Go to University of Chicago Medicine Home

People

Senior Faculty Scholars

Senior Faculty Scholars are a group of outstanding clinicians and teachers who are current members of the University faculty, and who personify the mission and goals of the Bucksbaum Institute to improve the doctor-patient relationship and the care of patients. As a Bucksbaum Institute Senior Faculty Scholar, each senior faculty member is asked to mentor, coach and advise Bucksbaum Institute Student, Junior Faculty and Associate Junior Faculty Scholars. For those interested in the Senior Faculty Scholar Program, please contact Joni Krapec (jkrapec@bsd.uchicago.edu).

Marshall Chin, MD, MPH

Marshall Chin, MD, MPH

2018–2019 SENIOR FACULTY SCHOLAR

Department of Medicine
Bio

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

Julie Chor, MD, MPH

2021-2022 SENIOR FACULTY SCHOLAR
2019–2020 JUNIOR FACULTY SCHOLAR

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Bio

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.

Adam Cifu, MD

Adam Cifu, MD

2016–2017 SENIOR FACULTY SCHOLAR

Department of Medicine
Bio

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.

Susan Cohn, MD

Susan Cohn, MD

2014–2015 SENIOR FACULTY SCHOLAR

Department of Pediatrics
Bio

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).

Kamala Gullapalli Cotts, MD

Kamala Gullapalli Cotts, MD

2019–2020 SENIOR FACULTY SCHOLAR

Department of Medicine
Bio

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.

Sandra Culbertson, MD

Sandra Culbertson, MD

2012–2013 SENIOR FACULTY SCHOLAR – ALUMN

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Bio

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.

John M. Cunningham, MD

John M. Cunningham, MD

2017–2018 SENIOR FACULTY SCHOLAR

Department of Pediatrics
Bio

Dr. John Cunningham is an internationally renowned pediatric hematologist with expertise in caring for adolescent patients requiring hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for malignant and non-malignant diseases of childhood. He has a particular interest in (the hemoglobinopathies,) a disease syndrome resulting from the commonest gene locus defect seen worldwide. He has specific expertise in the use of novel cellular therapeutics to treat leukemia and lymphoma. And recently, Dr. Cunningham has studied the role of stem cell regulatory pathways that are co-opted and perturbed during tumorigenesis.

Dr. Cunningham is an enthusiastic educator who trained students, residents, and fellows for nearly 15 years at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital prior to coming to the University of Chicago to lead the pediatric hematology/oncology program in 2007. He became Chair of the Department of Pediatrics in 2015. He lectures around the world, holds leadership roles in various national and international societies, and is the current chair of the Council of Extramural Grants of the American Cancer Society.

Andrew M. Davis, MD, MPH

Andrew M. Davis, MD, MPH

2019–2020 SENIOR FACULTY SCHOLAR

Department of Medicine
Bio

Dr. Andy Davis is a Professor and Associate Vice-Chair for Quality in the Department of Medicine. He is board certified in both internal medicine and in public health, and is a practicing clinician educator with research interests in quality improvement, prevention, and chronic disease. He is a clinician-educator with precepting and direct patient care responsibilities in the Primary Care Group and the University of Chicago Student Health Clinic. He was volunteer Attending of the Year in 2014 for Community Health, and is faculty advisor for the Maria Shelter Free Clinic.

Dr. Davis earned his MD from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, with residency at the University of Iowa, and his Masters in Public Health in occupational and environmental health from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dr. Davis is a section editor for practice guidelines for JAMA, was a visiting scientist at the CDC, and has led disease management programs for a managed care population of 400,000 individuals. Additional facets of his work include LGBT care, and healthcare disparities, including a national review on cardiovascular health disparities commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Jessica Donington, MD

Jessica Donington, MD

2020–2021 SENIOR FACULTY SCHOLAR

Department of Surgery
Bio

Dr. Donington obtained her bachelor degree from the University of Michigan and her medical degree from Rush University. She completed general surgery training at Georgetown University, cardiothoracic training at the Mayo Clinic, and a surgical oncology fellowship in the Surgical Branch of the NCI. She was on faculty at Stanford and NYU prior to accepting her current position as chief of the section of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Chicago in 2018. Her clinical interest is in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. She has unique expertise in the use multimodality therapy for locally advanced lung cancer, clinical trials in lung cancer, and treatment options for medically high-risk patients with lung cancer. She is a past president of the New York Society for Thoracic Surgery and the Women in Thoracic Surgery. She is the surgical chair for the thoracic section of NRG Oncology.

Linda Druelinger, MD

Linda Druelinger, MD

2013–2014 SENIOR FACULTY SCHOLAR

Department of Medicine
Bio

Linda Druelinger, MD, is an expert in emergency medicine, providing the highest level of care to acutely ill or injured patients. Her major clinical interests include airway management, maxillofacial trauma, and postpartum emergencies.

Dr. Druelinger has a particular interest in medical education. She has been actively involved in both resident and student education, helping to develop curriculum at both introductory and more advanced levels. She is highly recognized for her outstanding teaching skills and has been named Teacher of the Year by Emergency Medicine residents multiple times. In 2010, she was the recipient of the Pritzker School of Medicine Leonard Tow Gold Humanism Award.