DOs Mark 20 Years of Successes
Class of 2003 was First Osteopathic Medicine Cohort to Begin Studies at Mare Island Campus
Touro University California this year celebrates and reflects on the College of Osteopathic Medicine's Class of 2003, the first class to begin studies on Mare Island.
Dr. Walter Hartwig, a longtime Professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Director of Enrollment Management and Student Success within the College, says this was not only a pioneering class willing to take on the birth of a new campus from within a renovated U.S. Navy facility, but included "an extraordinary collection of visionary and talented osteopathic student-physicians."
"Just from within that one class we find inspiration, role models, community pillars and thought leaders in every direction," Hartwig says.
Alum at the Forefront of OMM, OMT, OPP, Education
Dr. Jennifer Weiss, veteran faculty member, administrator, creator of the College of Osteopathic Medicine's award-winning Clinical Distinction program, and thought leader in biodynamic osteopathy.
Dr. Carmen Hering, pioneering osteopathy and anthroposophic medicine in the East Bay for nearly two decades.
Dr. Michael Kurisu, pioneering in osteopathy at the University of California, San Diego and the Center for Microbiome Innovation, and selected among all graduates as Touro University's Outstanding Alumnus at the 20th Anniversary Gala.
Dr. Justin Cauntay, who Hartwig says "has walked the walk" by anchoring the osteopathic mission at Fulcrum Medical in Sebastopol for two decades.
Joining Cauntay, Hering, Kurisu and Weiss at the forefront of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment are Drs. Eric Shilland, Saskia Lytle-Vieira and Patricia (Weltz) Reber, comprising the largest concentrations of Osteopathic Principles and Practice thought leaders in any single class.
Dr. Erica Kuhn is what Hartwig describes as a "stalwart champion" of medical education and veteran College Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency Program Director.
An Abundance of Pediatrics Specialists
Dr. Julianne Harrison is Program Director of UCLA's Pediatric Pain and Palliative Care Center, and author of health care professional communication guidelines for the most vulnerable patient population possible.
Drs. Elizabeth Shaw, Byron Tsang, Michael Dougherty, and Helena Wang-Flores, pediatric rheumatology, pediatric emergency medicine, pediatric gastroenterology, and pediatric emergency medicine, respectively – together with Harrison forming Touro University California's most substantial pediatric specialty group in any single class.
Class Boasts Most Physiatry Specialists in College History
Hartwig says physiatry was another defining outcome of the Class of 2003: Drs. Doe Yamashiro, Paul Ky, Joan Mak, Qamar Khan, Lisa Pitino, Hoang (Wayne) Vu, Bahnam Thomas, and Matthew Brown constitute Touro University California's largest single year Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation cohort ever.
Jennifer Madeo is one of Touro University California's only DO/PhD graduates ever. Hartwig refers to Madeo as a talented infectious disease specialist and "research and clinical publication machine."
The Class of 2003 also features deeply personal connections made stronger through the bonds of matrimony.
Hartwig says Drs. Satjit Adlakha and Sarah Festoso Adlakha, Drs. Bernadette Acdan Braze and Adam Braze, and Drs. Kevin Thompson and Kim Davis (2002) remind us of other lifetime turns that occur in medical school.
"The Class of 2003 launched our beginnings on Mare Island with enormous potential and now realized accomplishments," Hartwig says.