Tulane Medical Alumni Association

TMAA celebrated the Class of 1976’s 50th reunion earlier this month. Thank you to all alumni and their friends and family for attending! And a special thank you to our Class of 1976 reunion committee for all of their efforts over the past year!

Congratulations to Dr. Aaron Short (TC '06, M *11, PHTM *11) - Our 2026 Tulane Medical Alumni Association Young Alumni Leadership Award Recipient! Dr. Elma Ledoux presented Dr. Short with the award at his recent class of 2011, 15th Reunion Dinner.

Dr. Aaron Short is a double board-certified psychiatrist in Adult and Geriatric Psychiatry and serves as Medical Director at the Menlo Park VA Medical Center within the Palo Alto VA Health Care System in California. He specializes in caring for older adults with complex medical and psychiatric needs, with expertise in neurocognitive disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia, Parkinson's disease psychosis, and frontotemporal dementia, as well as psychodynamic and psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
A proud double Tulane alumnus, Dr. Short earned degrees in neuroscience and Spanish before completing both his MD and MPH at Tulane. He went on to train in psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Jackson Memorial Hospital, before completing his geriatric psychiatry fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine. He and his wife, Dr. Christina Le-Short, a pain physician, couples matched for residency in Miami and are now proud parents to a five-year-old daughter named Lennox.
In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Short has held faculty appointments at McGovern Medical School at UT Health Houston and Baylor College of Medicine, and has delivered regional and international talks on geriatric psychiatry. As he transitions to the Bay Area, he is expected to join the Stanford University School of Medicine faculty in the coming year. Dr. Short's career reflects a deep and steadfast commitment to compassionate, patient-centered care for some of medicine's most vulnerable patients.

Congratulations to Dr. Eric Griggs M *96, R *98 - Our 2026 Tulane Medical Alumni Association CD Taylor Award Recipient! Dean Hamm presented Dr. Griggs with his award at his recent class of 1996 30th Reunion Dinner.

Dr. Griggs is a community medicine doctor and health educator who has dedicated his 30-year career to advancing public health equity and empowering the "village." For the past 10 years, he has served at Access Health Louisiana, currently as Associate Vice President for Community Health Strategy and AI Health Innovation. A Certified Specialist in AI in Healthcare with training from Stanford University, Dr. Griggs leverages more than 30 professional certifications to lead the responsible integration of technology into community wellness. He also serves as Chief Health Officer of the Global Institute of Integrated Health, Clinical Assistant Professor at LSU School of Medicine, and Adjunct Professor at Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy.

For over 13 years, Dr. Griggs has been the trusted regional health educator for WVUE FOX 8, appearing on air five days a week to make complex medical topics accessible to all. His public health impact includes providing expert guidance to the Louisiana Legislature that helped lead to a state ban on recreational nitrous oxide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he emerged as a vital voice of calm, collaborating with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on campaigns that generated over 1.1 billion total impressions, with his individual segments reaching more than 250 million people.
Globally recognized as "Doc Griggs," he leads the Annual Bayou Classic Walk Around the Dome, directs culturally grounded health programs internationally as Vice Chairman of the Global Health and Wellness Committee for the 100 Black Men of America, and recently led a youth delegation to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Whether engaging in churches, preschools, and schools or advising government officials around the world, Dr. Griggs remains a steadfast champion of his signature mission: "Get Checked. Get Fit. Get Moving!"

Congratulations to Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo (M *92, PHTM *92, R *96) -- our 2026 Tulane Medical Alumni Association Outstanding Alumni Award recipient! Dean Lee Hamm and TMAA President Elect Dr. Kate Zibilich Holcomb presented Dr. DeSalvo with this award at the recent Tulane Alumni Association gala.

Dr. DeSalvo is a nationally recognized physician and public health leader whose career has spanned medicine, policy, and technology. A proud Tulane alumna, she earned both her MPH and MD from Tulane University before completing her Master of Science in clinical epidemiology at Harvard.
Following Hurricane Katrina, Dr. DeSalvo became a transformative force in New Orleans, building an innovative, award-winning model of neighborhood-based primary care and mental health services for low-income and vulnerable communities. She later served as New Orleans' health commissioner and senior health policy advisor to Mayor Mitch Landrieu, before joining the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as Acting Assistant Secretary for Health and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
Most recently, she served as Google's inaugural Chief Health Officer, leading the company's global health strategy and guiding efforts to responsibly harness technology to improve health outcomes for people everywhere.

A member of the National Academy of Medicine and a TIME100 Health 2025 honoree, Dr. DeSalvo has been recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 most influential people in health care and named a Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine. She currently serves on the boards of Welltower and Cityblock Health and remains a powerful voice for health equity, innovation, and accessible care for all.

Congratulations to Karen B. DeSalvo for winning the 2026 Tulane Medical Alumni Association Outstanding Alumni Award!

Karen Bollinger DeSalvo is a nationally recognized physician and public health leader whose career has spanned medicine, policy, and technology. A proud Tulane alumna, she earned both her MPH and MD from Tulane University before completing her Master of Science in clinical epidemiology at Harvard.
Following Hurricane Katrina, Dr. DeSalvo became a transformative force in New Orleans, building an innovative, award-winning model of neighborhood-based primary care and mental health services for low-income and vulnerable communities. She later served as New Orleans' health commissioner and senior health policy advisor to Mayor Mitch Landrieu, before joining the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as Acting Assistant Secretary for Health and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
Most recently, she served as Google's inaugural Chief Health Officer, leading the company's global health strategy and guiding efforts to responsibly harness technology to improve health outcomes for people everywhere.
A member of the National Academy of Medicine and a TIME100 Health 2025 honoree, Dr. DeSalvo has been recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 most influential people in health care and named a Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine. She currently serves on the boards of Welltower and Cityblock Health and remains a powerful voice for health equity, innovation, and accessible care for all.

Earlier this month, TMAA hosted our 10th through 45th reunion weekend for the Classes of 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016. It was wonderful seeing so many familiar faces come together to reconnect, reminisce, and celebrate all our alumni have accomplished since graduating.

Thank you to all who attended and especially to our reunion committee members, who helped make this year’s reunion a success! To view the reunion weekend photo album:
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Tonight in Hutchinson Auditorium!

The Tulane Medical Alumni Association presents, “Now You Are an MD: How to Earn and Save Smartly Right from the Start,” an educational program featuring Tulane School of Medicine alumni Drs. Kate Zibilich Holcomb, Melissa Adrouny, and Chad Caplan, as well as Tulane Freeman School of Business alum Thomas DeSouza.

Enjoy light refreshments provided by Martin's Wine Cellar and complimentary Tulane Med Badge Reels provided.

The program will take place on Thursday, March 12, from 6:00–7:30 PM in Hutchinson Auditorium; light refreshments will be served. This event is open to all Tulane School of Medicine alumni, faculty/staff, residents/interns/fellows, and students.
Register now at: https://securetu.tulane.edu/s/1586/Alumni/16/interior.aspx?sid=1586&gid=3&pgid=14708&cid=32766&fbclid=IwY2xjawQfr8dleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFIcEdTU0tobG1UYmRwcDF6c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNTE0NzcxNTY5MjI4MDYxAAEeOJOemk3V9OVWuDAvVyAyKpN9sYQGsfs2D1a6i3p9VrJlIKxH3ELnYfMhvso_aem_dEH4Eb95XHZVUREUnH0HNwsid=1586&gid=3&pgid=14708&cid=32766&fbclid=IwY2xjawQfr8dleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFIcEdTU0tobG1UYmRwcDF6c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNTE0NzcxNTY5MjI4MDYxAAEeOJOemk3V9OVWuDAvVyAyKpN9sYQGsfs2D1a6i3p9VrJlIKxH3ELnYfMhvso_aem_dEH4Eb95XHZVUREUnH0HNw

The Tulane Medical Alumni Association presents, “Now You Are an MD: How to Earn and Save Smartly Right from the Start,” an educational program featuring Tulane School of Medicine alumni Drs. Kate Zibilich Holcomb, Melissa Adrouny, and Chad Caplan, as well as Tulane Freeman School of Business alum Thomas DeSouza.

The program will take place on Thursday, March 12, from 6:00–7:30 PM in Hutchinson Auditorium; light refreshments will be served. This event is open to all Tulane School of Medicine alumni, faculty/staff, residents/interns/fellows, and students.

Register now at: https://securetu.tulane.edu/s/1586/Alumni/16/interior.aspx?sid=1586&gid=3&pgid=14708&cid=32766