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Alumni Updates
Restoring Vision
Joshua Vrabec, MD ’05 (PG ’09)
I practice ophthalmology at Clear Vision Center in Rochester, Michigan, where I have a private practice. My typical cases entail cataract and refractive surgery (LASIK).
A memorable case is a recent cataract surgery on a patient who had become functionally blind. Due to multiple health issues and the COVID-19 pandemic, she had delayed her cataract surgery for nearly four years, resulting in her functional blindness. She travelled from several states away to see me for her surgery, which was an immediate success. She burst into tears in the recovery room after she saw her husband’s face for the first time in many years!
Before my medical school years, I spent time with my uncle, Michael Vrabec, MD ’83 (PG ’87), an ophthalmologist who earned his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) and completed his postgraduate training at UW Health. I accompanied him on a mission trip to Haiti and I credit this time as formative for me. Seeing the miracle of sight sold me on this field.
After I earned my medical degree, I completed a residency at UW Health and established my practice in Michigan.
I am a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology; the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery; and the Michigan Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons.
I find that there is nothing more rewarding than giving the gift of sight to a patient!
Repairing Retinas
Lucy Young, MD ’81, PhD, FACS
At Harvard Medical School’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear (MEE), I am an associate professor of ophthalmology and have been on its Retina Service since 1990.
After I earned my medical degree, I received my doctorate in biology from Harvard University and completed an ophthalmology residency and vitreoretinal fellowship at MEE.
My clinical interests include diabetic retinopathy, agerelated macular degeneration, retinal vascular diseases, and trauma- and drug-related retinal complications.
A memorable patient was a young woman I saw as a third-year medical student, with Dr. Richard Appen, (PG ’72). This patient had bad migraines and developed a retinal arterial occlusion that caused a permanent deficit. Dr. Appen also showed me his collection of findings about patients with carotid artery disease. With me as first author (my first paper!), we published about those findings in the Archives of Neurology. This experience cemented my interest in ophthalmology.
In my beautiful journey at MEE, I initially published prolifically and presented my work at professional meetings. Over time, my focus changed to clinical work and teaching medical students, residents and fellows, plus other trainees worldwide. I direct the Lancaster Course in Ophthalmology, the world’s oldest ophthalmic education review program. Thanks to generous supporters, I can offer the annual course to trainees from underserved countries. I also direct the Altschuler Ophthalmology Surgical Training Laboratory, which strengthens residents’ pre-operative surgical skills. This laboratory was built in my honor with a huge donation from the parents of a patient for whom I repaired a retinal detachment.
I have co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters and participated in more than 25 clinical trial reports, but I get the most joy from helping patients restore or maintain vision and teaching others how to help in this way.
Treating Glaucoma
Nikhil Wagle, MD ’94
I am a partner at Eye Surgeons Associates, PC, an ophthalmology and optometry group in the Quad Cities, with offices in Bettendorf, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois, and a surgery center in Davenport, Iowa.
After I earned my medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, I completed an ophthalmology residency and glaucoma fellowship at Duke University Eye Center.
In my comprehensive practice, I spend 75 percent of my time seeing patients for cataract evaluations and glaucoma consults; performing laser procedures; and treating retina conditions. I devote the other 25 percent of my time to cataract surgeries, minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries, and advanced glaucoma surgeries.
One of my most memorable patients was a marathon runner who was significantly near-sighted and had glaucoma. She always wanted to do a triathlon, but she faced major challenges with contacts and/or glasses. I mentioned that we could surgically treat her cataracts and glaucoma and eliminate her near-sightedness. She was thrilled when she realized her dreams could become a reality. The year after her successful eye surgery, she completed the lronMan Triathlon in Hawaii — a lifelong dream. She brought me her lronMan medal to remind me how instrumental I was in helping make her dream come true.
I am a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. The governor of Iowa appointed me to serve on the Iowa Board of Medicine from 2019 to 2022. Also, I am in my 11th year as a member and my fourth year as the president of a school board in Bettendorf.
I find it incredibly gratifying to help restore people’s vision and perform surgeries that allow them to depend less on glasses and maintain independence as they age. This has been an exciting time of technological advancements in this field.
Class Notes
Class of 2015
Andrew Wentland received the Society of Abdominal Radiology’s Morton Bosniak Award for his study, “The Evaluation of Central Non-Enhancement in Solid Renal Masses.” He earned his medical degree and doctorate in medical physics in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Wentland completed a radiology residency at Stanford University and an abdominal imaging fellowship at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, respectively. At the latter, he is an assistant professor of radiology.
Class of 2014
Daniel Shapiro has been selected to serve as section editor for the urologic oncology section of the journal Surgical Oncology Insight. He completed his urology residency at UW Health and is an assistant professor in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Urology. He specializes in urologic oncology and minimally invasive surgery.
Class of 2011
Anne Getzin received the 2024 Marge Stearns Community Partner Legacy Award. It is nominated and selected by faculty of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Training in Urban Medicine and Public Health (TRIUMPH) program. Getzin is a faculty member with the Aurora Family Medicine Residency Program at Midtown Health Center, Milwaukee, and a clinical adjunct faculty member at SMPH.
Class of 2009
Adam Gepner received the 2024 Dr. Benjamin and Marian Schuster Prize, which was established to advance the study of cardiology and physiology at UW–Madison. Gepner also has been awarded a $1.6 million Veterans Administration (VA) Merit Award for a four-year, multi-site, randomized controlled trial to evaluate a new way to personalize blood pressure care for older adults. Gepner is a VA-funded physician-scientist with expertise in advanced imaging of the cardiovascular system to better understand and improve upon cardiovascular health in older adults. He is a clinical associate adjunct professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Medicine. His primary practice is at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital.
Class of 2007
Dustin Deming received the 2024 Young Investigator Award from the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and the American College of Radiology Imaging Network Cancer Research Group for his research in colorectal cancer. The award is one of the research group’s highest distinctions to honor one outstanding researcher each year for making extraordinary scientific achievements under age 46. Deming is an associate professor of medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
Class of 2006
Dan Sklansky has been named by the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD) as the chair-elect of the APPD Program Directors Executive Committee. Later in 2024, he will begin serving one year as chair-elect, one as chair, and one as past chair. Sklansky is an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics’ Division of Hospital Medicine and Complex Care at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, as well as the program director of the Pediatrics Residency Program.
Class of 2003
Kristopher Schroeder received the John F. Kreul, MD, Education Fellowship for Anesthesiology. This fellowship was developed to support educational grants for faculty members who seek opportunities that benefit patients and their families. As a recipient of the fellowship, Schroeder has been admitted to the Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences’ master’s degree program in organizational leadership.
Daniel Jackson was inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation, one of the nation’s oldest medical honor societies. It focuses on the special role of physician-scientists in research, clinical care and medical education. A professor in the Department of Pediatrics’ Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, Jackson conducts research on methods to prevent and treat childhood asthma. He is the principal investigator (PI) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-funded Childhood Asthma in Urban Settings Research Network Leadership Center and of two National Institutes of Health-funded trials related to asthma prevention. He also serves as the PI or co-PI for other significant studies.
Matthew Solverson was presented with the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative’s Rural Ambassador Award. The honor recognizes employees at critical access hospitals throughout Wisconsin who have gone above the call of duty to promote their organizations and have made significant contributions to rural health care. He is a family medicine physician at Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County in Darlington, Wisconsin.
Class of 2002
Christine Virnig is publishing, through Simon & Schuster, A Bite Above the Rest, a novel that is expected to be available by August 2024. She wrote the spooky-but-funny novel for kids ages 8 to 12. Virnig now spends her days writing gross-but-educational, middle-grade, nonfiction publications, in addition to middle-grade novels that are spooky and funny. A former pediatric allergist, she also creates picture books that feature inanimate objects as the main characters.
Class of 1985
David Wargowski retired in June 2024 following three decades in a diverse career of clinical genetics and regional outreach. As a professor in the Division of Genetics and Metabolism of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Pediatrics, Wargowski has served tirelessly to address genetically based diseases and health conditions for children in the region served by American Family Children’s Hospital and UW–Madison’s Waisman Center.
Class of 1982
Dr. Mark Supiano began his term as president of the American Geriatrics Society at the society’s annual scientific meeting in May 2024. He is the co-chief of research at the University of Utah Geriatrics Division and executive director of its Center on Aging.
Class of 1976
Richard Heuser received the 2024 Global Cardiovascular Award for Innovation in Cardiac Surgery by the Endologix Detour System. The system creates a percutaneous leg bypass to potentially avoid surgery. Heuser, who resided in Phoenix, Arizona, before his death on May 23, 2024, and Dr. Jim Joye, of San Jose, California, created the device, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May 2023. Heuser held 26 patents with nine devices on the market, two of which continue to be used in most catheterization labs that perform angioplasty. Heuser edited or coedited seven textbooks. The most recent was Renal Denervation: Treatment and Device-Based Neuromodulation, second edition, by Springer Publishing, London.
Correction
Incorrect wording was used in the headline of the top Research Advances article on page 39 of Quarterly, Volume 26, Number 1, 2024. It should have read, “Pancreatic Beta Cell Transient Senescence Protects Against Type 1 Diabetes.” We corrected the headline in the online version of the magazine. We regret the error.