A Message from Leadership

Duane A. Compton, PhD Dean, Geisel School of Medicine

Joanne M. Conroy, MD, D’77 CEO and president, Dartmouth Health

For more than 225 years, generations of Dartmouth physicians, scientists, and public health professionals have produced groundbreaking advances, transformed clinical care, and strengthened the health of individuals and communities in the Upper Valley, across our nation, and beyond.

What began at Dartmouth in 1797 now extends to one of our nation’s most-respected academic medical centers and an alumni community with a truly global impact on human lives.

That impact is powerfully exemplified in breakthrough technology, developed at the Geisel School of Medicine, that underpins COVID-19 vaccines credited with preventing more than 18 million hospitalizations and saving millions of lives in the United States alone.

It is also reflected in the transformational work of thousands of alumni who every day seek to ensure that each individual can reach their highest health potential.

In this issue of Alumni News & Notes, we celebrate the alumni who are bringing humanity—and the humanities—to health and healthcare.

We were inspired by a profile of Rajeev Fernando, MD, RES’10, who founded a global humanitarian organization that recently opened a wellness center for those experiencing conflict-associated trauma.

A profile of Cindy Tsai MED’14, entrepreneur and bestselling author, shares her perspectives on wellness and physician burnout.

You will read news of a recent multi-million dollar gift that advances two key priorities for Dartmouth Cancer Center and Dartmouth Health: diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging; and cancer research. Established by Dick D’64, Th’65 and Barbara Couch, the Couch Endowed Fund for Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellowships will support the recruitment and retention of up-and-coming cancer clinician-scientists from underrepresented-in-medicine groups.

In January, we launched the new Dartmouth Center for Implementation Science, which seeks to accelerate the pace at which research and scientific evidence can be deployed in clinical practice. Jeremiah Brown, PhD, professor of epidemiology at Geisel and founding director of the Center, hopes to share more on this in the coming months.

Finally, you will also read many stories of recent alumni achievements, including those of our 2023 Alumni Awards recipients. At this, one of the most consequential inflection points in the history of human health, they exemplify the influence, and the impact, of our community.