In memoriam

Medical School

Bill S. Vowell, M.D. (’59)

Sara H. “Shelley” McCarron, M.D. (’89)

Housestaff

Alvis F. Johnson, Jr., M.D. (Pediatric Cardiology)

Graduate School

Dale Dodd, Ph.D. (’72)

School of Health Professions

Joye Collins Jones (‘84)

Linda Jo Bailey Gore (’91)

Medical school

Class of 1980: Joe Spann, M.D. was presented the 2015 Travis County Medical Society Physician Humanitarian Award on Dec. 9, 2015, for his volunteer medical work in Liberia during last year’s Ebola crisis. He has also written a book about his travels and experiences in Liberia during this turbulent time, Letters from Liberia: The Adventures of an Ebola Medical Volunteer, the profits from which are being used to pay the tuition for two Liberians to attend medical school. The book is available on Amazon.com.

Class of 1984: Thomas B. Tucker, M.D. has been selected as President-elect of the Washington State Medical Oncology Society. Dr. Tucker has been in practice at the Wenatchee Valley Medical Group/Confluence Health since 2010.  Prior to that, he practiced in Austin for 20 years. He also serves as a Clinical Instructor in Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Class of 1985: Stephen K. Brannan, M.D. has been named as the newly created Vice President, Clinical Research and Medical Affairs for FORUM Pharmaceuticals Inc., a private biopharmaceutical company based in Waltham, Massachusetts, that develops transformative medicines to restore the minds of people with serious brain disease. Dr. Brannan has more than 15 years industry experience in clinical and medicals affairs, preceded by 10 years of clinical psychiatric practice. He held roles of increasing responsibility at Takeda, where he was most recently Vice President CNS Clinical Science/PDD Global Therapeutic Area Head, with responsibility for the Depression Programs and other projects. Prior to Takeda, Dr. Brannan held positions at Novartis, Cyberonics, and Eli Lily.  

Medical School/ Graduate School (Medical Scientist Training Program)

Class of 1998: Prakash Bhuyan, M.D., Ph.D. has been appointed Vice President, Clinical Development by Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Bhuyan will lead the clinical development of Inovio’s programs to treat HPV-related precancers (dysplasia). Inovio, based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, will take VGX-3100, its treatment for cervical dysplasia caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), into a Phase 3 registration study this year.

Prior to joining Inovio, Dr. Bhuyan was Senior Director, Pfizer Vaccine Research, where he led the pivotal clinical study that helped achieve Food and Drug Administration approval in 2014 of the first meningococcal B vaccine to be licensed in the U.S. Prior to Pfizer, Dr. Bhuyan directed the development and execution of multiple vaccine clinical trials for four licensed vaccines at Merck and successfully led an investigational hexavalent pediatric vaccine from Phase 2 into Phase 3 trials. He earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology from UT Southwestern before completing a fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Pennsylvania, where he currently serves as adjunct Assistant Professor.

School of Health Professions 

Class of 1992: Melinda Moore Gottschalk, PA-C, and Class of 1994: Karrie L. Crosby, PA-C have been appointed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to the Texas Physician Assistant Board. The board issues physician assistant licenses to qualified individuals to practice in the State of Texas.

Ms. Crosby, of Robinson, whose term is through Feb. 1, 2021, is a physician assistant for Southwest Sports Medicine & Orthopedics at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Hillcrest in Waco. Prior to her current position, she worked at the Baylor Scott & White – Hillcrest Hospital, East Texas Medical Center, and Longview Regional Hospital. She is a member of the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants and the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Ms. Crosby received a Bachelor of Science in physician assistant studies from UT Southwestern and a Master of Physician Assistant Studies from UT-Pan American.

Ms. Moore Gottschalk, of Round Rock, who will serve through 2019, is a physician assistant specializing in neurology at Baylor Scott & White Health. Previously, she served as an in-patient thoracic head and neck medical oncology physician assistant at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She is a member of the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants and the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Ms. Moore Gottschalk received a Bachelor of Science in physician assistant studies from UT Southwestern.