Medicine 2024 | Faculty
Planning Committee Members’ Disclosure Statement
Drs. Dawn Dewitt and Okechukwu Ojogho, and Shelly Bonforti all report no potential conflicts of interest or affiliations with any corporate organizations.
Dr. Clinton Hauxwell is a stockholder in Medtronic, Pfizer, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and Astrazeneca. The Planning Committee has determined that Dr. Hauxwell was not involved in the activity planning which involved goods and services from companies he identified as having a financial relationship, or influenced the specific content of presentations.
Dr. Rachel Safran was a Principal Investigator and promotional speaker for Gilead, receiving speaker training and research funding, and was a Principal Investigator receiving research funding for Merck and Roche/LabCorp. The Planning Committee has determined that Dr. Safran was not involved in the activity planning which involved goods and services from companies he identified as having a financial relationship, or influenced the specific content of presentations.
Howard Frumkin, M.D., Dr.P.H., FACP
Professor Emeritus and former Dean
University of Washington School of Public Health
Senior Vice President
Trust for Public Land
Howard Frumkin, M.D., Dr.P.H., FACP is an internist, epidemiologist, and environmental and occupational medicine physician, with a career focus on environmental health. He has held academic leadership positions at Emory University and the University of Washington, directed the National Center for Environmental Health at the CDC, and led the “Our Planet, Our Health” initiative at the Wellcome Trust in London. He is currently Professor Emeritus at UW and Senior Vice President at Trust for Public Land.
Disclosure Statement: Dr. Frumkin reports no potential conflicts of interest or affiliation with any corporate organizations.
Carol H. Wysham, MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of Washington
Clinical Endocrinologist
Multicare/Rockwood Clinic
Carol H. Wysham, MD has practiced at MultiCare/Rockwood Clinic for over 30 years. She is currently Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington. She has served as Chair of the Professional Practice Committee for the American Diabetes Association and is Past-President of the Endocrine Society. Her research interests have been in prevention and management of cardiovascular disease in diabetes. Her clinical interest is in personalized management of diabetes across the lifespan.
Disclosure Statement: Dr. Wysham received an honorarium as an advisory board member for Abbott; was a Principal Investigator, speaker’s bureau, and advisory board member for Novo Nordisk receiving research funding and honoraria; was a Principal investigator, speaker’s bureau, receiving research funding and honoraria for Eli Lilly; and was a Principal investigator receiving research funding for Bayer and Corcept. The Planning Committee identified that relevant financial relationship is applicable and Dr. Wysham will adhere to the following mitigation strategies: the content or format of the activity or its related materials is designed to promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific proprietary business interest of an ineligible company; presentations in the activity will give a balanced view of therapeutic options. Generic names will be used whenever practical to contribute to this impartiality. If the educational material or content includes trade names, where available trade names from several companies will be used, not just trade names from a single company; clinical recommendations are evidence-based and free of commercial bias; and prior to the event, will provide a detailed outline of the content of her presentation for peer review by a reviewer without relevant financial relationships, and agreed to make changes if requested.
Katherine R. Tuttle, MD, FASN, FACP, FNKF
Executive Director for Research
Providence Inland Northwest Health
Professor of Medicine
Division of Nephrology and Kidney Research Institute
Regional Principal Investigator
Institute of Translational Health Sciences
University of Washington
Katherine R. Tuttle, MD, FASN, FACP, FNKF, is Executive Director for Research at Providence Inland Northwest Health, Regional Principal Investigator of the Institute of Translational Health Sciences and Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington. She oversees a regional network of 17 clinical research centers and chairs the research Regional Executive Council for the University of Washington. Dr. Tuttle earned her medical degree and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. She was a fellow in Metabolism and Endocrinology at Washington University in St. Louis. Her Nephrology fellowship training was performed at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
Dr. Tuttle’s major research interests are in diabetes and chronic kidney disease. As a clinical and translational scientist, she has published over 350 original peer-reviewed articles. Early in her career, her first independently awarded research grant produced a landmark study elucidating physiological principles underlying glomerular hyperfiltration in humans with diabetes. This foundational work led to a number of subsequent physiological and pre-clinical studies that laid a foundation for new therapeutic targets in clinical trials. She has seen that work to the finish line over more than three decades to help deliver SGLT2 inhibition as the most impactful therapy to-date to reduce risks of kidney failure, cardiovascular events, and death in persons with and without diabetes. Dr. Tuttle has also been a leading investigator across the translational arc for other breakthrough therapies, including incretins and anti-inflammatory agents. She led the original clinical trial that elevated glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists to potential therapeutics for chronic kidney disease, which is being tested in ongoing trials. She leads the Center for Kidney Disease Research, Education and Hope (CURE-CKD) Registry of real-world data for chronic kidney disease, diabetes, prediabetes, and hypertension from over 5 million health system patients. In sum, her collective work has shaped the “pillars of therapy“ approach to chronic kidney disease in a most fundamental manner across the spectrum of scientific discovery, clinical trials, and population level implementation.
Dr. Tuttle is Chair of the Diabetic Kidney Disease Collaborative for the American Society of Nephrology. She served on the inaugural Board of Directors for the Kidney Health Initiative and has chaired numerous working groups and committees for organizations including the National Institutes of Health, the American Society of Nephrology, the International Society of Nephrology, Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes, the National Kidney Foundation, and the American Diabetes Association. Dr. Tuttle has received many honors and awards including the John P. Peters Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Nephrology, the Medal of Excellence from the American Association of Kidney Patients, the Garabed Eknoyan Award from the National Kidney Foundation, the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award in Science, and two University of Washington Outstanding Clinical Faculty Awards.
Disclosure Statement: Dr. Tuttle was a consultant receiving consulting fees for Boehringer Ingelheim, Novo Nordisk, Lilly, Bayer, and ProKidney; and was a Principal Investigator receiving an Investigator-initiated grant, paid to institution for Travere and Bayer. The Planning Committee identified that relevant financial relationship is applicable and Dr. Tuttle will adhere to the following mitigation strategies: the content or format of the activity or its related materials is designed to promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific proprietary business interest of an ineligible company; presentations in the activity will give a balanced view of therapeutic options. Generic names will be used whenever practical to contribute to this impartiality. If the educational material or content includes trade names, where available trade names from several companies will be used, not just trade names from a single company; clinical recommendations are evidence-based and free of commercial bias; and prior to the event, will provide a detailed outline of the content of her presentation for peer review by a reviewer without relevant financial relationships, and agreed to make changes if requested.
Ken Cathcart, DO
Endocrinologist
Providence Endocrinology
Ken Cathcart, DO is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Endocrinology and Metabolism. He has been a practicing Endocrinologist in Spokane for 34 years.
Disclosure Statement: Dr. Cathcart reports no potential conflicts of interest or affiliation with any corporate organizations.
Laura J. Spece, MD
Director of Pulmonary Operations
VA Puget Sound Health Care
Assistant Professor
University of Washington
Laura J. Spece, MD is a Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician who practices at the VA Puget Sound in Seattle, WA. Her clinical expertise is in smoking-related lung disease, deployment and inhalational toxin related pulmonary disease, and lung transplantation. She serves as the Director of Pulmonary Operations and strives to improve access to high-quality pulmonary specialty services throughout Washington state, largely driven by partnerships with primary care. Dr. Spece grew up in rural Pennsylvania and understands the challenges of delivering health care outside of large cities. She is the mother of 1 toddler and enjoys spending time biking, hiking, and skiing whenever she can.
Disclosure Statement: Dr. Spece reports no potential conflicts of interest or affiliation with any corporate organizations.
Silvia Russo, MD
Behavioral Neurologist
Providence Cognitive Care Clinic
Spokane, WA
Silvia Russo, MD is a board-certified neurologist with a specialty in the area of behavioral neurology. Dr. Russo graduated Summa cum Laude at San Raffaele University School of Medicine in Milan, Italy. She then completed a visiting scholarship at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, in San Francisco, gaining valuable experience in the area of neurodegenerative disorders and a deep commitment to the care of aging patients with cognitive decline. She completed her Neurology Residency and a Behavioral Neurology Fellowship at the Stanford School of Medicine. Since 2022, she has served as the main behavioral neurologist for the Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho regions. Dr. Russo is passionate about improving access to neurological care to historically underserved communities and providing excellent care in the field of memory and cognitive disorders.
Disclosure Statement: Dr. Russo reports no potential conflicts of interest or affiliation with any corporate organizations.
Jessica Wahlgren, MD
Internal Medicine Residency Spokane
Jessica Wahlgren, MD is a 2nd year resident in the Primary Care Track within the Internal Medicine Residency of Spokane.
Disclosure Statement: Dr. Wahlgren reports no potential conflicts of interest or affiliation with any corporate organizations.