Alumni

Robert L. Johnson, M.D., HS ’64, and his wife, Barbara Johnson, R.N., have formed a nonprofit organization called Village Relief Foundation to supply medical drugs, books, tapes and instruments to such developing countries as Liberia, Zimbabwe, Myanmar, New Guinea and Chad. Any suggestions for networking for gifts and donations to these countries are appreciated. “We are a hands-on, grass-roots organization and make personal trips to these countries. Next stop: Indonesia.”

Lionel M. Nelson, M.D. ’69, writes from Camp Stryker in Baghdad, where he is a colonel in the Army and the brigade flight surgeon with Task Force 449: “I have been here a month now, and have fallen into the routine. The day starts at 0 dark 30 with my usual exercise routine. ... no different than home. I get to fly about once a week, usually something to attend to at one of our forward operating bases where we keep air crews, and a good excuse to get outside the wire and see some green fields. Parts of the Iraqi countryside along the rivers are quite beautiful. Otherwise, most of the day is a combination of staff duties (coordination, reports, briefs, etc.), supervising medical care for the task force personnel and overseeing the medical portion of our medevac operations. I have a staff of 25, with several physicians to help me with this. Operational tempo remains quite heavy, but threat level is relatively low at this time. I came out of retirement (21 years in, mostly as a reservist, and retired for five years) to do this. The need for flight surgeons with experience is significant. The Army asked, and I volunteered. I will be here about 90-120 days, and have temporarily closed my ENT practice in San José, Calif., for that time. Although I have had other deployments in the past, this is my first time in Iraq. It is great to be back around the aviators. Helicopter crews, particularly the Apache and medevac folks, are full of bravado and practical jokes. I am glad to have the opportunity to be here and help take care of these very dedicated and brave Americans.”

Ross M. Tonkens, M.D. ’74, has been hired by MDS Pharma Services, a provider of drug discovery and development solutions based in King of Prussia, Pa., to provide medical oversight for its Phase IIa clinical research activities and to direct the medical and clinical activities of its development and regulatory services. Prior to joining MDS, Tonkens was chief medical officer of Regado Biosciences, a Duke University biotechnology spinoff founded in 2003, and was global head of cardiovascular therapeutics at Quintiles Inc., a transnational contract research organization.

Donald E. Ingber, M.D. ’84, Ph.D. ’84, Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston, was named director of the new Hansjörg Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard in October. The institute was founded with the largest individual gift in Harvard’s history, a $125 million donation from Wyss, an engineer who led the Swiss medical device company Synthes for three decades. The institute will bring together engineers, scientists and clinicians across disciplines and will focus on synthetic biology, a “living materials program,” and biological control.

Marc Agronin, M.D. ’91, was named the 2008 recipient of the Clinician of the Year Award by the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry for demonstrating a “profound commitment to the field of clinical geriatric psychiatry.” Agronin was also recently promoted to associate professor of psychiatry in the voluntary faculty of the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. Agronin is currently the director of mental health services at the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital at Douglas Gardens.