MD Class of 1978
John D. Sheppard ’75, ’78 MD, ’85 MMSc, has been appointed to the medical advisory board of TearSolutions, a privately held biotechnology company focused on treatments for dry eye disease. Dr. Sheppard is a founding partner of Virginia Eye Consultants. He is actively involved in numerous clinical trials and has participated as principal investigator in clinical research trials sponsored by many major pharmaceutical companies and for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In addition, he has presented at more than 700 invited lectures and visiting professorships worldwide.
Gary A. Neidich ’78 MD (see ’74).
Gary A. Neidich ’78 MD has been named professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota. He has been with the university for 38 years and has been section chief of pediatric gastroenterology for more than 25 years. He also is on the Professional Education Committee of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition and has received several teaching and clinical awards from the university.
Jeffrey Austerlitz ’78 MD writes: “After 40 years of practicing medicine, the last 14 in primary care at the Providence VA Medical Center, where I was also in charge of the third-year medicine clerkship outpatient experience at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, I have decided to retire. I plan to spend more time with Joanne, my wife of 38 years, my two grown children, three grandchildren, and the rest of my extended family.”
Stephen M. Upham ’78 MD retired in December 2017 and is now seeing patients two days a week at Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center in New Haven, Conn.
Obituaries
Lawrence J. Solin ’75, ’78 MD, of Haverford, Pa.; Mar. 3. He was emeritus professor and clinician educator in radiation oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He was listed on several Best Doctors in America lists and served on the faculty senate, retiring in 2008. He served on the staff at Jefferson Frankford Hospital, Mercer Medical Center, Germantown Hospital and Medical Center, and was a voluntary faculty member at Thomas Jefferson University. He later joined the staff at Einstein Medical Center, where he served as department chair in radiation oncology. He was a major contributor to the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and the American College of Radiology Imaging Network, helping to define the standards of care for breast cancer. His work was published in several scientific journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine. He was an active leader in the National Cancer Institute Cooperative National Groups and a longtime grantee of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. He is survived by his wife, Leslie Belasco Solin ’80; two daughters, including Jennifer Bensimon ’09; and a granddaughter.
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