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Alumni newsAlumni Spotlight
A day after graduation last spring, Kim VanderWaal (B.S. Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, ’07) headed off to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming to start her first job working as a field technician for an elk research project. She is currently in Tanzania assisting in research on elephant/human conflict for the African Wildlife Foundation. Memorable moment in Wyoming: “Our research team was invited by a cowboy acquaintance to attend a calf branding at a local ranch. Little did we know that we would comprise the primary labor force working to wrestle large, kicking calves to the ground and pin them there while they were branded with red-hot irons. It was hot, dirty work, but after we finished all 250 calves, we felt a profound sense of accomplishment.”Class notes
A captain in the U.S. Army, Mazan Abbas M.D. (B.S., Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, ’96), recently completed a pediatric residency at Tripler Army Medical Center and a flight surgeon course at Fort Rucker. He will be stationed in Belgium at NATO for the next three years with his wife, Corrie, and their two children, Jad and Carabelle. In recent years, Mazan has traveled to Palau on a medical humanitarian mission and assisted in the air evacuation of a patient in renal failure in Saipan. Lyle Heim (Ph.D., Microbiology, ’69) and his wife, Julie, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this summer in the company of their family. Their youngest grandchild, Kaitelyn, made the trip from Australia to celebrate her 10th birthday with the couple in June as well. Roxann Barnes M.D. (B.S. Genetics and Cell Biology, ’87) works in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She provides anesthesia for pediatric and adult congenital cardiac surgical cases. Roxann is also an associate program director for anesthesiology residency and enjoys working with residents. She has three children—Alyssa, Burlyn and Andy—and has traveled to Colombia, India and China as a volunteer with Children’s Heartlink.
Last year, David Dilcher (B.S. Botany, ’58 and M.S., Botany, ’60) received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lyon in France, and a special Friendship Prize from the governor of Jilin Province, China for his academic work and scholarship at the university. David was also the subject of an episode of NOVA, released on PBS last year. The program, “First Flower,” featured David’s efforts to identify the first flower in the world. Rob Steinmetz (M.S. Conservation Biology, ’04) heads the World Wildlife Federations’ Thailand operations. His work focuses on tiger conservation in Thai national parks, ranger training and collaborative monitoring of wildlife. In his free time, Rob plays congas in a band. He has recently traveled in Cambodia and Japan. Taqee Khaled (B.S. Neuroscience, ’03) recently started a job as a search coordinator for the National Marrow Donor Program while also pursuing a graduate degree in public health. Taqee interned at the World Health Organization in Geneva in 2006 and traveled to Amman, Jordan to study Arabic two years ago. A clinical research coordinator in kidney transplant research for the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota, Laura DeVries (B.S. Biochemistry, ’92) is married with two children, Michael and Lily. Andrew Larson (B.S. Biology, ’04) recently moved back to Minneapolis after living in Chicago and New York for a couple of years and working at a pediatric HIV clinic in Swaziland for seven months. Andrew currently works at the University of Minnesota Medical Center as a registered nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit. Doreen Espeseth (B.S. Biology ’78) is starting a business as a bloodstock agent selecting young thoroughbreds for investors to purchase. She also heads missions at Cape Cod Covenant Church in Brewster, MA, and plans to embark on a trip to Coelemu, Chile to build a sanctuary for a new church.
Pui Tsui (B.S. Biochemistry, ’75) has been working as a forensic practitioner in Hong Kong since 1978, testing biological evidence materials retrieved from crime scenes. Go to Alumni Events for the latest on alumni activities and opportunities to get involved. |
James Woolliscroft M.D. (B.S. Biology, ’72) was recently appointed dean of the University of Michigan Medical School. Before becoming interim dean in 2006, James served as the executive associate dean of the medical school for seven years. He is an internationally recognized medical educator and has played major roles in medical student, resident and fellow education at the University of Michigan.
Steve Braun (B.S., Biochemistry and Genetics and Cell Biology ’87) is currently an instructor in the Division of Immunology at the New England Primate Research Center at Harvard Medical School. He is studying stem cell gene therapy strategies for treating AIDS. Steve is married to Caterina, who is from Greece. They have two children (Christina and Timotheos) and live in Framingham, MA.
Joe Berman (B.S. Biochemistry, ’85) lives with his wife, Druh, and son, Maxwell, in Boston. After several years at Houghton-Mifflin, Joe took a job at Newbridge Educational Publishing, which specializes in science and other non-fiction titles for elementary and middle schools. Joe keeps a bobblehead of Goldie Gopher (pictured right) in his office.
Brian Gibbens (B.S. Genetics and Cell Biology, ’05) is a graduate student in molecular, cellular, developmental biology and genetics at the University of Minnesota. He spent this summer visiting the family cabin at Lake Vermillion, skydiving and making forays to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Redwoods and Zion National Park.