CLASS NOTES
Joseph Laukaitis, MD ’83, left, Lya Karm, MD ’83, right, and daughters Kristina and Maria
Joseph A. Smith, of Hillsborough, NJ, writes his daughter, Becky, 28, is starting her own nonprofit to help children in impoverished countries and inner city areas in the United States find hope through the arts. It is called the Story Building Foundation and you can check it out at www.storybuilding foundation.org.
1983 Richard G. Birkhead, of Chelmsford, MA, is chief of cardiology at Lowell General Hospital and a managing partner of Merrimack Valley Cardiology, a 12-man cardiology group. Dr. Birkhead has three children attending Bates College, Wheelock College, and Tulane Medical School and is newly married to Jean Marie Birkhead. He is also a trumpet player in the Nashua Chamber Orchestra.
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Lya Karm and Joseph Laukaitis, of Bethesda, MD, sent their twin daughters, Kristina and Maria, off to college (Tulane University and University of Michigan) and are enjoying a new phase in their lives. Dr. Karm’s medical career has transitioned within the Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic Medical group to directing physicians in skilled-nursing facilities and palliative care. Dr. Laukaitis continues to enjoy his private rheumatology practice in downtown Washington, DC.
1987
1985
Anthony R. Russo, of Chesapeake, VA, and his wife, Geralyn, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on July 19, 2011, along with their sons, Anthony, 22, and Michael, 18.
Drew Malloy, of Santa Cruz, CA, is happily married to his first wife, Linda Lou. Their daughter, Maggie Lou, just turned 10 and loves musical theater.
1986 Georgianne Arnold, of Pittsburgh, PA, received the Emmanuel Shapira Award for the best paper in molecular genetics and metabolism by a member of the Society for Inherited Metabolic Disorders. She is professor of pediatrics in the division of medical genetics at The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.
Anthony R. Russo, MD ’87, with his wife, Geralyn and their sons Anthony and Michael
1988 Anthony Nostro, of East Stroudsburg, PA, is the chairman of the department of anesthesiology at Pocono Medical Center. Dr. Nostro is also the director of cardiac anesthesia and the medical director of the operating rooms. He is an avid golfer and pianist. He and his wife of 19 years, Franca, have a nine-year-old son, Anthony.
UPSTATE MEDICAL ALUMNI JOURNAL | WINTER 2011
1989 Susan Auffinger, of Clemmons, NC, and her husband, Steve, recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a Rhine River cruise from Basel, Switzerland, through Germany and France to Amsterdam. They were married on July 26, 1986. Their son, Sean, is a junior chemical engineering major at North Carolina State University, who races on the alpine ski team. Their daughter, Grace, is a senior in high school and is an all-state field hockey player. Dr. Auffinger still coaches girls’ lacrosse and field hockey and in her spare time is medical director of three nursing and rehabilitation centers in Winston-Salem, NC.