 
|  |
| Michael DeBaun, MD, MS , MPH |  |
| Professor, Pediatrics, Biostatistics and Neurology and the Ferring Family Chair in Pediatric Cancer and Related Disorders |
Michael R. DeBaun, MD, MS, MPH, is a physician and clinical investigator who takes care of children with cancer and sickle cell disease. He also tends to children at the end of their lives, in his capacity as medical director of pediatric hospice at St. Louis Children's Hospital. In addition to his clinical and research activities, DeBaun serves as a preceptor for the first-year clinical epidemiology course, and also teaches residents and third-year medical students who rotate through the pediatric hematology/oncology clinic. "There's a need and I can fill that need", he says of his multiple roles.
In May 2008 DeBaun was named the inaugural holder of the Ferring Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cancer and Related Disorders. John and Alison Ferring have been generous partners of St. Louis Children's Hospital for neary 20 years. One area the Ferrings have been especially passionate about supporting is the work of Dr. DeBaun related to sickle cell disease. In 2002 they were instrumental in creating the Ferring Scholars Program. The in-depth, rigorous program, directed by DeBaun, provides high school students who are interested in careers in health care in biomedical research with a three year research experience guided by a faculty mentor.
DeBaun remains loyal to the city in which he has roots. "There is an internal reward in being part of the community where I grew up and in providing medical care to my neighbor's children. I like that. It's the reason I became a pediatrician -- to help children and to know that I'm making a difference."
|
| Consuelo Wilkins, MD |  |
| Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine |
As a young girl growing up in the Mississippi Delta, Consuelo Wilkins M.D., knew that she had an affinity for caring for older adults. "Taking care of older people is different than taking care of younger people," she explains. "Older adults appreciate even a small feat, and they all have something to share and something you can learn from."
Now an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology and the medical director of Barnes Jewish Extended Care, a 120-bed nursing facility, Consuelo Wilkins is at the forefront of Alzheimer's disease and dementia research and clinical care. At the medical school, Wilkins serves on the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center's African-American Advisory Board. She also serves as the President of the Mound City Medical Forum, a local chapter of the National Medical Association, a professional organization that promotes the collective interests of physicians and patients of African descent.
Although she enjoys treating and working with infants and young people with the Mound City Medical Forum and the Saturday clinics, Wilkins' true passion lies with caring for older adults. "The older population is growing exponentially, and there already aren't enough geriatricians to take care of all the older adults," Wilkins says. "In the next 20 years, it will be critical that physicians incorporate geriatric principles into their care."
|
| Angela Brown, MD | |
| Assistant Professor of Medicine |  |
As a primary care physician, Angela L. Brown, MD noticed a trend: Many of her patients had high blood pressure. "When I had difficult hypertensive patients, there was really no one to refer them to," says Brown. So she learned more about the condition, which affects 50 million people in the United States and is more common in African Americans. She was certified by the American Society of Hypertension and joined the Division of Cardiology at Washington University School of Medicine.
As a seventh grader, Brown knew she wanted to be a doctor. Her interest in math led to a degree in biomedical engineering from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She earned her medical degree from Washington University, where she focused on internal medicine, "which seemed like putting the pieces of a puzzle together," she says.
Brown sees an opportunity to make a difference in St. Louis, a city with disparities in health care. Doing community outreach and promoting health screenings reduce those disparities , she says. Brown counsels her patients to exercise, lose weight if necessary and eat right. "It is rewarding when you talk to patients about making lifestyle changes and they actually do," she says. "When they can see the result, it motivates them to continue." |
| Dione Farria, MD | |
| Associate Professor of Radiology |  |
Dr. Dione Farria is reaching out to African-Americans, the uninsured and immigrants in the city of St. Louis through the Siteman Cancer Center's Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disaprities, a program she co-directs with Katherine Mathews, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology. In this role, Farria draws on her expertise in breast screening and public health to develop programs that encourage screening for breast cancer and other common cancers with well-established racial disparities -- lung, colorectal and prostate. Through this effort, Farria is determined to overcome the barriers that prevent people from minority backgrounds from getting the cancer screening tests and follow-up care they need.
Farria came to WUSTL in 1999, seeking a career in academic medicine. She was drawn by the highly regarded Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and the reputation of the medical school, but was equally impressed by the people with whom she would be working. Farria's background in both radiology and public health proved to be just what Washington University was looking for. In addition to an active practice in patient care, in which she interprets breast images of all sorts -- MRI, ultrasounds and mammograms -- Farria is engaged in clinical trials to evaluate imaging technologies for breast cancer.
Farria is now the principal investigator at WUSTL for a multicenter study evaluating whether breast screening with ultrasound is better than mammography in detecting breast cancer in high-risk women, including those who are African-American. Increasingly, she devotes her time to the Program for Elimination of Cancer Disparities. Last year, on the basis of the program's successes, the National Cancer Institute awarded the Siteman Cancer Center a five-year, $1.25 million grant to support ongoing outreach efforts in the local community.
Courtesy of the Washington University Record
|
| Arnold Bullock, MD | |
| Associate Professor, Surgery |  |
Arnold Bullock, MD was not the least bit daunted when he began his studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1983, although he had attended predominantly African-American schools virtually since kindergarten. "By the time I made it to the "real world', the non-African-American world, I felt confident that I could compete and succeed," he says. Today, as a urologist and associate professor of surgery at [Washington University School of Medicine], he relishes the role of helping students realize that they, like him, can make their mark in medicine.
At the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Bullock was leaning toward cardiac surgery until he had the opportunity to work under Patrick Walsh, MD, an internally renowned urologic surgeon who had trained many Washington University urologists. That experience led Bullock to consider urologic surgery as a specialty. After graduating, he came to Washington University School of Medicine for his residency and internship because of its reputation for having one of top urology training programs in the country. "My training experience here was so good that I wanted to stay and practice here, and I did".
As a surgeon with special expertise in prostate cancer, Bullock is fully aware that African-American men are twice as likely as white men to be diagnosed with the disease and to die from it. For years, Bullock has spoken at African-American churches and social groups to encourage more cancer screening. Bullock also uses his appearances to help young people in the audience become aware of the world of opportunities that exist for them in the field of medicine and to offer himself as a mentor. "There are so many barriers to completing this craft for underprivileged students. I encourage young people not to take the quick prize -- a job right out of high school or college -- but to stay in the game and aim for a career in science or medicine."
Courtesy of the Washington University Record |
|