The Department of Internal Medicine is pleased to highlight the following promotions to Professor of Medicine.
Shuta Ishibe, MD
Residency: Parkland Memorial Hospital
Internship: Parkland Memorial Hospital
MD: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
BA: Rice University
What does your promotion mean to you?
Looking back, things had to align—I needed Dr. Robert Alpern to tell me to go to Yale for fellowship, needed Dr. Peter Aronson to accept me into fellowship, needed to be mentored by Dr. Lloyd Cantley, and Dr. Pietro DeCamilli to launch my career, had to have Dr. Stefan Somlo hire and advocate for me as a faculty member, and most importantly needed a combination of insightful students, fellows, and post-doctoral fellows.
What was the first thing you did when you found out you were promoted to professor?
To thank my family who made sacrifices over the years to allow me to focus on work without complaining when I couldn’t make to certain events.
What are you proud of most thus far in your career?
Making small contributions/dents for the understanding of kidney disease progression, which affects close to 40 million people in the U.S.
What is your favorite part of academia?
To be provided the autonomy for intellectual freedom to address unknown questions and being surrounded by brilliant people to help answer them.
Tell us a fun fact about you—something people may find surprising.
Challenged myself to run a sub 5-minute mile on the track at 50 years of age during the pandemic.
Margaret Pisani, MD, MPH
Fellowship: Yale School of Medicine
MPH: Yale School of Public Health
Residency (and Chief Residency): Yale New Haven Hospital
MD: Temple University
MS: New Jersey Institute of Technology
BS: Iona College
What does your promotion mean to you?
I am first generation to attend college. My dad had a high school education and then joined the army, fought in World War II, and then worked as a carpenter and my Mom had a fifth grade education and cleaned houses. My high school guidance counselor told me to major in journalism because women didn’t do science. So being promoted to professor carries a lot of emotion for me. It is a culmination of my parents’ hard work and sacrifices that spurred me to pursue college and finally medical school. It is also validation that yes women can “do science” and do it well.
What was the first thing you did when you found out you were promoted to professor?
It was in the middle of a COVID-19 surge, and I was working in the ICU so I continued to take care of my patients and then treated myself to a glass of wine when I got home.
What are you proud of most thus far in your career?
That I have the ability to support and mentor others to help them in some small way achieve their career goals.
What is your favorite part of academia?
Being able to still have a piece of all the things I love about medicine. I care for patients, get to teach, and participate in research.
Tell us a fun fact about you—something people may find surprising.
Not sure people who know me will find this surprising, but I want my next career to be a chef.
Tamar Taddei, MD
Fellowship: Yale School of Medicine
Residency: Georgetown University Hospital
MD: Georgetown University School of Medicine
BS: Georgetown University
What does your promotion mean to you?
Promotion to professor means recognition by the university of the body of hard work that I accomplished to reach this milestone. It is very affirming to know that my work at Yale and the VA has been recognized.
What was the first thing you did when you found out you were promoted to professor?
I called my sister, also a professor, and shared the good news. My sister has been a rock for me. She is nine years older than I and has always been there to provide love, advice, and a great example.
What are you proud of most thus far in your career?
I am most proud of the teams that I have built or contributed to that have done groundbreaking clinical investigation, program building, and quality improvement in healthcare delivery, particularly in the areas of liver disease, liver cancer, and palliative care in cirrhosis. I enjoy bringing people together to solve complex problems – it is something that has always excited me.
What is your favorite part of academia?
The childlike wonder that possesses so many of us in so many different stages of our careers across different disciplines to ask important questions and our audacity to try to seek the answers (and sometimes even succeed)! This creates an “electric” atmosphere that fosters all the things I love most about academia: lifelong learning across disciplines and careers, having wonderful sponsors, mentors, and colleagues, and having the privilege of sponsoring and mentoring so many amazing and brilliant people.
Tell us a fun fact about you—something people may find surprising.
My undergraduate degree was in international affairs and diplomacy – something I have never regretted, even though my path to medicine was circuitous. I use my undergraduate skills in assessing situations and people in team building, networking, and mentoring every day!
Li Wen, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate and Fellowship: Yale School of Medicine
PhD: University of London
MD: Capital University of Medicine
What does your promotion mean to you?
Eureka! Recognition of my years of hard work in basic research on immunology of type 1 diabetes by the institution. Gratitude to my section’s leadership, the department committee and all the voting members for supporting me. Gratitude to all my peers who supported me in the process. Gratitude to the administrative assistants of the department and our section in helping me with material preparation meticulously.
What was the first thing you did when you found out you were promoted to professor?
I had a grant deadline, so I continued to write the grant as I know that obtaining research funding is the first and most important task and requirement for the continuation of our scientific endeavor.
What are you proud of most thus far in your career?
My scientific achievement and the support from my lab members, section’s leadership, former mentors, and cordial collaborators at Yale and outside Yale.
What is your favorite part of academia?
Discovery and putting a piece in the right place in a huge jigsaw puzzle of biology and medicine.
Tell us a fun fact about you—something people may find surprising.
I am addicted to swimming.
The Department of Internal Medicine at Yale is among the nation's premier departments, bringing together an elite cadre of clinicians, investigators, educators, and staff in one of the world's top medical schools. To learn more, visit Internal Medicine.