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Alumni Updates
Emphasis on Listening
Clarence T. Li, MD ’15
Previously, I worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Washington, D.C., and briefly at a private practice. I soon will start as a staff neurologist at Hunterdon Medical Center, a community health network in semi-rural New Jersey. I mostly will be doing outpatient general neurology, along with some pain-treatment procedures and hospital coverage.
One particularly memorable case was a woman I saw as an outpatient when I was in private practice. She had recurring episodes of painful spasms that encompassed her entire body; many of these spasms occurred during a clinic appointment and were captured on video. Following an extensive medical workup, she was diagnosed with glycine-receptor, antibody-positive Stiff Person Syndrome.
Prior to medical school, I had no exposure to neurology. I became interested in this field after the first-year neuroanatomy course, taught by John Harting, PhD. He had a dynamic teaching style that brought the topic to life, and I felt that neurology was a subject that really made sense to me. During my third year of medical school, I was initially set on emergency medicine, but during my fourth year, I had a clinical encounter during my rural rotation at Reedsburg Medical Center that illustrated the shortage of neurologists in the community. This cemented my decision to specialize in neurology.
I did my neurology residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and my pain medicine fellowship at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. I am a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
Neurology offers great clinical flexibility and career options. There are many available fellowships, and you can tailor your clinical practice to the setting and patient population that best suits your interests. This specialty emphasizes talking and listening to your patients. Treatments for neurologic conditions continue to increase and develop. I find it very satisfying to be able to fulfill a need in the community. Plus, for those considering neurology, the job market is strong.
Focusing on Sleep
Temitayo Oyegbile-Chidi, MD ’05, PhD ’05
I am an associate professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, Davis. In my clinical practice, I focus primarily on treating sleep problems in individuals with neurologic disorders such as epilepsy, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and stroke. By improving sleep in individuals with neurologic disorders, we are likely to improve or slow the progression of those neurologic disorders, while improving quality of life. I also conduct research on cognitive dysfunction and sleep problems in adults and children with epilepsy.
I have always enjoyed neuroscience. During my last summer in college, I got the opportunity to work in the research laboratory of Bruce Hermann, PhD. The lab focuses on cognitive impairment and epilepsy, and I knew from then on that I would become a neurologist!
During my residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital, I saw a young adult patient with significant sleep problems and poorly controlled epilepsy. She was taking six anti-seizure medications daily and was still having seizures every day. This patient received treatment for her sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. Within four months, her seizures and sleep disorders improved significantly. She was down to only two daily anti-seizure medications, and she was able to return to work after five years of being on unemployment due to her health. This experience spurred my interest in sleep medicine, and I completed a sleep fellowship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Beyond my clinical practice, I am the chair of the board of the National Sleep Foundation and the vice-chair of diversity, equity, and inclusion in my department. I am a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, American Neurological Association, and American Epilepsy Society. I also am actively involved in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Child Neurology Society.
I find sleep neurology to be exciting because the field is continually changing and growing as we understand more about how sleep relates to optimal brain health.
Studying Movement
Vanesa Botsford, MD ’17 (PG ’21, ’23)
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, I practice at SSM Health/Dean Medical Group. I primarily see patients with movement disorders, including tremors, dystonia, ataxia, parkinsonism, tics, and Huntington’s disease. The bulk of my practice is managing Parkinson’s disease and helping patients optimize their medications. I also use deep-brain stimulation and botulinum toxin injections to help patients manage their movement disorders.
In my field of movement disorders, one of the privileges I have is getting to take care of patients for long periods of time, so I get to know them well. One patient that stands out in my memory was an elderly woman who was disabled by impaired mobility for nearly two years and had been initially misdiagnosed. Once we clarified her diagnosis as Parkinson’s disease and started her on the correct medication, she was able to resume caring for herself and her home and return to her passion of gardening!
I went to medical school at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health with the mindset of pursuing a different specialty, but when I rotated through neurology, I quickly became fascinated by the skill of localization and the use of the neurological exam to solve mysteries of where lesions or pathological processes are located. My experiences as a medical student completely changed my career trajectory — something for which I am very grateful.
I completed an internal medicine internship and a neurology residency at the University of Virginia. Following that, I completed a two-year fellowship in movement disorders at the University of Cincinnati.
I am a member of the American Academy of Neurology, the National Ataxia Foundation, the Functional Neurological Disorder Society, and the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Neurology, and especially movement disorders, is a fascinating field with many rapidly growing areas of research and development that will lead to great advances for patient care and to intriguing career opportunities.
Class Notes
Class of 2018
Jesse Boyett Anderson, a former pediatric cardiology fellow in the SMPH Department of Pediatrics, received the department’s Fellow Excellence in Research Award. As a fellow, Boyett Anderson presented her capstone research presentation during the Department of Pediatrics Research Week in May 2024. Soon after, she joined that department’s faculty; she practices pediatric cardiology at UW Health.
Class of 2015
Marvin Dingle and his family moved in August 2023 to Okinawa, Japan, where he started his first position after fellowship as a hand, upper extremity, and microvascular surgeon at the U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa. This is the largest U.S. Naval hospital outside of the United States. Dingle also is the associate director of the Japanese National Physician Graduate Medical Education Program. He works with Japanese physicians while they provide support to the hospital and learn about the U.S. military medical system.
Classes of 2015, 2013, 2002, 2000
Robert Corliss (MD ’00), Mary Ehlenbach (MD ’02), Jacqueline Israel (MD ’13), and Brittney Bernardoni (MD ’15) received Physician Excellence Awards from UW Health in May 2024. They are all members of the SMPH faculty.
Class of 2014
Kristin Ebert, an assistant professor in the SMPH Department of Pediatrics’ Division of Pediatric Urology, was appointed as the operations dyad lead for the American Family Children’s Hospital Surgical Subspecialty Clinics in July 2024.
Jennifer Larson has become the director of medical student education in the SMPH Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; this role was previously held by Daniel Knoch (MD ’03). Larson is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at SMPH. Before she joined the department’s faculty, Larson completed medical school and an ophthalmology residency at SMPH and UW Health, respectively.
Class of 2010
Alexis Eastman, clinical associate professor in the SMPH Department of Medicine’s Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, was named the inaugural senior medical director of ambulatory medical specialties for UW Health. In this new role, which started in July 2024, she is responsible for ambulatory specialties, excluding medical oncology.
Nathaniel Chin was named among Wisconsin’s 38 Most Influential Asian American Leaders for 2024 by Madison365. An associate professor in the SMPH Department of Medicine’s Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, he is the medical director for the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention.
Class of 2009
Brigitte Smith returned to SMPH as an associate professor in the Department of Surgery’s Division of Vascular Surgery and as the department’s vice chair of education. She began those roles in August 2024. Over the past five years, Smith served as the vice chair of education for the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah.
Class of 2008
A.J. Weinhold ranked potential residency programs based on good training in full-spectrum, rural family medicine, as well as proximity to ski areas. She has been on an ongoing trajectory from participating in SMPH’s Wilderness Medicine Interest Group, getting recruited to join the volunteer ski patrol at Mount Shasta, taking her first Wilderness Life Support Course in 2018, starting a Wilderness Medicine Area of Concentration for residents at Idaho State University in 2019, and founding the nation’s second family-medicine based wilderness and austere medicine fellowship at Idaho State University in 2023. Her newest achievement is being named chair of the new American Academy of Family Practice Wilderness Medicine Member Interest Group. She says she enjoys the ability to have skills and qualifications to share outside of clinical settings.
Class of 2004
Amy Peterson has served as a member of the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Young Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Committee since 2020. The group is charged with advocating for heart-health policies for young people; educating health care team members and the public surrounding heart health in young people; and promoting research to better understand risk factors for poor cardiovascular health. In July 2024, she began a two-year term as chair-elect of the AHA committee. This role will lead to two-year terms as chair and immediate past chair. Peterson is a professor in the SMPH Department of Pediatrics’ Division of Cardiology.
Class of 1999
Brian Boville is a pediatric clinician-teacher and researcher at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and an associate professor at Michigan State University. He serves as medical director of the hospital’s Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Program and its cutting-edge Pediatric Blood Management Program — one of only a few in the nation. He has mentored and taught more than 50 students, residents, and fellows over the last decade.
Class of 1989
Jonathan Fliegel received the Ellen R. Wald Intellectual Curiosity in Medicine Award from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH). The department presented the award at its “Lovefest: Senior Resident Recognition and Residency Awards” event in June 2024. Fliegel is an associate professor of pediatrics and the associate fellowship director for that department.