Medical College of Wisconsin Pediatric Surgery Fellowship Team
Faculty
Casey M. Calkins, MD, FACS, FAAP
View Casey M. Calkins, MD, FACS, FAAP Profile
I was born and grew up in southern California. I matriculated in medical school here in Milwaukee in 1992 where I met my wife Barbara, who was a medical student in my class. We went through the couple’s match and landed in Denver, Colorado – I a general surgery resident and she a resident in Pediatrics. We had two boys while completing our residencies – Chris and Corey, who have now since gone on to college. We have lived in Brookfield ( a western suburb of Milwaukee) since finishing my fellowship, and I have served on the faculty at The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin since that time, and Barb is a pediatrician in the community. We enjoy everything outdoors – hiking, skiing, boating, and travel. I especially enjoy fly fishing and have a home in Montana, where our family frequently vacations. I also have a longstanding interest in music, thoroughbred horse racing and am a former competitive racquetball and soccer player. Our only child at home is our beloved Greater Swiss Mountain Dog – Piper.
Brian T. Craig, MD
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Born and raised in western New York, I grew up skiing and ice skating in the winter and playing golf and baseball in the summer. My wife Liz and I met while we were in medical school together in Pittsburgh. As avid music fans, living in Nashville, Tennessee for residency offered us so many incredible music experiences. Here in Wisconsin we are re-discovering our love of snow, and I am embracing the amazing golf in the area. Our one-year old daughter Meredith likes to spend her time picking up every leaf she can find and petting the neighbors’ dogs.
John C. Densmore, MD
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I was born to an army lawyer and a concert flutist in the deep south. We moved all over including to Tehran, Iran just prior to the Iranian revolution. Eventually my family found our way back to Alabama and subsequently Pensacola, FL where I completed middle and high school years. Traveling the world and making new friends with every move taught me the importance of family, gave me a great appreciation for our freedoms, and gave me a much bigger view of the world. I wound up in a small liberal arts college in MN, which is a story unto itself, majored in chemistry due to a crush on my professor, and spent a postgrad year at Mayo Clinic studying laser induced fluorescence of Barrett’s esophagus. I survived on a bike that year—cycling the Douglas trail 30 miles most days after work. I started a PhD in bioinorganic chemistry using ultrasound to crosslink hemoglobin into extremely cooperative microspheres. The rats we studied turned white when we exchanged transfused them, but were none the wiser. I elected to cut short my nine-year path and finish my medical degree in Peoria where I met my pediatrician wife, Emily, and we couples matched to MCW. I have had the privilege of training and practicing in Milwaukee. We have two boys, Will and Henry, and I spend a lot of dad time attending rowing regattas and cross country events. As a family, we like to hike 14ers in Colorado, ski, snowboard, waterski, and camp in the beautiful north woods. Lately I have been into endurance cycling—time in the saddle helps me focus and recenter.
Katy Flynn-O’Brien, MD, MPH
View Katy Flynn-O'Brien, MD, MPH Profile
I was born and raised in NM, which comes with a love of red and green chile (i.e., “Christmas”), all you can eat chips and salsa, and sopapillas with honey. I was also spoiled with the best sunsets in the entire world. I went to college “back east”, and then took a hiatus from school and focused on marathon training/racing for a year, and then moved to and lived in rural Ecuador for a year. In Ecuador, I acquired a taste for high-altitude mountaineering. Logically, I then did my general surgery training in Seattle where I could summit Mt. Rainer and Mt. Backer on the weekends. I met my husband over brunch at a diner in Seattle. We married 2 years later during my junior fellow year here in Milwaukee. We love Milwaukee, and are especially fond of the hipster coffee, food, and cocktail scene. We have an amazing daughter, Olive, who is a year-old December 2021. She is the coolest.
David Gourlay, MD
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I was born and raised in the San Francisco, Bay Area. I went to college at UC Santa Barbara. I came to Milwaukee for medical school at MCW and then out to Seattle for general surgery residency at the University of Washington. I met my wife Christine in Seattle. We moved to Milwaukee for fellowship at Children’s Wisconsin and have remained here ever since. Christine and I have three kids: Conner (18), Miles (14) and Olivia (12). We live in Mequon which is a suburb north of downtown Milwaukee. Playing tennis is a requirement for our family. Both Christine and I grew up playing and now our kids play year-round too. I am now the worst in my family! We all like to ski (Alpine) during the winter. We ski at one of the private ski hills around Milwaukee and I enjoy skiing out West and in Vermont. I am trying to learn guitar but realizing I am not good at teaching myself. I try to exercise daily: running, biking and strength training. My wife and kids spend most summers in Vermont where she grew-up and most of my vacation time during the summer is spent there. My parents & sister’s family still live in the SF Bay Area and we spend time there too. I have been in the US Army Reserves since 1997 and have deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo throughout my career.
Dave Lal, MD
I was born in Chicago to immigrant parents. My mother, a nurse, escaped from Czechoslovakia and my father came from India and completed his general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery training in Chicago. I was constantly exposed to medicine as a child and developed an early interest in following my father’s footsteps. I went to residency with the intention of becoming a CT surgeon, but in my 3rd year of residency rotated on pediatric surgery. I was enthralled with the breadth of surgery and enjoyed caring for kids. I realized quickly that pediatric surgery was my calling. I subsequently completed fellowships in pediatric surgical oncology (MSKCC) and advanced adult minimally invasive surgery (University of Washington). It was at the University of Washington, that I met my wife Alysandra, who was a general surgery resident. We moved to Wisconsin, and I completed my pediatric surgery fellowship at MCW. After fellowship, I joined the faculty at MCW and have remained here since. Alysandra is a private practice general surgeon, and we have two boys (Layton aged 13 and Aidan aged 14 years). We enjoy all types of activities including in the summer-paddle boarding, wake surfing, hiking, and biking. In the winter we enjoy downhill skiing, cross country skiing and snow shoeing. We are avid travelers, so when we have free time, we usually explore different parts of the world. My older son, Aidan joins me for Crossfit most mornings prior to school/work. My younger son, Layton, enjoys acting and has participated in two professional productions at First Stage Theater in Milwaukee. Lastly, we have a 100 lbs. Bernedoodle, Athena, that loves the Wisconsin climate. She is just as comfortable swimming from our boat in the hot summer to rolling in the winter snow.
Jose Salazar Osuna, MD
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I was born and raised in Mexico. Couples matched with my wife who is a Pediatric ICU Neurologist and moved to the US for residency. Since then we have moved from Baltimore to Milwaukee and had four kids. I enjoy watching mind-numbing action movies in the theater, most of the time I go by myself since my wife does not like going to the theater and my kids are too young for most movies. We enjoy skiing and take a yearly trip to the Rockies.
Jack Schneider, MD, FACS, FAAP
View Jack Schneider, MD, FACS, FAAP Profile
I was born and raised in Waukesha, WI. I chose to attend University of Notre Dame, where I majored in Biological Sciences. Go Irish! Subsequently, I returned to Milwaukee for medical school here at Medical College of Wisconsin. I met my wife during my last year and matched at the University of Vermont for general surgery residency. We were married during my chief year. We then spent time in Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City and Grand Rapids, Michigan as I completed my specialty training and began my career before coming back to be on the faculty here at MCW.
My wife, Emily, is a University of Wisconsin-Madison alum who has worked in Human Resources for a variety of companies, including Burton Snowboards. She loves spinning and rarely misses a day at the gym. We have two children, Virginia (7) and Peter (4). Gigi loves Girl Scouts, and Peter’s personality fills the room no matter where he goes. We live close to Children’s in Elm Grove. We love taking walks in our neighborhood. On weekends, you can find us enjoying the local parks and lakes, hiking, or skiing – both Nordic and Alpine.
I am an avid golfer, and enjoy getting out to enjoy the game and nature simultaneously. I am sports fan – Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Brewers, Packers, Bucks and PGA. I am former hockey player (goalie), and enjoy following college and NHL as well. I enjoy music – rock, alternative, country, 90s rap – just no Adele! I love going to outdoor concerts in the Summer.
Amy Wagner, MD
My true passions are my girls (Stella, age 13, and Camille, age 10) who are wonderful and snuggly (and thankfully don’t yet hate me)! They are delightful, fun, and are constantly teaching me things and help me see the world in a different way. We enjoy traveling together (from Marshfield, Costa Rica, Europe), watching Schitt’s Creek, and vintage clothing shopping.
My other true passion is Bikram yoga. I’m so passionate about it, I bought the Bikram Yoga studio in Milwaukee that was on the verge of closing down. Perhaps by the time you’re reading this, we will be in the black and I’ll no longer be subsidizing Bikram yoga for the greater Milwaukee area!
Inpatient Team
Sara Avery, PA-C
Suzy Becker, PA
Kristin Braun
Terry Derks, PA-C, DFAAPA
Lori A. Duesing, MSN, CPNP-AC
Overall attitude: Life is Good! Enjoy spending time with my three adult boys, two successful computer engineers and the youngest in education who is contemplating returning to school for psychology. We enjoy barbeques, and my oldest smokes some of the best ribs and brisket. Three years ago, the four of us planned a two week vacation in Athens and Santorini – fantastic memories of culture, history, architecture, people and food – highly recommended!
I so enjoy the northern and southern units of the kettles and moraines (Kettle Moraine State Parks) – both on foot and by bike. I bike the quiet paths of paved abandoned railroads which the majority are lined with trees and you can capture occasional views of parks and baseball diamonds along the way. Fun fact, previously as a serious runner, I finished first female in the Glacial Drumlin 50 mile ultramarathon. I enjoy all things outdoors, including enjoy yard work, leaf blowing, mulching, even shoveling the snow – I know odd, but true. My 12-year-old rescue (black lab/border collie mix) likely is the reason for that enjoyment, as she loves to run and play Frisbee.