Dear Alumni Family,
As I write this column, summer is ending, children are back at school, and it’s another academic year. I hope you all had some family and friends time this summer and are looking forward to the opportunities that lie ahead. The late spring is always a busy time for the Alumni Organization, filled with celebrations of our alumni and trainees.
Keep … Tradition
Keep … Tradition: This year, I will report on an OLD tradition and a new-ish tradition for the Alumni Organization. First the “OLD”: Each spring, at the annual meeting of the medical staff, we bestow the hospital’s highest honor, the Richard D. Wood Distinguished Alumni Award, to a CHOP alumnus who has made outstanding and impactful contributions to pediatric care.
This year, we honored Dr Kathleen Sullivan, the Frank R. Wallace Chair in Infectious Diseases and Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology. Dr Sullivan is a pioneer in clinical immunology and a world expert in primary immune deficiency. She has literally changed the world for immune-deficient patients and their families. Her scholarly work has culminated in numerous contributions to the understanding of a variety of inborn errors in immunity, including those that result from genetic abnormalities, and has made important contributions to the understanding of immune dysregulation syndromes such as lupus, very early onset inflammatory bowel diseases, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. She has also made innumerable contributions to the basic and clinical understanding of 22q11 deletion syndrome. In nominating Dr Sullivan for this award, her colleagues remarked that she is a national treasure housed within the walls of CHOP. I love that description. Congratulations Dr Sullivan!
There are many accomplished physicians from this wonderful hospital who have devoted their careers—their time, incredible talent, and energy— to serve the CHOP community in remarkable ways. Since 2023, the Alumni Organization has recognized our colleagues who have provided extraordinary service to CHOP with the Patrick Pasquariello Service Award. This year, we bestowed this award to another stalwart of CHOP, Dr Soroosh Mahboubi. Dr Mahboubi arrived at CHOP in 1973 as a member of the inaugural radiology fellowship class (at the Bainbridge Street hospital!) and has spent the entirety of his 50-plus year career in CHOP’s Department of Radiology. Over the years, he has served as acting director, deputy Radiologist-in-Chief, Director of Education and Residency, the inaugural Director of the Section of Body Computed Tomography (CT), and the inaugural Associate Trauma Director in Radiology. Dr Mahboubi is known as a radiologist with impeccable manners and humbleness despite all his great achievements.
Remarkably, he is a master's student, keeping up with the seismic technological changes throughout the decades, learning new imaging methods like ultrasound, CT scan, and MRI. He established the Soroosh Mahboubi International Fund for Higher Education, an ongoing fellowship program that brings junior pediatric radiologists from low-income countries to CHOP for short-term training, developing radiologists who can to improve pediatric care in their home countries. In 2018, the Soroosh Mahboubi Endowed Chair for Pediatric Body Imaging was established for the Chief of the Division of Body Imaging to help fund research activities. Dr Mahboubi has served CHOP with a profound sense of duty, integrity, and empathy during his remarkable career. Congratulations Dr Mahboubi.
Keep … in Mind
Keep … in Mind: It is with deep sorrow that I report on the tragic death of one of our amazing chief residents this summer, Dr Barbara Friedes. Dr Friedes joined CHOP in 2021 as a pediatric resident. At her residency graduation, she was awarded the Frank M. Trojan IV Resident Courage Award for extraordinary support for her colleagues and for fostering camaraderie within the residency program. Dr Friedes met her husband Cole Friedes, MD, when they were undergraduates at Florida State University. In 2021, they moved to Philadelphia to pursue their medical training. Dr Barbara Friedes was a pediatrician who embodied kindness, strength, deep compassion, and tremendous love for all who crossed her path. She was a shining light, and we are in mourning at her untimely death
Keep … in Touch
And finally, Keep ... in Touch! A number of classes have organized class reunions over the past few years, and we are here to HELP! This past fall, we welcomed back the residency class of 1998 for their 25th Reunion. Alumni have returned to Philadelphia for a weekend reconnecting, visiting the hospital, and enjoying all Philadelphia has to offer. Many classes have made generous donations to the hospital as part of their reunion. If you are interested in organizing a class reunion, please be in touch, as we are happy to support your efforts. And as always, if you have exciting news to share with us, please drop me an email (Christian@ chop.edu). We love hearing what everyone is up to.
Until next time, enjoy, work hard, but not too hard, and keep in touch.
Cindy Christian, MD
President, CHOP Alumni Association
Dear Alumni Family,
As I write this column, summer is ending, children are back at school, and it’s another academic year. I hope you all had some family and friends time this summer and are looking forward to the opportunities that lie ahead. The late spring is always a busy time for the Alumni Organization, filled with celebrations of our alumni and trainees.
Keep … Tradition
Keep … Tradition: This year, I will report on an OLD tradition and a new-ish tradition for the Alumni Organization. First the “OLD”: Each spring, at the annual meeting of the medical staff, we bestow the hospital’s highest honor, the Richard D. Wood Distinguished Alumni Award, to a CHOP alumnus who has made outstanding and impactful contributions to pediatric care.
This year, we honored Dr Kathleen Sullivan, the Frank R. Wallace Chair in Infectious Diseases and Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology. Dr Sullivan is a pioneer in clinical immunology and a world expert in primary immune deficiency. She has literally changed the world for immune-deficient patients and their families. Her scholarly work has culminated in numerous contributions to the understanding of a variety of inborn errors in immunity, including those that result from genetic abnormalities, and has made important contributions to the understanding of immune dysregulation syndromes such as lupus, very early onset inflammatory bowel diseases, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. She has also made innumerable contributions to the basic and clinical understanding of 22q11 deletion syndrome. In nominating Dr Sullivan for this award, her colleagues remarked that she is a national treasure housed within the walls of CHOP. I love that description. Congratulations Dr Sullivan!
There are many accomplished physicians from this wonderful hospital who have devoted their careers—their time, incredible talent, and energy— to serve the CHOP community in remarkable ways. Since 2023, the Alumni Organization has recognized our colleagues who have provided extraordinary service to CHOP with the Patrick Pasquariello Service Award. This year, we bestowed this award to another stalwart of CHOP, Dr Soroosh Mahboubi. Dr Mahboubi arrived at CHOP in 1973 as a member of the inaugural radiology fellowship class (at the Bainbridge Street hospital!) and has spent the entirety of his 50-plus year career in CHOP’s Department of Radiology. Over the years, he has served as acting director, deputy Radiologist-in-Chief, Director of Education and Residency, the inaugural Director of the Section of Body Computed Tomography (CT), and the inaugural Associate Trauma Director in Radiology. Dr Mahboubi is known as a radiologist with impeccable manners and humbleness despite all his great achievements.
Remarkably, he is a master's student, keeping up with the seismic technological changes throughout the decades, learning new imaging methods like ultrasound, CT scan, and MRI. He established the Soroosh Mahboubi International Fund for Higher Education, an ongoing fellowship program that brings junior pediatric radiologists from low-income countries to CHOP for short-term training, developing radiologists who can to improve pediatric care in their home countries. In 2018, the Soroosh Mahboubi Endowed Chair for Pediatric Body Imaging was established for the Chief of the Division of Body Imaging to help fund research activities. Dr Mahboubi has served CHOP with a profound sense of duty, integrity, and empathy during his remarkable career. Congratulations Dr Mahboubi.
Keep … in Mind
Keep … in Mind: It is with deep sorrow that I report on the tragic death of one of our amazing chief residents this summer, Dr Barbara Friedes. Dr Friedes joined CHOP in 2021 as a pediatric resident. At her residency graduation, she was awarded the Frank M. Trojan IV Resident Courage Award for extraordinary support for her colleagues and for fostering camaraderie within the residency program. Dr Friedes met her husband Cole Friedes, MD, when they were undergraduates at Florida State University. In 2021, they moved to Philadelphia to pursue their medical training. Dr Barbara Friedes was a pediatrician who embodied kindness, strength, deep compassion, and tremendous love for all who crossed her path. She was a shining light, and we are in mourning at her untimely death
Keep … in Touch
And finally, Keep ... in Touch! A number of classes have organized class reunions over the past few years, and we are here to HELP! This past fall, we welcomed back the residency class of 1998 for their 25th Reunion. Alumni have returned to Philadelphia for a weekend reconnecting, visiting the hospital, and enjoying all Philadelphia has to offer. Many classes have made generous donations to the hospital as part of their reunion. If you are interested in organizing a class reunion, please be in touch, as we are happy to support your efforts. And as always, if you have exciting news to share with us, please drop me an email (Christian@ chop.edu). We love hearing what everyone is up to.
Until next time, enjoy, work hard, but not too hard, and keep in touch.
Cindy Christian, MD
President, CHOP Alumni Association