Dennis Mihale Combines Engineering Expertise with Medicine
t
the age of 32, Dennis Mihale, M.D. '86, made a decision that
changed the course of his professional life. Although he was
enjoying an exciting, rewarding career at IBM, he took a leave
of absence and entered the School of General Studies at Columbia
University to complete the prerequisites for medical school.
With the support of his family, Mihale was accepted at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Clearly a non-traditional applicant at the age of 35, he was grateful for the school's confidence in his potential.
Mihale
soon proved himself to his colleagues and teachers. While in
medical school, Mihale applied his background in engineering
to design a flexible knee orthotic through a project sponsored
by NASA. For his post-graduate training, he returned to his native
New York to do a surgical internship and an orthopedic residency.
He then took a year off to work at the IBM Research Center to
develop an engineering model for robotic surgery. Under his direction,
the project was completed, and the robot is currently used for
hip replacement surgeries at the University of California at
Davis.
In 1990, Dr. Mihale continued his professional development and entered the Executive MBA Program at the University of South Florida. He subsequently helped to launch a health maintenance organization, and in January 1994, he started St. Augustine Health Care, a Medicaid and commercial HMO. The business prospered and ultimately achieved $30 million in annual revenues. St. Augustine was recently acquired by AvMed, and Dr. Mihale retired from that venture.
Today, Dr. Mihale maintains a strong connection to the medical school and provides financial support, sponsors regional alumni meetings, and serves on the Dean's Leader-ship Cabinet. He is also involved in the development of a community clinic through his work with Tampa's Metropolitan Ministries.
1970s
Jamie S. Barkin, M.D. '70, professor of medicine and head of the Division of Gastroenterology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, received the American College of Physi-cians 1998 Chapter Manage-ment Award. He also received two Evergreen awards for outstanding innovation.
H. Charles Slater, M.D. '71, left the following message on the alumni association web site: "Quit medicine to become a potter in Aspen, Colorado."
1980s
Jeffrey R. Keim, M.D. '81, practices plastic and reconstructive surgery and recently became certified to perform hand surgery. Dr. Keim and his wife, Dawn, reside in El Paso, Texas.
Richard S. Epter, M.D. '84, relocated to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he accepted a position at the Chattanooga Center for Pain Medicine. He is a diplomate of the Amer-ican Board of Pain Medicine, the American Academy of Pain Management, and the American Board of Anesthe-siology. He practices interventional pain medicine and can be reached through the Internet at richie@pol.net.
Bradford Moss, M.D. '84, joined Palm Beach Urology Associates in 1997. He can be reached via the Internet at bmoss@adelphia.net.
Frederick Kam, M.D. '86, recently moved to Auburn University to serve as a medical director. His wife Charlene plans to open a Montessori school, as well as raise their children, Brendan and Allison. He can be reached at Fred_Kam@collegiate.com.
Carlos Guanche, M.D. '87, serves as director of clinical research at the Minneapolis Sports Medicine Center.
Rita Ann Fitzpatrick Reik, M.D. '89, has been appointed associate medical director of the Community Blood Center, medical director of Community Tissue Services, and director of the scientific services department in Dayton, Ohio. Prior to these appointments, Reik served as director of the stem cell processing and graft engineering laboratory at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center. She currently resides in Kettering, Ohio, with her family.
1990s
Paul J. Cohen, M.D. '91, completed his residency in anesthesiology in 1995 at the University of California at San Diego Medical Center. He currently works in a group anesthesia practice in Denver.
Ravi Sandrapaty, M.D. '92, is completing a fellowship at Long Beach, California's Memorial Medical Center. He finished a one-year internship at the Stanford University Affiliated Hospitals, followed by a four-year residency in radiation oncology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, where he served as chief resident in his final year. He attained certification by the American Board of Radiology in 1997. Sandrapaty can be reached via the Internet at Rsandrapat@aol.com.
Aruna Ganju, M.D. '93, is the chief resident in neurosurgery at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. She plans to finish her residency in June, 1999.
John Peter Lafferty, IV, M.D. '93, was appointed medical director of the Multidisciplinary Pain Medicine Facilities in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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