Class notes – Fall/Winter 2021
Posted: September 21, 20211980s
John Takacs, DO, ’86, and Joan Takacs, DO, ’80, both graduates of ATSU-KCOM, received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Northwest Osteopathic Medical Foundation.
Richard Unger, DO, ’89, joined the Prosser General Surgery Center in Prosser, Washington. He is a graduate of ATSU-KCOM and a board-certified general surgeon.
1990s
Stacey L. Sensor, DO, ’95, joined Munson Healthcare Otsego Memorial Hospital and Munson Healthcare Grayling Hospital in Gaylord and Grayling, Michigan, as an OB-GYN. She graduated from ATSU-KCOM.
2000s
Lara Salyer, DO, ’00, Monroe, Wisconsin, was selected to deliver the annual Fred C. Tinning, PhD, Founder’s Day Osteopathy Lecture for Founder’s Day 2021. A graduate of ATSU-KCOM, she is a physician, public speaker, author, and mentor. She recently published a book, “Right Brain Rescue.”
Scott Klosterman, DO, ’01, was elected to the South Carolina Osteopathic Medical Society Board of Trustees. Dr. Klosterman serves as the osteopathic track director in family medicine at the Spartanburg Regional Family Medicine Residency program. He graduated from ATSU-KCOM.
Katheryn Norris, DO, ’02, received the 2020 Family Medicine Educator of the Year award from the Washington Academy of Family Physicians. A graduate of ATSU-KCOM, Dr. Norris is a physician at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic Grandview Medical-Dental Clinic and is director of medical education and residency for Sollus Northwest Family Medicine Residency Program, both of Grandview, Washington.
Rebecca Collins, DO, MPH, ’04, joined Phelps Hospital’s Family Medicine Residency Program as program director in Sleepy Hollow, New York. She earned her doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from ATSU-KCOM and master of public health degree from ATSU-CGHS.
Stelios Dokianakis, AuD, MS, ’05, was elected to the American Tinnitus Association Board of Directors. Dr. Dokianakis has worked in audiology for nearly 20 years and founded Holland Doctors of Audiology in Holland, Michigan.
Ingrid Edwards, AuD, ’09, Louisville, Kentucky, was chosen as a 2021 Health Care Hero from Louisville Business First. These awards recognize professionals who have made an impact on healthcare in their community through their concern for patients, research and inventions, management skills, innovative programs for employees, and service to the poor and uninsured. Dr. Edwards has worked at Heuser Hearing Institute for 20 years with 26 total years in the industry.
Retired Lt. Col. Paul Kleponis, PT, DPT, ’09, was appointed as a member of the Florida Board of Physical Therapy. Dr. Kleponis is a senior physical therapist at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force Reserves.
Abigail Mitchell, DHEd, MSN, MBA, RN, CNE, FHERDSA, ’09, was recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Top Educator for her remarkable contributions in the fields of nursing and health education and her professional excellence as a professor at D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York.
2010s
Maggie Steinbeisser, DO, ’11, an ATSU-SOMA graduate, joined Southwest Health as a general surgeon in Platteville, Wisconsin.
Isaac Bryan, DO, ’12, an ATSU-KCOM graduate, celebrated the grand opening of Tullahoma Dermatology in Tullahoma, Tennessee. He has taken over the practice of Dr. Ken Takegami, providing dermatology services to new and current patients.
Paula Stout, PT, DPT, ’12, became certified as a specialist in oncologic physical therapy practicing at Franciscan Point Rehabilitation in Crown Point, Indiana. She is part of the first class to obtain this certification.
Leah Tekle, DMD, ’12, received the Public Health Dentistry Award from the ATSU-ASDOH Alumni Board during the annual awards ceremony.
Abrahim Caroci, DMD, ’13, received the Distinguished Service Award from the ATSU-ASDOH Alumni Board during the annual awards ceremony.
Janea S. “Jan” Jones-Schenk, DHSc, ’13, Salt Lake City, Utah, was appointed senior vice president and executive dean of Western Governors University’s College of Health Professions.
Leif Magnusson, DO, ’13, an ATSU-KCOM graduate, joined Prevea Health as a family medicine residency faculty physician in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Magon Saunders, DHSc, MS, RDN, LD, ’13, is part of the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) team that received the Hubert H. Humphrey Award for Service to America. Dr. Saunders, who is a program development consultant/diabetes care and education specialist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides technical assistance and fiscal and management support to state public health department grantees, national organizations, and community-based organizations. Dr. Saunders also serves as a subject matter expert at the National DPP Customer Service Center and responds to consumers and healthcare providers’ requests related to these topic areas.
Jared Rickert, DO, ’14, an orthopedic surgeon, joined Faith Regional Physician Services Columbus Medical Specialties clinic in Columbus, Nebraska. Dr. Rickert is a graduate of ATSU-KCOM.
Madeline Jones-Ryan, DO, ’15, an ATSU-SOMA graduate, joined Complete Endocrinology, part of Bryan Physician Network, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Amanda Kile, DO, ’15, a graduate of ATSU-SOMA and an endocrinologist, joined Schneck Medical Center at Schneck Specialty Associates in Seymour, Indiana.
Kristin Lythgoe, DO, ’15, an ATSU-KCOM graduate, joined Haliburton Highlands Health Services in the emergency department in Ontario, Canada.
Brandon Ryans, DHEd, ’15, MS, ’09, Chandler, Arizona, was appointed department chair, health sciences, of Trident at American InterContinental University’s College of Health and Human Services. He joined Trident in 2017 as a full-time professor.
Greg Stanley, DHEd, ’15, received Carson-Newman University’s 2020 Teaching Excellence and Leadership Award. Dr. Stanley is an assistant professor of physical education and exercise science and is the exercise science program director.
Trevor M. Bates, DHSc, ’16, Wilmington, Ohio, became the 19th president of Wilmington College. He has held several leadership roles, most recently serving as vice president of academic affairs, dean of faculty, and professor of health sciences at Mercy College of Ohio.
Wanda Cloet, DHSc, RDH, ’17, is serving as chair of the American Dental Education Association Council of the Allied Dental Program Directors. Dr. Cloet is the dental hygiene program director at Central Community College in Hastings, Nebraska.
Cristin Haase, DMD, MPH, ’17, a graduate of ATSU-ASDOH, received a Dreamstarter Gold grant from Running Strong for American Indian Youth. The grant will help fund expansion of her project, Pre-Admissions Dental Workshop, to increase the number of American Indian and Alaskan Native dentists.
Destiny Harrell-Washington, DO, ’17, joined Franciscan Physician Network Broadway Health Center in Crown Point, Indiana, as a pediatrician. She is a graduate of ATSU-KCOM.
Morgan Hungenberg, DO, ’17, an ATSU-SOMA alumna, graduated from the Morgan County Family Medicine Residency Rural Training Track offered through the University of Colorado Family Medicine Residency program. She now practices as a family medicine physician at Salud Family Health Centers in Fort Morgan, Colorado.
Tyler Klotz, PT, DPT, ATC, ’17, joined the physical therapy and training teams at Husker Rehab in Lincoln, Nebraska.
James Younan, DMD, ’17, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the ATSU-ASDOH Alumni Board during the annual awards ceremony.
Mabroor Khan, DMD, ’19, Port Allegany, Pennsylvania, joined the dental health team at UPMC Cole’s Port Allegany Community Health Center. A graduate of ATSU-ASDOH, Dr. Khan completed his residency in general dentistry with NYU Langone Medicine – El Rio Community Health in Tucson, Arizona.
Yosefa Pessin, DHSc, ’19, received second place in the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography’s Kenneth R. Gottesfeld Awards. Her award is based on her Applied Research Project, titled “Glow Powder: See the Germs? An Innovative Teaching Technique in a Student Sonography Laboratory,” which she completed with Eric Matthews, PhD, MS, associate professor, health sciences, ATSU-CGHS.
2020s
Gracie Steidley, MS, ’20, was named head coach of the softball team at the University of Antelope Valley in Lancaster, California. She earned a master of science degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise and sports psychology from ATSU-CGHS.
Megan Whitehead, DPT, ’20, joined the Joint Effort Physical Therapy team in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
The bookshelf
The Maggie Letters
By Felix J. Rogers, DO, ’73
New Blue Publishing, September 2019
This medical memoir tells of a family’s response when Maggie, a mother, physician, and community activist gradually manifests and then becomes completely disabled by Alzheimer’s disease. In this book, the neurobiological basis of Alzheimer’s disease is juxtaposed with information about the physiologic basis of normal brain function. This forms a background for the application of educational and healthcare resources that are available for families who find themselves in this situation.
Clinical Exercise Specialist Manual
By J. Daniel Mikeska, DHSc, ’16, MS, ’12
Niche Pressworks, September 2020
Dr. Mikeska wrote this fitness professional’s guide for front-line health, fitness, and exercise professionals to aid in the management and prevention of chronic disease. Exercise and physical activity is the No. 1 deterrent of chronic disease in primary and secondary prevention. The succinct content combined with easy-to-use tables and figures will benefit anyone who wants to learn more about the effects of exercise on more than 35 chronic conditions.
Right Brain Rescue
By Lara Salyer, DO, ’00
Independently published, September 2020
With burnout on the rise, doctors are leaving their profession an alarming rate. Dr. Salyer found herself in this exact position in 2016 as a working mom of three in rural Wisconsin. After a near-death experience reframed her perspective, she resigned from her employed family medicine position and crafted a medical career on her own terms, using elements like creativity, neuroplasticity, and functional medicine to empower her patients.
Dr. Chaux Core Wellness System
By Alexandra Chaux, DPT, ’10
Independently published, January 2021
In her second e-book, Dr. Chaux focuses on reprogramming abdominal muscles to work more efficiently. She covers tips on how to have a healthier core with a healthier lifestyle. The book illustrates exercises designed to release the diaphragm and strengthen the core without sit-ups and other traditional core exercises. Dr. Chaux believes the core of the human body is the center of an overall healthier person.