Dana Dunne, MD, MHS, Infectious Diseases
MHS: Yale School of Medicine
Fellow: Yale School of Medicine
Chief Resident: Yale School of Medicine
Resident: Yale New Haven Hospital
MD: SUNY Downstate Medical Center
BA: University of Washington
What does your promotion mean to you?
I was away from academic medicine for 17 years due to choices I made around parenting, including caring for a daughter with significant special needs. I always kept my foot in the door with clinical medicine and teaching, including having residents and infectious diseases fellows rotate with me at the city's sexually transmitted infections clinic.
When I was eventually able to consider adding more back to my plate, I was unsure if it was too late to consider an academic position, and I worried I would be the oldest assistant professor ever! My section chief, Erol Fikrig, found a National Institutes of Health reentry grant mechanism that supports faculty who have been out for a bit to return to academics. The two-year grant allowed me to re-establish myself and, at its conclusion, I was lucky that some significant teaching roles became available, including the Internal Medicine clerkship director and associate program director for the Internal Medicine Traditional Residency Program.
Being able to do what I love—teaching, faculty development, and clinical infectious diseases—and have success even after such a gap means a lot and speaks to the inclusive environment for contributions that don’t necessarily all fall into biomedical research (which was the case when I was a resident and fellow here).
What was the first thing you did when you found out you were promoted to professor?
I texted my husband and daughters immediately and reached out to a few close colleagues and mentors, all of whom are amazing examples of what makes YSM such a special place to work— collaborative, invested, and kind.
What are you proud of most thus far in your career?
I am proud of making career choices that expanded my experience and perspective and for having at least some role in improving clinical teaching and psychological safety in our clinical environments.
What is your favorite part of academia?
We are fortunate at YSM to have collaborative faculty, staff, trainees, and students with a rich diversity of interests, backgrounds, and creativity.
Tell us a fun fact about you—something people may find surprising.
I got a black belt in karate in my mid-forties and am teaching myself how to play cello. I love choral singing and word games of all types!
Peter Ellis, MD, MPH, General Internal Medicine
MPH: Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health
Fellow: Johns Hopkins University
Resident: Rhode Island Hospital
MD: UMDNJ - Robert Woods Johnson
BS: Princeton University
What does your promotion mean to you?
I am grateful to be promoted to Professor on the Academic-Clinician track because it is a refreshing validation of the importance of clinical care at Yale. I have cared for patients “in the trenches” at Yale alongside wonderful colleagues for many years. The new “Academic Clinician” track assures clinicians that our personal and professional goals align with a central Yale mission: excellence in clinical care.
I am proud to work as a general internist at Yale Internal Medicine Associates (YIMA), where our team has the necessary support and leadership to provide high-quality, longitudinal care to each patient.
What was the first thing you did when you found out you were promoted to Professor?
My section chief called me and said, “I want to be the first person to call you ‘Professor!’” I immediately shared the good news with my wife. She said, “Congratulations! We’re both too busy right now, but someday soon, we’ll celebrate properly!”
What are you proud of most thus far in your career?
In addition to my clinical work and teaching Yale students and residents, I am most proud of co-launching Project Access New Haven. This non-profit organization provides short-term medical care to uninsured, sick persons living in our community.
In this model, physicians donate medical care, partnering with Yale New Haven Hospital, which provides lab and x-ray services. Dedicated community health workers help eligible patients navigate the complex health system.
This organization allows physicians to fulfill one of the noblest aspects of the medical profession: caring for patients “regardless of ability to pay.”
What is your favorite part of academia?
I love learning, asking questions, and applying what I know to patient care and teaching.
Learning from researchers who are discovering cutting-edge information and engaging with bright, idealistic students who ask probing questions: these are powerful, stimulating, and inspiring to me.
Clinicians are privileged to encounter significant clinical problems every day and to provide meaningful care for patients – who entrust us to share their journey. Although clinicians try to “cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always,” we always have an opportunity to make a difference, especially at a place like Yale, where clinical excellence is valued and promoted!
Tell us a fun fact about you-something people may find surprising.
I have an identical twin, David. He recently retired after running an educational health care company and lives in Greenwich Village, NY. So, next time you are walking about Manhattan and see someone who looks a lot like me, if you say, “Hi Peter,” don’t be surprised to initially receive a blank stare! He will chuckle when you say, “Oh, so you are his identical twin brother!”
John K. Forrest, MD, Cardiovascular Medicine
Fellow: Yale School of Medicine
Resident: Yale School of Medicine
MD: Yale School of Medicine
BS: Bowdoin College
What does your promotion/appointment mean to you?
As a native of New Haven, I have long admired Yale and the faculty, staff, and students at Yale. I have also had the distinct privilege of being a medical student, intern, resident, fellow, and faculty member at the Yale School of Medicine. This promotion is both humbling, as I am forever indebted to the professors who have mentored me, and also incredibly fulfilling, as I have dedicated the last 24 years to academic and clinical pursuits here at Yale and YNHH.
What was the first thing you did when you found out you were promoted to/appointed as professor?
After calling my wife, Emily, I texted my two sisters, Gwendolyn and Suzanne (YSM ’13). My sisters and I reflected on the pride our father, who passed away earlier this year, would have felt. As a professor here at YSM, I know that our father had an immense love for Yale and the School of Medicine, and my thoughts were with him.
What is your favorite part of academia?
In 2012, I began the Structural Heart Program at Yale, focusing on research and clinical applications for minimally invasive ways to replace and repair heart valves. This work transitioned from laboratory research to national clinical trials that I led, and eventually to the routine treatment of patients who place their trust in our hands.
Developing, testing, and applying novel therapies is one of the great joys of academia. There are few things in life more rewarding than the words and smiles of a grateful patient whose life you have changed as a result of ideas and techniques you helped develop.
What are you proud of most thus far in your career?
One of the most rewarding parts of my work has been learning from and becoming better because of the people who surround me. I am most proud of our Structural Heart Program multidisciplinary team, which includes physicians, nurses, mid-level providers, fellows, cath lab technologists, and others who have a singular goal of helping the patient in front of us. Our successes are because of collaboration within this team.
Tell us a fun fact about you—something people may find surprising.
As a child, my family spent summers in Maine, where we lived in tents. In Maine, one of my first summer jobs was in a marine biology lab studying sharks. That job required that I place small catheters into the vein, artery, and collecting duct of the salt gland of the dogfish shark. Those skills I learned as a 16-year-old share a remarkable resemblance to the skills I still rely on today when I place much larger catheters into the arteries and veins of patients to help fix their heart problems.
Pamela Kunz, MD (Medical Oncology)
BA: Dartmouth College
MD: Dartmouth Medical School
Residency: Stanford University
Chief Resident: Stanford University
Fellowship: Stanford University
What does your promotion/appointment mean to you?
I am deeply honored and humbled to be promoted at Yale School of Medicine. I came to Yale in 2020 as the Director of the Center for GI Cancers. I have felt valued for my contributions and supported in achieving my goals through a balance of both mentorship and autonomy. This promotion feels like an acknowledgment of the years of work leading to this point and represents a time for reflection on how I can have the greatest impact moving forward.
What was the first thing you did when you found out you were promoted to/appointed as professor?
I first told my husband, Jeff Kwan, who I met on the first day of medical school at Dartmouth. We have been on this journey together from the beginning. He has chosen a career path as a community-based gastroenterologist but has been incredibly supportive of my career in academic medicine. I then told my 90-year-old mom. My parents were always supportive of my interest in STEM from an early age. My dad was a biology professor and taught me a love of science and the value of curiosity. He unfortunately died in 2020 of COVID, but I know he would have been especially proud.
What are you proud of most thus far in your career?
I am proud of providing excellent and compassionate patient care, of my commitment to mentorship and incredible trainees, and the work I have done in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine and oncology.
What is your favorite part of academia?
I love the variety of academia. No day is the same – including teaching, mentoring, caring for patients, and conducting clinical research. The variety keeps me inspired and hopeful.
Tell us a fun fact about you—something people may find surprising.
When I am not doctoring, you can usually find me on a baseball field. I am a mom of three teenage sons, two of whom play baseball at the high school or college level. I absolutely love watching them play and will miss that when it’s over. The pinnacle of my baseball mom career was running the Little League draft when I served on its Board.
Maryam Lustberg, MD, MPH, Medical Oncology
MPH: The Ohio State University
Fellow: The Ohio State University
Resident: University of Maryland
MD: University of Maryland
BA: University of Maryland
What does your promotion mean to you?
Promotion to Professor is a confirmation and validation of decades of training, research, and collaboration. I am thankful for all the mentorship, sponsorship, and collaborations I have had for several decades. This moment does take me back in memory to the early days of entering medical school and feeling so tenuous about what was ahead. This promotion is a testimony to believing in myself and persevering.
What was the first thing you did when you found out you were promoted to Professor?
I told the good news to my son and my mom. I also spoke to my mentors and shared the good news.
What are you proud of most thus far in your career?
I am most proud of developing a research program focused on symptom management and supportive care while also being an active clinician who has taken care of thousands of patients with breast cancer over the years. The two roles have enriched one another and enriched me to become more aware of the limitations of medicine, the potential for progress, and the transience of human life.
What is your favorite part of academia?
Every day is a little different. I am constantly challenged with new information and opportunities to improve the status quo for our patients and families. I love learning new information and teaching others what I have learned over the years.
Tell us a fun fact about you-something people may find surprising.
I am an only child with an only child myself. We are not as bad as people say.
The Department of Internal Medicine at Yale School of Medicine 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.