PURSUiNG MEdicAl cAREERS AFtER SERviNG thEiR cOUNtRy

Alumni Class NotesHenry Watkins, DO ’98, is board certified in emergencymedicine. His wife, Jennifer Benjamin-Watkins, DO’98, completed her residency in radiology. Together theyown and operate Asheville Medical Aesthtics in Asheville,N.C. Dr. Henry Watkins still practices emergency medicinelocally, although hair restoration surgery is his new passion.Sean Siler, DO ’99, is currently the chief, resuscitativetechnologies division for Entegrion, Inc, a biotechnologydevelopment firm in Research Triangle Park, N.C. that iscreating spray dried plasma and platelet solutions as well asmedical diagnostic devices for the Department of Defenseand the healthcare market. Clinically he works and teachesfor George Washington University, and is transitioning to ateaching position in the emergency department atUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C. He iscompleting the MBA for executives at the Kenan-FlaglerSchool of Business, University of North Carolina, ChapelHill. He just passed the 20 year mark in the army, and spentnine years on active duty. He is in the reserve now, and is aLt. Colonel (and was promoted to that rank below the zone,a year ahead of schedule).Atul Bembi, DO ’00, started West Point Medical Center inFontana, Calif., in October 2005 in a new state of the artbuilding designed specifically for the needs of an urgentcare facility. West Point Medical Center is serving the needsof more than 2,000 patients every month from all three oftheir locations in Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga and SanBernardino.Erik Austin, DO ’01, is owner/operator of AustinDermatology Center in San Diego, Calif. Dr. Austin is aboard certified dermatologist & dermatologic surgeon and isan osteopathic physician listed in Who’s Who in Medicineand Health Care.Renee Perry, DO ’02, is board certified in obstetrics andgynecology, and is currently practicing at KaiserPermanente in Oakland, Calif.Francisco Merino, DO ’03, is currently with West PointMedical Center, where his ability to speak Spanish fluentlyallows him to work closely with Spanish speaking patientswho are less familiar with the English language. He alsoprovides a variety of aesthetic and corrective skintreatments.Vu Dinh, DO ’06, is now a general surgeon at LewisCounty General Hospital in Lowville, N.Y.Ryan Armour, DO ’07, will be joining the Mercy HospitalMedical Group in Sacramento on August 1, 2012. Hecompleted his neurology fellowship on June 1.Jake Hollingsworth, DO ’07, is an active duty Air Forcecaptain and staff psychiatrist. He graduated last year fromthe psychiatry training program at Lackland Air Force Base.Since graduation, he passed the psychiatry boardcertification exam and became the medical director of theRandolph Air Force Base Mental Health Clinic. In June ofthis year he was deployed to Afghanistan in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom.Sarah Vaughn, DO ’07, was deployed to Afghanistan forOperation Enduring Freedom from December 2011 untilJune 2012. She served as part of an outpatient services flightfor a main hospital facility in the region. She providedurgent care services for the American & coalition forces, andhas helped to diagnose such conditions as Barrett’sesophagitis, emphysema and dissecting aortic aneurysm.She will achieve Air Force major in 2013 and now holds thetitle of major-select.Pei Chi Wu, DO ’08, is specializing in family medicine atMarathon Medical Group in Anaheim Hills, Calif.Cynthia Wilson, DO ’08, and Mary Tran,DO ’09, are currently in the family medicine residencyprogram at UC San Diego.College of Allied Health ProfessionsRoy Guizado, PA ’94, MSHPE ’97, was reappointed toCAPA’s student affairs committee. Some of his dutiesinclude selection of student ambassadors for the PAconference, selection of scholarship awardees, and workingclosely with the CAPA student rep to assist students in PAprograms.Graciela Buonavita, PA ’94, and Maria Del CarmenTorres, MSPA ’04, are practicing at Bella Aesthetica inOntario, Calif. Ms. Buonavita enjoys the prestigious honorof being the first physician assistant to be hired by the SanBernardino County Hospital emergency room.Bruce O’Brien, MPT ’94, is currently practicing at KaiserPermanente in Antioch, Calif.Raminder Dosanjh, MPT ’96, is practicing orthopedicswith SOL Physical Therapy in Oakland, Calif.(Continuted on page 54)WesternU View Summer 2012 53