Six staff members within the Department of Internal Medicine are celebrating huge milestones in 2021- 25, 30, and 45 years working at Yale University.
25 Years: Tian-Min Chen, Sharon Jennings, and Anne Prodoti
Three staffers celebrated 25 years at Yale: Tian-Min Chen (Nephrology); Sharon Jennings (Geriatrics); and Anne Prodoti (Nephrology).
Research Assistant Tian-Min Chen is part of a team testing the effects of novel therapies for the treatment of kidney failure. “The job is dynamic and it lets me implement my own solutions. It fosters my creativity, even at my advanced age,” jokes Chen. “I also enjoy working alongside my peers in the lab.” He also enjoys working within Internal Medicine for the opportunity it provides to help others in an impactful way.
Favorite pastime: Baking and cooking, gardening, fixing things
Administrative Assistant Sharon Jennings’ job duties vary from day to day, from making travel arrangement to creating PowerPoint presentations, to ordering supplies-anything to keep the office running smoothly. She enjoys working within Internal Medicine for the people and the flexibility. “Over the years, I have enjoyed the flexibility this job has allowed me. This flexibility has allowed me to take my kids to school when they were younger as well as to be able to pick them up every day. I have been able to attend countless soccer, hockey and lacrosse games for both of my children. In addition, I have enjoyed the people I have worked with over the years. They have become less like colleagues and more like a work family,” she said.
Favorite pastime: Some of my favorite things to do include planting flowers in my garden, refinishing furniture, small construction projects (especially demo projects!)
Nephrology’s Anne Prodoti, senior administrative assistant, also cites her colleagues as a great part of her job. “The best part of the job is the people that I work with. I started out on the clinical side and then transferred to the research side. I enjoyed working with the patients and the clinicians and now I enjoy working with the research faculty and staff,” said Prodoti. “Our admins have always been close and have always worked as a team, which is very reassuring and fulfilling. I think 25 years in the same section says something about the people that I work with.”
Favorite pastime: I enjoy movies, music, and camping with my family.
30 Years: Karen Lawhorn and John O’Leary
Karen Lawhorn (Digestive Diseases) and John O’Leary (Geriatrics) are celebrating 30 years with Yale this year.
Digestive Diseases Fellowship Coordinator Karen Lawhorn coordinates interviews for gastroenterology fellowship and advanced endoscopy fellowship; manages electives rotations; among other duties. While at YSM, she has enjoyed, “meeting and interacting with young physicians from all over the world and learning their passion for medicine from liver transplant, GI malignancies, healthcare disparities, inflammatory diseases, pancreatic cancer, and advanced endoscopy.” She likes working in the department due to her bond and friendship with her fellow internal medicine fellowship coordinators.
Favorite pastime: Cooking!
Programmer Analyst III John O’Leary provides data management expertise to inquisitive research investigators who strive to improve clinical practice and provide the highest quality care to older adults and veterans through their research projects. When asked what he has enjoyed about his job, O’Leary cited the people and the various topics he has learned about over the years. “Besides the wonderful people I have been able to work with and learn from, I have enjoyed the variety of topics I have been blessed to learn more about. Frequently these insights have applied to issues that are experienced with family and friends as they go through various aging transitions and the decisions that need to be made for medical care,” he said.
Favorite pastime: Used to be tennis or basketball. Now, watching a little Schitt’s Creek or Red Sox game on the TV, or perhaps doing some fly-fishing on the Farmington River are especially appealing.
45 Years: Angela Consorte
2021 marks Angela Consorte’s 45th year with Yale. As a program manager 2 in general medicine, Consorte directs the Veterans Aging Cohort Study Administrative Core, which manages the daily operations and oversights of multi-study programs, a role she began in 2005.
Throughout the years, Consorte has enjoyed, “working with colleagues to accomplish the fundamental goal for the project at hand with professionalism, teamwork, and perseverance.” She has also enjoyed “watching medical students advance to interns, residents, fellows, faculty, section chiefs, and endowed professors. As a matter of fact, I know many of the current senior faculty in the School of Medicine from when they were postdocs in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, where I began my Yale career,” said Consorte.
The Department of Internal Medicine at Yale is among the nation's premier departments, bringing together an elite cadre of clinicians, investigators and educators in one of the world's top medical schools. To learn more, visit Internal Medicine.