The Medical Commencement Archive

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Harvard Medical School Commencement

2019-07-15

Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, FAAP is founder and director of the Michigan State University and Hurley Childrenâ€™s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, an innovative and model public health program in Flint, Michigan. A pediatrician, scientist, activist and author, Dr. Hanna-Attisha has testified twice before the United States Congress, awarded the Freedom of Expression Courage Award by PEN America, and named one of Time magazineâ€™s 100 Most Influential People in the World for her role in uncovering the Flint Water Crisis and leading recovery efforts. She has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, BBC and countless other media outlets championing the cause of children in Flint and beyond. She is founding donor of the Flint Child Health and Development Fund (flintkids.org).

Dr. Hanna-Attisha received her bachelorâ€™s and Master of Public Health degrees from the University of Michigan and her medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (MSU CHM). She completed her residency at Childrenâ€™s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, where she was chief resident. She is currently an associate professor of pediatrics and human development at MSU CHM.

A 2018 New York Times 100 Notable Book, NPR Science Friday Best Science Book of 2018, and 2019 Michigan Notable Book, Dr. Hanna-Attishaâ€™s bestselling and widely acclaimed book What the Eyes Donâ€™t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City is a riveting, beautifully rendered account of a shameful disaster that became a tale of activism and hope. Itâ€™s the story of a city on the ropes that came together to fight for justice, self-determination, and the right to build a better world for theirâ€”and all of ourâ€”children.

Dr. Lisa Sanders, David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA Commencement

2019-07-15

Lisa Sanders is an internist on the faculty of Yale School of Medicine and teaches in the Internal Medicine residency program there. She graduated from Yale Medical School and did her residency and chief residency at Yaleâ€™s Internal Medicine Primary Care Residency Program. Sanders created and writes the biweekly Diagnosis column for the New York Times Magazine. Her column was the inspiration for the hit television series House MD and she was an advisor for the show. These days she is working on a documentary series based on her column to be aired on Netflix in August 2019. She has a book coming out this summer called Diagnosis: Solving the Most Baffling Medical Mysteries, a collection of her New York Times columns. She also wrote the New York Times best seller, Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis. Before Sanders came to medical school she was an Emmy award winning producer for CBS News.

Dr. Arthur S Levine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Commencement

2019-07-15

Dr. Levine became Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in 1998. He was named the John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of Medicine in 2013. He is also Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics, and Neurobiology in the School of Medicine. The faculty of the University of Pittsburgh ranks fifth nationally in NIH research funding, and Dr. Levine has been instrumental in fostering the Universityâ€™s remarkable research trajectory. Dr. Levine has focused his priorities on studies that exploit the vast amount of data emerging from the human genome project and on the newly emerging and powerful technologies that enable us to visualize the three-dimensional structures, locations, and interactions of the proteins encoded by genes as they exist at particular times in particular cells. Beyond his University responsibilities, Dr. Levine works closely with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), one of the largest academic medical centers in the U.S., to ensure that health care delivery, biomedical research, and educationâ€”the three legs of the â€œclassic academic stoolâ€ â€“ remain equally strong and well positioned for future growth. He has also fostered the transfer of research discoveries to commercial applications, believing that contributing to the economy promotes a healthy society. Prior to his leadership appointment at the University of Pittsburgh in 1998, Dr. Levine served at the National Institutes of Health for more than three decades, having joined the National Cancer Institute in 1967. From 1982 to 1998, he was the Scientific Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, widely recognized as one of the world's leading centers in developmental biology. Earlier in his career, Dr. Levine played a leading role in clinical research on childhood malignancies, and he was one of the first to carry out systematic investigations on the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections in patients with cancer. Throughout his career, Dr. Levine has also been engaged in molecular biologic research. He and his colleagues carried out the first physical and genetic mapping of SV40, a mammalian tumor virus. These investigators were also the first to work on naturally occurring viral recombinant DNAs, and the results provided an important source of information in the beginning of the recombinant DNA era. Dr. Levine continues to direct his own laboratory, which is focused on the molecular mechanisms that maintain the fidelity of the genome. Until recently, these studies were focused on cancer etiology; currently Dr. Levine is engaged in research on the root molecular cause(s) of Alzheimerâ€™s disease, believing that this is not a curable disease but one which must be prevented. Dr. Levine, who has authored or co-authored more than 280 scientific publications, has been widely recognized for his achievements. He has chaired numerous national and international scientific meetings, been elected to membership in many of the leading research societies and has held visiting professorships and distinguished lectureships at many universities here and abroad. Dr. Levine has served on the editorial boards of four scientific journals and was editor-in-chief of The New Biologist, a journal of cellular and molecular biology.

He received the Meritorious Service and the Distinguished Service Medals of the United States Public Health Service, The Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medal, the Distinguished Alumnus Award and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the Chicago Medical School, and the NIH Director's Award. Dr. Levine is a graduate of Columbia College where he majored in comparative literature and edited The Columbia Review.

In 1964, he received his M.D. from the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (formerly the Chicago Medical School). After an internship and residency in pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Hospitals, Minneapolis, Dr. Levine served as a fellow in hematology and biochemical genetics at the University of Minnesota prior to joining the NIH.

Dr. Susan Thompson Hingle, Georgetown University School of Medicine Commencement

2019-07-15

Susan Hingle is an Internal Medicine specialist and a Professor of Medicine, who serves as Associate Dean for Human and Organizational Potential, and Director of Faculty Development. Dr. Hingle recently graduated from the prestigious Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program. She has received several teaching awards including the Golden Apple Award, the Excellence in Teaching Outstanding Teacher Award, and the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. She has been active nationally in numerous organizations, including the American College of Physicians (ACP). She served as Chair of the ACP Board of Regents 2017-2018 and Chair of Board of Governors 2013-2014. Dr. Hingle was honored with ACPâ€™s McDonald Award for Young Physicians. In 2011, 2012, and 2013, she was awarded the ACP John Tooker Evergreen Award for Chapter Management and Innovation. She earned a bachelorâ€™s degree from Miami University and a medical degree from Rush University Medical College. She completed an Internal Medicine residency at Georgetown University Medical Center, where she served as Chief Resident of Internal Medicine. Dr. Hingle is married and has two sons. She grew up in Decatur Illinois and is extremely proud to be part of SIUâ€™s mission.

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan Medicine Commencement

2019-07-15

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is a physician, epidemiologist, public health expert, and progressive activist. He is Chair of Southpaw Michigan and Senior Fellow at the Governing Institute. He is the author of the forthcoming â€œMoral Medicineâ€ a book about the epidemic of insecurity and the focus on empathy weâ€™ll need to cure it (Abrams Press). In 2018, Abdul ran for Governor of Michigan on an unapologetically progressive platform. Though he finished second of three earning over 340,000 votes in the Democratic primary, his bid was endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and The Nation. Prior, he served the City of Detroit as Health Director, appointed to rebuild Detroit's Health Department after it was privatized during the city's bankruptcy. He was the youngest health official in a major American city and was awarded â€œPublic Official of the Yearâ€ by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters and "40 under 40â€ by Crainâ€™s Detroit Business in view of his leadership. Prior to entering public service, he was Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Universityâ€™s Mailman School of Public Health where he lead Columbiaâ€™s Systems Science Program and Global Research Analytics for Population Health. He has over 100 peer reviewed scientific publications that have been cited over 1200 times.

Abdul earned a Doctorate in Public Health from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He also holds a Medical Degree from Columbia University where he was an NIH- funded Medical Scientist Training Program Fellow and Soros New Americans Fellow. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Highest Distinction from the University of Michigan, where he was chosen to deliver the student remarks alongside President Bill Clinton. He is a native Michigander who was born and raised in Metro Detroit, where he lives with his wife Sarah, a psychiatrist, and daughter Emmalee. He is a proud member of UAW Local 1981 and AFT local 477. He enjoys good people, good coffee, good food, and University of Michigan football.