Senior Faculty Scholars

Dr. Halina Brukner is Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Medical School Education. She led the planning and implementation of the Pritzker Initiative curriculum and oversees all aspects of curricular and academic issues for the Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Brukner is also the Director of the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators. A graduate of Yale University and the New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Brukner did her internship and residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago. She joined the faculty in General Medicine in 1985, and has served as clerkship director in Internal Medicine (1986-1999); Director of the Primary Care Group (1995-99); Vice-Chairman of the Department of Medicine (1999-2004); and Associate Dean for Medical School Education (2004-present). Dr. Brukner was a general internist in the University of Chicago Primary Care Group and is currently enjoying retirement.

Dr. Brian Callender is an adult hospitalist in the section of Hospital Medicine and an Associate Professor of Medicine. He attended the Pritzker School of Medicine and continued at the University of Chicago for his residency training in internal medicine. He is a graduate of the Medical Education Research Innovation Teaching and Scholarship (MERITS) fellowship and the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics fellowship.

An academic hospitalist, Dr. Callender is interested in how the health humanities can improve the patient experience, provider-patient relationships, and our understanding of the illness experience and the practice of medicine. These interests have led to the development of a number of courses that explore the phenomenology of illness and the visual culture of medicine including: The Body in Medicine and the Performing Arts; The Narratives and Aesthetics of Contagion: Knowledge Formation and the COVID-19 Pandemic; Graphic Medicine: Comics Creation as Knowledge Formation; Graphic Medicine: Concepts and Practice; The Art of Healing: Medical Aesthetics in Russia and the US; Death Panels: Exploring Dying and Death Through Comics; and [Re]Framing Graphic Medicine: Comics and the History of Medicine

His interest in the visual culture of medicine has resulted in the co-curation of several exhibitions at the University Library’s Special Collections Research Center: Imaging and Imagining: The Human Body in Anatomical Representation (2014); The Fetus In Utero: From Mystery to Social Media (2019); [Re]Framing Graphic Medicine: Comics and the History of Medicine (2022)

Dr. Callender is particularly interested in the field of graphic medicine, defined as the intersection of comics, health, and medicine. These interests include teaching graphic medicine courses, using comics in patient education and science communication, conducting workshops on comics-making for patients and providers, and researching the historical and contemporary uses of comics within healthcare. He is a co-editor of the Graphic Medicine Series at the Penn State University Press and was co-chair of the 2022 Graphic Medicine conference held at the University of Chicago.  

Dr. Keme Carter is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Section of Emergency Medicine and Assistant Dean for Admissions at the Pritzker School of Medicine. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University in 1999 and graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 2003. Dr. Carter completed her residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Chicago and served as Chief Resident from 2005-2006. She subsequently joined the faculty at the University of Chicago and currently serves as the Director of Undergraduate Medical Education for the Section of Emergency Medicine and the Emergency Medicine Clerkship Director. Dr. Carter’s work in undergraduate and graduate medical education has been recognized through her induction as a fellow in the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators and by several awards including the Doroghazi Outstanding Clinical Teaching Award, the Emergency Medicine Clinical Teacher of the Year Award, and the Biological Science Division’s Distinguished Educator/Mentor Junior Award. In recognition of her empathy towards patients and service as a role model for medical students, Dr. Carter was the recipient of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. Dr. Carter’s research focuses on studying communication practices in the Emergency Department in an effort to optimize patient care.

Dr. Carter is now a Bucksbaum Senior Faculty Scholar.

Dr. Keegan Checkett received her MD from the University of Missouri – Columbia, and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California – San Francisco and her residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Chicago. In 2011, Dr. Checkett joined the faculty at the University of Chicago, where she currently is an attending physician and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Checkett’s interest lies in emergency care development in low-income regions, particularly in education and training development. She served as core faculty for the Emergency Medicine residency of Muhimbili University, Tanzania from 2011-2014. From 2014-2018, Dr. Checkett worked as the program co-director for the Emergency Medicine residency of University Hospital of Mirebalais, Haiti, where she developed, implemented, and transitioned the curriculum for the first Emergency Medicine residency in Haiti. Additionally, Dr. Checkett is active in the education arm of the African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM), including serving as the lead editor-in-chief for the second edition AFEM Handbook of Emergency Care and as the managing editor of the AFEM Presentation Bank. In 2018, Dr. Checkett developed the University of Chicago Global Emergency Medicine Medical Education fellowship, a novel global EM fellowship for which she serves as fellowship director. Currently, Dr. Checkett serves as the director of global emergency medicine at the University of Chicago; collaborates with the Haitian Society for Emergency Medicine as a Health and Policy Advisor in Emergency Care for Partners in Health; and consults for the World Health Organization COVID-19 Clinical Management team to develop global education and training tools.

Marshall H. Chin, MD, MPH, Richard Parrillo Family Professor of Healthcare Ethics, is a general internist with extensive experience improving the care of vulnerable patients with chronic disease. He is Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Finding Answers: Solving Disparities Through Payment and Delivery System Reform Program Office, Co-Director of the Merck Foundation Bridging the Gap: Reducing Disparities in Diabetes Care National Program Office, and Associate Director of the Maclean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. Dr. Chin serves on the National Advisory Council to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Community Preventive Services Task Force. He is a former President of the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM), and has won mentoring awards from SGIM and the University of Chicago. He is leading an AHRQ-funded project to improve shared decision making among clinicians and LGBTQ people of color. Dr. Chin is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, and he completed residency and fellowship training in general internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chin was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017.

Julie Chor, MD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Section of Family Planning and Contraceptive Research and an Assistant Director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago. Her academic and clinical work focuses on understanding and addressing barriers that adolescents and young adults face in seeking and obtaining reproductive health care. Her research is informed by her clinical work in Family Planning and Adolescent Gynecology and by her fellowship training in Clinical Medical Ethics. Dr. Chor has received both private foundation and NIH funding for her work, including for the development of lay health worker interventions to help individuals engage in sustained use of contraception and preventive reproductive health care. More recently, Dr. Chor has conducted research into individual’s experiences with pelvic examinations. This work has underscored the importance of improving patient-provider communication around pelvic examinations. A dedicated educator, Dr. Chor also serves as the co-Director for the Pritzker School of Medicine’s first year Doctor-Patient Relationship course and as the Assistant Director for the MS3 Obstetrics and Gynecology Clerkship.

Dr. Adam Cifu is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago. He earned his BA from Haverford College and his MD from Cornell University. He did his residency in internal medicine and a year as the Primary Care Chief Resident at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. Dr. Cifu is a general internist who divides his time between clinical practice, medical student education, and scholarly work. He co-directs the 3rd Year Medicine Clerkship and directs courses for 4th and 1st year medical students. He is the co-author of two books: a textbook on clinical reasoning and a book for the lay audience. He is a deputy editor of JAMA’s Clinical Guidelines Synopsis series. His honors include the Department of Medicine Award for Clinical Teaching in 2006, 2011 and 2016 and the Distinguished Educator/Mentor Award for the BSD. He is a master in the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators and has been selected as a Favorite Faculty Member by the graduating class of the Pritzker School of Medicine 14 times.

Dr. Cohn is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Director of Clinical Sciences, Dean for Clinical Research, and Acting Section Chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. She has devoted her career to caring for children with neuroblastoma and conducting clinical and translational research focused on understanding the biologic underpinnings of high-risk neuroblastoma to identify new therapeutic targets. The long-term goal of her research is to develop more effective treatment based on the biology of the tumor and host genetics.

A long-term area of research in her laboratory has focused on investigating the role that angiogenesis plays in neuroblastoma pathogenesis and developing treatment that inhibits this process. More recently, Dr. Cohn has collaborated with Drs. Nancy Cox and Eileen Dolan to investigate the genetic variables contributing to racial disparities in survival for children with neuroblastoma. Dr. Cohn also worked with Dr. Andrew Pearson from the United Kingdom to spearhead a collaboration with investigators from around the world to establish an International Neuroblastoma Risk Group Classification System. This system was based on analyses of data collected from more than 8,800 patients. These data are available for investigator-initiated research studies, and in a recent collaboration with Dr. Sam Volchenboum, Chiam Kirby, and other members of the Center for Research Informatics at the University of Chicago, the infrastructure housing the data has been transformed into a live queryable database [the Interactive INRG database (iINRGdb)] using technology that enables connections to other data sources. To date, connections with the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Biobank and Nucleic Acids Bank have been established, and researchers can now ask complex questions of the data and have instant access regarding sample availability.

Dr. Cohn is an internationally recognized expert in clinical trials and the treatment of neuroblastoma. She holds leadership positions in a number of national and international oncology groups such as Children’s Oncology Group (COG), New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy (NANT), the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) Task Force, and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Sarah Collins, MD, FACOG, FACS, is a board-certified surgeon whose practice focuses on urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery. Dr. Collins is an expert in diagnosing and treating pelvic floor disorders, including pelvic organ prolapse, urinary and fecal incontinence, complex urogenital and rectovaginal fistulae, complex lower urinary tract injuries after pelvic surgery, and congenital genitourinary anomalies. Her skill and experience allow management of complex surgical problems through minimally invasive approaches whenever possible.

Because she understands the personal and private struggles that women with pelvic floor disorder face, Dr. Collins’ approach to care centers around being an advocate for her patients and prioritizing their healthcare experience from the first visit. She is heavily involved in creating and researching shared decision-making (SDM) tools for patients facing decisions about pelvic health treatment options. Her dedication to practice efficiency and streamlining the care experience is concentrated on ensuring that patients get the most out of every office and operating room encounter. She is a federally funded researcher and holds leadership roles in national and international professional organizations.

In addition to her surgical practice and research, Dr. Collins is passionate about teaching the next generation of gynecologic surgeons, providing training to medical students, residents and fellows. She also dedicates her time and surgical skill to an annual surgical mission to Rwanda, where she teaches local surgeons in the treatment of women with obstetric injuries and complex genitourinary and rectovaginal fistulae.

Dr. Kamala Gullapalli Cotts is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine. She graduated from Northwestern University Medical School and completed her internal medicine residency training at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. She is a general internist with expertise in the primary care of developmentally disabled adults. Dr. Cotts established the Adult Developmental Disabilities Clinic at the University of Chicago in 2002. And in 2017, she received the Distinguished Clinician Junior Award for her work in caring for this patient population. Dr. Cotts’ commitment to patients with disabilities has allowed her to have a leadership role in the Bucksbaum Institute’s University of Delhi collaboration. During the 2018-19 academic year Dr. Cotts conducted workshops and traveled to India for this international disability education project.

Dr. Cotts completed a fellowship in the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics in 2007 and has been serving as Faculty on the Ethics Consult Service since then. She served on the National Society of General Internal Medicine Ethics Committee from 2011-2018. Dr. Cotts received many awards including the Medical Resident Teaching Award in 2018 and in 2019, the 2019 Department of Medicine Diversity Award and the 2019 Society of General Internal Medicine Award for Advocacy and Community Service.