Three Department of Internal Medicine Staff Retiring

Three Department of Internal Medicine staff are set to retire. Kathleen Marcucio from the Section of Endocrinology & Metabolism retired on December 31, 2022. Susan Ardito from the Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine (Yale-PCCSM), and Elizabeth “Beth” Porter from the Section of General Internal Medicine retire in January 2023.

“We are so grateful to Susan, Beth, and Kathy for their dedication to internal medicine, and wish them each a happy retirement,” said Mark A. Holter, CMPE, CPA, vice chair, finance & administration.

Kathy Marcucio has been an administrative associate for the Section of Endocrinology & Metabolism for 26 years. She arrived at Yale in 1988 and will have 34.5 years of service when she retired on December 31, 2022. During her first eight-and-a-half years at Yale, she worked in neuropathology as a senior administrative assistant.

“It will be sad to have Kathy leave us,” said John Wysolmerski, MD, professor of medicine (endocrinology) and chief of Endocrinology & Metabolism. “She has been a fixture of our section for many years now, serving as the chief administrative assistant overseeing our Endocrine Grand Rounds, helping to administer the Yale Diabetes Research Center, the endocrine and metabolism training grant and many other aspects of the life of the section.”

He added, “She has helped me immensely, in ensuring a smooth transition when Dr. Robert Sherwin retired as section chief and then, almost immediately afterward, through the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. I will greatly miss her organizational skills, but wish her well as she spends more time with her family in retirement.”

Marcucio’s plans for retirement include helping her husband, Frank, and her son, Ryan, run their businesses. She also looks forward to traveling “to see old friends and places I’ve never been before,” she said.

Susan Ardito, senior administrative assistant II and grants coordinator for Yale-PCCSM, has worked at Yale just shy of 25 years. She began her Yale career as a temp in 1997 before being hired in February 1999.

“I’ve been in the pulmonary section since 2000, starting as a medical transcriptionist. I gravitated into helping with grant applications in 2004 and have concentrated on grants only since 2009,” said Ardito, whose last day at Yale is January 9, 2023.

Ardito “was the go-to person for grants that became R01s, K awards, foundation grants, center grants, U.S. Department of Defense grants, and T32 grants, which were funded over the last 25 years,” said Klar Yaggi, MD, MPH, professor of medicine (pulmonary).

“Susan was exceptional in her role supporting the grant-writing process,” added Melissa Knauert, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine (pulmonary). “Her attention to detail and ability to shepherd both the investigators and their complex documents through grant cycle after grant cycle was amazing.”

Ardito received the 2022 Department of Internal Medicine Service Excellence Award in recognition of her efforts.

“Susan has been one of the pillars of Yale-PCCSM’s funding effort, especially with the dramatic rise in the success of early-career researchers – 11 researchers securing career development awards, and most recently, five early-stage investigator R01s, said Naftali Kaminski, MD, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary) and chief of Yale-PCCSM. “Her knowledge, diligence, and dedication – and most importantly her enthusiasm and optimism – made it possible for all of us. We are eternally grateful.”

Beth Porter has been a project coordinator in the Section of General Internal Medicine since 2017. She arrived at Yale in 1980, performing laboratory research in the genetics department. She also spent three years at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. She will retire at the end of January.

Porter’s plans include part-time work, “possibly working in in the public school system,” she said, as well as volunteering, traveling, and spending time with her five grandchildren.

Porter is remembered as a knowledgeable, committed, tireless, and kind colleague by the faculty she has worked with.

“Over the past five years, Beth has been critical in planning and overseeing the implementation of several multisite clinical trials with our team and interacting with our clinical and community-based partners. I am deeply grateful for the knowledge, flexibility, and commitment she brought to this role, particularly as we responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has been an essential member of our team and we already miss her,” said E. Jennifer Edelman, MD, MHS, associate professor of medicine (General Medicine) and of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

“Beth has been instrumental in facilitating our work addressing unhealthy substance use in patients with HIV. She seamlessly oversaw grant submission, site selection, IRB approval, research coordinator training, data management system development, patient recruitment, data integrity, and manuscript submission. Her work has benefited countless individuals and she will be sorely missed. Best wishes in your retirement from us all!” said David Fiellin, MD, professor of medicine (General Medicine) and of Emergency Medicine, and of Health Policy and Management.

“Beth worked with the Veterans Aging Cohort Study for several years as our research coordinator, interfacing with seven different active clinical sites under a complex set of VA and university requirements with grace and care. We will always be grateful for the skill she brought to the position,” said Amy Justice, MD, PhD, C.N.H. Long Professor of Medicine (General Medicine) and professor of Health Policy and Management.

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.