Weill Cornell Medical College alumni from across the College's 100-plus year history gathered in New York City on Friday, Oct. 13 through Saturday, Oct. 14 for the biannual class reunion.
Dr. Kenneth G. Swan, '60 (second from left), outgoing president of the Alumni Association, and his family.
Events held on Oct. 13 included opening remarks by Dr. Kenneth G. Swan, '60, outgoing president of the Cornell University Weill Medical College Alumni Association (CUWMCAA), and Dr. Gene Resnick, '74, incoming president of the CUWMCAA and chairman of the 2006 reunion committee. A highlight of the morning session was the "State of the Medical College" address from Dr. Antonio Gotto, dean of Weill Cornell.
Dr. Alvin Pouissant, '60, director of the media center at the Judge Baker Children's Center and professor of psychiatry and faculty associate dean for student affairs at Harvard Medical School, delivered the keynote address, speaking about the media's impact on children's health and well-being.
Dr. Raymond Fong, Class of 1981, with his family.
Dr. Sandy Saintonge, '99, a clinical fellow in preventative medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and public health fellow at Weill Cornell Medical College, was another featured speaker. Dr. Saintonge talked about improving cross-cultural understanding and the importance of cultural competence.
Afternoon events included a panel discussion with members of the Medical College's 25th Anniversary Reunion Classes of 1980–1981, and a keynote address by Dr. Elizabeth Nadel, '81, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, on the future of personalized medicine.
Alumni were also treated to the opening of the annual Medical Complex Art Show, now in its 16th year, featuring works from the talented staff and students at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, Hospital for Special Surgery, The Rockefeller University, Burke Rehabilitation Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and WCMC-Qatar. Dr. Ariela Noy from MSKCC won the Golden Harvest Award for Best of Show; Lynn Siemers, a staff nurse at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, earned first runner-up honors. Honorable mentions were awarded to Laurel DeGeorge (Weill Cornell, neurology), Thomas Graves (Weill Cornell, art & photography), Satre Stuelke (Weill Cornell, medical student), Patricia Sung (MSKCC), Gilberto Rivera (MSKCC) and Dr. Barry Jordan (Burke).
Dr. Alvin Pouissant, '60, delivers the keynote address on "The Media's Impact on Children's Health and Well-Being" during the Alumni Reunion Weekend, Oct. 13 and 14.
On Saturday, the second day of Reunion, events included NewYork-Presbyterian CEO and President Dr. Herbert Pardes' "State of the Hospital" address and a moderated conversation by Dr. Sten Lindhal, chief of research and education at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Nobel Institute. The events were followed by a panel discussion on the Medical College's many affiliations and international activities, entitled "Beyond Borders," featuring Dr. Daniel Alonso, dean of Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar; Dr. H. Dirk Sostman, executive vice president and chief academic officer of The Methodist Hospital in Houston and executive vice dean at Weill Cornell; and Steven Rosalie, associate provost for international initiatives and executive vice dean of Weill Cornell.
Reunion Weekend closed with an evening of dinner and dancing on Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers.
The following awards were presented during the weekend:
CUWMC Alumni Association 2005 & 2006 Honorary Fellowships
2005 Honorary Fellowships
Dr. Olaf Sparre Andersen, Director of the Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan-Kettering MD-PhD Tri-Institutional Program
Dr. Otto Kernberg, Director of the Personality Disorders Institute at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division
2006 Honorary Fellowships
Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, Director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
Dr. Roger Yurt, Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Director of the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
2006 Distinguished Achievement Award
Dr. Michael S. Conte, Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Director of Vascular Surgery Research at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
2006 Distinguished Housestaff Awards
Alumni danced the night away at the Reunion Gala on Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers.
Erika Abramson, M.D. (Pediatrics)
Jillian Anspach, M.D. (Anesthesiology)
Niti Dube, M.D. (Radiation Oncology)
Michael Gardner, M.D. (Orthopaedic Surgery)
Andrew Goldfine, M.D. (Neurology & Neurosurgery)
Alexis Granite, M.D. (Dermatology)
Amret Hawfield, M.D. (Transplantation Medicine and Extracorporeal Therapy)
Audrey Leverich, M.D. (Anesthesiology)
Aaron Levine, M.D. (Rehabilitation Medicine)
Oren Levy, Ph.D. (Neurology & Neuroscience)
Jerry Lin, M.D., Ph.D. (Otorhinolaryngology)
Jason Liss, M.D. (Ophthalmology)
Carrie Lubitz, M.D. (Surgery)
Marianne Nellis, M.D. (Pediatrics)
Kiran Pandit, M.D., M.P.H. (Emergency Medicine)
Munjal Patel, M.D. (Plastic Surgery)
Jay Raman, M.D. (Urology)
Eden Rauch, M.D. (Obstetrics & Gynecology)
Stephen Rohan, M.D. (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine)
Sandy Saintonge, M.D. (Public Health)
Robert Schloss Jr., M.D. (Radiology)
David Wells-Roth, M.D. (Neurological Surgery)
James Wolak, M.D. (Psychiatry)
Felix Yang, M.D. (Medicine)
Babak Zargari, D.M.D. (Denistry & Maxillofacial Surgery)
Photos by Janet Charles.