Dear CHOP Alumni Family,

Remembering our CHOP Alumni motto, I begin:

Keep … Tradition: We are starting to plan for the flurry of alumni activities that happen each spring, including one of our favorite events, the Alumni Reception at the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting. This year, we will gather in Grand Ballroom A at the InterContinental Hotel, San Francisco, on Saturday, May 6 at 7 p.m. Watch for an invitation, and if you are reading this and want to RSVP, please email us at alumni@email.chop.edu to let us know you will be joining us. Our receptions are always tons of fun, with MANY friends and alumni who return year after year to catch up, break bread, and celebrate our time together at CHOP. If you will be in San Francisco for the meeting this year, please stop by — it’s a great event!

As for Keep … in Mind: Please remember that we have started an Alumni Organization website! I encourage you to explore some of the new content, including news and articles as well as information about upcoming Grand Rounds presentations and other events. And now, getting involved with the Alumni Organization has never been easier, more rewarding, and impactful! I hope you’ll consider making a gift, as well. Your support of the Alumni Giving Fund will ensure that special education programs, such as grand rounds, travel stipends, networking opportunities, and achievement awards, will be sustained from year to year. Visit chopalumni.org today.

And finally, Keep ... in Touch!

I received wonderful news from one of our surgical alumni, Moritz (Mory) Ziegler. Dr Ziegler was a CHOP pediatric surgery resident (1975-1977) and a long-time faculty member (1977-1989), before assuming surgical leadership in Cincinnati, Boston, and Colorado. This past fall, Dr Ziegler was awarded the William E. Ladd Medal, the highest award granted by the Surgical Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics! He follows in the footsteps of a number of other CHOP surgeons who have been honored with the Ladd Medal, including C. Everett Koop, Stanley Dudrick, Jim O’Neill, and Michael Gauderer. We are so proud of Dr Ziegler and his lifetime of contributions to children. He now lives in Cincinnati with his wife, whom he met while in Philadelphia. I’m sure he would be delighted to hear from old friends.

I also received an email from Balu Athreya, a superb pediatric rheumatologist who taught me so much more than rheumatology back when I was a resident! Dr Athreya remains busy publishing books, many of which are intended for students and physicians-in-training. His latest publication, just out, is titled Thinking Skills for the Digital Generation, and was co-authored by an education professor. Always humble, Dr Athreya passed this information along, not because he needs the publicity or riches from this latest book, but because he wants to share his knowledge with the next generation of pediatricians. We always enjoy hearing from Dr Athreya, and welcoming him to a number of our CHOP events.

That’s it for this column … but I need more exciting announcements to include in my next column. If you have any news about yourself or your CHOP friends, please share with me at christian@email.chop.edu so I can spread the word.

Best wishes always,

Cindy W. Christian, MD
President, CHOP Alumni Organization