Magazine of Western University of Health Sciences | Summer 2013
Commencement
!
Mission Statement
T
o produce, in a humanistic tradition,
health care professionals and biomedical knowledge that will
enhance and extend the quality of life in our communities.
SUMMER 2013
WESTERN
U
View
COMMENCEMENT 2013
The university graduated the inaugural
classes of its colleges of Dental Medicine,
Optometry and Podiatric Medicine, and
also acknowledged its 10,000th graduate.
Pgs. 14-19
CONTENTS
PROFILE
The Board of Trustees .........................................................2
Message from the President ...............................................3
Message from the Senior Vice President ............................4
J-1 Visitor Program Holds First Luncheon...........................5
Jacob’s Story........................................................................6
Pg. 6
COMP Professor Retires After 30+ Years .........................10
Jacob’s Story
CVM Professor and PBL Pioneer Retires ...........................12
Diagnosed with leukemia, Jacob Adashek was
undeterred as he made his transition from Pitzer
College to COMP with support from both schools.
Commencement!...............................................................14
COMP Alumnus Now Asst. Dean at Touro.........................20
Ray Symposium Addresses Obesity ...................................22
WesternU View
A publication of the Public Affairs Department of University
Advancement at Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA.
Copyright 2013. Reproduction or other use of the contents of this
publication are only by express permission of Western
University of Health Sciences. All rights reserved.
Jeff Keating, Editor
Rodney Tanaka, Senior Writer
Jeff Malet, Writer/Photographer
Mirza Hasanefendic, Daniel Tatum, Ryan Balber,
Monica Preciado, Eric Reed, Contributing Photographers
Paul Gettler, Graphic Designer
Philip Pumerantz, PhD, President, Western University of Health Sciences
Thomas G. Fox, PhD, Senior Vice President
WesternU View News Roundup.........................................24
COP Golf Scholarship Tourney Raises $13,000..................30
East West Scholarship Dinner Honors Victor Law ............33
Towne & Gown Golf Classic Raises More Than $34,000 ...34
ECC Brings Implantable Telescope to SoCal......................36
Alumni Class Notes............................................................38
Alumni Calendar ...............................................................42
WesternU View Winter 2013 1
Board of Trustees
Richard A. Bond, DO, FAAFP, DrPH,
Chairman
Philip Pumerantz, PhD, LHD
(Hon.), President (ex officio)
Linda L. Crans, BS
Vice Chair
Warren Lawless, LHD (Hon.),
Chairman Emeritus
John A. Forbing,
Secretary
Ethan R. Allen, DO,
DSc (Hon.), Treasurer
Tony L. Chan,
PharmD
Gene Barduson,
MMath
Maureen Duffy-Lewis,
JD
John T. McGwire,
DDS
Vincent J. Naimoli,
BS, MS, MBA, LHD (Hon.)
Mike Quick
David Sadava,
PhD
Derek A. Samuel,
MPT
2
Western University of Health Sciences
Message from the President
This Summer 2013 edition of WesternU View focuses on our most
recent Commencement, which is a wonderfully exciting and rewarding
event for all of us at the University.
Commencement 2013 will always hold a special place in the history of
WesternU, for it marked the first time that students from three of our
newest colleges – Dental Medicine, Optometry and Podiatric Medicine
– walked across the stage at Pasadena Civic Auditorium and received
their diplomas. The new colleges graduated a total of 160 students on
May 15 -- 73 from Optometry, 64 from Dental Medicine, and 23 from
Podiatric Medicine.
Activist and actor Edward James Olmos, whose own family has been affected by diabetes and other
health issues, was the keynote speaker for this inaugural commencement ceremony. He urged the
graduates to help as many people as possible, regardless of their circumstances.
“There will be some who cannot pay you. Treat them. There will be people who need hospitals. Go
find them. Pay it back by giving of yourself. We need saints out here in today's world, more than
ever,” he said.
Olmos’ stirring words once again reminded me of how important the teaching, learning and
community service being performed at WesternU is to the world. As you peruse the pages of
WesternU View, you’ll see how the commitment to healing our fellows plays out across campus and
in our communities, and how Commencement is not so much an ending as it is the beginning of a
life of service to others.
I know you’ll join me in celebrating not only our new graduates, but all who serve as WesternU’s
ambassadors to the world.
Philip Pumerantz, PhD
WesternU View Summer 2013 3
Message from the
Senior Vice President
Physics tells us that objects in motion tend to stay in motion. When we look at
Western University of Health Sciences’ motion, it is not only continuing, but
geometrically increasing.
This year, for the first time, WesternU graduated students from nine colleges.
This magazine contains a number of articles and pictures about the
commencements the University conducted to graduate those students. In
addition to the thousands of people who physically attended the five ceremonies,
hundreds of people from around the world tuned in over the Internet to watch
the commencements. Individuals from Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa, as well as North America,
viewed the proceedings. How wonderful to be in Mombasa, Kenya, and watch a member of your family be
awarded a professional degree from a university in California. This reflects the reality that Western University of
Health Sciences has become a multinational resource for training health care providers.
When this year’s commencements were finished, the ranks of University alumni exceeded 10,000, an
accomplishment that is nothing short of remarkable when you realize the first class graduated in 1982 with 32
students. The alumni body of the University will now be growing at more than 1,000 students per year. The
progress in the size and quality of the University’s teaching, research, and patient care programs is equally
remarkable. Recently, a member of the University family told me the University is “on fire” with achievements.
As you read through this issue of WesternU View, I hope you can share our sense of excitement, not just with
what has been accomplished, but in anticipation of a future defined by unlimited energy, and a spirit that
believes nothing is impossible if you refuse to accept limits.
Thomas G. Fox, PhD
4
Western University of Health Sciences
J-1 Visitor Program holds first scholar luncheon
T
The Office of International Scholar Relations, J-1
Exchange Visitor Program, held its first J-1 Scholar
Luncheon on April 9, 2013. The event was hosted
by J-1 Program administrators Jeannette Fitzpatrick,
J-1 Responsible Officer, and Sasha Bates, J-1
Alternate Responsible Officer. Nine of the 12
current visiting scholars attended the gathering.
Dr. Philip Pumerantz, WesternU President, and
Gary Gugelchuk, PhD, Provost and Chief Operating
Officer, joined the luncheon to welcome the
scholars and to listen as they
shared about their research
programs and cultural
experiences while visiting
WesternU.
The J-1 Exchange Visitor
Program is administered by
the U.S Department of State’s
Department of Homeland
Security. The purpose of the J-1 Program is “to
promote international educational and cultural
exchange in order to develop mutual
understanding between the people of the United
States and other countries.”
Western University of Health Sciences has the
honor of being a designated J-1 Program Sponsor,
committed to global engagement through the
exchange of knowledge shared between scholars of
other countries and the WesternU campus
community. The J-1 Program, in support of world
peace, helps contribute to intellectual and cultural
diversity
through
dedicated service
to our visiting
international
scholars. To date,
the University
has hosted 27 J-1
Exchange
Visitors on the
Pomona campus.
For more information about the J-1 Exchange Visitor
Program, please visit the International Scholars website,
www.westernu.edu/exchange-visitors-welcome.
– Jeanette Fitzpatrick
WesternU View Summer 2013 5
PROFILE
Jacob’s
Story
Jacob Adashek is more than a year
away from enrolling in the College
of Osteopathic Medicine of the
Pacific, but he already feels like
part of the family.
J
Jacob Adashek is a second-year student at Pitzer
College and is part of the college’s linkage
program with COMP. But his fast track from
Pitzer to COMP was upended when he was
diagnosed with leukemia following the end of
his first year of undergraduate school.
When he talked to Pitzer and COMP about his
diagnosis, he was overwhelmed by the response
and reassured about choosing this particular
linkage program.
“(Former COMP Dean Clinton Adams) said,
‘Don’t worry about anything. Take as much time
as you need. Get better. Your seat is reserved. I
don’t care if you’re a year late, two years late. I’ll
take care of it,’ ” Adashek said. “It put me at
ease. It makes you want to be part of the
WesternU family even more. Pitzer and
6
Western University of Health Sciences
Photos by Jeff Malet
WesternU, I couldn’t thank them more for being
understanding of my situation.”
Adashek’s life changed after completing his first
year at Pitzer in May 2011. While visiting his
parents in San Diego during the break, he
noticed a lesion on his lip that wasn’t going
away.
A dentist took a blood test, and found Adashek’s
platelet count was 34,000, well below the
average of 200,000. He went to the emergency
room at UC San Diego, where his bone marrow
was tested. From the ER he went to the bone
marrow transplant wing. He had acute myeloid
leukemia with MLL gene rearrangement, which
gave him a poor prognosis and high risk. He
needed a bone marrow transplant and spent 26
days in the hospital undergoing treatment.
None of his siblings were bone marrow matches. His
high school friend, Jake Levey, who attends the
University of Michigan, started a Facebook page
encouraging people to register as bone marrow donors.
“When you’re in high school, you have friends, but
you don’t think about what these people will become.
This was the year after graduation. More than 500
people tested to see if they were bone marrow
matches,” Adashek said. “It’s a feeling you can’t
describe. There are remarkable people in this world.
You think there aren’t good people, but there are good
people. They’re all around you.”
“I’m still recovering
now. If you saw me,
you’d never know.
I have my hair back,
my beard back. It’s
been quite a
process.”
At the end of July 2011, he found five perfect matches.
Only one-third of the population has perfect matches.
He was admitted to the hospital on Sept. 18 for five
days of pre-regiment – two days of high-dose
chemotherapy and three days of total body
irradiation. He was placed on a bed with his arms
taped up so he didn’t move. He was exposed to highdose radiation (X-rays) in a three-day period to try to
kill off the cancer cells.
The day of the bone marrow transplant is Day 0. By
day plus 30 or 45, Adashek’s bone marrow and red
blood cells had recovered.
“The prognosis is I’m leukemia free,” he said.
But he still has a long road to recovery. With the
transplant, cells must engraft, usually within two
weeks. His took a few months. He had to get a blood
transfusion once a week for four hours each. He had
more than 80 blood transfusions.
“On one side, I was happy I don’t have leukemia. On
the other side I was frustrated that I was requiring
transfusions once or twice a week. There’s really
nothing you can do about it. It’s a long process,”
Adashek said. “Some people try to plan things out
week by week. With my life, my situation, I need to do
things minute by minute.”
He needs to take immune suppression medications so
the bone marrow transplant takes.
“I’m still recovering now,” he said. “If you saw me,
you’d never know. I have my hair back, my beard
back. It’s been quite a process.”
Adashek is grateful for his bone marrow donor, who
lives in Israel.
“I don’t know him. He doesn’t know anything about
me,” Adashek said. “Without him I wouldn’t be here
today.”
In Israel, donor rules prohibit contact between a donor
and recipient for two years. Adashek hopes to meet his
donor in September 2013 when the two-year waiting
period ends.
WesternU View Summer 2013 7
“I wanted to thank
him so much for the
gift he gave me,” he
said. “You can’t
really thank a person
for something like
that. It’s the gift of
life. It’s not
something you can
put a price tag on.”
He is also grateful to
his parents, John
and Debbie, who
took him to all of his
appointments and
were with him
through it all.
“I have to thank my
parents for
everything they’ve
done,” Adashek said.
“I was in the hospital
for more than 100
days total. My mom
and dad spent every
day there with me.”
He applied to 26
combined degree
programs and was
accepted to five of
them. WesternU’s
interprofessional
education program
intrigued him. The
linkage program at
Pitzer is three
years undergrad,
then four years at
COMP.
“When I heard
about it, it really
sparked my
interest. I had
experience of
being in an ICU.
I was not naïve to
the fact that it’s
not just doctors.”
He learned
firsthand the
importance of
teamwork when
he was
He more recently
hospitalized. The
was hospitalized for Jacob shows off an app that shows his medical and test results and communications with his doctor.
nurses were there
gall bladder surgery
around the clock to
for two weeks. His father slept over every night.
care for him, and the doctor came in with a team once
a day – a pharmacist, nurse practitioner and fellows.
“Not everyone has that. I don’t know how I would do
this without them,” Adashek said. “It’s a full-time job. “Nurses are unbelievable people. People don’t
Without my parents, it’s scary to say where I’d be.”
understand how much nurses do, how
Adashek has wanted to be a doctor since he was 15,
and his experience as a patient has reinforced that
decision. He started shadowing doctors and
volunteering in the intensive care unit at a hospital in
Milwaukee, where he grew up. He shadowed a
dermatologist, cardiologist, plastic surgeon and
thoracic surgeon.
8
Western University of Health Sciences
underappreciated they are,” Adashek said. “When
you’re in pain, it’s 1 a.m. and you’re lying in bed, the
doctor isn’t the one holding your hand making you
feel better. It’s the nurses.”
When you’re a doctor, you meet patients in their most
vulnerable state, Adashek said.
They are people: mothers, fathers,
daughters, sons, brothers, and
friends. During class, the students
were once again reminded that
their patients are more than a
disease or a “case.”
“They’re coming to you for
advice to try and better their
lives, or to try to fix
something wrong with
them,” he said. “When you
go to the doctor, you feel
comfortable confiding in
them, the trust. I know what
it’s like to be on the other
side. It makes you understand
what they’re going through.
It makes you that much more
compassionate.”
The class learned about Adashek’s
leukemia diagnosis and treatment
as “Case 4,” and then Adashek gave
them a personal view of the case.
“Just realize these are real people,”
Adashek told the class. “It’s hard to
put into perspective. I am Case 4.
Realize that everything you’re
doing is leading up to you being
with real people. This is like a
challenge, a game, to figure out
what’s going on, but in the end it’s
Adashek has already made an Jacob visited WesternU on Feb. 28, 2013, and spoke to first- and
impression on COMP faculty second-year COMP and CPM students in First Year Lymphatic
System class about his ordeal, taught by COMP professor of
and students. COMP
immunology Gerald Thrush, PhD. Jacob was known as Case 4
Assistant Dean of Pre-Clinical to the students, and gave them a meaningful account of what
he has gone through.
Education Gerald Thrush,
PhD, invited Adashek to
someone’s life.”
speak in his blood lymphatics class for first-year
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and Doctor of
The class gave him a standing ovation at the end of
Podiatric Medicine students.
his presentation.
Thrush first met Jacob as a high school senior when he
applied for the Pitzer-COMP linkage program.
His battle with leukemia will allow him to connect
that much more with people, Adashek said.
“Nurses are unbelievable people. People don’t understand how
much nurses do, how underappreciated they are. When you’re in
pain, it’s 1 a.m. and you’re lying in bed, the doctor isn’t the one
holding your hand making you feel better. It’s the nurses.”
“I will be able to look into their
eyes, and hopefully they will see
in me that I feel their pain and I
know what they’re going
through,” he said.
The ordeal has made him
appreciate every single day,
Adashek said. He likes the
quote, “Celebrate a bad day.”
– Jacob Adashek
“Jake is a very intelligent, caring individual, and he’s
going to fit in here so nicely,” Thrush said. “He sees
the big picture for any disease, and along with his
compassion, these are traits that will help him become
an excellent physician.”
Dr. Thrush recalled a story that WesternU President
Philip Pumerantz often tells prospective students, that
their patients are not tissue on a microscope slide.
“A lot of people have a bad day. But not everyone has
tomorrow,” he said. “I like to say that, ‘Celebrate a bad
day,’ because there are people sitting in bed in a
hospital and today is their last. They don’t get
tomorrow to make it up.”
–Rodney Tanaka
WesternU View Summer 2013 9
COMP
Professor
to retire
after 30+
years
C
Younoszai and his family (L-R): son Adam, DO ’00, wife Barbara, and
son Barak, DO ’98.
College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific
Professor Emeritus Rafi Younoszai, PhD, is
retiring after serving Western University of
Health Sciences for more than 30 years. Along
the way, he helped countless students and
created community service student clubs that
continue to thrive today, and he continues to
inspire others to travel abroad to learn more
about international medicine.
He came to the College of Osteopathic
Medicine of the Pacific in its infancy, driven
by a great desire to teach. Osteopathic medical
colleges were known to support good teaching,
Younoszai said, and he also wanted to return
to California, having earned his undergraduate
degree at UC Berkeley.
10
Western University of Health Sciences
Nadir Khan, PhD, then Dean of Sciences, hired
Younoszai and Gayle Nelson, PhD, on July 1,
1979. They both taught gross anatomy to firstand second-year students.
“Dr. Younoszai took an embryonic program of
anatomy from conception to adulthood. He
brought new academic standards in anatomy
laboratory exercises and specimen preparation,
and he established the basis for the current
anatomical museum,” said WesternU
Founding President Philip Pumerantz, PhD.
“Equally important, he has served as a role
model to generations of osteopathic physicians
and students and to his colleagues. Although
he is retiring, he will always be a valued
member of our WesternU family.”
COMP was in an outdoor mall, with one lecture hall,
no individual faculty offices and one dean and one
receptionist, Younoszai said. COMP was mainly made
up of non-traditional students – they were older, had
been in the workforce
for a while, and
needed a change.
“They wanted to
become physicians,”
Younoszai said. “They
were dedicated people.
They knew what they
wanted and made up
their minds. They
were devoted people,
hard-working and
compassionate
Dr. Younoszai in his early years at COMP.
people.”
“
Younoszai attended the 1988 National Council for
International Health (NCIH) meeting in Washington,
D.C. NCIH at that time was celebrating the 10-year
anniversary of successes in its Primary Health Care
(PHC) projects in many developing countries.
It is through service learning that students learn to
identify the community and its needs, how to provide
for unmet needs, to reflect on their civic responsibilities,
and how to interact with students from other
professions...
– Rafi Younoszai, PhD
“
The definition of primary health care at that time was
also how osteopathic medicine defined itself,
Younoszai said. At that conference, faculty from
allopathic medical schools sending students abroad to
learn about primary health care formed the Global
Health Education Consortium (GHEC).
The need for Academic Health Centers in the U.S. to
provide health care to surrounding communities was
also called for during the meeting, Younoszai said.
In response, Younoszai helped COMP create the
Pomona Community Health Action Team (PCHAT),
which has been providing basic health screenings to
the Pomona community since 1995. Pomona
Homeless Outreach Project (PHOP) was established
soon after. Both
projects are
student-run,
supervised by
COMP physicians,
and are now part of
the students’
service learning
curriculum
activities.
“It is through
service learning
that students learn
to identify the
community and its
needs, how to provide for unmet needs, to reflect on
their civic responsibilities, and how to interact with
students from other professions,” Younoszai said.
“Service learning provides them interprofessional skills
for their future medical homes.”
Younoszai established the Rafi Younoszai Fourth Year
Elective in International Health, an endowed
scholarship that covers some travel expenses for the
recipient’s international rotation.
“I believe that our existing health care system does not
provide adequate and equitable health care to our
needy communities,” Younoszai said. “Primary health
care models in developing countries can become
models of the medical home concept presently
becoming more popular in California. This could bring
down the cost of health care and make it more
equitable. We need primary care physicians to attend
the needs of these communities in the U.S. Providing
opportunities for our students to practice in primary
health care clinics in developing countries will, I
believe, help train and entice our students to serve in
needy communities locally.”
– Rodney Tanaka
WesternU View Summer 2013 11
College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Phillip Nelson, DVM, PhD, (left) presents the Dean’s Pioneer Award to
Stephen Waldhalm, PhD, DVM, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Physiology.
College of Veterinary Medicine,
PBL pioneer to retire
T
The College of Veterinary Medicine celebrated
the retirement of Stephen Waldhalm, PhD,
DVM, a founding faculty member who helped
develop the College’s problem-based learning
(PBL) curriculum.
At a reception held May 13, 2013 at Western
University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif.,
College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Phillip
Nelson, DVM, PhD, presented Waldhalm with
the Dean’s Pioneer Award and announced that
he is to be named Professor of Veterinary
Medicine Emeritus, effective July 1, 2013.
12
Western University of Health Sciences
Waldhalm said he will miss the daily interaction
with students, although he plans to return to
campus to facilitate small-group discussions and
provide other assistance. He is proud of the CVM
faculty becoming adopters and champions of
PBL.
“I always believed that if you truly understood
the things a veterinarian does every day in
routine practice, then you would truly have the
right knowledge of medicine in hand to go out
into the workplace,” he said. “It bothered me
that traditional lecture-based curriculum was
determined and delivered by a faculty that had
become highly specialized in their focus area, and
maybe lost sight of what graduates need when they
first go into their professional career. So if you go back
to what a veterinarian does every day and you truly
develop an understanding of the basic sciences
underneath those activities, you would have the right
education when you finish. That’s what PBL really is -the routine things veterinarians do every day, and the
behavior of efficiently finding additional information
at the time it is needed.”
Waldhalm is the CVM Associate
Dean for Faculty Affairs and
Professor of Physiology. He first
came to the WesternU campus in
1998 to demonstrate problem-based
learning during CVM’s founding. He
then joined the CVM faculty in
2002 to establish the PBL
curriculum, after retiring from
Mississippi State University.
Bringing Waldhalm on board was
probably the most critical hire for
the College because of his PBL expertise, said Professor
of Radiology Gary Johnston, DVM, MS, DACVR, who
is also a founding faculty member.
“We had to have somebody who knew how to teach
problem-based learning and how to interview faculty
so we would know they would embrace it,” Johnston
said. “He was a very integral part of getting this
College off the ground.”
Dean Nelson thanked Waldhalm’s wife, Marilyn, for
sharing her husband with CVM. He presented her
with a bouquet of flowers and a gift certificate.
“Watching this college grow over the past 10 years has
been exciting for me,” Marilyn Waldhalm said. “The
whole educational paradigm change, what’s happened
in the profession, is being led here at WesternU by all
of you. Steve may have been a conductor with PBL,
but you’re the orchestra, and the music is beautiful.”
The Waldhalms will help create a new Veterinary
Student Leadership Award as an endowed scholarship
at the college.
“We both have gained so much by working through
several veterinary professional associations, and with
the leaders in this profession, and we would like to
pay forward our appreciation,” Stephen Waldhalm
said. “We see a need to encourage and reward active
and passionate student leaders of the student chapters
of the AVMA or AVMA-sanctioned
professional veterinary organizations.
This award will help attract students to
leadership roles and encourage them to
continue service to the veterinary
profession long into the future. We
hope you will join us in this important
effort, which will provide valued and
needed scholarship support to
generations of student leaders, the
future heart of the profession.”
Waldhalm said he will devote his free
time to his many hobbies, including
flying simulated aircraft on the
computer, woodworking, taking care of a new dog,
and visiting his 11 grandchildren and one “grand-dog”
spread throughout the country. The Waldhalms also
have a home in Oregon and an RV in which to travel
the country. He leaves the College with confidence
that his work rests in good hands.
“What I was hearing were the words and confidence in
this program, and the dream and the vision and the
innovation we had put together has become yours.
The recruiting effort that brought you here was one of
the things that I’m most proud of,” Waldhalm said.
“As a result of that, the students we graduated here
who are consistently performing above the national
average are the true paycheck, the true reward that
comes to each of us now. And I’m just so grateful to
have been able to make this investment with you and
to see you take the mantle upon yourself to bring this
program forward.”
– Rodney Tanaka
WesternU View Summer 2013 13
!
Commencement
WesternU graduates 932
W
Western University of Health Sciences marked
two important milestones in its history
May 15-17, as the university graduated the
inaugural classes of its colleges of Dental
Medicine, Optometry and Podiatric Medicine,
and also
acknowledged its
10,000th
graduate.
Class of 2013 DMD graduates Khan Waleed Askarzoi, left and Joshua Carpenter
He urged the graduates to help as many people
as possible, regardless of their circumstances.
“There will be some who cannot pay you. Treat
them. There will be people who need hospitals.
Go find them. Pay it back by giving of yourself.
We need saints out here in
today’s world, more than
ever,” he said.
He also thanked the graduates
Activist and actor
for choosing health care as a
Edward James
profession, and noted that
Olmos, whose
only with new generations of
own family has
healers can hope survive.
been affected by
Gesturing to himself and to
College of Podiatric Medicine Dean Lawrence Harkless, College of
diabetes and other
Optometry Dean Elizabeth Hoppe, College of Dental Medicine Dean
the faculty assembled on stage
health issues, was
Steven Friedrichsen, and keynote speaker Edward James Olmos.
at the Pasadena Civic Center
the keynote
auditorium, he said “We’re
speaker for the inaugural commencement
ceremony for the podiatric medicine, optometry the wisdom. Youth is the hope. Hope without
wisdom is useless. Wisdom without hope dies.”
and dental colleges on Wednesday, May 15.
14
Western University of Health Sciences
Olmos then pledged to keep helping the needy and
underserved, and closed his remarks with the rallying
cry made famous by his SyFy Channel show,
“Battlestar Galactica”: “So say we all!”
College of Optometry graduate Jonathan Chan, OD
’13, said he was grateful to be part of the inaugural
class, and that while there were hardships along the
way, “I think that’s what it takes to form the building
blocks of a good program.”
College of Podiatric Medicine graduate Josh Hunt,
DPM ’13, said he made a lot of good friendships in his
four years at WesternU, and that being in the charter
class required an ability to roll with the changes.
“The best part was (the College administration)
listened to our feedback, and we were able to see those
changes implemented,” he said.
In all, the University graduated 932 students from
nine colleges over three days, during five ceremonies
total.
The second ceremony on May 15, following the
inaugural CDM/CO/CPM graduation, was for the
College of Pharmacy, which gave diplomas to 147
graduates – eight for Master of Science in
Pharmaceutical Sciences, and 139 to new Doctors of
Pharmacy.
“I feel very blessed to have gone through the
curriculum here at WesternU,” said College of
Pharmacy graduate Michael Trillanes, PharmD ’13,
who will be entering a residency program at UC San
Francisco.
He said he’s ready to leave the comfort of WesternU
and take the next step. “It is scary. I feel the safety net
is gone. You’re your own pharmacist. But I feel I’m
ready.”
On Thursday, May 16, ceremonies were held in the
morning for the College of Allied Health Professions
(CAHP) and the College of Graduate Nursing (CGN),
and in the afternoon for the College of Veterinary
Medicine (CVM).
Connie Tsai, OD ’13
Bob Dudzik, father of College of Dental Medicine
graduate Christopher Dudzik, DMD ’13, said of his
son: “I think his main concern will be for patients. He
will make them comfortable. Sometimes there is a
negative connotation to seeing a dentist. I think he’s
going to bring a positive attitude to the profession,
and make people feel good about it.”
The newest WesternU colleges graduated a total of 160
students on May 15 -- 73 from Optometry, 64 from
Dental Medicine, and 23 from Podiatric Medicine.
At the morning ceremony, keynote speaker Jason
Hwang told the 272 total graduates from the two
colleges that as new health professionals, “your
overarching mission is to protect and care for
humanity.”
Hwang, MD, MBA, an internal medicine physician
who co-authored “The Innovator’s Prescription: A
Disruptive Solution for Health Care,” said he believes
three statements are true about health care as a whole:
“There is no better industry to be part of. There is no
more honorable profession to be in. And there is no
better time to be a health care professional.”
Bart Bosveld attended the ceremony to celebrate his
wife, Suzette Grier Bosveld, who was attaining her
WesternU View Summer 2013 15
combination of ceremony
scheduling and her last name’s
place in the alphabet – was
celebrated by Dr. Richard Bond,
chairman of the WesternU Board
of Trustees, who was the very first
graduate of the College of
Osteopathic Medicine of the
Pacific’s inaugural class in 1982.
Doctor of Nursing Practice
degree. “She’s a marvelous
human being. She’s the
quintessential nurse. She’s the
nurse you would want to have at
your bedside in the worst
moments,” he said.
Suzette has worked as a nurse for
25 years, and she wanted to give
back to the profession, so she
began teaching. She is now a
College of Graduate Nursing
faculty member.
“Students love her. She has a way
of teaching that oozes
enthusiasm for nursing and
taking care of individuals,” Bosveld said.
Tho Nguyen, PharmD ’13, center,
with daughter, left and husband, right
That afternoon, veterinarian/comedian Kevin
Fitzgerald, longtime host of the Animal Planet
program “Emergency Vets,” and a 25-year
veterinarian, told the College of Veterinary Medicine’s
97 newly minted DVMs that they should not waste
time learning any tricks of the trade, “because there
are no tricks. You need to learn the art of veterinary
medicine.”
Fitzgerald also encouraged the graduates to stay on top
of trends and techniques in their profession, and to be
willing to adapt to their patients and to society. “Be
flexible. You have to adapt, or you become a
dinosaur.”
Fitzgerald closed with this guidance: “Stay hungry for
knowledge. Be patient. Be flexible. And be cool.”
The CVM ceremony included a brief recognition for
WesternU’s 10,000th graduate, Maia Aerni, DVM, the
first CVM graduate to receive her diploma in 2013.
The landmark number – attached to Aerni through a
16
Western University of Health Sciences
John and Pam Van Kurin, parents
of graduate Ashley Van Kurin,
DVM ’13, said their daughter
wanted to come to WesternU
because of all the practical
experience CVM students receive.
The key to being a good in any
health care field is good people skills, John Van Kurin
said.
“She’s (Ashley) great with people, and obviously she’s
good with animals,” he said. “The key is
demonstrating your passion about the client’s animal,
and she’s got that. In working with dog and cat
owners, once they see you have that loving
personality, people get more comfortable with you as a
doctor.”
The Van Kurins also praised WesternU’s tradition of
family hooding, wherein relatives and friends of the
graduate place the shawl-like hood representing their
graduate’s specialty over their head and on their
shoulders following the awarding of their diploma.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for my wife
and I to demonstrate how proud we are of her
accomplishing this tremendous feat,” John said. “We
know how much work went into getting to this
moment. We’re making a memory today.”
WesternU’s 32nd Annual Commencement exercises
ended on Friday morning, May 17, with the awarding
of 256 diplomas to graduates of the College of
Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific and the Graduate
College of Biomedical Sciences.
Continued on page 18
The College of Optometry, College of Dental Medicine and College of Podiatric
Medicine reached a milestone in May, graduating their inaugural classes. But
every milestone begins with a first step, or in this case, a first student.
When Harout Khanjian, OD ’13, became the first student to be accepted to the
WesternU College of Optometry, his entire life changed.
“That’s what I like about him. To me, if everyone in a leadership position was like
him, maybe the world would be better.”
Dr. Khanjian had proposed to his fiancé, Lilian, but held off on setting a wedding
date until after he was accepted to optometry school. He found out he was
accepted to the College of Optometry on Sept. 23, 2008, and the following day he
and Lilian set a wedding date. They married on June 14, 2009; he started at
WesternU two months later.
As members of their respective inaugural classes, these students were part of the
launch of WesternU’s Interprofessional Education curriculum, which brings together
multiple disciplines on campus. The goal is for WesternU graduates to demonstrate
an understanding of other health professions and to provide and promote a team
approach to patient care and health care management, leading to improved
patient care.
“This was a really big stepping
stone in my life,” Khanjian said.
“With this acceptance, not only
was I able to fulfill my lifelong
passion for the profession, but also
give back to my parents all they
gave up for me. They sacrificed a
lot in their lives to give me the
opportunity that I had here in
the U.S.”
“I think IPE is a good idea to learn
about every other profession,” Dr.
Mvuemba said. “We are Podiatry’s
first class; when we started, many
people didn’t know what podiatry
was. It’s a way for us to explain our
profession, as well. It also helps you
learn about other professions and
create a relationship and build a
referral system.”
His family emigrated from Beirut,
Lebanon, which at the time was
engulfed in civil war.
Luisa Snyder, DMD ’13, was the first
student accepted to the College of
Dental Medicine, and her husband,
Harout Khanjian, OD ’13, left, Luisa Snyder, DMD ’13 and Sonia Mvuemba, DPM ’13
"My parents left all their
Nathan, may have been a close
possessions, family and money.
second. They were both invited to
They did not speak English. It was a big sacrifice so all three of their children could interview at WesternU on the same day. Luisa was in class when she received the
have a fair chance at an education,” he said. “That’s why school is so important.
acceptance call from the College.
Looking back now, I’m proud to say that all three of their children are now
physicians in the United States.”
“My heart started beating faster than ever, because my lifelong dream of
becoming a dentist was coming true at last. I did not know if my husband received
Taking a chance on a new school requires a special kind of personality, Khanjian
the call as well, because we were at different locations at the university,” she said.
said. But he and his classmates believed in the administration and the institution.
“I remember riding my bicycle to his building and hoping for the best. When his
College of Optometry Founding Dean Elizabeth Hoppe did a lot more than start a
class ended, he came out of the room, we exchanged looks, ran toward each other
school, he said.
and hugged, and at that moment I knew that I would not have to go through this
chapter of my life alone; I would have my soul mate with me.”
“She made my personal life, my career, and allowed me to be able to deliver care
to thousands of patients,” Khanjian said. “Without her vision, none of my dreams
They both graduated with DMD degrees in May, and they were both accepted to a
were possible.”
General Practice Residency at the VA Hospital in West Los Angeles.
During his four years at WesternU, Khanjian not only maintained a successful
marriage but also welcomed his daughter, Arpi.
Sonia Mvuemba, DPM ’13, was also full of praise for the leader of her college,
College of Podiatric Medicine Founding Dean Lawrence Harkless.
“He talks to you and he’s open. He doesn’t look down on people,” she said.
“I am extremely happy and proud of what we have accomplished. Graduation was
something that seemed far in the future, and now that we have accomplished this
goal it feels like a dream of its own,” Dr. Snyder said. “There are many
experiences that will stay near to my heart, from the white coat ceremony, to
entering the simulation clinic, to seeing my first real patient. All these experiences
have shaped who I am and will continue to shape who I want to become as a
dentist.”
WesternU View Summer 2013 17
Dr. Jason Hwang, pulling double duty as a WesternU
keynote speaker, told the graduates that the single
largest issue they will face in the immediate future will
be scope of practice, as the country begins adjusting to
the mandates in the Affordable Care Act. How health
care is provided must change through disruptive
innovation, he said. “The alternative is to put our
heads in the sand.
“We all say that we want to help change health care
for the better. Well, you already understand the need
for innovations,” regardless of where they come from,
he told the graduates.
College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific
graduate Petros Frousiakis, DO ’13, said he is relieved
that medical school is over, and he is excited to move
on to the next stage. He will be starting an orthopedic
residency in Ventura.
Scott Raskin, DO ’13
“It hasn’t hit me yet that I’m going to be a doctor,” he
admitted. “Today is mostly for my family and my
friends, for all the sacrifices they had to make.”
The Master of Science in Medical Sciences program,
part of the Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences,
helps aspiring health professionals gain an edge when
they apply for health professions college programs.
Tejal Kothari, MSMS ’13, will enter COMP in the fall.
“It’s a good stepping stone,” she said. “We take a lot of
classes with the same faculty that teach in COMP. It’s a
good way to prepare for next year.”
– Jeff Keating and Rodney Tanaka
Melissa Ellis, PA ’13 with her mother, Mary Helen, WesternU librarian
18
Western University of Health Sciences
From l-r: Dr. Grant Dunbar, Dr. Brittany Neal, Dr. Victor Ramirez, Dr. Chad Schow
WesternU’s Commencement Exercises
transmitted worldwide via Internet webcast
A total of 44 countries viewed WesternU’s 2013 Commencement Exercises on a variety of
electronic devices and platforms. The USA led the way with the most views at 1,489, followed
by Canada with 53 and India with 46. Below is a list according to viewership.
USA
Canada
India
Japan
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Malaysia
Argentina
Kuwait
UK
Ghana
Mexico
Philippines
South Africa
Peru
Spain
Sweden
Austria
Colombia
Israel
Saudi Arabia
Aruba
Germany
Islamic Republic of Iran
Netherlands Antilles
Taiwan
Armenia
Jamaica
Korea
Poland
Russian Federation
Belgium
Bulgaria
Denmark
Finland
Indonesia
Italy
Jordan
Kenya
New Zealand
Pakistan
Slovenia
Turkey
Ukraine
WesternU View Summer 2013 19
COMP alumnus
now assistant
dean at Touro
W
20
When Scott Jay Harris, DO ’90, was appointed
the acting assistant dean of Clinical Education at
Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic
Medicine (TUNCOM) in August 2012, he
reflected on his career path. To put it mildly, he
was surprised.
Never in his life had Harris thought he’d be an
administrator and teacher at Touro, a school that
he says reminds him of when he was a student
at what was then the College of Osteopathic
Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) in the late
1980s.
He quickly wrote an email to a very influential
man in his life – Western University of Health
Sciences Founding President Philip Pumerantz,
PhD – telling him of his recent accomplishment
and how life has taken him on this journey.
“Once again, COMP (sorry, it’s still hard for me
to just say WesternU) has provided me with a
pathway in life that has only been covered with
the most wonderful scenery,” Harris wrote in the
email to Pumerantz.
Western University of Health Sciences20
Western University of Health Sciences
“
This journey that I’ve been on since I left (WesternU) has just been
a bunch of twists and turns. I just wanted to be a doctor and
take care of people. I never expected to be an educator and an
administrator.
– Scott Jay Harris, DO
Harris’ father, Elliot, earned his DO degree from the
College of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons
(COPS) in Los Angeles, and in 1962 became an
amalgamated MD. He also taught WesternU students
for the brief time when there was a one-year
traditional internship.
“He was another huge influence on my life,” Harris
said. “He was like me, who went to medical school as
an older-aged person.”
Harris pursued a medical degree later in life, at age 28,
after cruising through undergraduate college. He
started by working his way through nursing school as
an EMT clerk, then was hired as an ER charge nurse
upon graduation, solidifying his desire to become a
physician.
Harris said he grew up a lot while in nursing school
and became a much better student. Not many schools
were interested in him because of his lower grades and
MCATs.
“
Harris began teaching at Touro in 2007 after giving up
his long-standing private practice in rheumatology. In
addition to being dean, where he is responsible for
students on clerkships in years three and four, he is
course director for Public Health and Preventive
Medicine. He also started a course, “Differential
Diagnosis in Clinical Reasoning,” for freshman that
carries over into their sophomore year.
“WesternU looked beyond that and gave me an
opportunity, so when I got here, I looked at it as
somebody giving me a second chance. I was going to
make it the best effort I could possibly do, because I
wanted to be a good doctor,” Harris said. “It was what
I really wanted to do, plus I was fulfilling the family
wishes. I realized I liked it and had a talent in it.”
Harris said his goal when he came to WesternU was to
survive and be in the top half of his class. He ended up
graduating No.1. Harris said he achieved a 3.97 GPA.
Harris’ ascension to assistant dean at Touro was partly
a result of circumstance. He took over for a friend and
colleague after he was diagnosed with cancer; at the
same time, the associate dean ran for a legislative seat
and won.
“This journey that I’ve been on since I left (WesternU)
has just been a bunch of twists and turns,” he said. “I
just wanted to be a doctor and take care of people. I
never expected to be an educator and an
administrator.”
In an email response to Harris, President Pumerantz
said he was quite touched by Harris’ note, and was
proud of his new career.
“It is comforting to know that you are now one of the
leaders in osteopathic medical education,” Pumerantz
said.
– Jeff Malet
WesternU View Summer 2013 21
Ray Symposium
addresses
obesity
P
Preventing obesity, and slowing and ultimately
ending the national obesity epidemic, will
require a cultural change that must be led by
parents, educators, community leaders, and
future generations of health professionals, a
national weight and health expert told a
Western University of Health Sciences audience
Thursday, April 18, 2013.
Patricia B. Crawford, DrPH, RD, was the guest
speaker at the University’s annual Ray
Symposium – Global Lectures in Health Care
event, which was presented by the College of
Pharmacy and the Interprofessional Education
program. The symposium honors Max D. Ray,
MS, PharmD, dean emeritus of the College of
Pharmacy. It was held in Lecture Hall I of the
Health Education Center on the WesternU
campus.
Crawford, director of the Robert C. and Veronica
Atkins Center for Weight and Health at the
University of California, Berkeley, cited a
22
Western University of Health Sciences
Patricia B. Crawford, DrPH, RD
number of statistics in describing the severity of
the obesity epidemic in the United States,
including:
• One out of three children, and two out of
three adults, are overweight or obese.
• 37% of adults are pre-diabetic.
• 3% of adults have undiagnosed type 2
diabetes; 8% have a type 2 diagnosis.
• Americans, on average, consume 12% more
calories than they did 40 years ago (daily
average of 1,996 calories in 1971-74 vs. 2,234
calories in 2005-08).
• On any given day, 30% to 40% of children eat
fast food.
• 20% of the weight increase in children from
1977 to 2007 can be attributed to sugarsweetened beverages.
• 21% ($190.2 billion) of annual medical spending in
the U.S. is on obesity-related illness.
• 23% of adolescents are diabetic or pre-diabetic.
“If nothing else moves you about
what I say, this is the (statistic)
that should move you,” Crawford
said of the adolescent
diabetes/pre-diabetic figure. “This
is unacceptable.”
only four hours of nutrition education per year,
while older children and adolescents consume more
than 7.5 hours of media each day. Nutrition
information must be increased in schools and
incorporated into the media
children consume, Crawford said.
• Making schools the focal point of
obesity prevention.
Some small victories have been
achieved in the battle against
She did not point to a single
childhood obesity recently,
cause for the surge in obesity
Crawford said, including passage of
over the past 40 years, but rather
the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of
attributed it to a variety of
2012, which increases schools’
factors, including poor access to College of Pharmacy dean emeritus, Max Ray, PharmD
federal reimbursement for lunches
fresh produce and food variety in urban communities; by 60 cents and gives the USDA authority for all foods
a lack of emphasis on physical activity, especially for
sold at school. In California, passage of a law ending
children; the addition of calorie-laden sugar and
soda sales on school property also has curbed their
carbohydrates to a broad range of food to make them
consumption by young people.
more appealing; and an absence of meaningful
Consequently, school lunches are now, on average,
nutrition education in communities and schools.
healthier than lunches brought from home. Children
“What we’ve done in this country is make it pretty
receive up to half of their daily calories in a school
darn easy to eat a lot of foods that makes us heavy,”
setting, and with healthier choices available, “we’ve
she said.
found that children are more likely to select healthy
foods if they are offered healthy foods,” she said.
Crawford, who served as an adviser for the HBO series
“The Weight of the Nation,” and is a member of
But much work clearly remains to be done, and
several weight- and obesity-related boards and
Crawford – looking squarely into the eyes of the many
committees, presented the recommendations from one health professions students in the lecture hall – said
of those groups – the Institute of Medicine’s
care providers must be one of the main messengers
Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention committee about good nutrition and healthy lifestyles.
– for curbing the obesity epidemic. The
recommendations, which take a whole-community
“You, in a way, have the bully pulpit with your
approach to solving the problem, include:
patients. They trust you. They believe you. It’s up to
you, to adults – to all of us, really – to educate
• Increasing places and opportunities for physical
everyone. We can begin to make healthy choices the
activity.
easy choice,” she said.
• Reducing unhealthy food and beverage options, and
making their healthy replacements affordable.
• Transforming message environments about
nutrition. Crawford noted that most schools offer
“We have to change the culture, and you all are the
culture leaders. We can begin to start changing the
environment in which our children live.”
– Jeff Keating
WesternU View Summer 2013 23
W
E S T E R N
PetSmart Charities® grants $300,000 to
CVM for spay/neuter mobile unit
The College of Veterinary Medicine received a
$300,000 grant from PetSmart Charities to acquire,
equip and operate a high-volume mobile spay/neuter
vehicle.
“This is a significant contribution to our academic
program that doubles the College’s mobile capacity to
address
community
needs in
the Inland
Empire and
the L.A.
basin,” said
College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Phillip Nelson,
DVM, PhD. “The support of the VACS II by PetSmart
Charities, and the contribution of personnel and
medical supplies by WesternU College of Veterinary
Medicine, will result in a partnership designed to
provide a measurable impact on the population of
unowned/unwanted animals in local communities,
while providing valuable learning experiences for our
students.”
U V
I E W
College of Pharmacy Dean Daniel Robinson, PharmD,
FASHP, thanked all those who participated in the selfstudy and the successful October 2012 accreditation
visit.
“We are very excited and proud of our full eight-year
accreditation,” he said. “Preparation was an 18-month
process that involved all of our faculty and staff, and
many of our students. We have an amazing team that
rallied behind our accreditation credo, ‘Nothing less
than eight.’ We owe a special thanks to Drs. Sunil
Prabhu and Wallace Murray for their leadership roles
in orchestrating our campus efforts.”
Accreditation for the College’s Continuing Pharmacy
Education Program also has been extended, through
January 2019. Six years is the maximum term for CE
accreditation
WesternU provides free dental care to
children during Give Kids A Smile
The vehicle, VACS II (Veterinary Ambulatory
Community Service), will be a key component of the
college’s Shelter Medicine fourth-year rotation. VACS
II, which is expected to begin operation in August
2013, will take two to three fourth-year CVM students
to area shelters to perform about 30 spays and neuters
per day.
College of Pharmacy receives
eight-year accreditation
WesternU’s College of Pharmacy accreditation has
been extended eight years, through June 2021. Eight
years is the maximum term for an accreditation cycle.
WesternU’s Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program is
accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy
Education.
24
Western University of Health Sciences
Dental student James Striland with his daughter
and patient, Adelaide, 5.
Smiles were
boundless when
Western
University of
Health Sciences’
College of
Dental Medicine
(CDM) students,
faculty, and staff
administered
free dental care
to more than 80
children during
the third annual
Give Kids A
Smile one-day
volunteer
initiative at The
Dental Center
on Saturday,
Feb. 16, 2013.
N
E W S
R
CDM faculty and students provided children with free
dental exams, cleanings, fluoride treatments, and
sealants. The Dental Center at WesternU and the TriCounty Dental Society teamed up to provide services
to children in the community.
College of Podiatric Medicine Dean
lauded for pioneering work in
amputation prevention
Western University of Health Sciences College of
Podiatric Medicine
Founding Dean
Lawrence B. Harkless,
DPM, was named the
2013 honoree for the
Edward James Olmos
Award for Advocacy in
Amputation
Prevention, presented
by the DFCon Global
Diabetic Foot
Conference.
Dean Lawrence Harkless
The award was presented at the DFCon meeting March
21-23, 2013 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los
Angeles. DFCon is considered the foremost
interdisciplinary, international conference on diabetic
foot and amputation prevention.
Dr. Harkless has taught and mentored thousands of
podiatric students, residents and interns. He is widely
viewed as a leading pioneer in integrating podiatric
medicine into mainstream medicine.
WesternU researchers identify new
mechanisms in learning and memory
Western University of Health Sciences scientists
published a study in The Journal of Neuroscience that
adds new pieces to the puzzle of how we learn.
The paper is titled “Calpain-2-mediated PTEN
Degradation Contributes to BDNF-induced
Stimulation of Dendritic Protein Synthesis,” by Victor
O U N D U P
Briz, Yu-Tien Hsu, Yi Li, Erin Lee, Xiaoning Bi, and
Michel Baudry. It was published in the March 6, 2013
edition of The Journal of Neuroscience.
The study builds on 30 years of work by Graduate
College of Biomedical Sciences Dean Michel Baudry,
PhD. The paper tests the hypothesis that calpain
activity is required for BDNF-stimulated local protein
synthesis, a key step in the molecular mechanism
underlying learning and memory.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its
signaling pathway play an important role in the
cellular mechanisms underlying long-term
potentiation of synaptic transmission, a molecular
mechanism of certain forms of long-term memory
formation.
The new publication determines that the mechanism
by which BDNF can stimulate local protein synthesis is
through BDNF-mediated stimulation of calpain. The
paper also determines that the critical target of calpain
to mediate this effect is PTEN (phosphatase and tensin
homolog deleted on chromosome ten), a known
tumor suppressor protein.
WesternU hosts autism conference
More than 200 health professionals, educators, autism
awareness
advocates
and parents
turned out
for the 11th
annual
Trends in
Autism
Conference
on Saturday,
April 6, 2013,
at Western
University of Health Sciences. The conference was
sponsored and coordinated by Casa Colina Centers for
WesternU View Summer 2013 25
Rehabilitation, with WesternU serving as a
Community Partner.
Attendees heard from several speakers on a variety of
topics, including medical issues in autistic children;
promoting success for people with autism; autism
insurance law; knowing when to ask for an autism
assessment; and an interprofessional approach to
autism. The daylong conference concluded with a
panel of autism specialists fielding questions from
parents, and others, about issues surrounding Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
All of the day’s events were held in the Health
Education Center on the WesternU campus in
downtown Pomona, California.
WesternU President receives Northwest
Osteopathic Medical Foundation award
Western University of
Health Sciences
Founding President
Philip Pumerantz, PhD,
received the Northwest
Osteopathic Medical
Foundation’s Founders
Award for Exceptional
Accomplishment.
The Founders Award
honors an individual
Dr. Philip Pumerantz
whose achievements
and contributions enhance the health of
communities. Paula Crone, DO, Vice President,
Oregon Campus Operations and College of
Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific Interim Dean,
accepted the award on behalf of Dr. Pumerantz.
The award was presented at the Northwest
Osteopathic Medical Foundation’s Founder’s Gala and
Award Evening March 2, 2013 in Portland, Oregon.
26
Western University of Health Sciences
WesternU was founded as the College of Osteopathic
Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) in Pomona, Calif. in
1977, embarking on a mission of educating health care
professionals with a combination of scientific
excellence and a humanistic, compassionate approach
to patient care.
COMP marked the return of osteopathic education to
California after an absence of more than a decade. Dr.
Pumerantz to this day recalls the osteopaths of the
Pacific Northwest as among his staunchest allies at
that time, and has acknowledged and celebrated their
contributions to COMP over the years, Crone said.
The osteopathic connection to the Northwest
continued to resonate, and was a major factor in
WesternU partnering with Samaritan Health Services
to open the COMP-Northwest campus in Lebanon in
2011.
College of Dental Medicine named
Leader in Oral Health
The Western University of Health Sciences College of
Dental Medicine recently received the 2013 Leaders in
Oral Health award from the Healthy Smiles for Kids of
Orange County.
The College was
one of three
recipients of the
award, and was
singled out “for
encouragement of
dental vocations
in a public health
setting.”
Dental student Mojdeh Roboudi uses a stuffed animal to explain
“Even though
brushing techniques to patient Alex Reyna, 9, from San Gabriel.
we’re a very
young school, we have quickly gained a reputation for
taking our service into the community, outside the
four walls of our university,” said College of Dental
Medicine Dean Steven W. Friedrichsen, DDS. “We
received this award because we are creating for
students firsthand experience with the non-tangible
rewards of community dentistry, including working
with Special Olympics.”
Dean Friedrichsen and Associate Dean for Community
Partnerships and Access to Care Timothy Martinez,
DMD, accepted the award on behalf of the College of
Dental Medicine.
“Dr. Martinez is the personal champion for this
effort,” Friedrichsen said. “He is a passionate role
model for our students.”
WesternU’s College of Dental Medicine
to receive $8.4 million from First 5 LA
Western University of Health Sciences College of
Dental Medicine will receive $8.4 million from First 5
LA to provide dental care to uninsured and
underserved children.
The First 5 LA Commission approved the initial 19month contract for $3.1 million with WesternU, part
of a fiveyear, $38million
project in
cooperation
with UCLA
and USC.
The total
awarded to
WesternU
through the full five-year implementation of the
program is anticipated to be $8.4 million.
The program will emphasize getting children into the
oral health care delivery system, or dental homes, by
age 1, said Timothy Martinez, DMD, College of Dental
Medicine Associate Dean for Community Partnerships
and Access to Care.
College of Dental Medicine faculty and students will
assess patients and provide dental care and
preventative and educational services. The College will
work with the San Gabriel Valley Foundation for
Dental Health, WesternU’s Patient Care Center, and
the Center for Oral Health, which is now housed on
WesternU’s Pomona campus. It also plans to work
collaboratively to establish four school-based dental
oral health centers.
State senator leads ACA talk
“The Changing Face of Health Care,” a presentation
and discussion of the ramifications of the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) and several proposals to help
implement it in California, drew about 300 people to
the Health
Education Center
at Western
University of
Health Sciences on
Friday, April 12,
2013.
The talk, led by
state Sen. Ed
Hernandez, D24th District, was
intended to help
current and future
health providers
gain a better
understanding of
State Senator Ed Hernandez
the immediate and
future impact of the ACA, and about how new laws
and proposed laws in California will augment the
federal ACA.
Hernandez -- himself an optometrist – said he
appreciated how WesternU students are trained with
an eye toward collaboration and with an
understanding about health care needs to evolve.
WesternU View Summer 2013 27
“You are entering (health professions) at the absolute
most exciting time in the history of our country for
health care,” he said.
guided the development and assembled all the puzzle
parts to build an incredible faculty and facilities for
the College.”
He also encouraged every student to join their
respective student and professional associations to
learn what they can do to influence health policy at
local, state and national levels. “Voice your opinion.
Engage in government. Then return to your
community and share what you’ve learned,”
Hernandez said.
Hoppe joined WesternU
in January 2007 to
establish the
University’s College of
Optometry, which
graduated its inaugural
class in May 2013. She
previously was
Associate Dean of
Academic Affairs at the
New England College
of Optometry, and was
Dean Elizabeth Hoppe
a tenured professor at
Southern California College of Optometry, where she
also was director of the outreach clinical programs,
coordinator for the public health curriculum, and
clinical preceptor in primary care and low vision.
Hoppe was the first woman chosen as editor of the
Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry’s
peer reviewed journal, Optometric Education, and was
the first woman in optometry to hold the DrPH,
which to date is held by only a small percentage of
women.
College of Optometry dean honored
by YWCA
Western University of Heath Sciences’ College of
Optometry Founding Dean Elizabeth Hoppe, OD,
DrPh, was one of nine women honored by the YWCA
San Gabriel
Valley during its
29th annual
Women of
Achievement
Awards.
The YWCA
honored
“Women of
Achievement in
the Field of Education: Honoring Passion, Dedication,
and Achievement” during its awards event on
May 21, 2013.
College of Optometry Associate Dean of Clinical
Affairs Robert Gordon, OD, FAAO, DPNAP, said he
nominated Hoppe because she’s an extraordinary
woman who met all the requirements for the honor.
“She is a woman of achievement in the field of
education,” Gordon said. “She’s been a pioneer with
her work in public health, educating optometry
students throughout her career and being the
founding dean for the College of Optometry. She has
28
Western University of Health Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine earns
seven-year accreditation
Western University of Health Sciences’ College of
Veterinary Medicine has retained its status of “Full
Accreditation” for the next seven years from the
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
Council on Education (COE).
“This is a magnificent achievement, and one we
expected as a result of our hard work and student
outcomes,” said College of Veterinary Medicine Dean
Phillip Nelson, DVM, PhD. “I want to express my
appreciation to the faculty, staff, preceptors, and
“
LPC holds grand opening
This is a magnificent achievement, and one we
expected as a result of our hard work and student
outcomes. I want to express my appreciation to the
faculty, staff, preceptors, and students that
participated in generating the self-report and
preparing for the site visit. The verbal comments of
the site team’s exit report indicated we have a great
“
team of people doing great things.
– Phillip Nelson, DVM, PhD
The grand opening of the Limb Preservation Center
(LPC) at Western University of Health Sciences drew
more than 50 people to the University’s Patient Care
Center (PCC) on Friday, April 19, 2013.
The LPC, which was established to prevent
amputation, enhance mobility, and preserve quality of
life in the growing population of high-risk patients
with chronic disease, is located within the Foot &
Ankle Center in the PCC, 795 E. 2nd St., Pomona,
Calif.
College of Podiatric Medicine Dean Lawrence Harkless,
DPM, welcomed guests -- including Pomona Valley
Hospital Medical Center staff, regional podiatrists,
elected officials’ representatives, and WesternU
students and faculty – and led tours of the facility.
College of Veterinary Medicine Dean
students that participated in generating the self-report
and preparing for the site visit. The verbal comments
of the site team’s exit report indicated we have a great
team of people doing great things.”
The College received a verbal report of the Council of
Education’s assessment of the College’s self-study
submitted in December 2012 and the site visit of
January 2013.
WesternU established the College of Veterinary
Medicine on Aug. 8, 1998, and welcomed its first class
in fall 2003. The College first received Full
Accreditation in 2010.
The College of Veterinary Medicine celebrated its
seventh Commencement ceremony May 16, 2013 and
conferred degrees on 97 new Doctors of Veterinary
Medicine, bringing its total alumni to 629.
CPM founding Dean Lawrence Harkless, left, Foot & Ankle Center’s Dr. Jonathan Labovitz
and Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center vice president Chris Aldworth
during the grand opening of the Limb Preservation Center. (photo by Jeff Malet)
The LPC was presented with certificates of recognition
and congratulations by the offices of Congresswoman
Gloria Negrete-McLeod, D-35th District, and state Rep.
Norma Torres, D-52nd District; as well as the donation
of a LUNA fluorescence angiography system for
wound care assessment.
– Jeff Keating
WesternU View Summer 2013 29
College of Pharmacy golf outing
nets more than $13,000
The inaugural WesternU College of Pharmacy
Scholarship Golf Classic raised more than $13,000 for
student scholarships, a strong start that is only
expected to improve in coming years, according to
College of Pharmacy (COP) officials.
From 2003 to 2012, WesternU COP partnered with the
USC School of Pharmacy for a scholarship fundraising
tournament at Robinson Ranch Golf Course in Santa
Clarita, California, with the proceeds evenly split
between the two colleges. WesternU COP opted to
begin doing its own tournament this year, and drew
more than 90 golfers to Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet
Canyon near Calimesa, Calif., on May 23, 2013,
raising $13,500 in the process for the College’s general
scholarship fund.
Golfers included private and corporate supporters of
the College, individual and team golfers from all over
30
Western University of Health Sciences
Southern California, COP alumni, and WesternU
faculty and staff. Several College of Pharmacy faculty
also turned out for the post-tournament awards
banquet and raffle.
“I have attended many golf fundraising events, but
none have surpassed this inaugural Scholarship Golf
Classic in terms of preparation, coordination, venue
and player satisfaction,” said College of Pharmacy
Dean Daniel Robinson, PharmD, FASHP. “We owe so
much to our planning team, our student volunteers
and our amazing sponsors. I am already looking
forward to next year’s event as we continue to expand
our scholarship support for truly deserving students.”
Plans already are underway for the College’s second
annual tournament next spring
– Jeff Keating
A GUARANTEED INCOME
For the rest of your life, Western University of Health Sciences will send you a check every 90
days or once a year. While the economy may rise or decline, your payments are
GUARANTEED. You can count on
this because we back our commitment
with the full assets of WesternU.
The total amount of money you will
receive is determined in advance and
depends on several things, including
your age, whether you want to
include a second income recipient,
and the amount you give to establish
the contract. For example, if you’re
65 years old, you’ll receive more
than someone 10 years younger who
gives the same amount.
Here are the rates
WesternU currently
offers for one-life
Charitable Gift
Annuities:
*Effective
Payout Rate
Age
Rate
65
70
75
80
85
90+
4.7% 6.63%
5.1% 7.42%
5.8% 8.65%
6.8% 10.37%
7.8% 12.30%
9.0% 14.59%
*Effective rate reflects the
result of tax savings and assumes
a 28% marginal tax rate.
“We are pleased with the lifetime guaranteed income provided by our Charitable Gift
Annuity and the fact it will ultimately support the powerful mission of Western University of
Health Sciences,” stated Lynn and Stuart Ripley, long-time friends of the University.
PLEASE COMPLETE, DETACH AND MAIL THIS CARD
Dear Friends at WesternU:
o Please send me free information on charitable gift annuities.
o Please send me free information about other planned giving opportunities.
o Please contact me by phone. The best time to call is ____________________.
Name........................................................................................................................
Address.....................................................................................................................
City ......................................................................State............ZIP.............................
Phone number............................................................................................................
Age(s) .......................................................................................................................
For the rest of your life, you will enjoy the satisfaction that your
CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITY will someday provide the University and
its students with needed financial resources. By allowing WesternU to help
you with lifetime financial support, you enable us to educate future
generations of health care providers who will save lives and change lives.
The IRS favors these arrangements and provides the donor with a
charitable deduction. Year in and year out, it is the most popular life
income planned giving vehicle available.
Would you like to learn more about CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES
and how they can benefit you and WesternU? Just fill out and return the
response card provided. If you include your age or ages, a sample scenario
will be prepared for you. Olive Stephens, WesternU’s administrator for
planned giving, will provide you with a free information packet.
A GUARANTEED INCOME YOU CAN’T OUTLIVE? YOU CAN
MAKE IT HAPPEN AT WESTERNU!
Olive B. Stephens
NO POSTAGE
NECESSARY
IF MAILED
IN THE
UNITED STATES
BUSINESS REPLY MAIL
FIRST-CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 46500 POMONA CA
POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE
WESTERN UNIVERSITY
OF HEALTH SCIENCES
309 E 2ND ST
POMONA CA 91766-9907
PLANNED GIVING ADMINISTRATOR
WESTERN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
309 E. SECOND STREET
POMONA CA 91766-1854
Planned Giving Administrator
Western University
of Health Sciences
Phone: (909) 469-5211
FAX: (909) 469-5307
ostephen@westernu.edu
East West Dinner honors Victor Law
Western University of Health Sciences honored longtime San Gabriel Valley pharmacist and entrepreneur Victor
Law, RPh, BPharm, at the University’s 7th annual East West Scholarship Dinner April 13, 2013, at the Hilton San
Gabriel.
The University also awarded scholarships to 34 health professions students in the colleges of Allied Health
Professions, Dental Medicine, Graduate Nursing, Optometry, Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, Podiatric
Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Law was lauded for his broad and sustained service to his community, including terms as president of the
San Gabriel Valley chapter of the California Pharmacists Association, chairman of the board at Garfield Medical
Center, and as a member of the governing board at San Gabriel Medical Center. He recently was appointed by
Governor Jerry Brown to serve on the California State Board of Pharmacy. He received the Community
Leadership Award from the Boys and Girls Club of Western San Gabriel Valley in 2007, and is a former
Merchant of the Year in the 49th Assembly District.
Dr. Law is president and chief pharmacist for Alpha Medical Pharmacy Inc., with offices in Alhambra and San
Gabriel.
The University also honored East West Committee Chairman Stanley K.
Wong, PhD, for his many years of service to the committee and to the
University. Dr. Wong is retiring at the end of the 2012-13 academic year.
Philip Pumerantz, PhD, president of WesternU, began the evening’s
festivities by thanking East West’s many longtime financial supporters,
noting that without people like them, WesternU itself would not be possible.
“I want you to know that your investment in these young people and this
University will continue to pay dividends for many years to come.”
From left: Daniel Robinson, PharmD, FASHP, Dean of the College
of Pharmacy, Victor Law, RPh, BPharm, and Stanley Wong, PhD.
Dr. Pumerantz also paid tribute to Dr. Robert Colen, COMP ’94, the 2011
East West honoree, who died suddenly in the summer of 2012.
Gold Sponsors for the East West Dinner included Kon Leung, DDS, and Josephine Yeong; Pacific Alliance
Medical Center; and Victor Law, RPh – Alpha Medical Pharmacy Inc. Silver sponsors were CVS Caremark, Geri
and Bob Witt, and New Valley Medical Group, Inc.
– Jeff Keating
WesternU View Summer 2013 33
Towne & Gown
Golf Classic Raises
More Than $34,000
W
Western University of Health Sciences’ third
annual Towne & Gown Golf Classic raised more
than $34,000 - a new record - to benefit bright
and deserving students.
T.F. Chen, DDS, underwrote the golf tournament
that benefits student scholarships.
One hundred golfers participated in the
scramble-format tournament on Monday, June
10, 2013 at Red Hill Country Club in Rancho
Cucamonga, Calif.
“The numbers look great,” said WesternU Senior
Vice President Thomas Fox, PhD. “Last year we
did more than $28,000, and this year more than
$34,000. As Senator Everett Dirksen used to say,
‘pretty soon, you're talking real money.’”
Students can leave the
University with
$150,000 to $200,0000
in debt or more, Fox
said.
“The fact we can raise
scholarship money,
whether it’s through A
Tribute to Caring, East
West Scholarship
Dinner or the Towne
& Gown Golf Classic,
that’s showing that
these folks
(participants) are
giving back,” Fox said.
L-R: Dean Friedrechsen, CDM Associate Dean
“They want to help the
Robert Hasel, DDS and Dr. Connett
34
Western University of Health Sciences
College of Pharmacy Dean Daniel Robinson
students. That’s what we are looking at, and it’s
what’s great.”
Samaritan Health Services President and CEO
Larry Mullins won the helicopter golf ball drop
and happily returned the 50-50 cash prize,
which will be split between the College of
Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) and
COMP-Northwest scholarship funds.
A helicopter team dropped more than 170
numbered golf balls at a designated flag, and
Mullins’ ball landed closest to the pin. Nearly
$1,500 worth of golf balls was sold.
Symes Cadillac of Pasadena sponsored the holein-one competition for a chance to win a 2013
Cadillac. No one won the silver Cadillac ATS
that was on display near the putting green.
Several other sponsors helped make a difference:
Tournament sponsor T.F. Chen, DDS, and
tournament golf shirt sponsor Inter Valley
Health Plan.
Silver sponsors Mission Hospice & Palliative
Care; Wells Fargo Bank; Mutual of America Life
Thomas G. Fox, PhD and T.F. Chen, DDS
L-R: Ann Ellis, Rocky Gomes, Dr. Elizabeth Hoppe, and Jack Benton
Insurance Company; Law Offices of Karen La Madrid;
Williams Sign Co.; Samaritan Health Services; and LCS
Construction.
This year, WesternU Provost Gary Gugelchuk, PhD,
Closest to the pin sponsor was Dr. Frank Hsu; longest
drive sponsor was DrivenBi; and cart sponsor was PIH
Health.
home the “longest drive” trophy for literally being the
Following a dinner reception, the three teams with the
lowest gross scores were awarded trophies:
Pumerantz, PhD, and Board of Trustees member John
First Place: Andrew Behnke, Mark Hardy, Chris Pope,
Jason Christie -- Doubletree in Claremont
Second Place: Karen La Madrid, Dr. Schubert Atiga,
Don Wright, David Deluccia
and Vice President for Enrollment Management and
University Student Affairs Beverly Guidry, EdD, took
ones with the longest drive: The pair carried on a
tradition established by WesternU President Philip
T. McGwire, DDS, driving a beverage cart around the
golf course.
Fox said Susan Terrazas, director of annual giving, and
her associates did a great job with the event.
Chen and Pumerantz said they were impressed with
Third Place: Jack Foran, Ron Flowers, Scott Carriveau,
Carolyn Spiess -- DPR Construction
how many people came to have fun golfing while also
Three teams were awarded trophies for having the
highest gross score, or reverse Stableford:
Chen said he underwrites golfing and the dinner to
supporting student scholarships.
help many talented and able students afford medical
First Place: Mary Fox, Betty Chen, Josephine Yeong
and Regan Elliot
Second Place: Dr. Elizabeth Hoppe, Jack Barton, Rocky
Gomes and Ann Ellis
school.
“Having this golf fundraiser helps raise money for
students’ tuition costs to that they can come get a
great education at WesternU,” Chen said.
Third Place: Mark Kalmar, Edith Jennison, Sean Smith
and Stella Lee
– Jeff Malet
WesternU View Summer 2013 35
ECC helps bring implantable
telescope to SoCal
V
Vision rehabilitation optometrists from the Eye
Care Center (ECC) at Western University of
Health Sciences are part of a new collaborative
team helping patients with end-stage age-related
macular degeneration (AMD), which is the
leading cause of blindness or vision loss in older
Americans.
The ECC is in the early stages of being a regional
CentraSight visual rehabilitation provider
approved for evaluating patients for the FDAapproved Implantable Miniature Telescope
(IMT). A local corneal specialist performs the
telescope implant procedure on an outpatient
basis. Post-implantation, the patient will learn
how to use their new vision in everyday
activities by working with vision rehabilitation
specialists at the ECC.
Pictured here on the tip of a finger, the telescope is about the size of a pea (3.6 mm diameter; 4.4 mmlength) and is surgically placed inside the eye.
ECC optometrists will work with local corneal
specialists, including those from Loma Linda
University Medical Center, retinal specialists,
and occupational therapists from Casa Colina
Centers for Rehabilitation to help qualified
patients with the IMT, including pre-procedure
and post-surgical training.
“The telescope will magnify the image outside
the area that’s damaged by AMD,” said Linda
36
Western University of Health Sciences
Pang, OD, chief of Vision Rehabilitation Service
at the ECC. “By using the healthy parts of the
retina, people implanted with the telescope can
enjoy the activities they used to do. One eye is
implanted with the telescope for tasks such as
seeing people’s faces, seeing their food, self-care,
and watching TV. The other eye is used for
mobility, allowing them to get feedback about
their environment so that they can move
around safely.”
AMD gradually
destroys the
macula, the part
of the eye that
provides sharp,
central vision
needed for seeing
objects clearly. It
affects daily
activities like
cooking, cleaning,
reading, grooming
and seeing
people’s faces,
Pang said.
Macular degeneration affects more than 15 million
Americans. More than 2 million Americans age 50 and
older have late-stage AMD. AMD diagnoses have
increased 25 percent since 2000, and the number of
people affected
by AMD is
expected to
increase even
more as the
population ages,
according to
Prevent Blindness
America and the
National Eye
Institute.
Linda Pang, OD, chief of Vision
Rehabilitation Service shows a
‘patient’ a telescope simulator.
implantable
telescope and
many factors to
consider when
deciding whether
a patient is a good
candidate for it.
“Being a
rehabilitation
center for this new
technology, and
having a
treatment option
for end-stage
AMD, will be great for the Eye Care Center for many
reasons,” Pang said. “This also will allow our students
to learn how to manage patients with end-stage AMD.
By getting them involved, they will better understand
what’s available for their patients, which teaches them
what services and
resources they
need and helps
them understand
the
interprofessional
team approach
needed to manage
these patients.”
Approximately 50
provider team
The
illustration
above
shows
the
Implantable
Telescope
Technology
is
housed
in
a
prosthetic
device
composed
of
locations are
“The IMT is
three primary components: a fused quartz glass capsule that contains wide-angle micro-optical elements; a clear
available across the
making big
polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) carrier; and a blue PMMA light restrictor. The sealed optical component is
country; three,
headlines because snap-fitted into the carrier plate.
including the ECC,
so many people
are affected by AMD,” Pang said. “For end-stage AMD, are in Southern California, said Rebecca Kammer, OD,
this is potentially the only viable treatment option for FAAO, assistant director of optometric education.
patients. We are excited to offer new hope for patients
“Education is what we do, so being able to teach the
with AMD.”
community about this advanced technology is pretty
exciting,” Kammer said. “Plus, this places the team
Dr. Pang said that having the new treatment option
concept at high importance. I love it, because it helps
available in Southern California is important, but
us educate the nation about the importance of
cautioned that not all patients who have AMD are
– Jeff Malet
optometry in vision rehabilitation.”
eligible for it. There are specific criteria for the
WesternU View Summer 2013 37
Alumni Class Notes
College of Osteopathic Medicine
of the Pacific
Wendy Cozen, DO ’82, has been promoted to Professor of
Preventive Medicine and Pathology with tenure at USC’s
Keck School of Medicine.
as: CBS – “The Amazing Race,” Walt Disney – “Honey, I
Blew Up the Kids,” Warner Bros – “Fools Rush In” and
NBC’s – “Las Vegas,” among others. Dr. Hedger was also the
executive producer and program host for “Health Quest”
and “Medical Minute,” both syndicated television programs
on ABC television. Dr. Hedger is currently an associate
Ronald Liskanich, DO ’83, is in private practice in
professor of primary care, the course director for the OSCE
Upland, CA. He is double board certified in Dermatology
course/training facility, assistant dean for clinical skills
and Anesthesiology.
training, medical director of the physician assistant studies
Charles Hooper, DO ’83, is a CDR MC USNR/Medical
program and Institutional Health Services at Touro
Officer 4th Tank Battalion, USMC Twenty-nine Palms.
University Nevada. He was the chairman of the Faculty
Brian Laufer, DO ’83, Chief Health Information Officer
Senate and executive committee of the Faculty Senate.
for the Alaska VA Healthcare System, was featured in a short
Paul Kalekas, DO ’86, is president, Nevada State Board of
NPR Morning Edition story on May 29. The story is about
Osteopathic Medicine. He is also an assistant professor with
getting care to rural Alaskan Veterans. His department is
Touro University Nevada and course director for Physical
responsible for everything from EHR to Tele-health (they
Diagnosis. In addition, he serves as director of medical
have about 15 active programs from tele-mental health to
education for third and fourth year clinical clerkships in the
tele-dermatology), and they will soon be starting tele-
Sunrise Hospital system, and is an internal medicine
primary care. Dr. Laufer’s department is also responsible for
attending for the internal medicine residency at Valley
the VA personal health record (My Health e Vet), Health
Hospital Medical Center.
Information Exchange with the State of Alaska (the sharing
Dale Carrison, DO ’87, appeared on a television program
of medical information across private, public and federal
called “Ralston Reports” that aired throughout Nevada on
sectors), and home tele-health (they monitor high risk
the evening of April 15 to discuss the Boston bombing and
patients with CHF, Diabetes etc with in home equipment
what Nevada is doing to prevent and prepare for such an
that monitors and transmits medical data on a daily basis to
attack. Dr. Carrison is Chief of Staff at University Medical
a group of RNs who coordinate their care). He also oversees
Center in Las Vegas, and the state's former chair of their
interagency informatics issues with the Department of
Homeland Security Commission.
Defense and the Alaska Native Tribal Healthcare
Consortium.
Scott Harris, DO ’90, joined the faculty of Touro
University Nevada, College of Osteopathic Medicine in
Jeff Stone, DO ’83, is with Wound Care Consultants of
2007. He is course director for Public Health and Preventive
Dallas, Texas, a practice he founded. Dr. Stone treated some
Medicine.
of the first casualties from the Gulf War with Hyperbaric
Medicine and Wound Care. Dr. Stone is board certified and
is in charge of one of only six ACGME approved Hyperbaric
Fellowships in the country.
Ronald Hedger, DO ’84, is currently serving as chairman
of the Nevada State Board of Osteopathic Medicine. He is
board certified by the American Osteopathic Board of
James Lally, DO ’91, MSHPE ’93, has been appointed by
California Governor Edmund G. Brown to the Osteopathic
Medical Board of California.
John Thompson, DO ’92, is the founder and medical
director of Desert Oasis Clinic in Las Vegas, NV, which offers
a holistic approach to medicine.
Family Physicians and is a Diplomate of the National Board
Scott Hofer, DO ’93, is currently practicing orthopaedic
of Osteopathic Medical Examiners. Dr. Hedger has been a
surgery with Sports Medicine of the Ozarks in Osage Beach,
medical/technical consultant to television and motion
MO. Having received an Army scholarship for medical
pictures, where he was set physician for productions such
school, after internship he was called to active duty where
38
Western University of Health Sciences
Alumni Class Notes
he served as a flight surgeon in South Korea. Following that
he served as a brigade surgeon at Ft. Carson, CO (which
included a deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation
Intrinsic Action). He was then offered an Army orthopedic
residency position at William Beaumont Army Medical
Center in El Paso, TX. He completed his training and was
recognized as the distinguished graduate of his class. His
first orthopedic assignment was at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO,
where he was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom as the chief of orthopedics. His
next orthopedic assignment was at Evans Army Community
Hospital in Colorado Springs, CO. After 12 years on active
duty he resigned his commission as Lt. Colonel and
practiced in Grants Pass, OR, Lake Charles, LA, and is now
located in Osage Beach, MO.
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center emergency room
physician Thomas F. Minahan, DO ’95, was named as
the winner of the San Bernardino County Medical Society’s
William L. Cover, MD Award for Outstanding Contribution
to Medicine, and was formally recognized on June 11
during the Medical Society’s awards presentation in
Fontana. The award is given to a physician member who
has displayed “forward-looking, pioneering ideas,
enterprise, enthusiasm and prolonged professional stature
and abilities,” according to the Medical Society. Dr.
Minahan is program director of the ARMC Department of
Emergency Medicine’s American Osteopathic Associationaccredited residency program, which he co-founded in
2004. During his tenure as director he has expanded the
program from a class of three residents to the current class
of 31 residents. The ARMC emergency medicine residency
has become the most popular and competitive osteopathic
residency program on the West Coast due to Minahan's
leadership and personal commitment, said Dr. Rodney
Borger, chairman of the Department of Emergency
Medicine at ARMC. Minahan has been a member of the San
Bernardino County Medical Society and the California
Medical Association since 2004. In 2008, Minahan received
ARMC's “Teacher of the Year” award.
Farzin Kerendian, DO ’96, owns and operates his
own cosmetic surgery practice, Desired Beauty, in Century
City, CA.
Thang Pham, DO ’96, is currently in family practice with
Kaiser Permanente in Ontario, CA.
Sean Siler, DO ’99, recently assumed command as Lt.
Colonel of the 1493rd Medical Detachment (CSC), a
Combat Stress Control reserve unit providing behavioral
health support to deployed soldiers. He just left his role as
the deputy surgeon, US Army Special Operations
Command, as the highest ranking reserve physician in
special operations in the Army. Outside of the military, he is
an assistant professor who teaches Emergency Medicine to
residents at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is
also the deputy medical director (soon to be publicly named
medical director) for the North Carolina State Highway
Patrol. On the national level, he serves part time running
the federal disaster response for US Department of Health
and Human Services.
Judy Hwa Tan, DO ’01, recently accepted an award for
“Hospitalist of the Year” from IPC, a national hospitalist
company.
Payam Kerendian, DO ’01, is a double board certified
physician in family practice and specializing in bariatric
medicine. As a bariatric physician and member of the
American Society of Bariatric Physicians, Dr. Kerendian is
currently supervising new sophistication in weight
management by providing comprehensive nutritional and
medical evaluation, treatment, and strategies for long-term
prevention. Dr. Kerendian’s practice also includes pain
management, utilizing prolotherapy and trigger point
injection therapy methods.
Steve S. Lee, DO ’02, is a board-certified rheumatologist,
practicing with Kaiser. He also practices internal medicine,
and has lectured numerous times on campus.
Greg Gates, DO ’04, is currently a LCDR in the Navy and
chief resident for the pathology program at Naval Medical
Center San Diego. He has deployed to Iraq with the marines
and has been the medical department head on USS
Comstock (LSD-45).
Cuong Nguyen, DO ’04, is a staff pathologist, 60th
MDTS/SGQC DGMC, Laboratory Medical Director of
Central Operations and Chemistry, Medical Director of
Continued on page 40
WesternU View Summer 2013 39
Alumni Class Notes
Beale AFB Clinical Laboratory, and Deputy Course Medical
Director, Phase II training.
Marjan Pedarsani, DO ’04, is board certified in family
medicine, and is currently practicing with Memorial Care
Medical Group in Mission Viejo.
Lawrence Huang, DO ’05, is currently practicing
physical medicine and rehabilitation with Sutter Health. He
was chief resident during his final year at Stanford, and
completed an anesthesia pain medicine fellowship at
University of Iowa.
Matthew Hoyt, DO ’06, is the recipient of two Air Force
commendation medals. He has been stationed at Eglin AFB,
is currently at Hill AFB, and will be moving this summer to
Aviano AB Italy. He has between 1250 and 1500 patients
under his care, and works with other providers on a PCMH
team; often seeing their patients as well. He has been on
active duty for 7 years.
Jake Hollingsworth, DO ’07, is an active duty
psychiatrist in the U.S. Air Force, and was pinned-on as
Major this June. He is currently serving as the Medical
Director of the Randolph Air Force Base (Texas) Mental
Health Clinic. He recently returned from being deployed to
Afghanistan for 6 months, where he was the OIC of the FOB
Fenty Combat Stress Clinic. While deployed, he provided
psychiatric care to soldiers in more than 20 locations in
Eastern Afghanistan in various Forward Operating Bases,
Combat Outposts and Observations Posts, and was the only
psychiatrist for more than 5,000 Soldiers. He recently
published an editorial in Military Medicine (April 2013) based
on some of his experiences while deployed. The title of the
article is “Managing Acute Suicidal Ideation in a Forward
Deployed Location in Afghanistan.” His most recent interest
is in forensic work.
Melanie Leadley, DO ’07, is currently stationed at Ft
Bragg, NC. She has served in the Army for 6 years and was
promoted to Major in May. She has served in N. Carolina,
South Korea, and Hawaii as a psychiatrist who cares for
active duty, retirees, and dependent patients. She has
received two ARCOMs and the Espirit de Corps award.
Matthew Nichols, DO ’07, is currently deployed to a
Forward Operating Base in Afghanistan as part of a forward
surgical team (FST). He completed his emergency medicine
40
Western University of Health Sciences
residency at Brooke Army Medical Center at Ft Sam
Houston, TX. Following that he was stationed in Fort
Carson, CO as the Brigade Surgeon for 4th Brigade Combat
Team, 4th Infantry Division. After a year as Brigade Surgeon
he was selected as the sole EMS Fellow for the Army for
2011-2012, returning to San Antonio. Following the EMS
Fellowship he was named as the Deputy Director of the new
US Army Critical Care Flight Paramedic Program at the
Army Medical Department Center and School (AMEDD
C&S). He has deployed from that position and will return to
AMEDD C&S at Ft Sam Houston, TX this summer to take
over as Director of the program. He will promote to the
rank of Major in June. Dr. Nichols is married to a former Air
Force emergency nurse, who now flies in helicopters as a
flight nurse. The couple has a three year old daughter.
Alexys Hillman, DO ’11, is a captain in the Army,
stationed at Fort Benning, GA in the Family Medicine
Residency, where she serves a large population of active
duty and reserve soldiers and their families. She is currently
preparing a seminar on Physician Abuse, Suicide and
Wellness for the residency program, which she hopes to
make a recurrent lecture series.
Victoria Belle Shin, DO ’12, received the rank of
Captain in the US Air Force at the Commissioning
Ceremony. She has a civilian internship assignment for her
internship year at Broward Health Medical Center in Ft
Lauderdale, FL, and plans on finishing up her family
medicine residency afterwards.
College of Allied Health Professions
Sonia Mvuemba, MSHS ’09, DPM ’13, was part of the
inaugural graduating class for the Podiatry program during
May 15, 2013 graduation.
Roy Guizado, PA ’94, MSHPE ’97, was elected Vice
President for the California Academy of Physician
Assistants.
Brian Tessier, PA ’95, MSHS ’10, has accepted a position
on the California Academy of Physician Assistants Student
Affairs Committee.
Tim Wood, MSPA ’02, has accepted a position with the
CME Conference Planning Committee with the California
Academy of Physician Assistants.
Alumni Class Notes
Marijean Piorkowski, DPT ’04, taught the American
Physical Therapy Association’s two-day Clinical Instructor
Education and Credentialing Program (CIECP) at Butte
Premier Physical Therapy in Chico on June 22-23.
College of Graduate Nursing
Eric Folkins, DPT ’05, OCS, is presenting a two-day
course “Vestibular Basics for the Everyday Clinician” on July
27-28 at Los Gatos Orthopedic Sports Therapy. Dr. Folkins is
a certified vestibular therapist and has been treating
patients with vestibular disorders for more than 12 years.
He currently is Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical
Education in the DPT program at the University of the
Sciences in Philadelphia.
Science University and also has specialty training in
pulmonary and sleep medicine.
Victoria Graham, DPT ’06, OCS, NCS, is part of an
interprofessional WesternU team that published an article
in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, May
2013, Vol 113, No. 5, entitled “Use of the SMART Balance
Master to Quantify the Effects of Osteopathic Manipulative
Treatment in Patients With Dizziness.” In addition to Dr.
Graham, other authors included Marcel Fraix, DO ’03,
and Ashlynn Gordon, DO ’13.
Dorcas Tominaga, DPT ’06, co-taught the American
Physical Therapy Association’s two-day Clinical Instructor
Education and Credentialing Program (CIECP) that was
recently held at Tri City Medical Center in Carlsbad.
Vu Nguyen, DPT ’11, is working at Pomona Valley
Hospital Medical Center, physical therapy and
rehabilitation in Claremont, CA.
College of Pharmacy
A research manuscript was recently published in the
medical journal Current Medical Research and Opinion that was
authored by Mark Bounthavong, PharmD ’04, and
Timothy Chen, PharmD ’04. They observed that
medication adherence is more tightly tied to clinical
improvement than previously described in the literature.
Melodee Badley, MSN-FNP ’03, has joined the Medford,
OR. Medical Center’s cardiology team. Badley earned a
Bachelor of Science in nursing from Oregon Health &
Terrance Ito, MSN-FNP ’09, DNP ’13, will be the alumni
speaker for the University’s 2013 Convocation ceremony in
August. Dr. Ito is the Lead Nurse Practitioner, LAC+USC
Medical Center.
Sungdo Bark, MSN ’10, was recently hired as adjunct
assistant professor for the College of Graduate Nursing.
College of Veterinary Medicine
Danielle Desjardins, DVM ’08, is an anatomic
pathologist practicing with Phoenix Central Laboratory in
Mukilteo, Washington.
Anna Lominska Mills, DVM ’11, is currently serving in
the US Army as a veterinarian, and is stationed in South
Korea, where she has been for one year. She currently
provides care for 28 military working dogs and 700 military
family pets.
In Memoriam
Neal Seth Lux Archer, DO ’86, passed away on May 21, just
before noon, secondary to complications to malignant melanoma. He
is survived by his wife, Pamela Renee Archer Lux, DO ’90, and his
children, Devon, 20, and Sophia, 18. All three were bedside at his
passing, which was peaceful and without pain. Dr. Archer was proud
to have been a speaker at his graduation from COMP. For years he
worked in, with, and for the OMM department (then known as the
OP&P department), He even directed the department during
vacancies and transitions. He spent time practicing at the Mission
clinic and working in the Emergency Department at the now ARMC
Medical Center until 1999. Thereafter, he directed a successful
industrial medical clinic in Ontario east of the airport. Dr. Archer was
also well known at COMP for his “getting acquainted lectures” and
many fine DOs owe him for their initial inspiration.
He won people over by his fine and generous heart and gentle sense
of humor and humility. Most recently on campus, he was active
helping teach the art of differential diagnosis. A memorial birthday
party was held on June 15, his 60th birthday, at the family home.
WesternU View Summer 2013 41
Alumni Calendar
July 19-23: American Veterinary Medical
Association’s Annual Convention in Chicago, IL.
WesternU Reception (with LSU), Monday, July 22, 7:00
p.m., at the House of Blues, Foundation Room (329 N.
Dearborn).
August 1-4: American College of Osteopathic Family
Physicians of California's Annual Scientific Seminar in
Anaheim, CA. WesternU/COMP exhibit table on
August 1 and 2 in the Disneyland Hotel, Magic
Kingdom Ballroom (1150 W Magic Way).
August 30-September 1: Osteopathic Physicians
and Surgeons of California’s Annual Fall Conference
in Monterey, CA. WesternU/COMP exhibit table on
August 30 and 31 in the Intercontinental, The
Clement Monterey (750 Cannery Row).
September 20-21: California Physical Therapy
Association’s Annual Conference in Pasadena, CA.
WesternU exhibit booth (#200) September 20-21 in
the Pasadena Convention Center (300 East Green
Street). WesternU reception, Saturday, September 21,
5:30-7:00 p.m., Sheraton Pasadena Hotel, Piazza Room
(303 Cordova Street).
October 3-6: California Academy of Physician
Assistants’ Annual Conference in Palm Springs, CA.
WesternU exhibit booth on October 4 and 5 in the
Palm Springs Convention Center, Oasis 4 (277 N
Avenida Caballeros). WesternU reception, Friday,
October 4, 6:00-8:00 p.m., Renaissance Palm Springs
Hotel, Andreas Room (888 Tahquitz Canyon Way).
October 24: WesternU’s Pumerantz Lecture in the
evening on campus.
October 31-November 3: California Society of
Health-Systems Pharmacists’ Seminar in Anaheim, CA.
WesternU dinner, Friday, November 1, 5:30 p.m. at
Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria (in Downtown Disney).
November 9: WesternU’s A Tribute to Caring at the
Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, CA.
For more information, or to RSVP for any of these alumni
events, please go to www.westernu.edu/alumni-events or
contact the Alumni Office at (909) 469-ALUM or
alumni@westernu.edu.
September 20-22: Osteopathic Physicians and
Surgeons of Oregon’s Fall CME Conference in
Portland, OR. WesternU/COMP-Northwest exhibit
table on September 20 and 21, and WesternU/COMP
reception, Saturday, September 21, 5:45-7:30 p.m. in
the Embassy Suites, Downtown Portland (319 SW Pine
Street).
September 30-October 4: American Osteopathic
Association’s OMED Convention in the Mandalay Bay
Resort and Casino (3950 Las Vegas Blvd South) in Las
Vegas, NV. WesternU/COMP exhibit booth (#708) on
September 30-October 2 in the Mandalay Bay
Convention Center, Shorelines A. WesternU/COMP
reception, Wednesday, October 2, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at
Border Grill Las Vegas (inside Mandalay Bay
Convention Center).
42
Western University of Health Sciences
The WesternU Alumni Association hosted its first College of Optometry Alumni
Reception at the American Optometric Association’s Optometry Meeting on June 28 in
San Diego. College faculty and nearly 100 students interacted with more than a
dozen members of the College’s charter class of 2013, which had graduated less than
50 days prior. Pictured (l-r) is Kambiz Silani, OD ’13, Dean Elizabeth Hoppe,
Sahil Dosaj, OD ’13, and Harout Khanjian, OD ’13.
COVER ART
Kambiz Silani from the College of
Optometry’s charter class of 2013
celebrates the receipt of his diploma
during Commencement Exercises at
the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Photo by Jeff Malet
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