Physicians

Alicia Conill followed her heart song to become a medical doctor, but shortly after joining the faculty at University of Pennsylvania Medical School she developed symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Despite the disease, she built a robust practice until the time came when the numbness in her fingers put her patients in jeopardy.  Although giving up her lifelong dream devastated her, she rebounded to follow another heart song, teaching, and founded the Conill Institute for Chronic Illness.

Jan Garavaglia takes delight in solving the mystery of death.  She went to medical school because she wanted to help people. In the course of her studies she became inspired by a medical examiner and  followed that course herself. She gives comfort to families in providing the reason for the death of their loved one, and that comfort provides her with great satisfaction.

Gordon King is a talented doctor who teaches residents and provides care to patients who are hospitalized. His precise hand and eye make him an accomplished watercolorist as well. Gordon seeks risk and excitement. When he attended the Air Force Academy his ambition was to become an astronaut. Handling matters of life and death on a daily basis make his original dream and motivation insignificant.   

Dr. Howie Lokietz known as Dr. Howie, practiced pediatrics until he had a heart transplant. After the heart transplant, although he could no longer see patients, he continued to counsel parents through an Internet website devoted to answering parents' questions about the health of their children.

Dr. Donald Nathanson, a psychiatrist and executive director of the Sylvan Tomkins Institute, has dedicated his life to changing the way people perceive emotions. He writes and lectures about shame, and is currently working on a project to reduce violence among teenagers by recognizing shame as the motivating cause of violence.

Dr. Kendall Smith is a leader in the fight against AIDS. He and his group discovered InterLeukin 2 which is being used to harness the body's own immune system to fight against AIDS and other pernicious diseases.