Alumni Scholars

Nicole Dussault graduated summa cum laude and with honors in Economics from Columbia University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. As an undergraduate, Nicole volunteered as an Emergency Department patient advocate for survivors of sexual assault. After graduation, she conducted healthcare economics research at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Her work on the financial impact of the Affordable Care Act was featured in Liberty Street Economics.

At Pritzker, Nicole is a Quality Improvement Coordinator for the Maria Shelter Clinic, a founding member of Pritzker TECH, and a part of the University’s Hotspotting team. Nicole and fellow medical students also spearheaded a project to improve patient care for survivors of sexual assault in the University of Chicago ED, working with Drs. Keme Carter and Sonia Oyola. Under Dr. Matthew Churpek, she is also developing a machine learning algorithm to identify infection in hospitalized patients.

Dr. Dussault is currently an internal medicine resident at Duke Health.

Jonathan Emerson Kohler, MD MA is the senior fellow in pediatric surgery at the University of Chicago. Dr. Kohler holds degrees with honors from Brown University, where he studied biology and theatre, and from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, as well as a masters degree in health communications from Emerson College. Prior to medical school, he worked in theatre and as a health care reporter for the daily Standard-Times in New Bedford, MA. His research interests include the effect of patient and parent expectations on outcomes in pediatric surgery, and on the role of mass media in forming and modulating those expectations. Projects include production of several patient and parent education programs for the University of Chicago, University of Washington, and Boston Children’s Hospital, and development of several medical drama pilots for network television with Imagine Television and CBS Studios. He is the founder of the medical narrative consulting company RxCreative, which helps produce accurate medicine on television, and helps doctors use narrative techniques to teach their patients. He completed his general surgery training at the University of Washington.

Dr. Kohler is a member of the faculty at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Savitri E. Fedson, MD, is a cardiologist who specializes in heart failure and heart transplantation. Dr. Fedson is part of a team of medical and surgical specialists who provide a full range of treatment options to improve the pumping ability of the heart in patients with heart failure. If transplantation is required, she cares for patients before and after transplant to ensure the best outcome. Dr. Fedson is actively researching comparisons between invasive and non-invasive hemodynamic measurements, and heart failure prevention.

Dr. Fedson joined the faculty at Baylor University in Waco, TX in 2015.

(1988-2021)

Brooke Gabster graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 2011 with an A.B. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Before medical school, Brooke worked for Deloitte Consulting LLP, where she helped the Military Health System design innovative programs to reduce tobacco use and obesity, and guided Navy Medicine’s implementation and evaluation of a patient-centered medical home model of care at over one hundred clinics. In addition to her domestic health experience, Brooke has worked on global health projects in Germany, Thailand, and South Africa.

At the Pritzker School of Medicine, Brooke is the co-director of the Maria Shelter Clinic, a free clinic in a homeless shelter in Englewood. She also helps evaluate and improve the medical school curriculum as a member of the Pre-Clinical Curriculum Review Committee. Additionally, under the mentorship of Dr. David Meltzer, Brooke is conducting research about how a new model of care designed to increase physician-patient continuity might improve discussions about end-of-life care: her project titled “The Impact of the Comprehensive Care Physician Program on Advance Care Planning” earned Honorable Mention for Excellence in the Pritzker Summer Research Program.

Dr. Gabster is an Internal Medicine Resident at Stanford University in Stanford, CA.

Sean Gaffney graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 2009 with a BA in Philosophy and Economics. Following graduation, Sean taught for two years at a high school in the Rio Grande Valley while completing a M.Ed. through Notre Dame’s ACE program.

As a medical student, Sean is the co-coordinator of CommunityHealth Clinic, a free clinic on Chicago’s west side. He also serves as a member of the Pre-Clinical Curriculum Review Committee, charged with reviewing the first two years of medical school curriculum.

Under the mentorship of Drs. Vineet Arora and Jeanne Farnan, Sean completed a research project titled “Transitions of Care and Transitioning to Training: Teaching and Assessing a Core Entrustable Professional Activity for Entering Residency,” which earned Honorable Mention for Excellence in the Pritzker Summer Research Program.

Dr. Gaffney is a Medicine Resident at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC.

Dr. Melissa Gilliam is Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Chief of the Section of Family Planning & Contraceptive Research, and Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in the Biological Sciences Division, as well as Director of Ci3 at the University of Chicago.

An expert in pediatric and adolescent gynecology, Dr. Melissa Gilliam helps children, teens and women age 25 and younger who have complex gynecologic problems or need routine care. Dr. Gilliam specializes in managing common problems such as bleeding, painful periods, breasts cysts and abnormal pap smears and complex problems requiring pelvic surgery. She has expertise in providing preventive care and providing contraception to adolescents with other medical problems. Dr. Gilliam focuses on providing a youth-friendly atmosphere for girls and young women. She works closely with other specialists across the University.

An active researcher, Dr. Gilliam’s research focuses on contraception, family planning, youth development, and sexually transmitted infections. Specifically, she focuses on contraceptive use among teens and women who are at risk for unintended pregnancy.

In 2021, Dr. Gilliam was named Provost of Ohio State University.

Laura Glick graduated from Tufts University with a B.A. in Psychology and Community Health. At Tufts, Laura was honored with the prestigious Presidential Award for Citizenship and Public Service. Laura conducted clinical and translational research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Under the mentorship of Dr. David Rubin, a Bucksbaum Institute Master Clinician, Laura has conducted research on Crohn’s disease, earning the Joseph B. Kirsner Research Award for Excellence in the Pritzker Summer Research Forum. Additionally, she is working with Dr. Vineet Arora to improve verbal handoffs in the hospital setting. As a medical student, Laura serves as the co-director of the Washington Park Pediatric Free Clinic, an executive board member of the Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program, a leadership council member of Peer Health Exchange, and as a member of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Program.

Dr. Glick is a Hospital Resident at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, CT.

Dr. Golden is Associate Professor, Medical Student Clerkship Director, and Associate Residency Program Director in the Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology. He completed residency at the University of Chicago. He is a graduate of the Pritzker School of Medicine Medical Education Research Innovation Teaching and Scholarship (MERITS) fellowship and completed a Masters of Health Professions Education (MHPE) at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dr. Golden’s clinical practice is at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross where he treats a broad array of cancers with external beam radiation. Dr. Golden focuses on educating his patients about their disease and treatment process with the goal of reducing anxiety and improving treatment compliance and outcomes.

His academic interests focus on patient and trainee education. In 2017 Dr. Golden received a pilot grant from the Bucksbaum Institute to develop a graphic narrative discussion guide to help providers communicate to patients what to expect during the radiotherapy treatment process.  Along with additional extramural funding from the Radiation Oncology Institute and collaborators at The University of Chicago, IIT Institute of Design, UIC, and Harvard, he has since developed a series of seven Communicating the External Beam Radiotherapy Experience (CEBRE) guides and three Communicating the Gynecologic Brachytherapy Experience (CoGBE) guides. In addition, the CEBRE en Español guides are culturally appropriate translations of the original CEBRE guides in Spanish.  The discussion guides have been downloaded for use internationally.  Dr. Golden also founded the Radiation Oncology Education Collaborative Study Group (ROECSG), which develops, implements, and evaluates radiation oncology curricular innovations using a collaborative group study model. As of 2022 ROECSG has over 600 members representing more than 200 member institutions around the globe.  Dr. Golden enjoys spending time teaching and mentoring medical students and residents and he received the Radiation and Cellular Oncology Resident Physician teaching award in 2015. As of 2023, Dr. Golden has joined the Radiation Oncology staff at Rush University in Chicago, IL.

Raymon Grogan, MD, is a specialist in the surgical management of thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal gland diseases. He has expertise in the surgical management of endocrine cancers as well as benign endocrine gland disorders.

As a clinician and a scientist, Dr. Grogan is actively involved in clinical, translational, and basic science research. He is currently working on identifying genetic and proteomic biomarkers in thyroid and adrenal tumors. Understanding the genetic and molecular changes in these tumors could lead to better diagnosis and treatment strategies for patients with cancer. The ultimate goal is to improve patients’ lives by translating state-of-the-art research findings into everyday clinical practice.

Dr. Raymon Grogan is the section chief of endocrine surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX.

2013 Pilot Grant Project: “A Formal Curriculum in Surgical Professionalism and Ethics”: To enhance and encourage the professionalism of surgical residents and their understanding of the central concepts of surgical ethics

2012 Pilot Grant Project: Understanding of the Psychology of Thyroid Cancer Patients in an Era of Increasing Incidences

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.