Alumni Scholars

Dr. Megan Conti Mica, assistant professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Chicago Medicine, has extensive expertise in the surgical management of hand and upper extremity surgery including athletic injuries, trauma, arthritis, congenital deformities and complex reconstruction. With her special interest in hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder pathology, Dr. Conti Mica utilizes both minimally invasive (arthroscopic) and microvascular (microscopic) techniques. She is the dedicated hand surgeon for the sports service and works actively with high level athletes.

Dr. Conti Mica obtained her undergraduate bachelor’s degree at University of Washington in Seattle, Washington and graduated from the University of Arizona School of Medicine with Honors in Research. She completed her Orthopaedic Residency at Loyola University in Chicago and two post-graduate fellowships. She successfully completed the Fellowship in Hand and Microvascular Surgery at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and was awarded the Schwartz Travelling Fellowship, an opportunity to expand her education in shoulder and elbow surgery with experts in Europe. Dr. Conti Mica joined the University of Chicago in 2015.

Dr. Conti Mica has a personal interest in international medicine having participated in several international medical missions. She has trained under the instruction of renowned Orthopaedic experts in the United States and abroad. As of 2023, Dr. Conti Mica has joined the staff of OrthoArizona.

Dr. Culbertson is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Vice Chairman of Clinical Affairs. Dr. Culbertson is an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of urogynecologic conditions, including: urinary incontinence; prolapse of the vagina, bladder and/or uterus; and other disorders of the pelvic floor. She specializes in vaginal and minimally invasive surgical treatment of urinary incontinence and prolapse, including robotic surgery. She is part of an interdisciplinary care team in the Center for Pelvic Health.

Dr. Culbertson often lectures on the surgical treatment of urinary incontinence and prolapse at universities and scientific meetings. She has been recognized for outstanding resident teaching and has won the Golden Apple Award for teaching excellence three times at the University of Chicago. Dr. Culbertson is actively involved in increasing public awareness of female pelvic floor disorders through her work with the American Urogynecologic Society.

2013 Pilot Grant Project: Predictors of satisfaction with surgical decision-making in elderly women undergoing gynecologic surgery

Dr. Culbertson is now a physician at Geisinger Caring in Danville, PA.

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.

Deirdre De Ranieri, MD,RhMSUS is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, in the Section of Pediatric Rheumatology. She completed her undergraduate degree in Mathematics at Washington and Lee University, graduated from Tulane University School of Medicine in 2008, and did her medical training, including residency and fellowship, at the University of Chicago. She is currently serving as the Director of the Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship Program. Dr. De Ranieri has a large clinical practice, mostly comprised of children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), and has been involved in several clinical trials which focus on the treatment of children with JIA. Dr. De Ranieri’s main research interest is in using musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSK US) to diagnose, monitor and treat children with JIA. She is involved in an international collaboration designed to standardize views of children’s joints. This year, she received a grant from CARRA (Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance) to help identify subclinical disease in children with JIA, in the hopes of providing earlier more aggressive therapy (that is currently limited to polyarticular JIA) to these children, with the goal of minimizing disease sequelae, such as joint deformity, limitation, and pain. She is involved in teaching MSK US to her colleagues and fellows, as well as the Peds ER fellows, and is a part of the American College of Rheumatology MSK US examination certification program, which certifies rheumatologists in MSK US.

In 2020, Dr. deRanieri became an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Rheumatology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Dr. De Souza participates in both clinical and outcomes research studies on malignancies of the upper aerodigestive tract, especially head and neck cancers. His research focuses on the use of novel therapeutic agents along with measurements of financial burden, patients’ preferences, and the trade-offs between the risks and benefits of cancer therapies. His research has sought to integrate outcomes research, patient preferences, health policy, and economics into clinical practice. His ultimate goal is to increase access to essential cancer therapies by providing policy makers and scientific communities with the required information on patient preferences and on barriers that lie between cancer patients and access to care.

De Souza has authored and presented papers and given lectures on head and neck malignancies, reimbursement methods in oncology, and evidence-based care. He is the principal investigator for a trial examining the role of SPECT-CT in the follow-up of patients with locally advanced head and neck cancers.

De Souza earned his MD from the University of Rio de Janeiro State. He completed his residency specializing in internal medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in 2008 and a fellowship focusing on hematology/oncology at the University of Chicago in 2011. Dr. de Souza is currently pursuing his MBA at Booth to aid in his research about Cost Communication in Hematologic Malignancies. His ultimate goal is to increase access to essential cancer therapies by providing policy makers and scientific communities with the required information on patient preferences and on barriers that lie between cancer patients and access to care.

Dr. Jonas de Souza is now the Medical Director for Humana in Louisville, KY.

2013 Pilot Grant Project: A Pilot Program of Cost Communication in Hematologic Malignancies

David Dickerson, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care (DACC) and Director of the Acute Pain Service. He is board-certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine. Dr. Dickerson’s clinical interests are acute postoperative pain, peripheral nerve injury, autonomic pain syndromes, and cancer pain. His research interests include continuous neural blockade for joint replacement, patient-centered pain care, and using the electronic health record to track patient postsurgical pain experience. Dr. Dickerson teaches medical students, residents, and fellows in the outpatient pain clinic, on the inpatient acute pain service, and in the operating room. He received the DACC’s teacher of the year award in 2015.

Dr. Dickerson is now the Medical Director of Anesthesia Pain Management Services at NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, IL.

Vincent A DiMaggio, MS, MD, is a physician who practices in both the inpatient and outpatient settings at the University of Chicago. After completing graduate and medical education at Georgetown Univeristy, he went on to residency at the University of Chicago. Dr. DiMaggio is trained in both internal medicine and pediatrics, sometimes referred to as “Med-Peds.” This practice includes care for patients from newborns to the elderly. His specific clinical interest involves the Transition from pediatric to adult general care of adolescents and young adults with chronic medical conditions of childhood. Academically, Dr. DiMaggio is a dedicated medical educator with ambitions to focus on the doctor-patient relationship. Notably, he completed a Fellowship in Clinical Medical Ethics at the MacLean Center of the University of Chicago in his last year of residency and completed a Chief Residency in Pediatrics in the following year. During residency, he was admitted to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society as a resident educator by the Pritzker School of Medicine. Currently, he remains at the University of Chicago as Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics in the Comprehensive Care Program providing longitudinal care for high risk patients in both primary care and hospital medicine settings.

As of 2022, Dr. DiMaggio had joined the faculty of Brown MED-PEDS.

Douglas R. Dirschl, MD, is a highly accomplished surgeon and an expert in orthopaedics. He specializes in caring for patients with musculoskeletal trauma and fractures, as well as other injuries and diseases of the bones, joints and muscles.

Dr. Dirschl’s research focuses on the assessment of factors that influence reliability in classifying fractures. He has studied the quality of radiographs, as well as the use of decision-making strategies to enhance reliability. Dr. Dirschl also studies the biological basis of surgery, including the relationship between hemorrhage in pelvic fractures and pelvic bleeding. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

A leader in medical education and health policy, Dr. Dirschl teaches medical students, residents and physicians about orthopaedic trauma, musculoskeletal pathophysiology and fractures. He has authored three books, more than 30 book chapters, and more than 75 peer-reviewed scholarly articles. In addition, Dr. Dirschl sits on editorial and review boards for several notable scientific journals, including the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, and Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

Dr. Dirschl previously served as president of the American Orthopaedic Association.
As of 2023, Dr. Dirschl is the Chair of the Orthopaedic Surgery Department at Baylor College of Medicine.

Annie Dude, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. A University of Chicago graduate (Pritzker School of Medicine and Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies), she was trained at Duke University and the University of Illinois at Chicago in Obstetrics and Gynecology and completed her Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship at Northwestern Prentice Women’s Hospital. Clinically, she focuses on the care of pregnancies complicated by maternal medical illness, especially diabetes, HIV, and cardiac disease. She also works with patients through the Fetal and Neonatal Care Center (FNCC) whose pregnancies are complicated by fetal anomalies, often life-threatening. Optimal management for these pregnancies often involves coordinating care across multiple specialties, as well as complex decision-making that takes into account not just medical information, but patient values and goals. Dr. Dude has an interest in medical education, especially improving research during medical education, and serves as the Associate Fellowship Program Director for Maternal Fetal Medicine.

In 2020, Dr. Dude became an Assistant Professor of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

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.