Alumni Spotlight

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.

In the Face of the Storm

Stephen Morris, M.D., MPH

Hurricanes have a way of upending the best-laid plans. Alumnus Stephen Morris, M.D., ’05, MPH, was about to leave for a family vacation in Hawaii when a series of powerful storms began churning across the Atlantic. He still boarded a plane, but not to go on holiday. Instead, Morris flew into the destructive wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Maria to care for the sick and injured.

Finding Joy

Erika Goldstein, M.D., Res. ’84

This year, Erika Goldstein, M.D., Res. ’84, MPH UW professor of medicine and associate dean of the Colleges at the UW School of Medicine, concludes her long, distinguished career. With over 34 years practicing general internal medicine at Harborview Medical Center and teaching clinical medicine to students, she has accumulated a lot of wisdom about what makes a good doctor.

Answering the Call

Major Dan Hankes, M.S., MPAS

Major Dan Hankes, M.S., MPAS, remembers crouching in the back of darkened helicopters by night, helping special ops flight paramedics provide combat trauma care in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was probably the most thrilling point in his career.