Alumni

1943
Alfred R. Lenzner, a retired internist specializing in endocrinology, died March 23, 2014. For more than two decades Dr. Lenzner headed the diabetes clinic at Buffalo General Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y., before transferring to Kenmore Mercy Hospital in Kenmore, N.Y. He spent his military service in the U.S. Army Medical Hospital in Würzburg, Germany. Preceded in death by his wife, Jean, he is survived by a daughter, a son, and three grandchildren.

1943D
Paul J. Bilka, a retired rheumatologist and generous supporter of P&S, died Oct. 30, 2013. He was 94. After a medical residency at the Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, he moved to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for a fellowship in rheumatology. He later opened the first rheumatology practice in Minneapolis and was a founding member of the National Society of Clinical Rheumatology. He was recognized as a master of the American College of Rheumatology in 1992. Dr. Bilka also was an inspiring teacher, establishing the first rheumatology training program at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Bilka also produced several educational films on joint examination and joint aspiration-injection techniques distributed to medical schools, both American and foreign. He and his wife, Madge, who preceded him in death, established endowed funds and scholarships at Trinity College, his undergraduate alma mater, Carleton College, Case Western School of Nursing, the Mayo Clinic, the Abbott Northwestern Hospital Medicine Clinic Department of Medical Education, and P&S.

1944
Charles “Dave” Price, a retired surgeon, died May 3, 2014. Dr. Price, the great-grandson of Florida pioneers, lived through the Great Depression, World War II (he served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps), and the Korean conflict (he served as chief of surgery at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss.). Before attending medical school he earned a master’s degree in parasitology from New York University and worked with the New York Zoological Society. For many years he served as chief of staff and board member of Winter Park Memorial Hospital in Orlando, Fla. In his spare time he played piano and pipe organ. Preceded in death by his wife, Frances, he is survived by two sons, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Gene H. Stollerman, a pioneer in geriatrics and renowned researcher in rheumatic, immunologic, and infectious diseases, died of heart failure Aug. 1, 2014, at age 93. Dr. Stollerman taught on the faculties of numerous institutions, including the University of Tennessee, where he served as Goodman Professor and chairman for more than 15 years; Northwestern University; and Boston University, where he was emeritus professor of medicine and public health. He was affiliated with Irvington House at New York University and the VA Medical Center in Vermont. He helped in the development of a safe and effective multivalent streptococcal vaccine. His research received more than 40 years of uninterrupted funding from the NIH. A past president of the Association of Professors of Medicine and of the Central Society for Clinical Research, he was a master, regent, and vice president of the American College of Physicians, a master of the American College of Rheumatology, and a founder of the Infectious Disease Society of America. He served for 25 years as editor of Advances in Internal Medicine and of Hospital Practice Magazine and for six years as editor of the American Journal of Geriatrics. The author of more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, including textbook chapters, articles, and a monograph, he also published a memoir, “Medicine: A Love Story,” included in the Spring 2013 issue of Columbia Medicine. Among countless honors, a chair was endowed in his name at the University of Tennessee and he received the Mentor Award of the Infectious Disease Society in recognition of a lifetime of service as mentor of infectious disease professionals. Preceded in death by his first wife, Corynne, his second wife, Vita, and a daughter, he is survived by a daughter, a son, and three grandchildren.

1945
Albert Stunkard, a psychiatrist and pioneer in eating disorders and obesity research, died July 12, 2014, at age 92. Emeritus professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Stunkard was best known for his landmark studies proving the genetic basis for obesity in humans. As an investigator, he studied the efficacy of more than a dozen therapies for obesity and is considered one of the fathers of behavior modification as an effective treatment regimen. The author of nearly 400 papers, he was responsible for advances in the classification and understanding of such life-threatening eating disorders as bulimia and purging. A lifelong investigator of deviant eating patterns, he was the first to describe binge eating and to develop a treatment. He was the recipient of many awards, including an honorary MD from the University of Edinburgh, the Order of Leopold II of Belgium, the Distinguished Service Award of the American Psychiatric Association, the Samat International Prize of the Institute of Medicine, and the Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievements in Medicine of the P&S Alumni Association. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, a stepdaughter, and two stepgrandchildren.

1946
Arnold S. Relman, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine and a passionate voice in the debate about the American health care system, died June 17, 2014, his 91st birthday. The cause of death was melanoma. Committed to the end, he was correcting the galleys of his last article at the time of his death. For 13 years Dr. Relman served as editor-in-chief of NEJM, the oldest continuously published medical journal in the world. He expanded the journal to include a forum for debate of economic, ethical, and public policy issues, and readership soared under his leadership. In an early editorial he wrote, “We should not allow the medical-industrial complex to distort our health care system to its own entrepreneurial ends.” He believed that medicine should be practiced without financial incentives with the goal of doing what is best for the patient and predicted the need for a federal umbrella for health care. Graduating from Cornell University, where he majored in philosophy, Dr. Relman embraced medicine as a humanistic calling. Teaching on the faculties of the Department of Medicine at Boston University, where he was appointed the Conrad Wesselhoeft Professor of Medicine, and the University of Pennsylvania, where he was named chairman of medicine, he subsequently moved back to Boston and became professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School and senior physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. His research in nephrology and electrolyte and acid-base balance was documented in numerous publications, including chapters in textbooks. He co-edited with F.J. Ingelfinger and M. Finland two editions of “Controversy in Internal Medicine,” in 1966 and 1974. A former editor of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (1962-1967), he took the reins of NEJM in 1977 and retired in 1991. His many encomia included honorary degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Brown University, Union University, the State University of New York, the Medical College of Ohio, Temple University, Mount Sinai Medical School; the Alumni Gold Medal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in 1981; and the 2002 Polk Journalism Prize, shared with his wife, Dr. Marcia Angell, who survives him, with whom he co-authored a study of the pharmaceutical industry. In 1993 he served on the Health Professionals Review Group for the White House. In 1995 he was appointed to the Board of Registration in Medicine of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and chaired the board’s Quality of Care Committee for the next six years. Divorced from his first wife, Harriet Vitkin, he is also survived by a daughter, two sons, two stepdaughters,
six granddaughters, and four stepgrandsons.

1947
Stanley B. Braham died March 27, 2014. He was a well-known urologist and associate professor of urology at P&S who helped train many of the most accomplished urological surgeons. He also was an innovator in surgical techniques. Dr. Braham was a passionate golfer and co-founder of the World of Golf, which grew to become the largest golf retailer in New York City. He is survived by three children.

Hiromishi Tsuda Narahara, a retired internist and research endocrinologist, died March 20, 2014, at age 90. A native of Tokyo, Dr. Narahara grew up in New York City and attended Columbia College. He taught on the faculties of the University of Washington and Washington University in St. Louis, where he was a member of the research team headed by Nobel laureate Carl Cori. He later pursued research in endocrinology and toxicology in the laboratories division in the New York State Health Department in Albany. Preceded in death by his wife, Ruth, Dr. Narahara is survived by a daughter, three sons, and seven grandchildren.

1948
Gilbert Ashwell, a renowned researcher at the NIH, died June 27, 2014. For much of his career Dr. Ashwell served as chief of the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Metabolism at the Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases, where he was best known as the co-discoverer of the asialoglycoprotein receptor in the liver, now also known as the Ashwell-Morell receptor and perhaps the first receptor ever described. Researchers worldwide use the basis of Dr. Ashwell’s work with Anatol G. Morell to deliver drugs specifically to the liver. An earlier focus of Dr. Ashwell’s research was intermediary metabolism. He is credited with the discoveries of D-xylulose phosphate as an intermediate in the pentose cycle; several intermediates in the catabolism of vitamin C; and beta-ketogulonic acid as an intermediate in the synthesis of L-xylulose, the key sugar in pentosuria, a carbohydrate metabolism disorder. He received the Gairdner Foundation Prize, the ASBC-Merck Prize, an honorary degree from the University of Paris, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Senior Scientist Award. He was a member of the National Academy
of Sciences. Survivors include a daughter, a son, and two grandchildren.

Robert G. Bosworth Jr., a retired internist, died April 29, 2014, at age 90. A native of Denver, he returned there after medical school to pursue a private medical practice, specializing in diabetes. A past president of the Colorado Medical Society, he was a life member of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Bosworth served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict. Survivors include his wife, Alice, two daughters, and three sons.

1950
Israeli A. Jaffe, professor emeritus of clinical medicine at P&S and a revered rheumatologist, died Sept. 24, 2014. A member of the P&S faculty for many years, he was a former director of medical education at Roosevelt Hospital. He served for close to two decades as director of the rheumatic diseases service at New York Medical College. He was credited with the discovery of the use of D-penicillamine, a medication used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Widely published in the top medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arthritis Foundation and was a Master of the American College of Rheumatology. His passions outside of medicine included classical music and fine wines. He was compelled to retire, incapacitated by an infected prosthetic hip. Survivors include his wife, Judith, three daughters, and two grandchildren.

1951
Nicholas P. Christy, a distinguished endocrinologist, longtime professor of medicine at P&S, and eloquent medical man of letters, died April 26, 2014. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1942 to 1946, stationed in the South Pacific and the Western Theater. Dr. Christy served for more than a decade as director of the Department of Medicine at Roosevelt Hospital, then as chief of staff at the VA Medical Center in Brooklyn. A former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Metabolism and editor and co-author of “The Human Adrenal Cortex,” published by Harper & Row, he co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology, JAMA, and other prestigious publications. He also wrote about medical aspects of musicology, one of his abiding passions, including a paper on the cause of death of Austrian composer Gustav Mahler. Ever adamant about the need for clarity in writing, particularly medical writing and all communications between doctor and patient, Dr. Christy received the 1989 Harold Swanberg Award for contributions to medical communication from the American Medical Writers Association. His regular profiles of illustrious P&S professors were for years a popular feature in P&S (now known as Columbia Medicine). A past president of the Century Association, he presided over the admission of women to the organization. Preceded in death by his first wife, Beverly, he is survived by his second wife, Caroline, a daughter, a son, a stepdaughter, two stepsons, and three grandchildren.

1953
Joseph Dimon III died March 24, 2014, at his home in Atlanta. Dr. Dimon was one of three doctors who founded the Peachtree Orthopedic Clinic, where he practiced for 40 years. From 1969 to 1975, he also worked as team physician to the Atlanta Hawks and, more recently, served as chief of orthopedic surgery at Piedmont Hospital. Dr. Dimon’s achievements included serving as state chairman of the Georgia Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation. He was clinical professor of orthopedics at Emory University, professor and chair of orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Georgia, and chair of the Education Committee at Piedmont Hospital. He also served as president of the Georgia Orthopedic Society, the Atlanta Orthopedic Society, the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, and the Society for Arthritic Joint Surgery. He was a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the American Orthopedic Association. A generous supporter, teacher, and advocate of numerous causes, Dr. Dimon went on rotation with his clinic partners to work in Haiti over the course of 35 years. He also was a visiting professor to India, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. He was involved in the professional training and development of orthopedic nurses and was a member of the Board of Directors of Medicine and Ministry. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Annie Mitchell Dimon, five children, and five grandchildren.

Herbert E. Poch died March 18, 2014. After graduating from P&S, he completed his pediatric training at Babies Hospital. Remembering his modest roots, he was deeply committed to service within the community. In the days before development of substantial insurance options, he cared for a large number of patients pro bono. From the time of his graduation, he taught medical students as a volunteer at P&S. He was preceded in death by his wife, Leila Kosberg, and is survived by three children.

Benjamin M. Wright, a retired internist and former director of occupational medicine at Princeton University, died Feb. 24, 2014. Dr. Wright served in the U.S. Army during World War II, sailing on the troop carrier S.S. America to Naples, Italy, and later landing in the Philippines on V.J. Day. Following his military service he joined the Princeton Medical Group, a group practice to which he belonged for close to three decades. He also served as medical director of the Merwick Nursing Home Unit. In 1985 he became the founding director of the occupational medicine section of Princeton University Health Services, where he treated students, identified potential health hazards in the workplace, and promoted the creation of smoking cessation groups for university employees. He was a founding member of the P&S Bards, a medical student glee club, which sang at the group’s 50th reunion in 1998. Dr. Wright is survived by his wife, Lieske, two daughters, two sons, and 11 grandchildren.

1954
Philip W. Brickner died March 24, 2014, at age 85. The cause was prostate cancer. He had a 40-year career as founding chair of the Department of Community Medicine at St. Vincent’s Hospital and as director of tuberculosis studies at Mount Sinai Hospital, both in New York City. In an obituary in the New York Times, Dr. Brickner was lauded for his efforts to modernize home care. At St. Vincent’s, he established a ground-breaking program for the homeless residing in single room occupancy hotels. An interview with Dr. Brickner, published by the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, described how he and another doctor found 1,200 men housed in an SRO hotel in Greenwich Village in 1969. “About 200 men were elderly men on small pensions or Social Security income, who had lived there for decades. About 400 men were deteriorated alcoholics of middle age, and about 600 men were drug addicts, younger men, placed there by New York City following their discharge from Riker’s Island, where many had been incarcerated for drug-related crimes.” The hotel proprietor gave the doctors three rooms to use as a clinic. “We established a free clinic, staffed three days a week by physicians from St. Vincent’s. We saw any man who wanted health care.” The program grew to other locations and in 1983, Dr. Brickner directed the Health Care for the Homeless Demonstration Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Pew Memorial Trust, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The team oversaw the implementation of projects in 19 cities, based on Dr. Brickner’s work in New York. That work became the basis of a federal program that now funds 249 homeless health care projects throughout the nation. “The Department of Community Medicine greeted our homeless men and women with open arms. We take health care to where people are located,” Dr. Brickner said. He also worked with collaborators to fight a resurgence in tuberculosis in homeless shelters using ultraviolet light to kill germs, an approach dating from the 1930s. Even after antibiotics were developed to kill the bacteria that cause TB, the disease reappeared among the homeless. His work with the Harvard School of Public Health and other collaborators earned two patents for devices to generate germ-killing ultraviolet light. He is survived by his wife, Alice, three children, and seven grandchildren.

John Bingham Ellison, a retired general surgeon, died March 22, 2014, in Chester, Conn., at age 88. He served in the U.S. Army in the Philippines during World War II. Dr. Ellison, who took pride in being the first left-handed surgeon to graduate from P&S, trained in surgery at St. Luke’s Hospital, then moved to Middletown, N.Y., where he began a private practice and maintained a longstanding affiliation with Horton Memorial Hospital. He served several terms as chair of the Department of Surgery, served as chief of staff, and performed the hospital’s first pacemaker implant. He served on the executive board of the South Winds Retirement Home. Preceded in death by his first wife, Louise, he is survived by his second wife, Patricia, one daughter, four sons, and seven grandchildren.

1955
Harold F. Spalter, professor emeritus of clinical ophthalmology at P&S, died July 4, 2014. A captain in the U.S. Air Force, he was the first ophthalmologist assigned to USAF Third Air Force stationed in London. Best known for early research on laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy, Dr. Spalter was awarded the Dunnington Medal of the Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute for outstanding ophthalmic achievement. He chaired the Scientific Advisory Panel of Research to Prevent Blindness and was a member of the Board of Trustees and Medical Advisory Board of Helen Keller Worldwide. Preceded in death by his first wife, Josie, he is survived by his second wife, Diane, a daughter, and three sons.

Charles Wunderlich Jr., a retired pediatrician, died May 1, 2014. He pursued a private practice at Suncoast Medical Clinic, where he specialized in children’s developmental issues. Dr. Wunderlich later became a pioneer in nutritional medicine. He was the author of books and articles on issues relating to nutrition and health. Preceded in death by his wife, Elinor, he is survived by two daughters, two sons, and six grandchildren.

1955 PhD
Alvin I. Krasna, professor emeritus of biochemistry & molecular biophysics at P&S, died Jan. 27, 2014. He was associated with the biochemistry department for more than 60 years, beginning as a graduate student with Dr. David Rittenberg. Dr. Krasna received a BA degree summa cum laude from Yeshiva University in 1950 before earning a doctorate from Columbia. He twice served as acting chair of the Department of Biochemistry, from 1977 to 1978 and from 1988 to 1990; he also served as the department’s vice chair for more than 30 years. Dr. Krasna was voted Teacher of the Year by first-year P&S classes in 1982 and 1985, and he received the Charles W. Bohmfalk Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching in the Preclinical Years in 1992. After his official retirement in 2005, Dr. Krasna was appointed a special lecturer, and at the time of his death he had just finished teaching General Biochemistry G4021, a course he taught since 1960. Dr. Krasna’s research career was devoted to understanding the enzyme hydrogenase, which catalyzes uptake and evolution of hydrogen gas in bacteria and algae. Between 1952 and 1990, Dr. Krasna published more than 60 papers, many of which continue to garner citations in the literature.

1956
Joseph Sweeting, a respected gastroenterologist, longtime professor of clinical medicine at P&S, and revered mentor to generations of physicians, died April 29, 2014, at age 84. He was an icon in the halls of Presbyterian Hospital, partly on account of his height, but also because of his clinical acumen, gentleness, patience, and soft spoken manner, making him a favorite among patients, house staff, and medical students. The first in his family to graduate high school, he attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. In lieu of military service he served in the Indian Health Service, first at the Kiowa Indian Hospital in Oklahoma and then at Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Harlem, Mont. Returning to New York, he pursued a private practice in internal medicine and joined the faculty of the Department of Medicine at P&S. He served as a chief of service at Presbyterian Hospital, Harlem Hospital, and the Allen Pavilion for more than 25 years. Dr. Sweeting was a prolific writer of peer-reviewed articles on intestinal themes and a past president of the New York Gastroenterological Association. He received the first Distinguished Clinician Award offered by the American Gastroenterological Association in 1997. Officially retiring in 2006, he continued to teach as the H. William Harris Visiting Professor in several hospitals in China and Taiwan, where he helped introduce bedside teaching methods. CBS News medical correspondent Jonathan LaPook’80 saluted his former professor as “the epitome of patience, a calming, supportive teacher with a pinch of psychiatrist thrown in for good measure, a perfect blend of humility, expertise, and kindness.” Dr. Sweeting
is survived by his wife, Patricia, six sons, and
seven grandchildren.

William “Peter” Weiss died Jan. 14, 2014, in Germantown, N.Y. He also earned an MPH degree from Johns Hopkins. Before entering private practice in Vermont in 1974, he worked as a research scientist at the NIH. His hobbies included designing and building his own home in the Chester Woods. He participated in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and promoted women’s rights. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Joan, four children, and seven grandchildren.

1957
Alice Brandfonbrener, a retired internist who specialized in the care of performing artists, died May 31, 2014, at 83. She served for some years as a staff physician in the Student Health Service at Northwestern University, where she subsequently specialized in the medical care of instrumental musicians and was appointed assistant professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Brandfonbrener lectured extensively on the medical problems of musicians and dancers. Co-editor of the “Textbook of Performing Arts Medicine,” she also published 12 book chapters on musculoskeletal problems of instrumental musicians. Preceded in death by her husband, Martin Brandfonbrener, MD, she is survived by four children, two of whom are professional string instrumentalists.

1958
Thomas J. Theobald, a retired internist, died July 17, 2013, at 83. He completed a research fellowship in hematology and radiation biology under the tutelage of Nobel Laureate L. Donnell Thomas in Cooperstown, N.Y. After serving in the U.S. Air Force in Wiesbaden, Germany, he settled in Streator, Ill., where he practiced internal medicine. He maintained an affiliation with Streator Hospital, setting up the hospital’s first coronary care unit, and with St. Mary’s Hospital, placing the first cardiac pacemakers in patients. Also certified in transactional analysis, he and his wife, Doreen, who survives him, practiced psychotherapy. Other survivors include two daughters, two sons, 16 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Donald F. Wilcox died Feb. 20, 2014, at age 84. He trained in ob/gyn at Stanford Hospital in California after serving as an Army doctor in the Howitzer Battalion 75th Artillery in Germany. He joined the San Rafael Medical Group and served as chief of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Marin General Hospital. He also was past president of the San Francisco Gynecology Society and past president of the UCSF Clinical Faculty Association. He is survived by his wife, Sharon, two daughters, and two granddaughters.

1960
Joshua Hollander, professor emeritus of neurology at the University of Rochester and a longtime medical director of the stroke unit of Rochester General Hospital, died July 22, 2014, at age 77. Dr. Hollander pioneered the use of the clot-busting drug tPA to treat stroke and was a proponent of the team approach to neurological care. His fields of research included the study of stroke prevention among African-Americans and the use of medications to prevent a second stroke. In his free time Dr. Hollander was an active member of the Genesee Region Orchid Society. He is survived by his wife, Sheila, a daughter, and two sons.

1962
Robert B. Winslow, a plastic surgeon, died July 15, 2014. He served in the U.S. Air Force and for many years pursued a private practice in Raleigh, N.C. He taught on the faculty in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and later moved to Lake Tahoe, Calif., where he practiced until his retirement. He is survived by his wife, JoAnne, two daughters, a son, and eight grandchildren.

1963
Dean Scott Wood died March 21, 2014, at age 76. After two years of postgraduate training in medicine, he served in Vietnam, assigned to the 85th Evacuation Hospital near the city of Qui Nhon. Of 14,000 admissions, half were medical problems, such as malaria, and half were related to battle wounds. He practiced family medicine in the San Fernando Valley for 17 years. His career changed when he joined a “doctor house call practice” from which he retired in 2002. He is survived by his wife, Jaren, a daughter, and many grandchildren.

1965
Virginia Biddle died March 28, 2014, at age 84 after a long illness. She became a medical technician and took a job in Nagasaki, Japan, as a medical director of a research laboratory for the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission. In Falmouth, Mass., she opened her own practice, was director of a nursing home, and directed continuing medical education at Falmouth Hospital. Before retiring in 2006, she practiced medicine in Ellsworth, Maine. Her spare time was devoted to horseback riding, skiing, and sailing. She is survived by two sisters and one brother.

Robert F. Bohnen died Feb. 28, 2014, in Klamath Falls, Ore. His postgraduate training was in hematology/oncology at the University of Utah. He served for two years in the Peace Corps and the Public Health Service. He served on the volunteer faculty at UC Davis Medical School and as medical director of the Hospice of Roseville. His free time was spent with the church choir and thespian activities. He is survived by his wife, Mollyn, one daughter, two sons, and one granddaughter.

1966
Henry Arthur Selvey of Marietta, Ga., died March 21, 2014, at age 73. He grew up in South Nyack, N.Y. He spent two years as chief of the Department of Psychiatry at Fort McPherson Army Hospital in Atlanta. Before retiring in 2000, Dr. Selvey spent nearly 30 years in private practice. He is survived by his wife, Bonnie, a son, a stepdaughter, and a granddaughter.

1967
Anthony Imbembo, a general and cardiothoracic surgeon, died Feb. 21, 2014, at 72. Dr. Imbembo was professor and vice chair of surgery at Case Western Reserve University and director of surgery at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital. He was a past president of the Association for Surgical Education. His bibliography covers a wide range of subjects, including surgery for obesity and the development of an implantable medication system for the control of diabetes. He also wrote multiple chapters for a textbook, “Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.” He is survived by a brother, a niece, and a nephew.

Sally F. Wiseley, a specialist in rehabilitation medicine, died May 30, 2014, from complications of diabetes. She initially pursued graduate study on the Renaissance Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto before falling ill with diabetes and opting to study medicine. She trained in rehabilitation medicine at the VA Hospital in the Bronx, then moved to Vassalboro, Maine, where she pursued a solo practice until her retirement in 1995. She loved to garden and studied Spanish and the Mayan culture.

1968
Ronald Li, a retired urologist and real estate developer, died July 19, 2014, at age 70. A native of Kunming, China, he emigrated to the United States in 1945. He served in the U.S. Air Force, stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. He also held a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Dayton. Dr. Li practiced urological surgery in the U.S. Air Force, first in the Rochester, N.Y., area, then in Milledgeville, Ga., for more than 25 years. He eventually left the practice of medicine to run a home building business in Hilton Head and Bluffton, S.C. He is survived by his wife, Janet, a daughter, a stepdaughter, a stepson, and five grandchildren.

1971
J. Steven McDougal died April 6, 2014, at age 68. He joined the CDC in 1974 as a medical officer in the U.S. Public Health Service, becoming chief of the HIV/AIDS Immunology and Diagnostics Branch with an appointment at Emory University. He dedicated his career to HIV/AIDS research and made important contributions, including the identification of CD4 as the primary receptor for HIV with gp120 as the viral binding protein. Transmission of HIV through blood and blood products was curtailed by his discovery that HIV could be inactivated by heat. He developed assays to detect and distinguish between recent and long-term HIV infections to identify high-risk populations to better target treatment resources to reduce HIV transmission. He volunteered in homeless shelters and coached children’s baseball. No task was too big, including renovating his house and designing and building a rock garden with pond and waterfall. He is survived by his wife and three children.

1981
Nannette Goldstein Sternberg, a psychiatrist, died of metastatic breast cancer on April 28, 2014. Dr. Goldstein taught for a time at P&S while treating adults in a private psychiatry practice. She later became chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Saint Michael’s Hospital in Newark, N.J., and then medical director at the Newton Memorial Hospital in Newton, N.J. In 1985 she received the Sandoz Award for administrative psychiatry. She is survived by her husband, Ronald Sternberg, a daughter, and a son.

1989
David McDowell, a psychiatrist and specialist in substance abuse, died June 4, 2014. When he was a member of the psychiatry faculty at P&S, he worked in the Division on Substance Abuse with his mentor, Dr. Herbert D. Kleber, former assistant drug czar under President George W. Bush. With Dr. Kleber, Dr. McDowell co-founded STARS, the Substance Treatment and Research Service, and served as medical director and, later, as senior medical adviser. Dr. McDowell also founded the buprenorphine program, the first opiate treatment program of its kind in the country. Author of “Substance Abuse: From Principles to Practice,” a standard text in the field, he also wrote many articles on substance abuse and on psychiatric issues concerning sex and sexuality. He was the longest serving member, former vice chair, and acting chair of the American Psychiatric Scientific Program Committee. A distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, he was named to Best Doctors of America. In 2008 he joined the psychiatry faculty at Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he won Teacher of the Year awards in 2013 and 2014 and the Excellence in Residency Education Award in 2014. A past president of the P&S Class of 1989, he remained popular and was honored in 2014 at his 25-year reunion with two chairs in the new Medical and Graduate Education Building. He is survived by his life partner, Carlos Moreira, his mother, a sister, and three brothers.