McConnell / McGee / McKenna / Milam / Moore / Morgan

Thomas H. McConnell III, MD (1985)

Background
Dr. Thomas Hugh McConnell III was born at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas on October 25, 1937. His father was a resident at Parkland and his mother was a nurse. He grew up in Sulphur Springs, Texas and had one brother.

Dr. McConnell married Marianne Harper in 1962. She was the cousin of his best friend in high school, and they met while he was doing his medical internship at Parkland Hospital. They had three children, Cynthia Anne, Thomas Allen, and Mary Lea.

Medical Education & Practice
Dr. McConnell attended Rice University in Houston until his junior year, at which time he transferred to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He was accepted into medical school having never completed his undergraduate work. He graduated with his MD degree in 1962 with top scores.

Dr. McConnell began a pathology internship at Parkland Hospital, but decided to get a firmer foundation in basic medicine before continuing in pathology. After getting married in 1962, he moved to Mississippi to do a ten-month rotating internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. During his internship, Dr. McConnell was on rotation in the ER when civil rights activist Medgar Evars was assassinated by Byron De La Beckwith.

After his internship, Dr. McConnell volunteered for active duty in the U.S. Army in order to complete his required military service. He was posted at the Pentagon as a general medical officer, arriving in Washington, DC on the day that Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I have a dream” speech. When John F. Kennedy died in Dallas in November, 1963, Dr. McConnell was the Pentagon Medical Officer of the Day.

After his time at the Pentagon, Dr. McConnell did airborne training and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky taking sixteen jumps as “battalion surgeon.” In in 1965, after completing his time in the Army, Dr. McConnell returned to Parkland Hospital in Dallas to complete his pathology residency under the direction of Drs. Charles T. Ashworth and Vernie Stembridge. He was board certified by the American board of Pathology in anatomic and clinical pathology in 1969.

Dr. McConnell spent a brief time at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, and then pursued private practice in Abilene, Denton, and El Paso. He returned to Dallas in 1975 to join Dr. Ashworth to form AM Laboratories, and in 1980, he bought out Dr. Ashworth’s portion of ownership. By 1991 he sold AM Laboratories to a publically traded competitor and retired from patient care. He continued working as clinical professor of pathology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

For his work in organized medicine, Dr. McConnell served on several committees for the College of American Pathologists and was governor of the CAP from 1985 to 1988. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Dallas County Medical Society.

Texas Society of Pathologists
Dr. McConnell has been president of several pathology medical organizations including the local Dallas Academy of Pathologists and the North Texas Society of Pathologists. He served as president of the Texas Society of Pathologists in 1985 while also serving as governor of CAP. He received the George T. Caldwell, MD Award in 1988.

Notable Publication(s)
Dr. McConnell has published more than a dozen medical articles, several dealing with advanced computer programs in clinical pathology.

McConnell, T. H., Ashworth, C. T., Ashworth, R. D., & Nielsen, C. R. (1979). Algorithm-derived, computer-generated interpretive comments in the reporting of laboratory tests. American journal of clinical pathology, 72(1), 32-41.

McConnell, T. H. (2007). The nature of disease: Pathology for the Health professions. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

McConnell, T. H. (1971). Fatal hypocalcemia from phosphate absorption from laxative preparation. JAMA, 216(10), 147-148.

William G. McGee, MD (1980) Background Dr. William Gordon McGee was born in Fort Worth, Texas on July 9, 1933. He married Karen Jean Ellis in 1957 and they had three children, Mary, Vernon Michael, and Marguerite. Dr. McGee died on April 6, 2008 of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Dallas, Texas. He was buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso. Medical Education & Practice Dr. McGee spent one year at Iowa State University, but transferred to The University of Texas in Austin to complete his undergraduate degree in 1954. He went to medical school at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and received his MD degree in 1958. From 1958 to 1961, Dr. McGee served an internal medicine internship at Parkland Hospital. In 1961, he began his residency in pathology, studying under Dr. Ashworth and Dr. Stembridge, and was at Parkland Hospital when President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas in 1963. Dr. McGee completed his pathology residency in 1964 and was board certified by the American Board of Pathology in 1965. Dr. McGee served two years, from 1967 to 1969, at the Ft. Ord California Hospital Laboratory and achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. After his time in the Army, he moved to El Paso to join Dr. Maynard Hart’s group, taking the place of Dr. Charles Green after his untimely death. Their group included both radiology and pathology and did not split until 1975. Dr. McGee would spend most of his career serving El Paso and the surrounding counties in West Texas. In 1975, Dr. McGee founded PathLab, PA, serving as senior partner. He covered rural areas in West Texas with towns that had as few as one or two doctors. He sold PathLab in 1991 to Nichols Institute, but continued doing contract work, providing tissues, Pap smears, and consultations. Among Dr. McGee’s activities in organized medicine, he has been most active in the Texas Medical Foundation, where he served as president from 1979 to 1985. He was also president of the El Paso Medical Society in 1979, and was a member of the House of Delegates for the College of American Pathologists from 1977 until 2008. He served as president of the Texas Medical Association in 1990, and served as chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1986 to 2008. He also served as an alternate delegate for the American Medical Society from 1988 to 2008. Dr. McGee worked with several organizations to improve healthcare in West Texas. He was president of the West Texas Council of Governments, Health Systems Agency from 1976 to 1981. He was chairman of the El Paso City-County Border of Health from 1977 to 1978 and chairman of the Emergency Medical Services System of El Paso from 1978 to 1981. Texas Society of Pathologists Dr. McGee served as president of the TSP in 1980. In 1982, the TSP was one of the first state societies to adopt a House of Delegates policymaking structure, and Dr. McGee was one of the interim directors that helped to establish the delegate system. In 1988, Dr. McGee was awarded the George T. Caldwell, MD Award for his contributions to the field of pathology in Texas.

Robert W. McKenna, MD (2004) Background Dr. Robert “Rob” W. McKenna was born on October 30, 1940 in Wilmot, South Dakota, a town with a population of 700 people. His parents, Mac and Irma McKenna, both pharmacists, owned and operated the town drug store for 45 years. Dr. McKenna had two brothers and two sisters. During Dr. McKenna’s first year in medical school in Minneapolis, he met his future wife, Jane Rainbow, who was a student nurse at the time. They were married on November 21, 1964 and had four children, Pat, Meg, Tim, and Molly. Medical Education & Practice Dr. McKenna received his BS degree in biology and chemistry from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1962. That same year he entered medical school at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and graduated with his MD degree in 1966. He did a rotating internship at the University of California in San Diego. Dr. McKenna joined the U.S. Air Force after completing his internship, and served as general medical officer at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam. Because dependents were allowed on the base, Dr. McKenna spent most of his time doing family medicine. Toward the end of his two-year tour in the Air Force, Dr. McKenna decided to specialize in pathology. He and his family moved back to Minnesota, and he began a four-year residency in anatomical and clinical pathology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. After completing his residency in 1973, Dr. McKenna spent a year as chief resident and fellow in hematology and hematopathology. The following year, Dr. Ellis Benson, chair of the Department of Pathology at the University of Minnesota, invited Dr. McKenna to join the faculty at the medical school. He was promoted to full professor in 1983, and was on faculty at the medical school for a total of twelve years. In 1985, Dr. McKenna was invited by Dr. Vernie Stembridge to interview for the directorship of the Pathology Department at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Dr. McKenna was so impressed with Parkland Hospital and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School that he accepted the job, and in November 1985, he and his family moved to Dallas. Since joining the faculty at UT Southwestern, Dr. McKenna has served as director of the Pathology Department at Parkland Hospital, as executive vice chair of the Pathology Department, and as director of the Division of Hematopathology and Immunology. He has also served as the medical director for the School of Medical Laboratory Science. Dr. McKenna served as president of the Twin Cities Society of Pathologists in 1985, president of the Society of Hematopathology from 1992 until 1994, and president of the American Society of Clinical Pathology in 1996. He continues to work with the ASCP in several capacities. Additionally, Dr. McKenna is a member of the Collage of American Pathologists, the Texas Medical Association, and the Dallas County Medical Society. Dr. McKenna has won numerous honors and awards. Among them are the Commission on Continuing Education Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists in 1989, the Vernie A. Stembridge Resident Education Distinguished Teaching Award from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1994, the Ward Burdick Distinguished Service to Clinical Pathology Award from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists in 2000, and the Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota Medical School at is commencement in 2000. Dr. McKenna has also been listed in each edition of Naifehs and Smith’s Best Doctors in America since its inauguration in 1992. Texas Society of Pathologists Dr. McKenna served as president of the TSP in 2004, and in 2006 he received the George T. Caldwell, MD Award for his contributions to pathology. Among his other activities with the TSP, Dr. McKenna has served on the Board of Directors since 1999 and was an alternate member for the House of Delegates from 1994 until 2000. Notable Publication(s) Dr. McKenna has authored more than 90 research articles, 27 book chapters, and 21 review articles and has authored or edited 4 books. He has served on the editorial board of the American Journal of Clinical Pathology. He currently is on the editorial boards of Modern Pathology and Medscape – Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He has been a reviewer for more than 20 other medical journals. Risdall, R. J., McKenna, R. W., Nesbit, M. E., Krivit, W., Balfour, H. H., Simmons, R. L., & Brunning, R. D. (1979). Virus‐associated hemophagocytic syndrome A benign histiocytic proliferation distinct from malignant histiocytosis. Cancer, 44(3), 993-1002. Ansari, M. Q., Dawson, D. B., Nador, R., Rutherford, C., Schneider, N. R., Latimer, M. J., ... & McKenna, R. W. (1996). Primary body cavity-based AIDS-related lymphomas. American journal of clinical pathology, 105(2), 221-229. Shivapurkar, N., Harada, K., Reddy, J., Scheuermann, R. H., Xu, Y., McKenna, R. W., ... & Gazdar, A. F. (2002). Presence of simian virus 40 DNA sequences in human lymphomas. The Lancet, 359(9309), 851-852.

John D. Milam, MD (1978)

Background
Dr. John Daniel Milam was born in Kilgore, Texas on May 22, 1932 to Otto Milam and Effie Destomona White, but moved to Louisiana at a young age. He married Carol on October 1, 1959, and they had four children, Kay, Beth, Johnny, and Julie.

Medical Education & Practice
Dr. Milam obtained his master’s degree at Louisiana State University in 1957 and his MD degree from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans in 1960. He did a rotating internship in Shreveport and a residency in pathology at LSU and Confederate Memorial Hospital in 1961. In 1965 Dr. Milam spent a year in New York for a fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Center. After his time in New York, Dr. Milam moved to Texas and joined the pathology staff at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston.

Dr. Milam worked in anatomical pathology, clinical pathology, nuclear pathology, and blood transfusions. He was an active bedside consultant, and was known for his patient care, serving as chief of staff at St. Luke’s. His areas of focus were transfusions, coagulation, and pheresis treatment for autoimmune disorders.

Dr. Milam taught at The University of Texas Health Science Center and Medical School and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, working with the residency training program in pathology. He also interacted with several technology schools, focusing on medical technology and blood banking. He was a leading figure in the Houston Combined Program for Medical Technology Education.

While at The University of Texas Health Science Center, Dr. Milam helped develop devices to facilitate pheresis and refine blood banking and transfusion approaches for open heart surgery and immunohematology. Dr. Milam assisted Dr. Denton Cooley and others in performing the first human implantation of cardiac prosthesis for staged replacement of the heart in 1969.

Dr. Milam was part of the founding board of the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. This center sought to implement standards and procedures for blood transfusions that ensure donor and patient safety. The bank was later renamed The Blood Center.

Among his memberships in professional organizations, Dr. Milam was on the Board of Governors in the College of American Pathologists and was president of the American Board of Pathology in 1995. He was a fellow with the American Society of Clinical Pathology and a member of the American Association of Blood Banks, the Texas Medical Association, and the American Medical Association. He served as president of the Houston Society of Clinical Pathologists in 1975.

Texas Society of Pathologists
Dr. Milam served as president of the TSP in 1978 and received the George T. Caldwell, MD Award in 1981 for his work in the field of pathology. Dr. Milam also served as interim director of the TSP in 1982 when the organization was developing the House of Delegates policymaking structure.

Notable Publication(s)
Cooley, D. A., Liotta, D., Hallman, G. L., Bloodwell, R. D., Leachman, R. D., & Milam, J. D. (1969). Orthotopic cardiac prosthesis for two-staged cardiac replacement. The American journal of cardiology, 24(5), 723-730.

Simon, T. L., Alverson, D. C., AuBuchon, J., Cooper, E. S., DeChristopher, P. J., Glenn, G. C., ... & Stehling, L. (1998). Practice parameter for the use of red blood cell transfusions: developed by the Red Blood Cell Administration Practice Guideline Development Task Force of the College of American Pathologists. Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine, 122(2), 130-138.

Brady, M.T., Milam, J.D., Anderson, D.C., Hawkins, E.P., Speer, M.E., Seavy, D., ...& Yow, M.D. (1984). Use of degycerolized red blood cells to prevent posttransfusion infection with cytomegalovirus in neonates. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 150(3), 334-339.

Alan T. Moore, MD (2001)

Background
Dr. Alan Townes Moore was born on December 19, 1949 in Dallas, Texas to Dr. Stephen Halcuit Moore, a pediatrician, and Doris Dowdell Moore. He was the second of four children. Dr. Moore graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1968 and was accepted into the Plan II Liberal Arts program at The University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Moore met his wife, Martha Howard, while in medical school. They were married in April 1976 and had three children, Martha, Bradley, and Elizabeth.

Medical Education & Practice
When he came home from school during the summers, Dr. Moore would work as a surgical scrub at Parkland hospital. It was this job that inspired him to go into medicine. Dr. Moore received a BA with honors from The University of Texas in 1972 and an MD degree from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1976. He was the recipient of the Vernie A. Stembridge Award for outstanding pathology students and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha.

Dr. Moore completed his anatomical and clinical pathology residency at Parkland Hospital, serving as chief resident during his fourth year. He was mentored by Drs. Vernie Stembridge, Frank Velios, Arthur Weinberg, and Bruce Fallis. After completing his pathology residency, he did a hematopathology fellowship at Parkland under the direction of Dr. William Sheehan. He became board certified in anatomic and clinical pathology as well as hematopathology.

After his fellowship at Parkland, Dr. Moore and his family moved to Greenwood, South Carolina where he joined Carolina Pathology Associates and practiced at Self Memorial Hospital. During this time, Dr. Moore was instrumental in reorganizing the billing offices when the Tax Equality and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 went into effect.

In 1984, Dr. Moore and his family moved to Austin, Texas where he joined Clinical Pathology Laboratories, which eventually split into Clinical Pathology Associates and Clinical Pathology Laboratories. Dr. Moore served as president of Clinical Pathology Associates and on the Board of Trustees for Clinical Pathology Laboratories from 1992 until 1997. Both organizations grew substantially after Dr. Moore joined their staff and have extended their services to Georgetown, Round Rock, Austin, San Marcos, and San Antonio.

Dr. Moore was also on staff at Seton Medical Center, having held every medical staff office there, including chief of staff in 2002, director of laboratories, and transplant pathologist. He served on the Board of Directors of the Seton Fund and as part of the development and endowment arm of the Daughters of Charity.

From 2008 to 2010, Dr. Moore served as director of the Texas Medical Board. He was originally hired on a part-time basis, but it became clear that this was a full-time job. He worked with nineteen board members who were appointed by Governor Perry and was involved in the legislative processes regarding the practice of medicine in Texas.

Dr. Moore retired from practice in 2014.

Texas Society of Pathologists
Dr. Moore has served in several capacities for the TSP, including as chair of the Legislative Council and on the Caldwell Award Council.  He served as vice president of TSP in 1996 and as president in 2001.  Dr. Moore was awarded the George T. Caldwell, MD Award for his work in pathology in 2012.

Robert I. Morgan, MD (1988)

Background
Robert Irvin Morgan was born in Greenville, Texas on December 7, 1932. His father was an attorney and his mother was a school teacher. Dr. Morgan was the youngest of three children. In 1950, he graduated from Greenville High School, with honors, and an interest in math and music.

Dr. Morgan met his future wife, June Speed, during his first week in medical school. She was a nursing student. They were married in 1955 and had three children, Melissa, Neill, and Peter.

Dr. Morgan passed away in 2000.

Medical Education & Practice
Dr. Morgan completed his undergraduate work at The University of Texas in Austin. He initially majored in pure mathematics, but also studied biology and economics. He received the Arthur LaFarve Pure Math fellowship in 1953. In 1954, he changed his major to pre-med, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa honor fraternity, and graduated with honors in 1954. While at The University of Texas, Dr. Morgan roomed with fellow future TSP member and president, Dr. William “Dub” Crofford, and he was in math classes with Dr. Jerome “Jeremy” Wilkenfield, also a future TSP president.

Dr. Morgan obtained his MD degree from The University of Texas Medical School in Galveston in 1958.  His interest in pathology was influenced by John Childers, Vernie Stembridge, and Kenneth Earl, faculty members in the Department of Pathology at the time.

Dr. Morgan received his postgraduate training at the U.S. Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland where he did a traditional rotating internship. He spent a year at the Medical Research Institute studying the effects of total body irradiation on rats and hogs. In 1960, he began his residency in pathology.  Dr. Morgan remained in the Navy Medical Corps until July, 1968 when he resigned his regular commission and returned to Greenville, Texas to open a laboratory and private practice.

Once he was back in Greenville, Dr. Morgan established a small reference library to complement the work of the two newly built county hospitals serving Greenville and Sulphur Springs. Dr. Morgan served as chief of staff at the Hunt Regional Medical Center in Greenville and as president of the Hunt-Rockwall-Rains County medical society. In 1990 the society honored Dr. Morgan by making him “Physician of the Year.”

Dr. and Mrs. Morgan were interested in helping their local community. Dr. Morgan promoted interaction and building of relationships with other physicians in an effort to advance quality medical care in the community. Mrs. Morgan organized the local family planning clinic which subsequently developed into a rural health clinic for medically indigent patients. Dr. Morgan was president of the board of Hunt County Family Services, the parent organization of this clinic and also of the local Mental Health and Mental Retardation services.

After Dr. Morgan’s death in 2000, Hunt Regional Healthcare Foundation established the R. Irvin Morgan Scholarship which is given to Hunt County high school seniors who are planning to go into medicine. Additionally, the Hunt Regional Medical Center’s pathology department was named in his honor.

Texas Society of Pathologists
Dr. Morgan served as president of the TSP in 1988. He also served for many years on the Board of Directors and on several other committees. He served several terms in the House of Delegates of the College of American Pathologists during this time.
In 1999, Dr. Morgan received the George T. Caldwell, MD award for his work in pathology.

Notable Publication(s)
Morgan, R. I., & Mazur, J. H. (1963). Congenital Aneurysm of Aortic Root with Fistula to Left Ventricle A Case Report with Autopsy Findings. Circulation, 28(4), 589-594.
Fleming, W. H., Avery, G. B., Morgan, R. I., & Cone, T. E. (1963). Gastrointestinal malabsorption associated with cystinuria, report of a case in a negro. Pediatrics, 32(3), 358-370.
Lukash, W. M., Morgan, R. I., Sennett, C. O., & Nielson, O. F. (1966). Gastrointestinal neoplasms in von Recklinghausen's disease. Archives of Surgery, 92(6), 905-908.