Health Organization before joining the faculty at Georgetown.

Read more about his incredible life of service.

GUSOM Alumni in the News

Hoyas Helping Others: NYU physicians Christopher Petrilli, MD (B'03, M'12) and Joseph Panarelli, MD (C'03, M'07) reunite during the Covid-19 pandemic while volunteering on the medical floors. Joe is Associate Professor of Ophthalmolgy, Director of Glaucoma Fellowship and Chief of Glaucoma Service at NYU, and Chair of the MAB Philanthropy Committee. Joe comes from a big family of Hoyas: his wife Dr. Nicole Castanaro (C'03); brother Anthony (C'00) and wife Erin Bianchi (C'00); sister Maria (B'05) and husband Michael Ganzi (B'04); and parents-in-law Frank (D'78) and Antonella (I'76) Castanaro.

Dr. Tibor Frekko (C'55, M'59, L'63)

After 26 years on the Medical Alumni Board, Dr. Tibor Frekko will be retiring from the Board.
Dr. Frekko graduated from Georgetown's College, Medical School and Law School and has been a very active Georgetown alumnus. He has served on the Me

dical Alumni Board since 1995, the Board of Governors for two terms and continues on the BOG as an active Senator. With his wife Gertrude, they founded the Parents Association of Georgetown Medical School when their three daughters attended the school and were the first Co-Chairs of the Association. He received the John Carrol Award (the highest award given to Georgetown alumni) in 2005.

We thank Tibby for his devoted years of service to our Board, the School of Medicine and the University.

Urologist Dr. Tim Duffin (M'88, R'90) has recently been appointed V ic e Chair of

the Department of Surgery at the Tennova Medical Center in Clarksville, Tennessee. He continues his tenure as Medical Director at the St. Thomas USPI Surgery Center, also in Clarksville. Tim has been a member of the Medical Alumni Board and was Chair from to 2012 to 2016.

Retired OB-GYN Dr. Anthony Caggiano (M'64) has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Charities of the Paterson Diocese for over four years. Tony also serves as a volunteer Primary Care Physician at the Drug and Alcohol Rehab inpatient Center.