Alumni Briefs

Robert C. Smith (62MD, 68R) retired from Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine in 2020. He is working on the fifth edition of the interviewing textbook Smith’s Patient-Centered Interviewing: An Evidence-Based Method and is also writing Has Medicine Lost Its Mind? 

Donald Brown (65MS, 66MD) announced that he will retire in June 2023 after a 50-year career with UI Health Care. He performed research in digoxin pharmacology and pre-hospital cardiac care, taught and directed an introductory to clinical medicine course for 25 years, mentored countless students, and provided clinical care. 

Tamara Gholson Bavendam (81MD, 86R) earned Luther College's 2022 Distinguished Service Award. She recently retired from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, where she served as a senior adviser for women's urologic health. 

Matthew Cooper, MD, MBA (89R), discussed leadership, accountability, and teamwork on the "High Performance Zone" podcast, hosted by John Foley. Cooper is a cardiac surgeon and chief medical officer and director of global safety at 3M Health Care. 

Edward Remington Duffie Jr. (55MD) practiced pediatric cardiology for 20 years and served as medical director for children's hospitals in Oakland, California, and Denver, Colorado. He later worked in the private sector as corporate vice president of medical affairs at Becton, Dickinson, and Company in New Jersey. He died Sept. 25, 2022. 

Hugh L. Wolff (55MD, 63R)  moved to San Antonio, Texas, after residency training. He practiced medicine for 25 years and served as clinical professor at UT Health San Antonio. Wolff died Dec. 23, 2022.

William J. Rowe, MD (59R), served as a captain in the Air Force before beginning his private practice in Toledo, Ohio. He performed research on the cardiovascular implications of endurance training and also studied spaceflight and hypertension in astronauts who inhaled moon dust. Rowe died Sept. 18, 2022.

Thomas Gartin (61MD) founded the Family Practice Medical Clinic in Palm Desert, California, where he practiced for 38 years. He died Nov. 9, 2022.

Nicholas P. Rossi, MD (62R), was a professor of cardio-thoracic and vascular surgery in the Carver College of Medicine for 62 years. He helped perform the first kidney transplant in Iowa in 1969. He and his wife, Helen Rossi, were great supporters of the department and were instrumental in creating the Helen K. Rossi Volunteer Guest House and the Nicholas P. Rossi Professorship in Cardiothoracic Surgery. He died Nov. 5, 2022. 

John Owen Mullen (68MD) interned with the Navy and served as a surgeon in Vietnam. He then served the community of Huntington, West Virginia, as an orthopedic surgeon for 32 years. He died Aug. 5, 2022. 

Charles Gates Jr. (72MD) started North Idaho Urology in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and practiced until he was 70 years old. He died Nov. 28, 2022.

Thomas Stevens, MD (74F), was drafted into the Army and served in Vietnam and Tacoma, Washington. After his fellowship training at Iowa, Stevens and his family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked as a professor of ophthalmology at UW Madison Hospital and Clinics for 44 years. He died Dec. 26, 2022.

Napoleon Carter (77MD) founded the Eye Care Rehab Clinic in Longview, Texas, and he retired in 2004. He died Dec. 17, 2022. 

Frank E. Hammer Jr., MD (79R), of Keaau, Hawaii, was an anesthesiologist with the Hilo Medical Center and the Hilo Surgical Center. He was also a veteran of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He died Jan. 3, 2020.

John Ceilley (00MD) served as a psychiatry and addiction medicine specialist for 15 years in Denver, Colorado. He died Sept. 25, 2022.