Press Release

For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Preston
(973) 972-7265

UMDNJ To Graduate 1,153 Health Care Professionals on May 21 in Trenton

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) will award 1,153 professional degrees and certificates on Wednesday, May 21, at 10:30 a.m., at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton.

UMDNJ will present honorary degrees to Countess Albina du Boisrouvray, founding president of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Association and Foundation, which has funded the FXB Center at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School and also two endowed chairs; and Dr. Steven Schroeder, distinguished professor of health and health care at the University of California San Francisco and immediate past president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented to Dr. Clifton Lacy, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, and Dr. John Pezzuto, dean of the Schools of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences at Purdue University.

Many graduates have interesting stories to tell. Several will be available for interviews/photos on Wednesday between 9:15 and 10 a.m. in front of the stage at the arena. Press credentials will be distributed at this location as well. Following is an alphabetical list of some of the noteworthy UMDNJ graduates. To arrange an interview with any of the graduates listed, please contact Jerry Carey at (856)566-6171 or Kaylyn Dines at (973) 972-7276.

Joseph and Marie Betivegna, of Little Egg Harbor (Burlington County), were friends, not sweethearts, when they graduated from high school. As their friendship strengthened, they identified a shared interest in nursing and both earned associate in applied science degrees in nursing from Burlington County College. Their friendship turned to courtship and in August 2000 they married while both were enrolled in a bachelor of science in nursing program, operated jointly by the UMDNJ-School of Nursing and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The couple held full-time jobs, studied and commuted to school together while maintaining 4.0 grade point averages. Both were inducted into the Omicron Pi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the national nursing honor society. After commencement, the 26-year-old graduates will pursue master of science in nursing degrees at the University of Pennsylvania.

As a youngster, Dr. George Browne, 32, of Warren (Warren County), was fascinated with his physician-uncle's career as an anesthesiologist and remembers asking his mother if he was smart enough to become a physician. He did not, however, apply to medical school after receiving a bachelor of science degree in biological sciences from Rutgers University, but instead chose another pathway of service, entering a religious order called the Brotherhood of Hope in South Orange. After a year, he found himself drawn to health care, however, and so he resigned and accepted a job as a critical care technician at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. His responsibilities included cleaning bed pans, feeding patients, monitoring vital signs and maintaining the supplies for the unit. The job provided him with an opportunity to talk with physicians every day and inspired him to complete the pre-requisite courses required to apply to UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Following commencement, Dr. Browne will begin an internal medicine residency program at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He and his wife, Jennifer, have been married for seven years and they have three children ages three, two and eight months.

Financial difficulties may prevent some individuals from pursuing a college degree, but Dr. Anthony Burgos, 33, of New Brunswick (Middlesex County), was persistent, working as a waiter, a library supervisor and a photo lab technician to defray the cost of his education. During his first year at the University of Miami, even with full and part-time jobs, he could not afford the tuition. He moved to Greenville, N.C., and with a full-time job as a waiter, he also managed to graduate magna cum laude from Pitt Community College, completing a two-year program in one year. He then graduated summa cum laude from Florida International University in three years, earning a bachelor of sciences degree in biology. As a student at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Dr. Burgos lived in a two-room apartment with two friends and their four children and worked 20 to 35 hours a week as a night-time library supervisor. He received scholarships from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the Hispanic American Medical Association, and the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research. He will spend one year at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Pa., before returning to the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to complete a radiology residency program.

An accident in 1978 that severed his hands led Dr. Woosik Chung, 27, of Lawrenceville (Mercer County), on a journey to a career as an orthopedic surgeon. While playing "hide-n-seek" during a national holiday in his native South Korea, the then three-year-old reached out to catch the whirring fan of a tractor engine, and completely severed both hands. Luckily, his parents--a surgeon and a nurse--were there and rushed him to a hospital. When they arrived, they found only a skeleton health care staff because of the holiday. Although Dr. Chung's father had never attempted this type of operation before, with his wife and a surgical team assisting, the youngster's hands were re-attached. Because the procedure had rarely been performed, no one was quite sure if Dr. Chung would ever regain the use of his hands or what the best approach for rehabilitation was. His maternal grandfather, a Tae Kwan Do master, stepped forward with a unique approach. He began training the youngster in the martial arts. Dr. Chung mastered the techniques so well that several years after moving with his family to the United States, he qualified for the U.S. national Tae Kwan Do team. He would have competed for a spot on the 2002 U.S. Olympic team if the allure of medicine hadn't drawn him to enroll at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. After graduating, Dr. Chung will pursue a residency in orthopedic surgery at Columbia University Presbyterian Hospital. He plans to specialize in hand surgery because, he says, "The best way I can thank my dad is to help someone else in a similar situation."

Dr. Marissa De Freese, 25, of Rahway (Union County), has artwork from childhood to prove that she has wanted to be a physician since she was six years-old. Her mother recently presented her with the drawings, many of which show her wearing a white coat and a stethoscope. As a student at Seton Hall University, from which she earned a bachelor of science degree in biology with a minor in chemistry, Dr. De Freese was enrolled in ACCESS-MED, a program in which educationally and economically disadvantaged students can enroll in medical school classes during their senior year as undergraduates. As an undergraduate, she was captain of the track team for two years, and became the first student at Seton Hall to be named to the All-American Track Team. Dr. De Freese will pursue a general surgery residency program at Staten Island University Hospital in New York.

Dr. Sidney Glasofer, 27, of Short Hills (Essex County), probably will run another marathon in a couple of years. He's run two before, even though he almost didn't make it to the starting line of his first one. In 2000, before beginning his second year at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Dr. Glasofer decided to train for a marathon, something he had never done before. At the start of his training he was experiencing headaches. Initially, running seemed to ease the pain, but then headaches became unbearable. Within three days of visiting his physician, Dr. Glasofer was in the intensive care unit of UMDNJ-University Hospital following surgery for the removal of a benign brain tumor. Three weeks later, he was running again, and three months after surgery, he completed the New York City Marathon in just four hours and 23 minutes. He said that would be his last marathon race, but then last October led 10 medical school classmates across the finish line at the U.S. Marine Corps Marathon. Dr. Glasofer will pursue a residency in internal medicine and cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

An injury that might have devastated some led Dr. Karen Greenberg, 26, of Cherry Hill (Camden County), to pursue a medical career. An excellent athlete and science student in high school, Dr. Greenberg was three days from earning a spot as a freshman starter on the lacrosse team at the University of North Carolina when she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee. When her physicians treated her more as a medical record than as a patient, Dr. Greenberg, a biology major, resolved to become not only a better athlete, but also a better physician than the ones who treated her. After months of grueling rehabilitation, she made it all the way back, winning awards as a member of the North Carolina lacrosse team that twice competed for the national championship. She also earned a spot in the Class of 2003 at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine. Despite her demanding schedule, Dr. Greenberg coached the Cherry Hill East High School girls' lacrosse team. She will pursue a residency in emergency medicine at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Marianne Holler, 43, of Mt. Laurel (Burlington County), saw a lot of beautiful scenery in the mountains and rainforests on her trip to Honduras this spring, but the one tree she will probably never forget wasn't in a rainforest. It was painted on the wall at the Casa Corazon orphanage in San Pedro Sula. Amid the lush greenery of the painted tree, hand prints of every child at the orphanage appear like tiny, ripe apples. All of the children at Casa Corazon are infected with HIV. Some of the hand prints included a small cross, signifying that those children have lost their battle against the disease in the 10 years the orphanage has been in existence. Dr. Holler, the only health care professional on the trip, brought medical and dental supplies donated by faculty and fellow students at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine and by the parishioners at Queen of Peace Church in Hainesport. Following graduation, Dr. Holler will pursue a residency in internal medicine at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Like many twins Archna and Vandna Prasad, 24, of Jersey City (Hudson County), are close friends who do almost everything together, so it's not surprising that both will be receiving medical degrees this month. Exceptional high school science students, they enrolled together in the joint B.A./M.D. program sponsored by UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School and the College of New Jersey. Having each other to share the challenges with helped. The Prasads completed the seven-year program in just six years. Following graduation, the twins will have to rely on cell phones and e-mail to keep in touch. Archna will complete a one-year internship at Presbyterian Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania before returning to UMDNJ- University Hospital for a residency in ophthalmology. Vandna will head to New York City for a residency in radiology at Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center.

As an eighth-grader delivering newspapers in her neighborhood, Dr. Kathy Rizzo, 30, of Vineland (Cumberland County), knew she wanted to be either a scientist or a doctor. Since she couldn't decide she chose both, and ended up blazing an academic trail for others to follow at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine. She will be the first graduate in the only joint D.O./Ph.D. program in the country. After two years of medical school, Dr. Rizzo took a leave to begin a program jointly sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the UMDNJ-Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Her research there led to discoveries into chemotherapy-resistant proteins in cancer cells and supported the requirements for earning her doctorate degree from the UMDNJ-Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She then returned to the Stratford campus to complete her two remaining years of medical school. At commencement, Dr. Rizzo will receive a doctorate in molecular biology (Ph.D.) and a doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) degree. She will enter a pathology residency program at the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University.

When Dr. Long Tran, 31, of Edison (Middlesex County), was nine years old, he and his family lived in a refugee camp in Vietnam. His decision to become a physician was deeply influenced by watching the physicians in the camp provide compassionate care to refugee families day after day in tough circumstances with little, if any, of the necessary medical supplies. Eight months after being interred, a Baptist church in San Antonio sponsored the Tran family to come to the United States. When it was time to attend college, Dr. Tran picked Southern Methodist University in Dallas and chose chemistry as his major. Unfortunately, while he was a college student, his father had a stroke which left him permanently disabled and unable to work. The oldest of six siblings and committed to the importance of higher education, Dr. Tran knew what he must do. He postponed his dream of going to medical school, instead accepting a position as a medicinal chemist at Novartis. His salary was used to pay the tuition and other expenses of four of his siblings while they attended college. Once his youngest sibling was in college, the others picked up the financial responsibility. Finally, Dr. Tran began studies at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He will begin a general surgery residency program at the University of Texas Southwest Medical School in Dallas.

For Dr. Ilan Weisberg, 28, of Ewing Township (Mercer County), a lifelong wish to visit Siberia turned into a lesson on how a round red rubber nose can be a useful tool in helping patients laugh. Last summer, he was selected as one of two American students and a dozen professional clowns to represent Dr. Patch Adams's Gesundheit! Institute on a month-long, 15,000-mile train trip to entertain the residents at hospitals, orphanages and senior centers in remote areas of Siberia. At first, Dr. Weisberg was uncomfortable in the clown costume he and his mother created, but with tips from his travel companions, he quickly got used to grease paint and balloon animals that the "ambassador clowns" used to brighten the days of the patients. When he returned to UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, he began practicing a "little bit of clown attitude" during his clinical training to help disarm the patients. Following graduation, Dr. Weisberg plans a residency in internal medicine at Columbia University Presbyterian Hospital followed by a fellowship in infectious disease.

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