Senior Faculty Scholars

Michael Earing, MD, specializes in adult congenital heart disease, Marfan Syndrome, familial aortic aneurysms, pulmonary hypertension and pediatric cardiology. Dr. Earing has a keen understanding of the complex care needed for long-term success, and he is an expert in navigating the challenges pediatric patients face when transitioning to adulthood with congenital heart disease.

As a deeply respected physician-scientist, Dr. Earing is passionate about research and continuously evaluates new and improved diagnoses and treatments for adult and pediatric cardiac patients. His work has been published in several highly regarded, peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Earing has also served as an author on multiple national guideline writing committees focused on the care for both adults with congenital heart disease and the pediatric patient with pulmonary hypertension.

In addition to his clinical and research pursuits, Dr. Earing is an experienced and successful educator. He lectures about current congenital heart disease topics to students and professionals, as well as mentors fellows, residents and medical students to help guide them through their medical careers.

Dr. Scott Eggener specializes in the care of patients with kidney, prostate, and testicular cancer. He is an experienced robotic and open surgeon but also has a clinical and academic interest in active surveillance for select patients.

His clinical research focuses on prostate cancer screening and treatment. He is the principal investigator on numerous clinical trials for patients with kidney, prostate, and testicular cancer, and collaborates on laboratory research investigating a novel protein identified in kidney cancer.

Dr. Eggener’s research — which has resulted in 100 publications — has been presented at national and international meetings. He is the chairman of the University of Chicago Cancer Committee and has participated in volunteer educational and surgical missions to Congo, Cuba, Honduras, Morocco, Myanmar, Rwanda, and the Palestinian territories.

Dr. Jeanne Farnan is Associate Professor of Medicine and Assistant Dean for Curricular Development and Evaluation at the Pritzker School of Medicine. She currently is leading new initiatives to perform comprehensive curricular review and adoption of competency-based medical education initiatives. Dr. Farnan is also Director of Clinical Skills Education and the Medical Director of the Clinical Performance Center. She is intimately involved with educating medical students in communication and physical examination skills throughout their time at Pritzker, as well as co-directing several well-subscribed electives which help graduating students transition to their graduate medical education training. Finally, Dr. Farnan’s scholarly interests focus on topics including professionalism and social media usage amongst physicians, communication during patient care transitions and supervision during residency training.

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.

Dr. Kate Feinstein is Professor of Radiology and Surgery. As a general pediatric radiologist, she cares for patients in the Comer Children’s Hospital, teaching medical students, technologists, radiology, urology, and pediatric residents, and faculty. Her research interests include technical parameters in ultrasonography and radiography, contrast media use in fluoroscopy, and the natural history of brain disease in premature patients. Dr. Feinstein serves the medical community at large on the board of directors of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. She works on the standards committee, is a site visitor, and is the liaison to the medical assisting education review board. She is an active member of the American College of Radiology and is currently on the Commission of Education involved in identifying educational gaps for practicing radiologists and designing programs to address these gaps.

Dr. Gini Fleming is Professor of Medicine in the Section of Hematology/Oncology, and specializes in the treatment of breast and gynecologic malignancies. She has a longstanding interest in clinical trials and currently serves as chair of the Elderly Working Group in the NRG Oncology and as Principal Investigator for Protocol Operations for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology National Clinical Trials Networks groups. Dr. Fleming is an American Society of Clinical Ongology Fellow, and the recipient of the 2016 Harry Long multidisciplinary award for contributions to the field of gynecologic oncology; the 2017 Charles G Moertel Lectureship award for dedication to Clinical Cancer Research; and the 2016 NIH Director’s Service award for co-chairing the Clinical Trials Planning Meeting for Endometrial Cancer. In 2016, Dr. Fleming received the prestigious Distinguished Senior Clinician Award from the University of Chicago and the 2016 Hematology Oncology Fellowship Education Award.

Dr. Fromme is an Associate Professor in the Section of Academic Pediatrics, where she specializes in the care of hospitalized children. Additionally, she is the Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Training Program. She been honored by students and residents for her teaching and is a fellow of the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators.

The majority of Dr. Fromme’s time away from patient care is dedicated to the development of faculty, residents and students as medical educators. She is the co-director of the Pritzker Scholarship & Discovery Track for Medical Education, a longitudinal program to train students in the skills needed to be medical educators and scholars. She also leads teaching skills courses for students and residents. She is the Director of the one year Medical Education Research Innovation Scholarship and Teaching (MERITS) fellowship for fellows and faculty, and teaches in the Faculty Advancing Medical Education faculty development series.

Marina Chiara Garassino, MD, is an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of thoracic malignancies.

Dr. Garassino graduated from the Medical School of Università degli Studi of Milan, Italy, where she also completed her training in Medical Oncology. After a fellowship at the Christie’s Hospital in Manchester (UK), she served as a physician oncologist in prestigious Italian cancer centers. She has risen to lead the Thoracic Medical Oncology Unit at one the most renowned comprehensive cancer center in Italy, the Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori of Milan.

She leads the strategy for clinical and translational research in advanced and locally advanced NSCLC, mesothelioma, thymoma and thymic carcinoma due to her effort in the research of drugs development, precision medicine and in immuno-oncology. She gave her contribute as author or coauthor to over 200 peer-reviewed publications, including many publications as first or last author in the Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Annals of Oncology, and the New England Journal of Medicine. Some of her publications radically changed the treatment paradigm of and treatment guidelines for lung cancer around the world.

In response the COVID-19 emergency, Dr. Garassino established and brought together an international group of physicians and investigators to study the impact of COVID-19 on patients with lung cancer. This led to the initiation of the Thoracic Cancers International COVID‐19 Collaboration, or TERAVOLT, a global registry for patients with thoracic cancers and COVID‐ 19. Currently, 180 centers from 25 countries have joined the consortium. Data from this consortium have already been ascertained and published in Lancet Oncology and Cancer Cell.

Dr. Garassino has been the recipient of many international awards from prestigious organizations like the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and she is the founder and president of Women for Oncology Italy. She provides strong support in gender equalities believing in the importance and value of creating an environment with diversity.

Dr. Edward Garrity is a Pulmonary and Critical Care Specialist focused on lung transplantation and the management of advanced lung diseases. Dr. Garrity is considered to be among the early adopters of lung transplantation as therapy for chronic lung diseases.

Dr. Garrity was deeply involved in the development of the current system for allocation of donor lungs for transplantation, and helped to reduce mortality of those awaiting the life-giving organs. Ed joined the faculty at The University of Chicago as a Professor of Medicine in 2005.

Dr. Garrity pursued a long-standing interest in Ethics via The MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics fellowship in 2017. He continues to devote energy to the Pritzker School of Medicine Admissions Committee and his own abiding interest in the compassionate care of his patients, including those served through the Bridgeport Free Clinic. Dr. Garrity is recognized as a wonderful doctor, who always does his best for his patients and who works to instill that same desire in his students and trainees.

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.