Alumni Scholars

Dr. Caldarelli is a neonatologist specializing in the treatment of premature and critically ill infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. She completed her residency and fellowship at The University of Chicago and now serves on the faculty. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Caldarelli works on improving the quality of medical care, researching medical outcomes and improvements in clinical care.

Her publications include articles on the long-term outcomes of neonatal intensive care and the effectiveness of new teaching methods. She is a dedicated educator and is interested in developing curricula. She also works with education in simulation centers.

As of 2015, Dr. Caldarelli joined the faculty at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL.

An adult nephrologist, Dr. W. James Chon is a member of the University of Chicago Medicine’s highly regarded renal transplant team. He specializes in the evaluation of donors and recipients for kidney and kidney-pancreas transplantation. Dr. Chon has extensive experience in post-transplant treatment, particularly in the management of immunosuppressive therapy for these patients.

Dr. Chon has been actively involved in numerous clinical research projects that deal with complex medical issues in renal transplant candidates and recipients. He is also interested in protecting deceased donor kidneys from tissue injury that can occur during the procurement surgery and transport process.

Dr. Chon is now a member of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine Faculty.

Jessica Curley MD, PhD is a Clinical Associate in pediatric nephrology. She also is the director of the pediatric quality assurance committee. While she has always loved to teach and provide clinical care, she has eagerly helped develop and continuously improve efforts to increase patient satisfaction as well as the quality and safety of care provided at UCM.

2013 Pilot Grant Project: Quality Improvement vs. Research: Controversies and Confusion

In 2014, Dr. Curley joined the Rocky Mountain Kidney Center in Denver, CO.

Dr. Gina Dudley completed her Medicine-Pediatrics residency at the University of Cincinnati in 2004. She currently serves as the director of the Adult Sickle Cell Care Team at the University of Chicago, where she treats patients with sickle cell disease in the inpatient and outpatient settings. She is a faculty preceptor for internal medicine and internal medicine/pediatrics residents and a clinician in the primary care group. Her clinical experiences and interests include transitional care for young adults with chronic diseases and health care for the homeless and vulnerable populations.

2012 Pilot Grant Project: Development of a Patient Care Card for Individuals with Sickle Cell Disease

As of 2013, Dr. Dudley entered private practice in Memphis, TN.

Dr. Gustin is a faculty member of the University of Chicago Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care. He is boarded in both Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. He was a candidate for the Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine boards in 2012. His background is centered on being a physician educator, which is evident from his multiple teaching awards. His research focuses on the use of high fidelity simulation in medical student, resident, and fellow education.

2013 Pilot Grant Project: An Acute Pain Patient with Advanced Stage Cancer AND A Hospice Patient with Respiratory Distress in the ER: Improving Resident Physician Communications with Patients at the End of Life Utilizing Simulation Training

2012 Pilot Grant Project: Improving Patient Perception During Disclosure Conversations if Unanticipated Outcomes

Dr. Gustin joined the faculty at Loyola University in Chicago, IL in 2015.

Jennifer Hofer is an anesthesiologist who specializes in critical care medicine. Jennifer’s affiliation with The University of Chicago has been since college in 1996, through to medical school, residency and fellowship, and now the present as a member of the faculty. She has specific interests in resident education, peri-operative care, and intra-operative coagulopathy including the effects of cell saver administration on bleeding, and outcomes of off-label Factor VII administration.

She has published in Anesthesiology Clinics on “Taking the septic patient to the operating room” and in book chapters on topics including common ICU procedures, electrolyte abnormalities, and pre-operative anesthesia assessments. Jennifer is a Bucksbaum Institute fellow and has an interest in developing the doctor-patient relationship to help physicians become first line responders to identify and stop human trafficking.

2012 Pilot Grant Project: Physicians as First Line Responders Against Human Trafficking

Diana Mitchell, M.D. is an Instructor of Pediatric Critical Care. She cares for critically ill patients in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Dr. Mitchell received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Indiana University. She worked for several years as a youth education director for AmeriCorps in Denver, Colorado before entering medical school at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Dedicated to working with children from the Southside of Chicago, Dr. Mitchell completed her Pediatric residency, Chief Residency, and subspecialty training in Pediatric Critical Care at The University of Chicago.

Dr. Mitchell’s research interest focuses on multidisciplinary medical education using medical simulation. Simulation based training uses high fidelity computerized mannequins to train members of the pediatric critical care team. Dr. Mitchell implemented and currently runs a curriculum for pediatric residents and nurses that focuses on caring for a critically ill pediatric patient. The goal of this curriculum is to train all members of the medical team to provide competent and compassionate care to the most critically ill children.

2012 Pilot Grant Project (joint project with Dr. Alisa McQueen): Communications During Pediatric Resuscitation

Dr. Mitchell practices at Advocate Children’s Medical Group in Illinois.

Hasenin Al-Kahersan, graduated with highest distinction and election to Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan in 2013 with a BS in Cell & Molecular Biology and Arabic & Islamic Studies. As a medical student, he has researched the pathophysiology of cataracts with Eric Beyer, MD/PhD. He has also helped to analyze Simfield, a cost-effective glaucoma-screening tool. After his first year, Hasenin travelled to Germany and Poland as a Medical Fellow with the Fellowship at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics, examining both physician involvement in Nazi crimes and issues in contemporary medical ethics.

Dr. Al-Khersan is an Ophthalmology Resident at the University of Miami Beascon Palmer in Miami, FL.

Steven graduated from Stanford University in 2012 with a BS in Biology with distinction. In medical school, he has developed an ongoing IRB-approved clinical trial on treating leukemia patients. Currently, Steven is the co-president for the Latino Medical Student Association, the local coordinator for ASAP, a youth substance abuse prevention program, and president of the Oncology interest group.

Dr. Bhutra is currently a Pain Medicine Fellow at the University of Virginia Health in Charlotesville, VA.

Anne graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 2007 with a B.A. in English Literature and minors in French Literature/Francophone Studies and International Peace Studies. Following graduation, Anne spent two and a half years as a volunteer social worker at an orphanage in Honduras.

As a medical student, under the mentorship of Dr. Niranjan S. Karnik and with a Summer Medical Student Fellowship from the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), Anne has researched the effects of homelessness on the mental health and behaviors of Chicago homeless youth. She presented her initial findings at the AACAP’s annual conference in October.

Anne also serves on the Pritzker student board for the Community Health Clinic, a free clinic in Chicago’s West Town; is Academic Chair for the International Medicine Interest Group; and co-coordinates SAMS, a student-run group that offers practice in medical Spanish.

Dr. Castro is an Assistant Professor in the Anesthesiology Department at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI.