Class Notes and Alumni Updates From Sports Medicine Specialists
Ryan Kehoe, MD ’01 (PG ’06)
I am in private practice with Aspen Orthopedic Specialists and the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin, which serve the greater Milwaukee area. My practice consists of predominantly shoulder, elbow, hand, and knee pathology. Each week, I spend three and a half days in the office and a day and a half in the operating room. I devote most of my time to managing non-operative orthopedic issues. My operative interventions include mostly arthroscopic procedures, as well as shoulder and knee replacements.
Although the grand majority of outcomes in orthopedic sports medicine are extremely gratifying, it is the rare bumps in the road and clinical challenges that stand out in my memory. I always enjoy seeing some of my longest-tenured patients to follow their progress many years after a procedure. This reminds me of how quickly time flies.
I chose orthopedic surgery — and specifically sports medicine — because I enjoy the opportunity to fix things and restore function with consistently great outcomes. I had an interest in this field going into medical school, and my experiences during my training reinforced my interests. Following my medical school graduation, I completed an orthopedic surgery residency at UW Health in Madison and a sports medicine fellowship at the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, under James Andrews, MD.
I am a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine. I strongly encourage medical students to consider pursuing orthopedic sports medicine.
Restoring Young Athletes’ Health and Performance
Jennifer Lhost, MD ’14
My practice at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia includes mostly seeing patients who have acute and chronic injuries, sprains, strains, fractures, and concussions. Beyond that, I see nearly anything else that could happen while playing a sport or that impacts an athlete’s ability to participate in their sport, such as dental injuries, skin concerns, nutrition and fitness, mental health, sleep issues, asthma, and diabetes. One of my patients took her diagnosis of bilateral femoral stress fractures and turned her struggle with relative energy deficiency in sport, known as RED-S, into an opportunity to advocate for better awareness and education at the national level. She is now successfully competing in Division 1 track and cross country. I knew sports medicine was the career for me after I completed a sports medicine elective in medical school.
As an athlete, I had good and bad experiences when I was a patient, but being able to work at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health with Greg Landry, MD (PG ’83, ’84), one of the pioneers in pediatric sports medicine, really cemented my love for the field. I completed a pediatrics residency at Medical College of Wisconsin/Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and a pediatric primary care sports medicine fellowship at University Hospitals/Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland. I am a member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness.
I believe that sports medicine is the perfect specialty for anyone who likes to do a little bit of everything because many other specialties intersect with this field in some way. I find it fun to work at games and events. Sometimes I even get to work with professional and Olympic athletes. This was the case in summer 2022, when I worked in Greece for the world championships with the U.S. U16 Women’s Water Polo Team.
Healing Bodies, Empowering Lives
Adrian Tabares, MD ’11
As a family and sports medicine physician at Sutter Sacramento in California, I devote half of my day to primary care, including performing well-baby visits and annual physicals, and cultivating long-standing patient relationships. I spend the other half of my day consulting on sports medicine cases and performing diagnostic and ultrasound guided procedures in the office.
A memorable case involved a patient who was suffering from common extensor tendinopathy, also known as lateral epicondylitis. This patient’s symptoms had been present for two years, and one of his goals was to hold his infant son without pain. I performed an ultrasound-guided fenestration procedure of his common extensor tendon. In combination with therapy, he was ultimately able to achieve his goal. I was touched when he later wrote that I had given him his life back.
I chose sports medicine because I love being able to help people return to activities they enjoy. My goal is to keep people active for as long as possible so they can lead healthy, fulfilling lives. I learned about this specialty in my first year of medical school, when I shadowed John Wilson, MD ’03 (PG ’06, ’08). Later, I realized that I also wanted to use the knowledge I had acquired in primary care, so I chose to continue practicing both specialties.
I completed my residency at University of California (UC), Davis, and my sports medicine fellowship at UC, San Diego. I participate in the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, and I am part of their Sports Ultrasound Committee. Sports medicine is an extremely gratifying field, and those who enter it can tailor it to fit their interests. This can include treating professional athletes, covering sporting events, or taking care of people in the community.
Class Notes
Class of 2017
Ngoc Pham completed fellowships in obstetrics and addiction medicine, and she is now a physician faculty member at Swedish Cherry Hill Family Medicine in Seattle. She notes that she is excited to combine her love of addiction medicine with surgical obstetrics while caring for marginalized patients and being part of a program that focuses on social justice. Pham lives with her husband and their two dogs. She enjoys hiking, trail running, water sports, traveling the world, and dining during her travels, especially enjoying Vietnamese food.
Class of 2014
Daniel Shapiro received the Kidney Cancer Association’s (KCA) inaugural Christopher G. Wood Rising Star Award at the 2022 International Kidney Cancer Symposium: North America. This award included an invitation to speak at the WoodFire session at the symposium. The award was named for the former chair of the KCA board and was established to recognize junior-level faculty members who show promise in advancing kidney cancer treatment and patient care. This honor reflects Wood’s dedication to educating, mentoring, and supporting the next generation of kidney cancer providers and his impact on patients.
Class of 2012
Jason Habeck an orthopedic surgeon at the Watertown (Wisconsin) Regional Medical Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine since 2018, was appointed chief of staff in January 2023. Board-certified in orthopedic surgery and fellowship trained in hip and knee replacements, Habeck completed his orthopedic residency at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine in Kalamazoo, and his adult reconstruction fellowship at Florida Orthopaedic Institute in Tampa.
Class of 2008
Emily Ruedinger received an inaugural Catalyst Award for Transformation in Graduate Medical Education by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. An assistant professor and associate residency program director in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Pediatrics, Ruedinger is a co-principal investigator of the project, Simulation-Based Macroaggressions Training for Residents and Faculty. Team members of the year-long study expect the simulation methodology to be more effective than classroom discussions.
Class of 2007
Amy Fowler was recently awarded a five-year, $3 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health for her project, Precision Imaging of Breast Cancer for Guiding Neoadjuvant Endocrine Therapy. Also, since March 2022, Fowler has been an associate editor for the journal Breast Cancer Research. She is an associate professor of radiology at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
Class of 2005
Amanda Preimesberger was elected to the national Direct Primary Care Alliance Board of Directors. The nonprofit organization provides leadership and guidance through physician-led education, mentorship, and advocacy. Preimesberger is the founder and physician owner of the Verona, Wisconsin-based RootsMD Direct Care Family Medicine, a membership based model of care delivery in which individuals pay their primary care physician directly. Following her residency in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, she practiced family medicine with obstetrics for more than 15 years before she founded RootsMD. She and her husband live in Verona and have four sons, who range from 12 to 17 years old.
Class of 2000
Ann Catlett was named among BRAVA magazine’s 2023 Class of Women to Watch. The 12 women are change-makers, leaders, and creative thinkers who have ideas that can shape entire industries. Catlett co-founded Madison Area Care for the Homeless in 2015. She started the nonprofit Solace Friends in 2018 to provide end-of-life care for people who are housing-insecure, impoverished, or don’t have a place or people to turn to at the end of life.
Class of 1996
Don Selzer began serving as the advocacy pillar lead on the American College of Surgeons’ Board of Governors in November 2022. He is the Willis D. Gatch Professor of Surgery; program director, Fellowship for Advanced Gastrointestinal and Bariatric Surgery; chief, Division of General Surgery; and associate chair, Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine.
Class of 1973
Richard Boxer was appointed by President Joe Biden to the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB), which guides the National Cancer Institute director in setting the course for the national cancer research program. The NCAB will complement the Cancer Moonshot initiative, which President Biden reignited to end cancer as we know it today. Boxer is a clinical professor of urology at the David Geffen School at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has represented the United States at the World Health Organization as a private citizen, and he recently served on the board of directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Conquer Cancer Foundation.
Class of 1956
Robert Weaver received, in late 2022, the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong commitment to building a stronger nation through volunteer service. He has been a steadfast American Red Cross volunteer since 1990.