The Department of Internal Medicine is pleased to introduce some of the faculty members who joined us from August through December 2023. We are happy to welcome them to the department.
Gregory Gullickson, PhD – Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Gregory Gullickson is a psychologist who comes to the Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation from his position as Director of the Seashore Psychology Training Clinic in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Iowa. Dr. Gullickson received his PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Iowa. His clinical and research interests include motivational interviewing, clinical supervision, common factors in psychotherapy, EMDR, and clinical hypnosis. In his free time, he enjoys reading, golf, travel, studying languages, and listening to music, especially Brazilian jazz and bossa nova.
Jing Huang Kees, MD – Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Jing Huang Kees joins the Division of General Internal Medicine as a Clinical Associate Professor from her recent faculty position at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where she also served as an academic hospitalist at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. Dr. Kees received her MD from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, followed by an Internal Medicine residency at Baylor. Her clinical and research interests include quality improvement, performing mortality reviews and teaching coding/billing. Outside of medicine, she stays busy taking care of her family and with what little free time she has left, she enjoys a nice long run.
Pierre Palo, MD – Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Pierre Palo joins the Division of General Internal Medicine as a Clinical Assistant Professor and hospitalist. He received his MD from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, followed by an Internal Medicine Residency at Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center in Michigan. Dr. Palo’s clinical interests focus on venous thromboembolism and peripheral vascular disease. In his spare time, Dr. Palo enjoys reading and working out.
Soorih Shaikh, MBBS, MRCPi, MPH – Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Soorih Shaikh recently joined the Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation as a Clinical Assistant Professor. Dr. Shaikh received his MBBS from Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan, and completed an Internal Medicine residency from Pakistan, a postgraduate diploma in Medicine from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and a 2-year training in Hematology and Bone marrow transplant in Dublin, Ireland. Later, he attained an MPH from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Dr. Shaikh enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with his family and newly born child, when not at work.
Robert Smyth, MD, MSc – Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Robert Smyth joins the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine as a Clinical Assistant Professor from a faculty position in the Division of Computational Biomedicine at Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Smyth received his medical degree (MBBCh BAO) from University College Dublin, Ireland, followed by an MSc in Clinical Research and an MD by thesis from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He completed his clinical specialist training in Respiratory and General Internal Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians, Ireland and a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Boston University Medical Center. His clinical and research interests include lung cancer and liquid biopsies for lung nodule classification. In his free time, he enjoys traveling and science fiction.
Joseph Tholany, MD – Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Joseph Tholany comes to the Division of Infectious Diseases as a Clinical Assistant Professor, after completing his ID Fellowship here at UIHC, and a VA Quality Scholars Fellowship at the Iowa City VA Medical Center. He received his MD from St. George’s University in Grenada, West Indies, followed by an Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Tholany’s clinical and research interests focus on healthcare transmission of multidrug-resistant infections. When not at work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter and playing board games.
Yaqi Zhang, MD – Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Yaqi Zhang joins the Division of General Internal Medicine after completing an Internal Medicine residency at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County Health in Chicago, Illinois. She received her MD from Shanghai Medical College in Shanghai, China. Her clinical and research interests include internal medicine and cardiovascular medicine. In her spare time, Dr. Zhang likes to cook and travel with her family.