Alumni Spotlight

The Pivotal Moment

A faculty member’s long-ago kindness inspires an alum to give.

It was the first day of classes at the UW School of Medicine, but instead of attending anatomy class, one first-year medical student was hiding in the student union. Anxious and overwhelmed, he flipped through a newspaper, drinking cup after cup of coffee and wondering what on earth he’d gotten himself into. For Gilbert Smith, M.D. ’64, it was almost the end of his medical career — before it even began.

Ready for Mindfulness?

Being “in the present” helps reduce student stress.

How long does it take to eat a raisin? If you eat it mindfully, it could take several minutes, according to Craig Scott, Ph.D., UW professor emeritus in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education.

“You think about what the raisin is and all the people involved in getting it into your hand,” says Scott. “That slowing down is so important.”

Colonel Shashi

Committing to a new country and a life of service.

When Shashi Kumar, M.D., Res. ’77, accepted her first job, she was quick to relate the good news to Walter C. Stolov, M.D., then the chair of rehabilitation medicine. And he told her (in so many words) that she’d taken a job with a khaki dress code.

“I joined Madigan not realizing that I was actually joining the U.S. Army!” says Colonel Kumar, UW clinical associate professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. “It was the best professional decision of my life.”

Portrait of a Radiologist

An alumnus redefines the field’s traditional image.

When you imagine a radiologist, you might think of someone in a white lab coat interpreting images of CAT scans and MRIs — someone a little distant and reserved. But that couldn’t be further from the truth, says alumnus and radiologist Jim Murakami, M.S. ’95, M.D., Res ’96, Fel. ’97.

The Human Connection

A UW Medicine alumna connects studying health with delivering care.

What do a family medicine practitioner and a global health researcher have in common? Just ask Maegan Ashworth Dirac, M.D. ’14, Ph.D. ’12 — she’s both. For Dirac, a typical week’s work will involve writing computer code, analyzing public health data and maybe even delivering a baby.

Who Inspires You?

Turning admiration into action.

Back in 1978, John Hess, M.D. ’72, and Lee Jong-wook were just two young doctors dispensing care in South Korea — Hess was working for the U.S. Army, and Lee was running an emergency room in a small provincial hospital.

“Once in a while you meet someone and you say, ‘hold it’, this is an amazing person,” says Hess.

Fly Like an Eagle

Alumna Shireen Mansoori, DPT ’12, OCS, breaks a glass ceiling.

Dr. Shireen Mansoori is spending her first season as the new director of rehabilitation for the Philadelphia Eagles. We talked with her about breaking barriers and the meaning of teamwork.

The Magic of Trying

Judd Walson, M.D., MPH, Fel. ’07, on children, worms and overcoming paralysis.

Alexander the Great was one of Judd Walson’s first and favorite teachers.

Not the Alexander the Great, the famed empire-builder in ancient Greece. Rather, a magician of the same name in Walson’s hometown in Tucson, Arizona.

The Starfish Scholarships

Tom Benedetti, M.D. ’73, MHA ’00 and Tom Norris, M.D., Fel. ’89

It’s an old story, and it goes something like this. Picture an old man at the beach, and a child, and a lot of starfish, stranded by a storm. The child picks up a starfish and places it gently back into the water. The old fellow thinks the child is wasting her time, so he offers some counsel. Why bother? he asks her. There are so many starfish. What could it possibly matter?

Homeward Bound

Lt. Col. Kristen Wyrick, M.D. ’03

War is hard on families. And life on the home front can be difficult, too.

This is a fact that Lt. Col. Kristen Wyrick, M.D. ’03, and her husband, Col. Brian Wyrick (retired), are intimately acquainted with. Right after the birth of their first son, Kristen and Brian each received five-month tours of duty in Afghanistan. Brian left in 2007 and Kristen the year after.