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CLASS OF 5T4
Dr. Richard VAN PRAAGH, a professor emeritus with the Department of Pathology, Cardiology, and Cardiac Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital, has completed a comprehensive textbook – Congenital Heart Disease: Clinical, Pathological, Embryological, and Segmental Analysis. The 1,096-page book, published this year by Elsevier, is a culmination of a lifetime of research and teaching at Harvard Medical School. Richard undertook this analysis of the developmental patterns of the heart and great vessels to present a new approach to understanding congenital heart defects.
CLASS OF 5T7
Dr. John DEADMAN retired from his appointment in the Psychiatry Department at McMaster University in December 2020. He was given a retirement luncheon that was held on Zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions. “So many colleagues filled the screen that I could hardly make out some faces,” John reports. “It was a heartwarming and emotional time for both my wife and me.” He writes that he is enjoying life and that his “health is good for someone in his 92nd year.” John and his wife, Beatrice, are maintaining their social connections through regular visits with friends and relatives, and by continuing their involvement in local clubs.
CLASS OF 5T8
Dr. Ronald LEVY is now practising in a private office in Great Neck, New York. “My offspring in Brooklyn and California are very, very accomplished,” says Ron.
CLASS OF 5T9
Dr. Henry WOLSTAT has just had his first poetry collection, Driftwood, published by Kelsay Press. It’s available on Amazon and at Kelsay Books and Brookline Booksmith. “I recently made a brief visit to Toronto after the COVID restrictions were modified and spoke with several classmates,” he writes. “Hopefully, another visit will happen soon.”
CLASS OF 6T2
Dr. Peter BERNDT is nearing completion on his memoir of his years in general practice in Oakville, Ontario, and his work in psychiatry in Texas. Also, he is changing the name of his practice to Trauma Resolution Center. “This name change will reflect the course that my psychiatry practice has taken over the past several years,” he says. In addition, Peter is now the psychiatric consultant to the Women’s Therapy Clinic in The Woodlands, Texas. Contact: berndt2003@comcast.net
CLASS OF 6T3
Dr. Jerome EPSTEIN has retired after 50 years of practising ophthalmology. Now 88 years of age, he enjoys golf, painting, attending lectures and concerts, and visiting with family and friends.
CLASS OF 6T6
Dr. Vladimir HACHINSKI is a professor at Western University in London, Ontario, and this year’s winner of the Potamkin Prize, commonly referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Alzheimer’s research.” In Vladimir’s Potamkin Lecture, he said, “To stem the tide of the terrible triad of stroke, heart disease, and dementia, we need a broad but focused approach. We need to continue the search for target-specific drugs but expand both the number and nature of targets to include the aging process itself.” For his full lecture, which was originally published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, visit Potamkin Lecture.
CLASS OF 6T9
Dr. Harold P. DRUTZ retired from clinical practice on March 31, 2022, and his position at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine changed to Professor Emeritus. The Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Temerty Medicine posted a tribute to Harold’s career.
CLASS OF 7T0
Dr. Jack NEWMAN announces that his latest book, What Doctors Don’t Know About Breastfeeding, was published on July 1, 2022. Print and electronic versions of the book are available on Amazon, or a print version can be ordered from Praeclarus.
Dr. Eugene TURGEON recently co-wrote “Not A Perfect Country,” a song about residential schools and reconciliation. View the music video. Eugene was honoured to present it at a gathering of the Children of Shingwauk, an association of survivors of the residential school in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Over 200 survivors and their families from across Canada and beyond attended. Eugene is also a member of the musical comedy group The Comedics, which is composed of doctors and “associates.” The group has helped raise more than $2 million for Sault Ste. Marie charities. “We are in our 26th year and are happy to have upcoming gigs after a two-year COVID hiatus,” he writes.
CLASS OF 7T3
Dr. Peter BARRECA is looking forward to the class’ 50-year reunion next spring. After 42 years of solo family practice in Toronto, Peter semi-retired, maintaining only his work at St. Michael’s Hospital. On June 1, 2023, he will fully retire having completed 50 years at St. Mike’s. “I loved my life then and now, and I hope I am still recognizable at the reunion,” he writes. “Remember all those 50-year class photos we would see in MAA Matters – such old guffers? Well, we are them now!” Married in 1979, Peter and his wife have two children and four young grandchildren.
CLASS OF 7T7
Dr. Gerard LIPPERT is active in community health as the Medical Director of Tompkins County Mental Health Center in Ithaca, New York. After many years of living and practising in downtown Toronto, his wife’s academic career took them to the Finger Lakes region. “We enjoy a laid-back but active life living in a quiet rural community,” Jed writes. “Retirement? This does not seem to be in the cards for the time being. The shortage of psychiatrists in rural areas is dire and besides, I still enjoy what I do.” Contact: leopold@ottcmail.com
CLASS OF 8T9
Dr. Anna BANERJI recently won two awards. The Pediatricians Alliance of Ontario honoured Anna by choosing her as the Ontario Pediatrician of the Year. At the University of Toronto, Anna received an Arbor Award in recognition of her outstanding volunteer service to the university community.
CLASS OF 9T1
Dr. Beth LOFCHY will soon be celebrating 30 years as a community-based family practitioner in Vancouver. As well, she works with the Older Adult Mental Health Team, which serves Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. “I feel fortunate to have the west coast for my playground,” she writes, “and I’m looking forward to resuming a life that includes frequent travel.”
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