A painting of the founder of osteopathic medicine, produced and provided by a DMU professor, pulled in $1,000 to support the activities of medical student leaders.

Inspired by his professors to pursue the highest levels of intellectual attainment and professional integrity, Robert “Bob” Kreamer gave back to his medical alma mater as a physician, osteopathic leader and a member of the DMU Board of Trustees for nearly two decades.

Dana Jacob Messenger, D.O.’04, knew she wanted to be a doctor since elementary school, when her mother, Joan Jacob, found her dissecting a grasshopper with a box cutter. She and her husband, Andy, also knew they wanted to have children. Perseverance made both goals possible.

As a physician assistant, Kelly Thomason found herself juggling motherhood, a dermatology practice and an increasingly demanding event design firm, Bella Flora. Something had to give. Today, the firm has outgrown its space and routinely has to turn away more than half of their callers.

We have good reason to worry about losing mental function as we age. According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, in 2010 an estimated 35.6 million people worldwide were living with dementia, a number that is expected to nearly double every 20 years. But don’t despair, advises Robert Bender Jr., M.D.

Roy Fell, D.O.’54, devoted his career to making house calls, managing his bustling clinic and being on hospital call up to four nights a week, all while working to recruit more physicians to his rural Iowa community. How will we fill the professional shoes of such dedicated practitioners?

Every fall in Des Moines a battle rages between health care and the law, but we’re not talking in court. The annual Malpractice Bowl lets DMU students and Drake University law students take it out on the gridiron. DMU got the ball rolling in 1998.

David Lans, D.O.’81, always knew he would follow his father, Allan Lans, D.O.’58, into medicine, but his mother, Joan, inspired his love of music, art and the humanities. The two alumni have created a scholarship that memorializes Mrs. Lans, celebrates her influence and will soon benefit DMU students.