The Wayne State University School of Medicine Alumni Association is seeking student and faculty volunteers to participate in this year’s Alumni Annual Telefund.

Volunteers can sign up and receive more information from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Scott Hall cafeteria Sept. 11, 14 and 15. You will receive a free School of Medicine gift when you sign up.

The Alumni Annual Fund supports a variety of programs for students at the School of Medicine, including medical student scholarships and loans; student activities such as community outreach programs, Match Day, Student Senate retreat, Career Day, Family Day, Welcome Ceremony, the Honors Program and maintenance of the student fitness center; summer research fellowships; an investment fund to support academic and student programs; and student research projects.

The student organization that raises the most money will receive a donation to that organization: first place, $500; second place, $250; third place, $100.

This year’s Telefund dates are Oct. 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, and Nov. 2, 4, 5, 9, 10 and 11. Volunteers may stop in to make calls between 5:30 and 9:30 p.m. on those days, and dinner will be served.

For additional information, contact Lisa Ramos, assistant director of Alumni Affairs for the Wayne State University School of Medicine, at (313) 577-9022 or lramos@med.wayne.edu.

Call it the “Case of the Missing Class Photo.”

Medical students, faculty and staff members walk daily under the gaze of former students, peering down at them from class photos lining the hallways of Scott Hall. But on the first-floor hallway leading to the cafeteria, only a framed, handwritten list of students represented the Class of 1907. Why that photo was missing, and where it might be located, remained a mystery for decades.

Thanks to a resident alum and clinical faculty member, the photo of the Class of 1907 will now take its rightful place in those hallways.

James Sunstrum, M.D., grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He attended medical school in Canada, and performed a residency with the Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1984. He now serves as chief of Infectious Disease at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, and is a clinical associate professor with the School of Medicine.

Dr. Sunstrum, without realizing it at the time, actually had a connection with a deceased member of the Class of 1907, William Percy Johns, M.D. While Dr. Johns was originally from Michigan, he practiced a lifetime of medicine in Canada, in the very area Dr. Sunstrum was familiar with. And Dr. Johns left a unique legacy that allowed Dr. Sunstrum to track down the missing class photo.

Dr. Sunstrum settled in Dearborn in 1983 after his marriage to a Michigan woman. After they married, he took his wife to his home town to show her where he grew up. That area is home to the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon. The museum contains replicas of shops and artifacts of the pioneering settlements in the area, including an early Plains physician office that once belonged to Dr. Johns.

“I had been to the museum a number of times,” Dr. Sunstrum said. “But for some reason, this time I took a closer look at the doctor’s degree hanging on the wall. He was a graduate of the Detroit Medical College, Class of 1907.”

Hanging near the diploma was a class photo – the missing photo.

Dr. Johns, said Dr. Sunstrum, was from Michigan and took his medical degree from the School of Medicine’s forerunner, the Detroit Medical College. After graduation, Dr. Johns worked two years as a railroad physician in British Columbia. He moved in 1912 to Viscount, Saskatchewan (population 350), and remained in practice there until the 1960s. He was named Citizen of the Year for the province of Saskatchewan in 1971, four years before his death.

How did a Michigan doctor end up so far from home? Dr. Sunstrum explained that in those days, small provincial and frontier towns often pooled their resources to “hire” a doctor to settle in their regions, providing a modest living and often a home.

Dr. Sunstrum convinced the curator of the museum to remove the class photo from its original frame and shoot a high-quality digital copy. He then had a printer produce a large-scale reproduction from the file. The curator also sent a photo of the school faculty taken at that same year. In addition, the curator put Dr. Sunstrum in touch with Dr. Johns’ son, a farmer in the Viscount area, and his grandson, who also lives there. He spent about 90 minutes with them, learning more about Dr. Johns’ life.

In May, Dr. Sunstrum was invited to join the Detroit Medical Academy, a group of physicians who meet monthly to discuss medicine and for camaraderie. New members are asked to give a presentation, and when Dr. Sunstrum arrived to give his talk, he asked whether Interim Dean Valerie Parisi, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., would remain for the full meeting. Later that evening, Dr. Sunstrum stood up to present “Westward Ho: William Percy Jones, M.D., Wayne University Class of 1907” to the group.

“I just knew it when he began speaking,” Dean Parisi said. “I leaned over and told Dr. (Robert) Sokol, ‘He has the missing class photo from 1907,’ and he had it with him and presented it to us! It was very exciting.

“I knew we were missing the Class of 1907 because I always enjoy looking at the class photos in our hallways,” she added. “It’s just so wonderful to finally have this treasure come back home where it belongs.”

The photo will be framed and will replace the handwritten list that has hung in the first-floor hallway of Scott Hall.

Detroit area parents have voted, and their favorite family-friendly pediatrician is Eric Ayers, M.D., an assistant professor of Internal Medicine/Pediatrics and section chief of Internal Medicine/Pediatrics with the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

Dr. Ayers, a 1989 graduate of the School of Medicine, was the blue ribbon winner of the Parents’ Pick Awards 2009 program conducted by ParentsConnect, the online parenting Web site of television broadcaster Nickelodeon.

“I had no idea that I was even nominated,” said Dr. Ayers, section chief and program director of Med-Peds for the Department of Internal Medicine. “I was notified by a nurse from Children’s Hospital of Michigan and thought that she was pulling my leg.”

To vote, parents had to visit the ParentsConnect website between May 5 and July 15. Parents could vote for their favorite “family-friendly” businesses in categories such as ice cream shop, pizza shop, museum, shoe store and book store. Votes were tallied for individual cities, and Dr. Ayers collected the most votes in the category of pediatrician for the Detroit region.

“The nursing, clerical and records staff are happy that our hard work and dedication are paying off,” Dr. Ayers said. “The notification is a reward in itself in that my patients and their parents took the time out to nominate me. I am honored and humbled at being recognized with such an honor. I am surrounded by outstanding and dedicated colleagues who are outstanding physicians. I realize each day that I am blessed with a gift and attempt to use it each and every day to deliver excellent care, potent advice and mentor the pediatric patients that I serve. As my patients and parents know, I tell it like it is with no side-stepping or sugar-coating, for there may not be any tomorrows.”

Featuring the motto, “We’re not perfect, we’re parents,” ParentsConnect is an Internet portal that offers an array of information on raising children and activities for families. The site was developed by the company that produces programming for Noggin, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon and Nick@Nite.

“This vote is a wonderful testament to how highly the parents of children in the region regard Dr. Ayers,” said Valerie Parisi, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., interim dean of the School of Medicine. “His commitment to the health of children, health care access for all children, and the caring way in which he interacts with children and their families make him a natural to win this honor.”

The Wayne State University School of Medicine has two students with a very special relationship. Ted Hunter (Class of 2010) and his daughter, Kara (Class of 2013) are using their time at Wayne State not only to grow as future doctors, but as family members as well.

Growing up, Ted spent most of his time in South America and Jamaica, serving as a missionary with his parents. Like his parents, Ted would first pursue a career in ministry by serving as a minister of religion in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands for several years. He completed his undergraduate studies at Northern Caribbean University (formerly West Indies College) in Jamaica, where he received a bachelor's degree in theology.

He came to Michigan in 1990, and earned two master's degrees from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, one in regligion and another in counseling psychology. After experiencing firsthand the needs of local people as a counselor, Ted decided to return to school and become a psychiatrist.

“My strong desire to improve the well-being of others was instilled in me at an early age by my multicultural parents, who worked as missionaries in South America and Jamaica,” he said. “In addition, these experiences fostered my ability to navigate cultural differences and interact with sensitivity with people from various backgrounds.”

Ted, 47, had helped many people while serving as counselor, but he felt there was more he could do. “Although my training prior to medical school provided me with the tools to address the psychological and social factors involved in psychopathology, I lacked the training and expertise necessary to address biological contributions. For this reason I returned to school to pursue a medical degree.”

Originally from Battle Creek, Mich., Ted chose Wayne State University because of its exceptional training and facilities, affordability, patient diversity, commitment to the local community and the opportunity to be close to his family.

Like her Father, Kara Hunter also possessed an affinity for helping others. However, unlike her father, Kara grew up locally in Michigan. The first-year medical student completed her undergraduate work at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Ala.

Kara, 22, chose to attend WSU for its excellent educational program, extensive valuable clinical experience and the opportunity to be back in Michigan.

“I am also a little biased toward Michigan schools,” she said. “I grew up in Michigan and I have many fond memories of those years.”

While her father pursues a degree in psychiatry, Kara wants to practice internal medicine in Michigan. “It is important to be able to provide the population of Michigan with an adequate amount of primary care physicians so that the health needs may be more adequately met,” she said.

Although Ted is nearing the end of his time as a medical student and Kara is just beginning hers, they are using this unique opportunity to grow closer.

“The shared experiences provide opportunities to communicate at an even greater level than before,” Ted said. “We already have a great relationship, but there is something special about having shared experiences facilitated by attending the same school at the same time. Being able to talk about our joys and sorrows, successes and failures, and dreams for the future within a familiar context I think is significant.”

Ted provides Kara with an extra resource of educational materials and a source of encouragement.

“Going to school with him will be good because he will motivate me not only to focus and concentrate on my studies, he will also be there whenever I need someone to talk to about any issue that I may be going through,” she explained.

Upon graduating, Ted plans to become a child and adolescent psychiatrist. In addition to his work as a psychiatrist, he would like to advocate for mental health parity and reduce some of the stigma associated with mental illnesses. He also plans to volunteer abroad and at local clinics to help uninsured families.

Kara plans to be an internist in Michigan. She would also like to work with Doctors Without Borders and provide help for people regardless of their location or economic status.

An alum of the Wayne State University School of Medicine has been named chairman of the University of Michigan’s Department of Internal Medicine.

John M. Carethers, M.D., of the Class of 1989, recently agreed to accept the position. He will begin at the University of Michigan on Nov. 1, pending approval of the university’s Board of Regents.

“We are delighted that Dr. Carethers will be leading our internal medicine department. He has proven throughout his career that he is committed to developing faculty, educating trainees and building research and clinical programs,” said James O. Woolliscroft, M.D., dean of U-M’s medical school. “We know that Dr. Carethers will provide excellent leadership for our largest department and play a major role in the expansion of research to our North Campus Research Complex on the former Pfizer property.”

At Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Dr. Carethers studied chemistry and biology. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and his medical degree at Wayne State University. He completed his internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, and then performed a fellowship in gastroenterology at U-M in the early 1990s. He has developed an impressive resume of scientific research, earning a reputation among the top gastroenterologists nationwide with his study of colorectal cancers, especially among African-Americans.

“We are happy for and proud of Dr. Carethers,” said Valerie Parisi, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., interim dean of the WSU School of Medicine. “He will make a fine leader for our sister university. His work and achievements speak to his personal dedication to medicine, and to the quality education he received at our School of Medicine.”

Dr. Carethers currently is chief of the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine’s Division of Gastroenterology, a position he’s held since 2004. He also is director of that university’s NIH Digestive Disease Research Development Center.

Carethers said he will work to raise the profile of U-M’s medical school and faculty. “I want to build ways to enhance collaborative research as well as making sure the clinical program is top-notch,” he said.

Carethers has earned many honors and awards, including fellowships with the American Gastroenterological Association, the American College of Physicians and the American College of Gastroenterology. He was elected in 2008 to the American Society of Clinical Investigation.

Valerie Parisi, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., interim dean of the Wayne State University School of Medicine, was interviewed by WDET radio about her goals and challenges as the newly appointed dean of the school.

The interview, conducted by WDET’s Quinn Klinefelter, originally aired on the Aug. 6 “Detroit Today” program. During the interview, Dean Parisi spoke about the future of medical research, her relationship with Detroit Medical Center leadership, the future of the school and health care reform policy.

You can hear the interview at the following link. The portion containing the interview with Dean Parisi appears at just about the half-way point of the full program. http://www.wdetfm.org/audio/detroittoday/752/DT_8-6.MP3