Millennium Magazine_4th Ed

148 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine A t the inception of his career in 1971, Dr. Gary L. Catchen obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Pennsylvania State University and went on to serve in a military hospital with the U.S. Army. Working in that capacity for three years, he was discharged in 1974 and attended Columbia University on the G.I. Bill. He subsequently graduated with a PhD in chemistry in 1979. First employed as a research chemist for Conoco, Inc., in Oklahoma until 1982, he then took on an academic role as an assistant professor of nuclear engineering at Pennsylvania State University, a position he held until 1990. He was soon promoted to the rank of associate professor and then full professor in 1996, serving until attaining emeritus status in 2014. During his tenure in education, Dr. Catchen pursued a bachelor’s degree in German from Penn State. He developed a research program over five years’ time, becoming fluent in German in order to study and promote his research abroad. He soon accomplished his goal, citing it as a career highlight. Apart from his career responsibilities, Dr. Catchen enjoys photography and reading in his spare time. NUCLEAR ENGINEER, PROFESSOR EMERITUS Pennsylvania State University State College, PA GARY L. CATCHEN, PHD D r. John T. Carpenter has been interested in medicine since he was a high school student. Struggling with health maladies from a formative age, he developed a greater insight into medicine more than his peers did. Earning a Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University in 1964 and MD from Tulane University in 1968, he conducted his training in medical oncology and soon thereafter, delved into breast cancer research. Beginning in 1973, he served as an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and soon progressed to associate professor and full professor by 1986. Serving as a professor of medicine for the past 33 years, he also served the American Cancer Society in multiple capacities since 1979. Among his notable achievements, Dr. Carpenter is most renowned for making the medical observation of “pharmacogenetics,” the study of individuals who have an intrinsic ability tometabolize certain drugs. As a testament to his success, he was named a fellow of the American College of Physicians and recognized as an Outstanding Teacher by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Division of Hematology/ Oncology from 2005 to 2006. PROFESSOR EMERITUS University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL JOHN T. CARPENTER, MD EDUCATION Millennium Magazine Featured Listee