The Next Generation of Great Philadelphia Doctors, Part 2

Mark Abdelmalek, 34
Dermatologic surgery, Hahnemann/Drexel
ABC News medical research journalist who performs Mohs micrographic surgery for skin cancers, cosmetic dermatology, and laser surgery, including a specialized technique for malignant melanoma.

Tami Lee Bach, 39
Hematologist, Underwood
PhD/MD has studied molecular pharmacology and structural biology. Researches blood and the roles of its various components, especially T-cells.

Reina Bender, 31
Gastroenterologist, Chester County
Has researched still-experimental natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES), in which the GI tract is purposely perforated to remove diseased organs such as gallbladders without external scars. Emphasizes women’s health issues, including pelvic-floor problems and pelvic pain.

Livia Bratis, 36
Pulmonologist, Kennedy
The medical director of the medical and surgical ICU’s at Kennedy’s Stratford Division, she studies sleep-disordered breathing and acute respiratory distress and their role in producing diseases and mortality in chronic lung-disease patients.

Ouida Brown, 35
Orthopedic surgeon, Lourdes
Former physical therapist who became a doctor and now practices sports medicine; studies elbow ligament injuries in overhead-throwing athletes, the use of MRIs as diagnostic tools, and treatment of ankle fractures.

Samantha Butts, 35
Obstetrics/gynecology, HUP
Studies premature ovarian aging; participant in the Eritrean Fistula Project, a U.N.-sponsored clinical mission to Eritrea to treat rectovaginal fistulas and investigate causes of amenorrhea and infertility.

Anne Cappola, 39
Endocrinologist, HUP
Cappola is seeking new ways to help people remain healthy into old age. Her research on thyroid dysfunction prompted changes in treatment recommendations for older people with subclinical thyroid disease; she also studies hormonal changes that occur in older men and women. Cappola is married to Thomas Cappola. Check him out in our slideshow — he's number 6!

Brendan Carr, 36
Emergency physician, HUP
Explores ways to improve the nation’s emergency care system. His studies have shown that cardiac arrest patients in large, urban and teaching hospitals are more likely to survive than those in smaller, non-academic hospitals, as are patients in highest-volume ICU’s. Also studies and speaks on gun violence and firearm injuries.

Kane Chang, 36
Vascular surgeon, Deborah
Pioneering safer, less-invasive surgery, especially for abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms and peripheral artery disease.

John J. DeStafeno, 33
Ophthalmologist, Chester County
Performs DSEK corneal transplant surgery, which improves patients’ vision within weeks as compared to a year with traditional transplantation, as well as “no-stitch” pterygium removal surgery that uses amniotic membrane grafts harvested from placentas.

Keith Flaherty, 38
Medical oncologist, HUP
A leading investigator for “personalized medicine” in the form of targeted drug therapy combinations, especially for melanoma and renal cell carcinoma, historically two difficult cancers to treat.

Kevin Freedman, 39
Orthopedic surgeon, Bryn Mawr
Established the Bryn Mawr Hospital Cartilage Restoration Program, focusing on new technologies that provide younger patients with options other than joint replacement. In one procedure, a small amount of a patient’s own cartilage is removed and grown in a lab, with new cells then implanted in the knee.

Stephanie Fuller, 38
Cardiothoracic surgeon, CHOP
Specializes in congenital heart defects, focusing on long-term functional and neurodevelopmental outcomes in both children and adults who’ve undergone surgery for CHD. Developing a registry database for research into adult congenital heart disease.