Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Faculty

Marc A. Raslich, M.D.
Program Director

Dr. Raslich completed a Bachelor of Science degree in biology at Northern Michigan University in Marquette. He received his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996 and then completed a residency in combined internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York. He served as chief resident for the Med-Peds program before becoming an assistant professor here at Boonshoft School of Medicine. Dr. Raslich is a member of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics, being board certified in both specialties. His clinical interests include integrating evidence into clinical practice and promoting adult and child preventive health services. His personal interests include golfing.

Arthur S. Pickoff, M.D.
Chair, Department of Pediatrics

Dr. Pickoff is chair of both the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Community Health at Boonshoft School of Medicine. A native of New York City, Dr. Pickoff received his B.A. in public health from Queens College. He is a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed his internship and pediatrics residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital. Dr. Pickoff completed a pediatric cardiology fellowship and was a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral trainee in cardiac electrophysiology at the University of Miami School of Medicine. A professor of pediatrics and an associate at Children's Cardiology of Dayton, he is certified in both pediatrics and pediatric cardiology by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.

His publications include more than nine book chapters and 60 articles in scientific and medical journals. His research interests include the pharmacology of anti-arrhythmic medications in children and the electrophysiology of the immature heart. He is a member of various professional organizations and serves as a manuscript reviewer for Pediatrics, Journal of Pediatrics, and Pediatric Research. Although Dr. Pickoff has all the above accolades to his name, the residents appreciate him most as their chair and professor of pediatrics and for the "Great Pickoff Pool Party" he throws every year.

Virginia C. Wood, M.D.
Internal Medicine Residency Program Director

An active faculty member at Wright State since 1981, Dr. Wood received her Doctor of Medicine from Jefferson Medical College of the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She served her internal medicine residency at Miami Valley Hospital and completed fellowship training in critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Wood is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine with special qualifications in critical care medicine. She has received several awards for teaching excellence from both residents and medical students.

Dr. Wood calls McMurray, Pennsylvania, home. Her hobbies and interests include cello, piano, reading and spider solitaire. Among her "weirdest jobs," Dr. Wood lists working as an all-in-one lab tech where she did chemistry, microbiology, blood bank, and urinalysis, as well as serving as the phlebotomist, EKG tech, and code team. She is married to William Wood and they have two sons, both of whom attend college. Dr. Wood chose internal medicine because she enjoyed the challenges and rewards of caring for critically ill patients. She enjoys teaching and serving as program director because she says it is very gratifying to work with the next generation of physicians and to learn with them about changes in medical care.

Gerald E. Crites, M.D.
Medicine Attending

Dr. Crites is a graduate of the Ohio State University College of Medicine (1991). He completed a categorical residency in internal medicine at the University of Cincinnati (1991-1994). He served four years with the U.S. Air Force as a staff internist from 1994-1998. There, he was intimately involved in the Wright Patterson Internal Medicine Residency Program and served as faculty for both Wright State and the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. In 1998, he left the Air Force and is currently full-time faculty at Wright State. His primary academic interest is teaching Evidenced-based Medicine and serves as the chairman of the Dayton Area Task Force on Evidenced-based Medicine (DATFEM). He also maintains an interest in perioperative medicine and serves as the co-director of the Wright State/Miami Valley Perioperative and General Medicine Consultation Service. His personal interests include mountain biking, in-line skating, guitar, and weight training.

Elvira Jaballas, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Pediatric Attending

Dr. Jaballas is a graduate of University of St. Tomas Medical School in Manila, Philippines. She received her pediatric training at Ohio State University Children's Hospital. She is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. She is currently an associate professor in both the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Internal Medicine at Wright State University. Her professional experience includes an appointment as medical director of the Pediatric Partnership at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base from 1989-2000 and serving as director of ambulatory services at Children's Medical Center in Dayton from 1972-1989. Her professional interests include community pediatrics, school health, developmental and behavioral pediatrics and service learning. She has had numerous publications and professional presentations including presentations at the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and Interdisciplinary Conference. She has received many professional awards including the Professional Excellence in the Practice of Medicine from Wright State University, the Top Ten Women Award from the Dayton Daily News and Children's Medical Center & Career Woman of the Year from the YWCA. Her personal interests and hobbies include music and dancing.

Karen Kirkham, M.D.
Medicine Attending

Dr. Kirkham is a native of Marion, Ohio. She earned a Bachelor of Arts at Miami University of Ohio and received her M.D. degree from Wright State University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in primary care internal medicine at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. While at Reese Hospital, she also served as chief resident. During her career, Dr. Kirkham has served as associate program director of internal medicine for the WSU School of Medicine at the Dayton VA Medical Center, clinical educator at Miami Valley Hospital and the Wright State Physicians Medicine-Pediatrics clinical practice and associate student clerkship director for the WSU Department of Internal Medicine. Her professional interests include healthcare quality, women's health and care of the underserved. Dr. Kirkham serves on the board of Reach Out of Montgomery County and as chair of the Indigent Care Council of Montgomery County. Among her special interests are her son and daughter and international travel.

Gary Onady, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor

Dr. Onady graduated from Wright State University School of Medicine, and upon completing medicine-pediatrics residency training at Cleveland’s Metro-General Hospital (MetroHealth), he established an academic medical career as a medicine-pediatrics residency program director. He served as president of the Medicine-Pediatrics Program Directors Association and during this tenure drafted the modern version of the national med-peds residency training curriculum and secured funding for combined med-peds residency programs by writing Section 4627 of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. He is proud to have had an active role in the formation of the National Med-Peds Residents' Association (NMPRA). He served as NMPRA's first faculty advisor and was honored by the organization with the creation of the Gary Onady Award.

Dr. Onady's academic interests have transitioned in his second decade of teaching toward championing transitional care curricula and developing undergraduate medical education curricula using team-based learning (TBL) to integrate a case-based curriculum into the molecular biology and histology/physiology courses. Dr. Onady is currently the medical director of the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at Dayton Children’s Medical Center. All med-peds residents rotate with Dr. Onady in the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic while on their ambulatory rotations.

Barbara Schuster, M.D., M.A.C.P.
Medicine Attending

Dr. Schuster is a professor of medicine at Boonshoft School of Medicine. She served as chair of the Department of Internal Medicine from 1995 until 2007. She completed her undergraduate degree in biology and a Master of Science in Education at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her medical degree from the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, and completed her residency in the Associated Hospitals Program in Rochester. Prior to accepting the chair position at Wright State, Dr. Schuster was the program director of the Primary Care Program in Internal Medicine and the combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Program in Rochester.

Dr. Schuster has been active in several internal medicine organizations including the SGIM and APM. She served on the council of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine and subsequently held the office of president in 1992-93. She was appointed to the Council of Academic Societies of the Association of American Medical Colleges as the APDIM representative in 1993 and was elected to the CAS administration board in 1999. She became a master of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine in 1996 and was elected to the Board of Regents in 1999. She also has been elected to the Who's Who in Internal Medicine-Pediatrics. Other national activities have included participation on the USMLE III, Computer-based Case Simulation Committee.