ALUMNI
Continuing Our Tradition of Connection
AS YOUR ALUMNI BOARD PRESIDENT, I am proud and thankful for this last year of growth and reconnection, and I am excited about the future of our medical school. I want to thank Dean Emerita Mary Anne Jackson (B.A. ’77/M.D. ’78) for her leadership, support and guidance during her deanship. She helped all of UMKC navigate the pandemic and helped continue our tradition of connection within the school. I am thrilled she will continue to grace us with her knowledge and expertise in her new role and look forward to seeing her at future events.
This spring, along with other members of our alumni board, I had the opportunity to welcome Dean Alexander Norbash (B.A. ’85/M.D. ’86), and hear his vision for alumni engagement. He is eager to elevate the alumni network and increase alumni participation across the board. We are excited to partner with Dean Norbash on this vision and have already started working together on various initiatives.
Our alumni board is focused on increasing our student support and will welcome a new student member to the board this fall. Additionally, this is the inaugural year of the Founding Dean’s Fund and The Noback Society, which honors our founding dean, Dr. Richardson K. Noback, by utilizing donations specifically for student-requested projects.
A highlight of the year for me was attending the alumni reunion, where the Class of 1994 celebrated our 30th reunion. It was great to reconnect with more than 120 other alumni and friends at the event. As my classmates can attest, it felt like we never missed a beat in the time since we graduated. I made my closest friends at UMKC, and met my amazing wife, so seeing everyone was quite a nostalgic experience. If you weren’t able to attend, make sure to save the date for the next reunion weekend, March 28-29, 2025.
I want to thank our previous School of Medicine Alumni Board members for their service. I also want to welcome new board members, Aakash Shah (B.A./M.D. ’04), Anant Kharod (B.A./M.D. ’12) and Dawn Heizman (B.A./M.D. ’09). We look forward to the next year together. If you are interested in learning more about the alumni board and our work, please reach out to me at wuebkermd@yahoo.com.
Ralph Wuebker (B.A. ’93/M.D. ’94) President, School of Medicine Alumni Board
Stay Involved
Mike Monaco with Dean Alexander Norbash during the Alumni Achievement Award ceremony.
Chiefs' Team Physician Named 2024 Alumni Achievement Award Winner
MIKE MONACO (B.A. ’84/M.D. ’87) received the 2024 Academic Alumni Achievement Award for the School of Medicine on Friday, April 5, at the White Recital Hall in the James C. Olson Performing Arts Center at UMKC.
Monaco is a graduate of the B.A./M.D. program and completed his residency in internal medicine at the UMKC consortium of hospitals. Monaco has been practicing in Kansas City for more than 33 years.
"Being recognized with the Alumni Achievement Award filled me with a tremendous heartfelt gratitude," Monaco said. "It is extremely humbling to be recognized by the school out of so many incredibly capable and successful graduates."
Since 1995, Monaco has served as the head medical team physician for the Kansas City Chiefs and was named head club team physician in 2019. He has attended five AFC Championships, four Super Bowls and has three Super Bowl rings to show for his hard work.
In addition to his work with the Chiefs, Monaco practices as an internal medicine physician through MDVIP and is an internal medicine specialist at Select Healthcare PA in Leawood, Kansas. Monaco also served as an assistant clinical professor and first- and second-year docent for the School of Medicine from 1991-2019.
Monaco notes that among his many accolades, his proudest accomplishment is his son.
“He decided to do what I did,” he said. “He attended the UMKC School of Medicine and is now a doctor.”President, School of Medicine Alumni Board
Catherine Spong (B.A./M.D. ’91)
Catherine Spong Honored with Take Wing Award
STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF gathered at the School of Medicine Friday, May 10, for the annual E. Grey Dimond, M.D., Take Wing Award lecture given by this year’s recipient, Catherine Spong (B.A./M.D. ’91).
Each year, the honor is given to a graduate who has demonstrated excellence in their chosen field and exceeded expectations of peers in the practice of medicine, academic medicine or research.
Spong calls herself a physician-scientist with a career dedicated to advancing women’s and children’s health. A graduate of the six-year B.A./M.D. program, Spong completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA before finishing a maternal-fetal medicine fellowship at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Maryland.
Spong served as the deputy director for the National Institute of Health for 23 years until she became chief of maternal fetal medicine and vice chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UT-Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Spong has published more than 290 peer-reviewed papers and cemented herself as a leading voice in women’s health, child health and pregnancy.
“She is emblematic of the best and brightest of us,” said School of Medicine Dean Alexander Norbash (B.A. ’85/M.D. ’86).
Spong’s lecture showcased her spirit of curiosity and the resilience she brings to her work in a new era of medical research for pregnant and nursing women. According to Spong, more than 59% of the United States population is commonly not represented in research. Spong’s goal is to lower that percentage through research that helps inform medical practice.
Alumna Leads Charge for Free Breast Imaging
AMY PATEL (BLA ’10/M.D. ’11) played a leading role in bringing about a new law in Missouri that requires health insurance companies to pay the full cost of diagnostic breast imaging without charging patients a co-pay or deductible.
The implementation of the law, which went into effect in January 2024, will save insured women in the state hundreds of dollars if they are called back in for additional testing, such as an ultrasound or MRI, to diagnose whether they have breast cancer. It will also cover patients who have had prior surgeries for breast cancer and need to have diagnostic mammogram follow-ups for a number of years post-surgery.
Patel has seen cost be a barrier to potentially life-saving care for her patients before.
“We have had patients not return for additional diagnostic breast imaging testing when we know they have a breast cancer we need to address,” said Patel. “Or they don’t return until the cancer has already spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit and even other parts of the body at times.”
Patel worked closely with State Rep. Brenda Shields and the Susan G. Komen organization to get the legislation drafted and passed. The law also had support from the Missouri State Medical Association, Missouri Radiological Society and the Missouri Society of Pathologists.
“Patient access and bridging the gap of breast care inequities has become a life’s calling and a focus of my career,” said Patel. “I am so appreciative that I am able to do this type of work, which is valued and respected by the UMKC School of Medicine.”“He decided to do what I did,” he said. “He attended the UMKC School of Medicine and is now a doctor.”President, School of Medicine Alumni Board
Amy Patel tackles breast care inequities in her work as a radiologist and advocate.
Alumni Reconnect at School of Medicine Reunion
MORE THAN 120 ALUMNI gathered for the School of Medicine’s alumni reunion on Saturday, April 6, at the Fontaine Hotel in Kansas City. The milestone classes of 1979, 1984, 1994 and 2004 were celebrated as alumni and friends reminisced and reconnected.
Dean Alexander Norbash (B.A. ’85/M.D. ’86) and Ralph Wuebker (B.A. ’93/M.D. ’94), the school’s alumni board president, both gave remarks, speaking about the importance of staying connected to each other and the School of Medicine.
One highlight of the weekend was a tour of the school on Saturday afternoon, where nearly 30 alumni revisited their old docent units and school composite photos while also getting to check out the updated classroom and docent areas.
The next reunion will take place March 28-29, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri. Registration is open until March 22.
