Stoddard Davenport MPH'19 assesses the economic cost of the U.S. opioid epidemic – totaling at least $631 billion – in a new study he co-authored, which has been picked up by CBS News, NPR and The Washington Post.
Alumni News & Notes
Learn about the recent accomplishments of your fellow Dartmouth Institute alumni—
Stoddard Davenport MPH'19
A new study co-authored by Stoddard is getting important media coverage in CBS News, NPR, and The Washington Post. The study, released by the Society of Actuaries, finds that the opioid epidemic cost the U.S. at least $631 billion from 2015 to 2018. The estimate includes costs associated with additional health care services, premature mortality, criminal justice activities, child and family assistance programs, education programs, and lost productivity.
Nirali Chauhan MPH'19 Nirali will be presenting her capstone research at the upcoming conference, Symposium on Yoga Research. Nirali’s research centers around how yoga can help with recovery from traumatic brain injury.
Nivi Ramkumar MPH'15Women are getting more strokes than men. A new study led by a Dartmouth MPH alumna and PhD student Nivi Ramkumar offers insight into why men and women may need different approaches to treat carotid artery disease, a key risk factor for stroke. Their findings suggest that an endarterectomy, a common surgery used to treat the disease, may not be as effective in women as it is in men.
Kyla D. Pearce PhD’18, MPH’13
A study led by Kyla shows how the LoveYourBrain Yoga program leads to significant improvements in quality of life, resilience, positive affect and well-being, and cognition for people with traumatic brain injury. Kyla is senior director at LoveYourBrain Yoga, which is an evidence-based, 6-week yoga and meditation program designed to build community and foster resilience for people with traumatic brain injury and their caregivers.
Rebecca Sundling, DPM, MPH'17 Rebecca was appointed as Young Physician Liaison to the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) Board of Trustees in June. One of Rebecca’s main goals as a member of the board is to provide better education to young doctors about why joining the APMA is important.
Cole Zanetti, DO, MPH'16
Cole was selected to receive the James M. Lally, DO, National Emerging Leader Award for 2019 from the American Osteopathic Foundation. The award recognizes a national leader 'whose accomplishments and actions have been instrumental in motivating and inspiring others for the betterment of the osteopathic profession and public health.' He was also recently appointed to serve on the Denver, CO, Board of Public Health and Environment.
Aishat Mustapha, MD, MPH'15 Aishat graduated from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio this year. She is now in her first year of residency at the Osler Program in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Kimberly Russell Thompson MS ’14 Kim started a new position in March 2019 as a clinical project manager in Pfizer's Clinical Research Unit in New Haven, Connecticut, where she oversees phase 1 clinical trials.
Jonathan Ballard, MD, MPH'14
Jonathan was recognized in the de Beaumont Foundation's 40 Under 40 in Public Health ranking, which honors leaders whose creativity and innovation are strengthening communities across the country. Jonathan is currently the chief medical officers for the the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
Lisa (Jackson) Lucas MPH'14
Lisa and her husband, Rob, welcomed their first child, a son, Rory Bruce Lucas (pictured left) on October 4. Lisa says, “He is just the best!”
Brian Sites, MD, MS'14 Brian has been selected to serve as editor-in-chief (EIC) of the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.
Jeana Havidich, MD, PhD, MS'13 Jeana was interviewed for Total Croatia News in October about medical tourism in Croatia.
Yulin Hswen MPH'12A new letter in The New England Journal of Medicine co-written by Dartmouth Institute alumna Yulin Hswen focuses on using real-time digital surveillance to monitor vaping-induced pulmonary disease cases. Their findings helped to trigger a four-month ban on vaping products in Massachusetts.
Steven Powell, MD, MPH'12, CPE, FAPASteven is now Chief Medical Officer for PursueCare. PursueCare is located in Connecticut, but will soon be launching addiction medicine treatment via telemedicine across the United States.
Katherine (McQueston) de Bienassis, MPH'11 Katherine joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Health Division this summer. Her current portfolio focuses on healthcare quality and outcomes, patient-reported outcomes and experience measures, and patient safety.
Denise Serrano-Eanelli, DrPH, MPH'10 Denise graduated from New York Medical College on May 22 with a DrPH in Health Policy and Management. She was awarded Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award for her dissertation entitled, "Shared Medical Decision Making and Advance Care Planning using eMOLST in New York State." Denise is not shy to say that she is looking for meaningful work in the geriatric palliative care space as a post-doctoral research fellow.
Desirée Fehmie MPH'10 Desirée became engaged in April 2019 and will marry her fiancé, Randolph Pearson, on December 5, 2019 in the California mountains. She recently celebrated her one-year work anniversary at the Center for Innovative Public Health Research.
Amanda DeBrule MPH'10 Amanda and her wife, Sara, added a beautiful baby boy, Jack (pictured right), to their family in July.
Matthew Davis, MPH 2009 After 10 years at the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Matthew joined the League of Conservation Voters as the Legislative Director where he will be working on promoting clean energy, climate justice, equitable access to public lands, clean air for everyone and other environmental health issues. Read his blog post about his new journey.
Tracy Geoffrion, MD, MPH’08 Tracy completed general surgery training in 2017 and is certified by the American Board of Surgery. Tracy will completed fellowship training in cardiothoracic surgery in July 2019 and started additional training in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery in August 2019.
Janette (Polaski) Edwards MPH'06
Janette was recently named one of Hartford Business Journal's "40 Under Forty" award recipients. As Vice President of Operations for The Hospital of Central Connecticut and MidState Medical Center, part of the Hartford HealthCare network in Connecticut, she has played a pivotal role in helping the organization achieve record growth, improved clinical outcomes, and receive some of the best patient-experience scores in the state.
Sarah Moyer, MD, MPH'06
Sarah was recognized in the de Beaumont Foundation's 40 Under 40 in Public Health ranking, which honors leaders whose creativity and innovation are strengthening communities across the country. Sarah is currently the director for the Louisville, KY Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness.
Candice Carmel, DO, MPH'05 Candice recently published her first children’s book, Nia’s Puzzle, which was the number one new release in Children’s Books on Amazon in August. It is a story that encourages a dialogue between kids and their parents about have a broad, optimistic perspective when facing challenges or uncertainties in life.
Adam Schwartz, MD, MS'02 Adam wrote in to update that while running the largest emergency department in San Diego, he often references his education in Hanover. As someone who wants to remain connected to Dartmouth, Adam says that he is “always happy to talk with interested students, alums, or other young physicians interested in large systems, emergency medicine, or anything else” of that nature.
Etoile Pinder MS'01Etoile is back home in The Bahamas where residents are trying to rebuild their communities after Hurricane Dorian bulldozed Grand Bahama and Abacos islands this summer. Etoile encourages anyone who wants to know how they can help to please visit www.bahamas.com/relief or www.onebahamasfund.org and notes that ONE Bahamas Fund is matching all donations, so every dollar donated there yields $2 to the relief work.
Philip Morphew MS'98Philip retired from his position as CEO of the Indiana Primary Health Care Association on August 30, culminating in a rewarding 49-year professional career, including 34 year as a chief executive.
James (Jim) Wrobel, DPM, MS 1996 Jim received the American Diabetes Association’s Roger Pecoraro Award in June. This award recognizes a researcher who has made significant scientific contributions and demonstrates an untiring commitment to improving the understanding of the detection, treatment, and prevention of diabetic foot complications. Jim is humbled to be the fifth podiatrist in 27 years to receive the award. His talk at the presentation was on machine learning of wound images for predicting diabetes-related foot ulcer outcomes.