Geriatrics, Gerontology & Palliative Medicine

Alfred Fisher, MD

Career & Research Mentor
Medical School: Cornell University | Residency: UC San Francisco | Fellowship: UC San Francisco
Career Interests: Primary care and consultative Geriatrics, Biology of Aging research, development of physician-scientists
Personal Interests: Spending time with family, golf, skiing; Omaha is the 5th city where my wife and I have lived – we have spent time in New York City, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Texas

Elizabeth Harlow, MD

Career Mentor
Medical School: Emory University | Residency: UNMC | Fellowship: UNMC
Career Interests: Medical student education, curriculum development, ambulatory care of older adults
Personal Interests: I have 4 kids, so work-life balance is very important to me. I also love to cook; Looking forward to meeting with any of you!

Joe Hejkal, MD

Career Mentor
Medical School: UNMC | Residency: Reno, NV | Fellowship: UNMC
Career Interests: Perioperative medicine, inpatient geriatrics
Personal Interests: Cycling, board games, family time

Thuy Koll, MD

Research Mentor
Medical School: Creighton University Medical School | Residency: Creighton University Medical School | Fellowship: UNMC
Career Interests: Cognitive function in older adults receiving cancer treatment.

Nora Kovar, MD, MPH

Career and Research Mentor
Medical School: UNMC | Residency: UNMC | Fellowship: UNMC
Career Interests: Patient-centered care, especially for socially complex patients. Academic-community partnerships. Teaching, especially "softer" skills like communication, health systems navigation, and reflective practice. I love taking care of older adults - navigating the different domains that make them so complex and making sure that patients and caregivers have what they need is really rewarding.
Personal Interests: Our household loves learning in general - I'm married to a a former 7th grade science teacher who is a current assistant principal. Since we each have our own takes on education, getting to help our two boys (born 2022 and 2024) learn and grow is really fun for us! I also enjoy podcasts and audiobooks (I'm still in a book club with people from my high school), curling (we're in the league at Baxter Arena), and exploring food and activities around Omaha (when the little ones let us we love to go to concerts)

Bill Lyons, MD

Career Mentor
Medical School: Washington University in St. Louis | Residency: UC San Francisco | Fellowship: UC San Francisco
Career Interests: Geriatrics, care of multimorbid patients near the end of life, doctor-patient communication
Personal Interests: History, baseball, classical movies; Medicine was a 2nd career for me – I was a chemical engineer initially

Katie Maliszewski, MD, PhD

Career Mentor
Medical School: UNMC | Residency: UNMC | Fellowship: UNMC
Career Interests: Geriatric medicine, transitions of care, inpatient co-management
Personal Interests: Running after my kids, cooking and baking, gardening, traveling

Natalie Manley, MD, MPH

Career Mentor
Medical School: UNMC | Residency: University of Utah | Fellowship: University of Utah
Career Interests: Nursing home care, dementia care, hospice care, quality improvement, caregiver stress/support, public health and collaboration with non-physicians with interest in geriatrics
Personal Interests: Spending time with family and my 3 kids, reading fiction, spending time outside enjoying the sun, traveling, German language, church; My favorite books are YA fantasy

Cassandra Wehling, MD

Career Mentor
Medical School: UNMC | Residency: UNMC | Fellowship: UNMC
Career Interests: Primary care, education
Personal Interests: Traveling, wellness, art, finding fun things to do!; I care a lot about our future doctors. I want everyone to have every opportunity to learn and grow but to also make sure they are making themselves a priority as well! You cannot care for patients if you do not also take time to care for yourself!