News & Stories

Tag: Alumni

University Hospital and NEOMED logos.

NEOMED/University Hospitals Alumni & Student Networking Night

Monday, Oct. 16, 2023
5:30 – 7 p.m.
Ahuja Medical Center is located at 3999 Richmond Road, Beachwood, OH 44122
Cost: No charge

University Hospitals/NEOMED alumni are invited to an informational night with current NEOMED students, hosted at the world-class Drusinsky Sports Medicine Institute at University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center. There you will have the opportunity to meet with NEOMED students in small, rotating discussion groups and share your career path, answer questions about your work, and help students along their own journey to becoming health professionals. You’ve walked in their shoes, now they stand on your shoulders. We hope you can join us for this casual and fun event!

Included for students is a tour of the state-of-the-art facility, considered the “crown jewel” of sports medicine in the region, and dinner. Alumni volunteers are welcome to join students for dinner on the main floor of the Drusinsky Sports Institute following the networking session.

A chartered bus service will be provided to and from the NEOMED campus for students, departing at 4:30 p.m.

Secure your spot

Contact: Dave Vitatoe at dvitatoe@neomed.edu

The exterior of NEOMED on a rainy evening, with reflections of the building on the wet pavement.

NEOMED Youngstown Alumni and Friends Reception

Join us on a fall Saturday as we gather in the spirit of community. This special get-together will be hosted at the Canfield home of Drs. Reema and Rajiv Taneja. Dr. Rajiv Taneja is a member of the NEOMED Foundation Board.

Special guest will be Marc D. Basson, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., the new dean of the NEOMED College of Medicine.

Time and date: 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21

All alumni and friends are welcome. This event is free to attend.

Kindly RSVP by October 13. The address will be provided in the registration confirmation.

Make a reservation

Host: Office of Alumni Relations

Contact: Dave Vitatoe, dvitatoe@neomed.edu.

Dr. Amy Acton

VITALS with Amy Acton, M.D., former director, Ohio Department of Health

Amy Acton, M.D. (’90), former director of the Ohio Department of Health, will be the third VITALS speaker of the 2023-24 season from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2 in Watanakunakorn Auditorium. The session will also be available via Zoom.

The talk, free and open to all, will be moderated by Monica Robins, WKYC-TV’s senior health correspondent.

Registration is required and will open soon.

Related:

Last Lecture featuring Richard J. Kasmer, Pharm.D., J.D., recent past dean of the College of Pharmacy

Join us for a can’t-miss Zoom event for alumni and friends honoring the service of Dr. Kasmer, who retires from NEOMED on Sept. 30, 2023, after a 30+ year career, including 17 years at NEOMED.

Register and log-on to hear Dr. Kasmer’s reflections on his career, the College of Pharmacy and the future of the industry while also having the opportunity to ask questions and share your well-wishes.

More about Dr. Kasmer and his NEOMED career

Time and location: 7-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28 on Zoom.

Register for this event

University Hospital and NEOMED logos.

University Hospitals/NEOMED Reception

Daniel Simon, M.D., president of academic & external affairs and chief scientific officer for University Hospitals, and John Langell, M.D., president of Northeast Ohio Medical University, cordially invite you to a NEOMED Alumni and Friends Reception.

Tuesday, September 26
5:30-6:30 p.m.
UH Management Services Center3605 Warrensville Center Rd
Shaker Heights, OH 44122

Cost: Free
Please reserve your seat by September 15

Reserve your seat

Are you a UH/NEOMED alum?  Take the three-question survey to learn how you can provide basic guidance to the next generation of NEOMED health professionals: UH-NEOMED Physician-Student Mentor Program (office.com)

The NEOMED Alumni Association

Alumni Association Board Meeting

Members of the Alumni Association Board are invited to attend the next board meeting from 9-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 20, 2023, hosted on the Zoom platform with an in-person option. Location/link will be provided upon registration.

Contact: David Vitatoe, dvitatoe@neomed.edu.

The NEOMED Alumni Association

College of Pharmacy Alumni Meet-up

Join fellow alumni, friends and representatives from NEOMED from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 20 as we kick off the summer in style. Feel free to drop in any time during the event.

All are welcome as we recognize the Classes of ’11, ’12 and ’13.

Location: Sarah’s Vineyard
1204 W. Steels Corners Road in Cuyahoga Falls

Cost: Free

Chatrchai Watanakunakorn, M.D., Lectureship in Medicine

For the 2023 Chatrchai Watanakunakorn, M.D., Lectureship in Medicine, Michael Tan, M.D., (’99), FACP, FIDSA will present “Evolution of Treatment of C. difficile Infection” from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 5 in Watanakunakorn Auditorium and via Zoom.

Dr. Tan is professor of internal medicine at NEOMED, where he is co-course director of the Infection and Immunity Course and vice-chair of the Infectious Disease Section of the Principles of Medicine Course.

Dr. Tan is lead physician for Summa Health Medical Group-Infectious Disease, assistant medical director at SummaCare and chair of Summa Health’s Institutional Review Board.

Dr. Tan is board certified in infectious diseases and internal medicine. He earned a B.S. in cell and developmental biology from the University of Rochester and a medical degree from NEOMED. He completed his residency training at Summa Health System. He then completed a fellowship in infectious diseases and tropical medicine at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

He is a practicing infectious disease specialist and a frequent lecturer on various infectious disease topics. In addition to clinical practice, he is co-director of the antimicrobial stewardship programs at Summa Health’s hospitals and is elective director for M3 and M4 students as well as preceptor for advanced practice nursing students and physician assistants. He has significant involvement in resident education and has received teaching awards from internal medicine and family medicine residents.

Dr. Tan is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP) and Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He is regent for the American College of Physicians and immediate past-Governor for the Ohio Chapter of the ACP. In addition, he is chair of the Mastership Committee and member of the Health and Public Policy Committee. He was a member of the IM2019 Scientific Program Committee, Credentials Committee 2019-2021, Chapters Subcommittee 2015-2019, and Chair of the Chapters Subcommittee 2017-2019, and Awards committee 2020-2021. While Governor, he was on the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors 2017-2019.

Dr. Tan’s primary research interests include participation in multi-centered controlled trials of new and novel treatments for Clostridium difficile infection, skin and soft tissue infection, and pneumonia. He is principal investigator for a registry of COVID-19 patients at Summa Health. He is co-editor of Tan JS, File TM Jr., Salata RA, Tan MJ (eds.) Expert Guide to Infectious Diseases, 2nd edition (2008, ACP Press) and Rosenthal KS and Tan MJ (eds.) Rapid Review Microbiology and Immunology 3rd edition (2010, Mosby). Dr. Tan is listed in Best Doctors in America (2010 to present).


About Chatrchai Watanakunakorn, M.D.

On March 5, 2004, the family of the late Dr. Watanakunakorn, of Youngstown, Ohio, presented NEOMED with the then-largest charitable gift in the College’s 30-year history. Totaling more than $3 million, the gift is used to advance medical education in Northeast Ohio, create an endowed chair in microbiology and immunology in Dr. Watanakunakorn’s name and provide this lectureshipseries for health care professionals throughout the region. From 1979 to 2001, Watanakunakorn, served as a professor of internal medicine at the University.

At the time of his death in July 2001, Dr. Watanakunakorn was hospital epidemiologist and chief of infectious diseases at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown. He received several awards from professional organizations, including the Ohio Chapter of the American College of Physicians Master Teacher Award, The American College of International Physicians Distinguished Physician Award, and the Infectious Disease Society of America 2000 Clinician Award. He also was a master of the American College of Physicians.


Contact

For more information, please email Aeriole Conner at aconner@neomed.edu.

Princess Ogbogu, M.D.

VITALS with Princess Ogbogu, M.D., chief of the Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital

Princess Ogbogu, M.D. (’00), director of the Division of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s, joins VITALS at noon May 4, in Watanakunakorn Audioritum and via Zoom.

After graduating from NEOMED’s College of Medicine in 2000, Dr. Ogbogu completed her residency in internal medicine at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and her fellowship training in allergy and immunology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Prior to joining UH, Dr. Ogbogu served as division chief of allergy and immunology and co-training program director of the Allergy and Immunology Fellowship Program at The Ohio State University.

She serves as chair of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology (ABAI); is a member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Review Committee for Allergy and Immunology; and holds leadership positions in several national committees with the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI). Her clinical and research interests include eosinophilic disorders, immune therapeutics, COVID-19 and health disparities.

Every month, NEOMED gives health care thought leaders 17 minutes – the average duration of a physician-patient visit – to engage medical professionals and students on any of the VITALS topics: Value-based, Innovation, Technology, Advocacy, Leadership, Service.

Register for VITALS with Princess Ogbogu, M.D.

Learn more about VITALS and view previous programs

Read more about Dr. Ogbogu in the Spring 2022 issue of Ignite