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Med Student Advisor Bios: International/Cross-Cultural Health

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  • Alex Adams MD, PhD »

    Advisor specialty:

    Alexandra Adams, MD, PhD (Research) Dr. Adams completed her MD in 1994 and her PhD in Nutritional Sciences in 1997 at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Urbana, IL. She completed her Family Medicine Residency at the University of Wisconsin in 1997, and joined the faculty in 1999. Dr. Adams practices at The UW Pediatric Fitness Clinic in Madison. Her special interests include pediatric nutritional problems, obesity, metabolic syndrome and indigenous diets and health. She has been working in partnership with three Wisconsin Tribes and the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council for the past 9 years on a variety of projects to prevent childhood obesity with the aim of reducing the risk of future cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Currently, she devotes most of her time to a family based intervention project to reduce obesity and cardiac risk factors in American Indian children; Healthy Children, Strong Families (HCSF). This participatory research project is a randomized controlled trial examining the effect of a home visiting intervention on reducing metabolic risk and improving lifestyles in the children and their primary caregivers. She enjoys spending time with her husband and three children in outdoor activities and cooking.

  • Donald Carufel-Wert MD »

    Advisor specialty:

    Donald Carufel-Wert, MD (Verona) is a Madison residency graduate and trained at the Verona Family Medical Clinic. Prior to college at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA, he lived in Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Kansas, West Virginia, and Indiana. Between college and med school, Don volunteered at an inner city clinic in Washington, D.C. for a year. Then Don returned to Indiana for medical school at Indiana University. After an excellent training program during the 3 years of residency, Don spent a year splitting time between the Madison Community Health Center and the Northeast clinic. Don and his family then moved to Milwaukee where he worked for Family Health Plan. He returned to academics when he joined the St. Luke's residency program and saw patients at the Clarke Square Family Health Center. After 4 years in Milwaukee, Don and his family couldn't resist the urge to return to Madison and all it has to offer. Presently he works half-time in the DFM teaching residents in Verona, overseeing the Community Medicine curriculum, and assisting in the Pre-Doc department. The other half of his job is caring for patients at the Access Community Health Center, a federally-funded community health center.

  • William Cayley MD »

    Advisor specialty:

    Bill Cayley Jr. practices at the Augusta Family Medicine Clinic, teaches at the Eau Claire Family Medicine Residency, and is an Associate Professor in the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine.

    Professional interests include Medical Missions & Global Health, Care for the Underserved, Evidence-Based Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and Diabetes. He is a 1990 graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary (M Div), a 1996 graduate of the Medical College of Wisconsin (MD), and a 1999 graduate of the Eau Claire Family Medicine Residency.

    Bill is an active member of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians, and the Christian Medical and Dental Association. Personal interests include bicycling and running, boating, travel, reading, music, and writing.

  • Cynthia Haq MD »

    Advisor specialty:

    Dr. Haq completed her family medicine residency training at the University of Wisconsin and joined the faculty in 1989 after working at Dartmouth Medical School. She practiced at the Belleville Family Medical Center for 19 years, and now provides health care for the uninsured in central Milwaukee. She has served as the Director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Global Health since 2005. Dr. Haq assisted students to establish the South Side Medic Clinic in 1992, the Leadership Opportunities with Communities, the Underserved and Special Populations (LOCUS) in 1998, and programs for medical and other health professional students in underserved and international sites. She has worked in Pakistan, Uganda, at the World Health Organization, and consulted in many other countries. Her interests are in improving access and quality of primary health care to disadvantaged populations. She is now leading the Training in Urban Medicine and Public Health (TRIUMPH) track in Milwaukee.

  • Richard Roberts MD, JD »

    Advisor specialty:

    Rich Roberts received his undergradutate and law degrees from the University of Wisconsin. He graduated from the George Washington University School of Medicine and completed a family practice residency at UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center. From 1983 to 1987, he was a rural family physician in Darlington, Wisconsin, while teaching part-time in the DFM. He joined the DFM full-time in January 1987 and was promoted to professor in 1994. He served as interim chair of the DFM from 1992 to 1993.

    A family physician and attorney, Dr. Roberts has practiced in Belleville, a rural community of 1900, since 1987. He provides the full scope of family medicine services: he delivers babies, cares for patients of all ages, performs endoscopy and minor surgery, and attends patients in the hospital, including those in intensive care units.

    At the international level, Dr. Roberts serves on the Executive (Board of Directors) and is President-Elect of the World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca). He has led U.S. delegations to Brazil, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. He has been a member of several U.S. delegations to WHO International Consultations on urinary health.

    Professor Roberts is a member of the Board of Governors of the National Patient Safety Foundation and the National Advisory Council of the California Health Benefits Review Program. He is a member of the Boards of the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation and the Interstate Postgraduate Medical Association. He is a delegate to the American Medical Association (AMA) from the Wisconsin Medical Society.

    A past president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the Wisconsin Medical Society, Dr. Roberts has worked closely with a wide range of physician groups, including service as a director on the boards of the American Medical Accreditation Program (AMAP) and the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation (COLA). He was a member of the Medical Advisory Panel to the Technology Evaluation Center of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. He has been a member of guidelines panels of the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Cardiology, the American Urological Association (AUA), the United States Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), and the World Health Organization (WHO). He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board.

    Professor Roberts' scholarship has focused on the development of decision support tools to improve clinical care, especially in the areas of pain, risk management, and reproductive and urinary health. He has authored over 130 publications and given more than 500 presentations to international, national, and regional audiences.

    Dr. Roberts was a fellow of the Kellogg National Fellowship Program. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Legal Medicine.

  • Patricia Tellez-Giron MD »

    Advisor specialty:

    Patricia Tellez-Giron, MD (Wingra) Raised in Mexico City, Dr.Tellez-Giron received her medical degree, with honors, at the National University of Mexico (UNAM). She moved to the United States 14 years ago to be with her family and to continue her education. She completed the University of Wisconsin Family Medicine Residency program and soon after graduation joined the faculty at Wingra clinic. Dr. Tellez-Giron received the public health award for community advocacy for her work with the Latina community and the Wisconsin Well Women program in 2000. Other awards include the AIDS Network Executive Director’s Award for Outstanding Community HIV/AIDS Service in 2004 and the Faculty Excellence Award for Community Service also in 2004. Dr. Tellez-Giron teaches physicians and other health care professionals about cultural competency in working with Latino/communities. She is the chair of the Latino Health Council in Madison and under her leadership several community initiatives have been implemented including a monthly health prevention Spanish radio program, annual Latino Health fair, and a Latino Chronic disease summit among many others.