ALUMNI

1974

Peter Agre (fellow, pharmacology, hematology, 1974–81; faculty, biological chemistry, 1988–present) has published Can Scientists Succeed Where Politicians Fail? with journalist Seema Yasmin. Both a personal narrative and a call to action, the book highlights how science transcends borders and how scientists can act as ambassadors for peace and progress. Agre received the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of aquaporin proteins and currently serves as the emeritus leader of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute.

1981

Alan Schwartz (fellow, respiratory medicine, 1984–87; faculty, medicine, 1987–2019) recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology section of the American Thoracic Society. Schwartz’ seminal work has played a pivotal role in the development of neurostimulation therapeutics for sleep apnea.

1983

Idy Iglehart (HS, internal medicine, 1983–86; fellow, rheumatology, 1986–88) retired in September after 37 years of solo internal medicine practice in Baltimore. He cherished the many long-term relationships he made while caring for as many as four generations of patients over the years.

1985

Pediatrician Sharon Elizabeth Adams was the recipient of the Austin High School Distinguished Alumni Award, recognized by the Austin High School Alumni and Friends Association.

1988

George Paletta has been appointed to the board of directors of Longeveron, a clinical stage regenerative medicine biotechnology company developing cellular therapies for life-threatening and chronic aging-related conditions. Paletta is an internationally recognized orthopedic surgeon and the head team doctor for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is also a developer of ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) and has participated in the selling of two ASCs with deal values totaling almost $1 billion.

Parag Patil (M.D., Ph.D.) was named chief medical advisor of NeuroOne Medical Technologies, where he contributes clinical and strategic guidance for the development of minimally invasive, high-definition solutions for EEG recording, brain stimulation and ablation therapies for epilepsy and other neurological disorders. A neurosurgeon-engineer with 20 years of experience in academia and industry, Patil has served as a professor of neurosurgery, neurology, anesthesiology and biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan, where he directed nationally recognized programs in functional neurosurgery, cancer pain treatment and neurotechnology innovation.

1998

Marc Grasso was appointed chief financial officer of Kyverna Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell therapies for patients with autoimmune diseases. He brings more than 25 years of public company, capital markets and investment banking experience to the role.

1999

Jennifer Fairman (M.A., Art as Applied to Medicine) began her term as president of the Association of Medical Illustrators last July. A professor in Johns Hopkins’ Department of Art as Applied to Medicine, where she was recently promoted to director of production, Fairman had an illustration featured on the cover of the October 2025 issue of Nature Cancer for an article about shaping T-cell perception of tumors through radioimmunotherapy.

2003

Jenna Goldberg (HS, medicine, 2003–06) is vice president, global program lead at Bristol Myers Squibb. She was previously CMO at Vividion Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, and vice president of early clinical development at Janssen, where she supervised the clinical programs for multiple myeloma, cellular therapy, prostate cancer and clinical pharmacology.

FORMER FACULTY, FELLOWS & RESIDENTS/HOUSE STAFF

Jeanne Wei (HS, medicine, 1975–77; fellow, cardiology, 1977–80) received a Distinguished Alumna Award from the University of Illinois College of Medicine for her accomplished career and internationally recognized contributions to aging research. She is the Jackson T. Stephens Professor of Geriatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, chair of the Reynolds Department of Geriatrics and executive director of the Reynolds Institute on Aging.

Anirban Maitra (faculty, 2001–13) joined New York University Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center as co-director of the new Gastrointestinal Cancer Center. Maitra is a world-renowned physician-scientist whose work has influenced the field of pancreatic cancer research, from early detection to biomarker development to early-stage cancer interception.

Brenessa M. Lindeman (Ed ’14; HS, surgery, 2009–16) earned a research grant from the American Board of Medical Specialties Research & Education Foundation.

Mark Marzinke (fellow, pathology, 2010–12; faculty, pathology, 2010–present) was elected to serve on the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine’s nominating committee.

Marcia Canto (SPH ’94; faculty, medicine, 2011–present; fellow, medicine, 1991–93; HS, medicine, 1986–89, 1989–90), director of clinical research in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was awarded a grant from the Lustgarten Foundation for her study “Artificial Intelligence-Augmented Early Detection and Prevention of Pancreatic Cancer.” Her research team has demonstrated markedly improved survival from this typically lethal disease through surveillance of high-risk individuals with a familial or genetic predisposition.

Nayimisha Balmuri (HS, pediatrics, 2014–17; fellow, medicine, 2017–24; faculty, pediatrics, 2021–present), assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, received a grant from the Lupus Foundation of America to support pediatric lupus research. Balmuri will be studying how exposure to specific air pollution affects the severity of lupus in children and whether factors like poverty and other social determinants of health contribute to worse outcomes in those with high exposure to air pollution.