President's Corner

With more than 2,500 members, 31 CRS scholars and over $14 million in unrestricted and restricted gifts in 2005, the Canby Robinson Society is stronger than it has ever been. Your commitment is definitely making a difference in patient care, education and research at our medical center.

Spring is always a busy time for us. We hosted our third annual dinner for the prospective CRS scholars during the Medical School's Second Visit Weekend. The following day the prospective scholars shadowed one of our current scholars. This was a great opportunity for those students who have been offered a scholarship to interact with current CRS scholars and the CRS Selection Committee, and has proven to help with recruiting these very talented and highly sought-after students.

Another successful endeavor has been our regional dinners and we are co-hosting two more this spring with the Office of Medical Alumni Affairs, one in Knoxville, Tenn., and another one in Greensboro, N.C.

Match Day was on March 16, and our CRS scholars will be doing their residency programs as follows: Tim Lautz, Northwestern McGaw/NMH/VA in Chicago, General Surgery; Purvi Shah, Northwestern McGaw/NMH/VA in Chicago, Internal Medicine; and Claire Turchi, Stanford University Programs, Palo Alto, Calif., Emergency Medicine.

Class Day was May 11, and the CRS presented a very special award which is given annually to the fourth-year student who is voted by his or her classmates as having the intangible qualities of common sense, knowledge, thoughtfulness, personal warmth, gentleness and confidence that combine to make the "Ideal Physician," the person fellow classmates would most want to have as their personal physician.

On behalf of the Canby Robinson Society, I would like to thank Fran Hardcastle for her dedication and leadership for the past two years. Her commitment to the Medical Center is unsurpassed, and I am grateful for her service.

I enjoyed seeing so many of you at our annual dinner on May 20. Thanks for all you do for Vanderbilt Medical Center!

Missy Eason
Director of Donor Relations,
VUMC

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Welcoming a new president

The Canby Robinson Society welcomes Lonnie Burnett, M.D., the Frances and John C. Burch Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Vanderbilt, as its new president.

He succeeds Fran Hardcastle in the role.

Burnett, on the Vanderbilt faculty since 1976 and former chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is well recognized not only for his contributions to gynecological oncology and urogynecology, but also as a major force in the John Hopkins' School of Medicine's alumni organization. He has been a Canby Robinson Society member since 1988.

One of Vanderbilt's largest professional societies is named after Burnett -- the Lonnie S. Burnett Vanderbilt Ob-Gyn Society. Founded in 1989, the society includes more than 500 past and present Vanderbilt ob-gyn residents, faculty, fellows and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine graduates specializing in obstetrics and/or gynecology.

Burnett came to Vanderbilt from Johns Hopkins, where he trained and then served on the faculty.

Burnett says he is excited about his role in the CRS and already has goals in mind.

"I want to increase Vanderbilt faculty membership in the Canby Robinson Society," Burnett said. "Currently faculty membership is at about 33 percent and my goal is to increase that by 50 to 100 percent," he said. "My plan is to begin with the faculty in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and then move to other departments. Because I served as chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology for 19 years, and have been on the faculty since 1976, I have personal friendships with many faculty in most departments which will enhance my ability to promote membership in the CRS.

"Vanderbilt faculty are very committed to doing everything possible to promote the success and recognition of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and they are very giving in support of the Medical Center and their departments. I plan to provide information which will make it very easy to give to any area of interest."

In addition to his leadership in the CRS, where he has served on the Board of Directors, Burnett has also led the Vanderbilt Community Giving Campaign and is currently a member of the School of Medicine admissions committee.
- Nancy Humphrey

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Six new members join Canby Robinson board

The Canby Robinson Society board welcomes some new members and a few returning members who are again answering the call to further the goals of the board. These members join second-term board members, Jane Jacques and Addison Scoville III.

Raymond Martin, M.D.
Martin's history with Vanderbilt dates back to his birth. He was born in Medical Center North where his father was a surgical resident. Martin received a B.A. degree in Mathematics, Chemistry and Molecular Biology from Vanderbilt in 1972. He is currently a clinical associate professor of Surgery and a vascular and general surgeon and chief of surgery at Saint Thomas Hospital. He has taught surgery to Vanderbilt students and residents at Saint Thomas Hospital for 20 years. "Vanderbilt is my alma mater, and I feel blessed to live where I went to college and to be able to participate in both undergraduate and medical school activities," he said. He joined CRS because he believes talented students should have the opportunity to attend Vanderbilt Medical School, regardless of financial status. As a board member he also hopes to foster the relationship between VUSM and local alumni.

Clifton Meador, M.D.
Meador has been affiliated with Vanderbilt for 58 years, first as a student, then as a resident, fellow and faculty member. He directed the VU residency program at Saint Thomas from 1973 to 1998. He is currently a professor of Medicine at VUMC and executive director of the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, a position he has held since 1999. "I owe almost all that I am professionally to Vanderbilt. I left South Alabama in 1948 from a rural high school and discovered the larger world of intelligence at Vanderbilt. I was truly enlightened by nearly all of my experiences at Vanderbilt over a 58-year span. I hope I can put back into Vanderbilt something in return for what I got, and maybe some of it will affect others in the same way," he said.

Tom Flood
Tom Flood has been associated with The Bill Wilkerson Center for about 15 years, primarily as a board member. As the former chief financial officer for Tractor Supply Company, he was in charge of the company's charitable contributions, which included The Bill Wilkerson Center, and he went on to play an instrumental role in its merger with Vanderbilt. He was asked to remain as part of the newly formed Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center and to serve on the Advisory Board; he is currently the board's chair. Retired from Tractor Supply Company, Flood spends his time working with the VBWC in planning charitable giving with the development office at Vanderbilt. "My joining the CRS board has somewhat of a selfish purpose," he said. "I hope to learn more about the workings at Vanderbilt in order to find more ways to help the continued progress at the VBWC and to help make that progress move faster."

Jerry Williams
Jerry Williams is the past president of Friends of Children's Hospital and co-chair of the Palm Sunday Paper Sale. She is also a former member of the Children's Hospital Board as well as the CRS Board. She is currently the executive director of Leadership Nashville. Vanderbilt is the reason she and her husband, Ernie, are in Nashville, she said. They moved here in 1976 when Ernie joined the Treasurer's Office to manage Vanderbilt's endowment. "We enjoyed his affiliation with the University and since then have been loyal supporters, particularly of Children's Hospital. As a former CRS Board member, I know the vital role this organization plays in providing support for deserving medical students. I believe in its mission and am honored to be asked to be a part of this endeavor again."

Mary Frist Barfield
Mary Frist Barfield has served on the Vanderbilt Alumni Board, the Peabody Alumni Board, the Nashville Vanderbilt Club Board, the Friends of Children's Hospital Board and as co-chair of the Peabody Roundtable and also Homecoming Chair. "Vanderbilt has always played a significant role in my life. I grew up in a family that was deeply involved with the University and supportive of its significant roles in the quality of life in our community and of its success in providing an invaluable education and wonderful opportunities to so many." She and her husband, Lee, a Vanderbilt graduate, have passed their legacy on to their children. Two of their daughters are Vanderbilt graduates, and their son is a first-year medical student. "I am pleased to have the opportunity to further serve Vanderbilt and to learn more about the Medical Center and its mission of educating future doctors. It will be a wonderful opportunity to learn about advancements in medical research and technology and Vanderbilt's role in addressing the many difficult issues confronting health care."

Peggy Wood
Peggy Wood, VU '51, is returning to the CRS Board after serving on it in the 1980s. She is a volunteer at the Vanderbilt- Ingram Cancer Center and is an emeritus member of the Board of Overseers of the Cancer Center. "I am serving on the CRS Board because they asked me to do it. It's fulfilling. I enjoyed it a lot the first time when I was on the scholarship committee. Who wouldn't want to help out all of those young people?"
- Kathy Whitney

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Fodys' gift to Vanderbilt endows chair in Pathology

Edward Fody, M.D., MD '75, HS'75-'78, and his wife, Nancy, have funded the Edward and Nancy Fody Chair in the Department of Pathology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. They made the gift in hopes of strengthening the department, to which he owes much, Fody said.

Fody started his long and prestigious career in Pathology at VUMC where he also served his residency from 1975 until 1978. He is currently chief of Pathology at Holland Hospital in Holland, Mich.

"I always liked pathology as a medical student," he said. "The department at Vanderbilt was very strong, and I thought Drs. (Robert) Collins, (John) Shapiro, (David) Page and (William) Hartmann were excellent role models. I also liked the scientific aspects of pathology," Fody said.

Fody, who has led pathology departments at the University of Arkansas, Bethesda Hospital and Erlanger Medical Center, said the biggest change that he has seen in the field of pathology is the greatly expanded diagnostic capacity of both anatomic and clinical pathology.

"When I first started out, often all we had were sections in anatomic pathology. Now we have so much more - immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry, cytogenetics, etc. And things are so much faster," he said. "This week my laboratory started operating rapid tissue processing. That means that we process tissues all day, not overnight. We offer same-day biopsy service. This would have been unheard of just a few years ago. In the clinical laboratory, the same thing has occurred. Microbiology and blood band, once completely dominated by manual methods, are now becoming fully automated. The new analyzers do so many tests rapidly and inexpensively, and the computer systems get the data out fast."

Fody said what he remembers most about Vanderbilt is the feeling of family. "Many fellow students became close friends, and this was also true for the faculty. There are lots of good memories."

Nancy Fody also has a background in medicine. She was an undergraduate chemistry major at the University of Wisconsin when Fody was a graduate student there. They have been married for almost 32 years. Nancy is now retired from the med tech industry, is a CPA with an M.B.A., and runs her husband's practice.

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CRS students spearhead clinic in underserved community

Two years ago, Vanderbilt medical student and Canby Robinson Scholar Katie Cox read an article in a medical journal about health clinics that are run by medical students. The idea piqued her interest, and she shared the information with her classmate and fellow CRS scholar, Kristina Collins.

What began as a conversation during lunch that day became reality a few months ago. Collins and Cox, now third-year students, opened the Shade Tree Family Clinic in September, and are helping provide much-needed free health care to Nashville's underserved community.

"When Katie and I began working on the clinic during our first year, I had no idea how meaningful the project would become. As co-founder of the clinic, it has been incredible to have the rare opportunity to see a program develop from the initial idea all the way to becoming an actual piece of the community," Collins said.

The clinic, located in East Nashville, provides care to all who come through its doors. Aside from providing health care to people with no health insurance, the clinic also provides acute care to people who may have a regular doctor but can't leave work or find child care so they can go to the doctor during regular business hours.

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine operates the clinic with the support of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and United Neighborhood Health Services. The clinic is run by Vanderbilt medical students (in all stages of training) and volunteer attending physicians. They work out of the space provided by United Neighborhood Health Services, a community organization with several clinics around town. Robert Miller, M.D., is the medical director of the clinic. Second-year medical students Dana Guyer, also a CRS scholar, and Sara Horvitz are the current medical student directors of the clinic.

The clinic is open on Tuesdays from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from noon to 3:30 p.m. The students provide acute care for people with a range of problems from sinus infections to heart palpitations to sexually transmitted diseases. They perform well-child checkups and physicals for adults. They also manage chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.

"The response has been fantastic," Cox said. "We expected to see only a few patients per week for the first few months until we became better known in the community, but within the first six weeks of operation, we were averaging between 20 to 30 patients per week. We have also gotten a great deal of support from the Vanderbilt faculty. They have been wonderful in volunteering their time to care for patients who come in to the clinic."

Funding is provided through private donations from Newman's Own Foundation (actor Paul Newman's charitable organization), the Rasmussen Foundation, and several Vanderbilt alumni. VUMC provides free laboratory testing. Cox and Collins are currently in the process of applying for grants and are always looking for new ways to raise funds and recruit people who are interested in helping support the clinic.

"It is an amazing experience to walk into the clinic, see the waiting room full of patients, work full throttle for the next four hours, and to know at the end of the day that you have actually helped someone," Cox said. "Many of these patients have no other access to health care, so we really get to make a positive difference in their lives. There is absolutely no better feeling than that."

Collins concurs. "Although the clinic can not solve the greater problem of health care access affecting not only Nashville but the nation as a whole, it will continue to impact the lives of those who step through its doors -- both the patients and the volunteers."
- Kathy Whitney

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Where are they now?
Rob Peck, M.D.

After graduating from Vanderbilt Medical School in 2003, Rob Peck, M.D., and his wife, Liz, headed to her hometown of Boston, Mass., where Rob is now in his third year of a Medicine/Pediatrics combined residency at Massachusetts General and Children's Hospital. He has one year left of his residency, and he and Liz, a nurse practitioner, have big plans for what they will do next.

"Liz and I plan to go to Africa for a couple of years to work with HIV- positive children and adults," he said. "We have applied to the AIDS Corps and will likely do that. We will be working in the meds/peds clinics administering medications that are newly available. We will likely be in South Africa for two to three years and then we will reassess. At that time, I may decide to do a fellowship. This is something we have always thought about doing. We both traveled a lot growing up and there is so much need there. We see it as an opportunity to contribute."

The couple's fathers knew each other in graduate school, and Rob and Liz attended the same nursery school as toddlers. They reunited at Covenant College many years later. They have a baby girl, Bridget Marie. The three of them enjoy the great outdoors in their free time.

Rob said he is grateful for the opportunities afforded to him by the Canby Robinson Society.

"The Canby Robinson Society scholarship is the reason I went to Vanderbilt. It was a relief to receive it and it freed me from a lot of worries about finances and the need to work outside of school. Because of the CRS scholarship, I was able to focus on learning and getting everything I could gain from Vanderbilt, including conducting research and traveling abroad," he said.
- Kathy Whitney

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