ALUMNI
Alumni Reconnect at All-Class Reunion
ALUMNI GATHERED for an all-class reunion Saturday, March 29, 2025, at the Fontaine Hotel in Kansas City. More than 130 alumni and friends attended the event as the group celebrated milestone anniversaries from the Class of 1975 all the way to the Class of 2020. Attendees heard from several speakers, including Dean Alexander Norbash (B.A. ’85/M.D. ’86), who also led a School of Medicine tour for more than 45 alumni and guests earlier in the day.
CELEBRATE 55 YEARS WITH THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
MARK YOUR CALENDAR for the School of Medicine’s 55th Celebration and Reunion Weekend! The school is celebrating this milestone anniversary with a full weekend of fun, connection and festivities. The event will be held Oct. 23-24, 2026, In Kansas City, Missouri, and will include class-specific gatherings on Friday, campus tours and an all-class party for alumni, staff, faculty and guests on Saturday.
Questions about the event? Contact Amelia Howard at howarda@umkc.edu or 816-235-5625.
Building Alumni Momentum
WHAT A REMARKABLE YEAR it has been for our School of Medicine. In his first year, Dean Norbash has made a tremendous impact – working tirelessly to connect with alumni and community stakeholders. He has been thoughtful in listening to feedback and steadfast in advocating for the continued recognition and advancement of our medical school. There are several exciting initiatives underway, and we’re thrilled they include many alumni who have not previously engaged. If you're interested in participating, please reach out to Dean Norbash, Amelia Howard or me.
Our alumni board members are more engaged now with students and the broader school community than any time I can recall. Board members are now serving on award committees, participating in B.A./M.D. admissions interviews and supporting student interest groups. We’re excited to build on this momentum and create even more opportunities for alumni involvement and student support.
This year’s annual reunion was a joyful celebration, especially for our milestone classes. We’re already looking ahead to next year’s 55th Celebration and Reunion Weekend, taking place Oct. 23-24, 2026. I hope you’ll join me in Kansas City as we raise a toast to 55 years of the School of Medicine and celebrate our new educational buildings: the training facility on the St. Joseph Campus and the Healthcare Delivery and Innovation Building.
We are excited to celebrate all of the great work our alumni have done and continue to do. Please share your updates with us by submitting a class note, or feel free to reach out to me personally any time at wuebkermd@yahoo.com.
Ralph Wuebker (B.A. ’93/M.D. ’94) President, School of Medicine Alumni Board
Stay Involved
Radiology Expert Named 2025 Alumni Achievement Award Winner
Dean Norbash presents Amy Hara (B.A. ’93/M.D. ’94) with the School of Medicine's 2025 Alumni Achievement Award.
AMY HARA (B.A. ’93/M.D. ’94) is the 2025 Academic Alumni Achievement Award winner for the School of Medicine. She received her award at a UMKC Student Union celebration on April 25, Hara served as chair of the Department of Radiology at Mayo Clinic Arizona from 2015 to 2024, completing her eight-year term. She also served as the chair of the Mayo Clinic Radiology Specialty Council for many years.
Hara, who has been part of the Mayo Clinic Arizona staff since 2001, recently retired in March 2025 as emeritus board trustee and emeritus staff. She is currently completing coaching certification, with plans to provide part-time clinical work and physician leadership coaching at Mayo Clinic.
Hara and her colleagues hold a patent for CT Colonography, which has recently been approved for colon cancer screening by U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Her other research and clinical focuses include CT and MR enterography, Crohn’s disease and CT dose reduction. She has more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and is past-president of the Society of Abdominal Radiology, a board she has served on since 2017.
Hara is married to fellow School of Medicine alumnus Mark Kuo (B.A. ’92/M.D. ’93), and they share two children, Malia, 23, and Tyler, 20.
“From Farm to Tablet”: 2025 Take Wing Award Winner
Stephanie Graff (BLA ’03/M.D. ’04) holds her Take Wing Award as she prepares to give a lecture at the School of Medicine.
RETURNING TO THE SCHOOL of Medicine on May 16, Stephanie Graff (BLA ‘03/M.D. ’04) reflected on a career shaped by hard work, mentorship and a belief in the power of community.
In her 2025 Take Wing Lecture, titled “Farm to Tablet,” Graff revealed how growing up on a farm in rural Missouri cultivated the foundational skills that still guide her as a leader in breast oncology. Framing her journey through a farm-to-table dining metaphor, she spoke of sowing seeds, weathering storms and working alongside a team to bring quality care and research to the table.
“The skills that I developed early in my life, living in rural Missouri, are fundamental,” Graff said. “Being able to relate to anyone, excellent communication, work ethic, stick-to-it-ness, grit – I think that There's certainly disappointments and setbacks in a career in medicine, just as there are in farming.”
One of Graff’s first career setbacks was in her second year of her thoracic oncology fellowship. Her mentor changed institutions, so Graff had to quickly find a new oncologist to pair with to complete her fellowship training program. The new mentor that “adopted” her was a breast oncologist.
“The breast oncologist said, ‘You know, if you start working with me, you're going to have to see breast cancer, right?’” Graff said. “And so, here I am, all these years later, doing breast oncology. It ended up being fantastic that I had the opportunity to pivot.”
Graff knew early on in medical school that oncology was the right field.
“The science of oncology was just really captivating,” Graff said. “Then, when I got to the clinical rotations, the connections we are able to develop in cancer care with our patients just felt like home to me.”
Now, more than 20 years after choosing this path, Graff has been named the latest E. Grey Dimond, M.D., Take Wing Award winner. The award is the School of Medicine’s annual honor, given to a graduate who has demonstrated excellence in their chosen field and exceeded the expectations of peers in the practice of medicine, academic medicine or research.
Currently, Graff is the director of breast oncology at Brown University Health, where she serves as co-lead of the Breast Cancer Translational Research Disease Working Group at Legoretta Cancer Center and is an associate professor of medicine at the Warren-Alpert School of Medicine. Prior to joining the team at Brown in 2021, she held several leadership positions with Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute.
“I'm at a place in my career where there's a lovely inflection point, where I can start using my role to create opportunities for others,” Graff said. “My mentors have meant so much to me, and it means a lot to me to be able to create opportunities for others.”
As Graff reflects on the years of planting, nurturing and harvesting that brought her to this moment, she’s savoring the fruits of her labor.
“I remember the Take Wing lectures,” Graff said. “I never would have imagined that I would be giving one. To think about the caliber of prior recipients and the impact of their careers, it's a great honor to be among them.”
Class Notes
1970s David Glover (B.A. ’76/M.D. ’78) was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. 1980s Sam Alexander (B.A./M.D. ’82) officially announced his candidacy for Missouri State Senate, District 28. Alan Braverman (B.A. ’84/M.D. ’85) was appointed the inaugural head of the new section of general cardiology at Washington University. Reginald Bulkley (B.A./M.D. ’83) won the award of 2024 Outstanding Teacher at Washington University, where he is an associate professor of anesthesiology. John Byrnes (B.A. ’83/M.D. ’84) was named chief quality officer for McLeod Health. Penelope Duke (B.A. ’87/M.D. ’88) was appointed to the Texas Medical Board District Two Review Committee. Timothy Martin (B.A. ’82/M.D. ’84) is a professor of anesthesiology and pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He recently attained additional subspecialty board certification in Healthcare Administration, Leadership and Management (HALM) from the American Board of Anesthesiology. Mark Molos (B.A. ’80/M.D. ’81) joined the medical staff at Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital in West Palm Beach. Darryl Nelson (B.A. ’85/M.D. ’86) was honored as one of Ingram’s 2025 Heroes in Healthcare for lifetime service. John Quinn (B.A. ’80/M.D. ’81) was named Best Plastic Surgeon in Best of KC 2024. Nelson Sabates (B.A. ’83/M.D. ’86) was named a 2025 “Icon of Education” by Ingram’s magazine. Malissa Wood (B.A./M.D. ’87) was honored with the 2025 Bernadine Healy Leadership in Women’s Cardiovascular Disease Award from the American College of Cardiology. 1990s Bridget Abney (B.A. ’95/M.D. ’96) is a board-certified OB-GYN and has joined AdventHealth Ottawa. Cara Brown (B.A. ’93/M.D. ’95) was elected as the next president of the National Christian and Dental Associations. Susan Graves (B.A. ’93/M.D. ’94) was appointed the first primary care service line medical director for CoxHealth in October 2022. She was also appointed to the CoxHealth Board of Directors in 2021. Tripti Kataria (B.A. ’94/M.D. ’95) was elected president-elect to the Illinois State Medical Society (ISMS) during its recent annual meeting. Marion Pierson (B.A./M.D. ’93) was named the 2024 St. Teresa’s Academy Distinguished Alumna. K. Gay Purcell (B.A. ’95/M.D. ’96) was named Best Concierge Doctor in Best of KC 2024. Lisa Schmaltz (B.A. ’90/M.D. ’91) retired after three decades with the University of Wisconsin Department of Radiology. Dana Thompson (B.A. ’90/M.D. ’91) is a 2024 Living Legend inductee into the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Foundation Hall of Distinction.
2000s Jennifer Bickel (BLA ’00/M.D. ’01) was named vice president and chief wellness officer of MD Anderson. Anna Grodzinsky (BLA ’08/M.D. ’09, M.S. ’15) was named to the Ingram’s Top Doctor list for 2024. Sheetal Higbee (BLA ’08/M.D. ’09) joined the Lewis Hall Singletary Archbold Cancer Center. 2010s Sean Bonanni (M.D. ’18) joined the Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute as an orthopedic specialist. Benjamin C. Castro (BLA ’16/M.D. ’17) joined CoxHealth in Springfield, Missouri, as a bariatric surgeon. Roxana Fu (B.A. ’10/M.D. ’11) joined the NYU Grossman School of Medicine as chief of oculoplastics. Chelsea Hamill (B.A. ’15/M.D. ’16) joined the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) as an assistant professor. She is also an otolaryngology-head and neck surgery physician at UNMC. Amneet Hans (BLA ’15/M.D. ’16) was named associate director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at White Plains Hospital. Amy Patel (BLA ’10/M.D. ’11) was named to the Radiology Business 40 Under 40 Class of 2024. Kushal Shah (BLA ’09/ M.D. ’10) joined Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine. Kristen Strasser (BLA ’09/M.D. ’10) joined the Bothwell Susan O’Brien Fischer Cancer Center in Sedalia, Missouri. 2020s Clare Devine (MMS ’24) was hired as an advanced practice provider at Associated Medical Arts in Montgomery City, Missouri. Rmaah Memon (BLA ’19/M.D. ’20) is currently a Center for Global Health scholar and Global Emergency Medicine fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. Francesca (Frankie) Moisson (M.D. ’22) was announced as a 2026-27 pediatric chief resident at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Karen Stadler (BLA ’19/M.D. ’20) joined the Stormont Vail Dermatology team. Debra Wekesa (BLA ’20/M.D. ’21) was chief resident at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and started a nephrology fellowship there. In Memoriam Leland Graves III (B.A./M.D. ’83) Howard J. Schlandsky (B.A. ’76/ M.D. ’78) Diane Voss (B.A. ’88/ M.D. ’89) Brad Warner (B.A./M.D. ’82)
Starting a new position? Big personal update? Finally retiring? The School of Medicine, and your classmates, would love to hear from you. Tell us what you've been up to by writing an alumni class note. Click the button below to access the form to submit.
Alumna’s Company Supports Pregnant and Nursing Medical Professionals
Alumna and faculty member Melanie Camejo (BLA '13/M.D. '14) cofounded Vervee, a company focused on making scrubs that are more comfortable for healthcare workers who are expecting or breastfeeding.
WHEN UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY associate professor and alumna Melanie Camejo (BLA ’13/M.D. ’14) and her friend Christine Khong Tran, M.D., found themselves needing maternity scrubs, they were surprised to find out they were uncomfortable. They knew big brands offered maternity lines, but they wanted a better option. So they created one.
“We wanted to give women the opportunity to look and feel good while going through any stage of life, especially pre-, during and post-partum stages,” said Camejo. “We wanted to focus on our fit — making sure there was enough stretch and support in both the tops and bottoms, and that breast pumps could be put on without having to take the top fully off. We wanted to decrease the amount of decisions women needed to make.”
Last year, the duo launched Vervee, an online company offering “maternity and flexibly-sized” scrubs. The scrubs feature stretchy fabric and discreet underarm zippers for easy nursing and pumping. The zippers also allow users to unzip the sides for a little extra room as their baby bump grows. Vervee has received support on social media, with wearers posting and sharing brand information. They also offer praise for Camejo and Tran.
“I love hearing that people are so proud of (us) making it happen while we are both balancing life — being a mom, wife, physician, (involved in) residency and student leadership, friends and business partners. They’re in awe that we saw a need and did something about it,” said Camejo.
Vervee celebrates its first anniversary in November, and Camejo wants to grow its following in its second year.
“We’re working hard to get into hospitals, conventions and different aspects of healthcare,” said Camejo.
Photo courtesy of Melanie Camejo.
