Alumni Notes Summer 2018

Dear CHOP Alumni Family,

Remember our CHOP Alumni Motto: Keep … Tradition, Keep … in Mind, Keep … in Touch!

Last night when I arrived home, I found an edition of Children’s Doctor in my mailbox. I always enjoy reading the issues, as I learn something I had not known (or had forgotten!), and it is fun to see my column in print. I’d like to thank our chief residents for helping with the last issue and hope those of you who read their update were impressed by the quality and breadth of our great residency training program. As you read this, we have graduated another outstanding class of pediatricians and welcomed another 50 or so interns to the CHOP family. Reading Children’s Doctor last night also reminded me that my deadline for this column was due the next day. Time and deadlines sure seem to fly!

And now I begin: Keep … Tradition: By the time you receive this issue, our annual PAS reception will be over. I always look forward to catching up with many old colleagues and friends, and will share fun updates with all of you in the next edition. One of my favorite Alumni Organization traditions is welcoming back an alumnus to give the annual Alumni Organization Grand Rounds. This is a wonderful opportunity to bring back a trainee or prior faculty member to both teach us and reflect on their career. This year, for the first time, we invited a surgeon back for the Alumni Grand Rounds. Ann-Christine (Tina) Duhaime, MD, was a medical student and neurosurgery resident at Penn, and completed her pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at CHOP. Dr Duhaime currently serves as the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and is the Nicholas T. Zervas Professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School. Tina’s lecture, “Brain Mysteries Small and Large,” was an engaging, informative talk about how the brain is designed to work and how it responds to change. Tina’s Grand Rounds corresponded to one of our many March blizzards, but since she is a New Englander through and through, driving from Boston and back was just no big deal for her! Full disclosure: Tina is a dear friend and colleague, as we “grew up” together at CHOP and have collaborated for years. It was great to have her back at CHOP to give an inspiring Grand Rounds.

Keep … in Mind: Please remember that we have 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! If you have exciting news, or simply long to see your name in print, PLEASE email me and update me on your career. Or if you are interested in being a “class rep” for your graduating year and would like to supply updates on one of your fellow classmates twice a year, let me know, and we can start an exciting “class notes” section here.

Finally, we note the passing this past January of Dr Luis Schut, former Chief of Neurosurgery at CHOP, a pioneer in the treatment of congenital anomalies of the central nervous system, craniofacial anomalies, management of pediatric head trauma, hydrocephalus, and brain tumors. Dr Schut was an international leader in neurosurgery, helped establish CHOP as a premier children’s hospital, and trained generations of leading pediatric neurosurgical leaders, including Dr Duhaime.

Until next time, when I will have lots of “gossip” to report! Happy summer,

Cindy W. Christian, MD

President, CHOP Alumni Association