01/19/2010

Jerome Winegarden, M.D.

Immediate Past President

Jerome (“Jay”) Winegarden, MD has been a member of the MSHO board since 2007. Jay grew up in Flint, Michigan where his family has been for four generations. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, followed by matriculation at Wayne State University where he received his medical degree. Going directly from undergraduate to graduate school was actually not what he had intended as he had plans to live in the mountains of Colorado (to be specific he planned to live in a tent outside of Telluride and teach skiing)  prior to starting medical school, but fortunately his plan did not pan out. Instead he was lucky to start when he did as he met the love of his life on the very 1^st day of medical school and after an initial study-partner relationship, they started dating and eventually married at the end of their four years at Wayne. With his new bride by his side (Lisa Markman, MD Pediatrics),  Jay actually got a semblance of his original wish as well because the newlyweds couple’s matched at the University of Colorado for internship and residency (side note: Jay is pretty sure that the reason they matched in Colorado was because of Lisa, but he could care less). Following completion of their residency adventure and with child #1 on the way (Emma, now 21 and a rising senior at University of Colorado), Jay started his fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the University of Chicago. He considers his years at the UC to be his most formative and working alongside true giants of oncology inspirational to this day. 

Following completion of fellowship and with child #2 on the way (Lottie, now 18 and soon to be a Freshman at the University of Michigan) the couple moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jay joined the medical staff at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and was fortunate to meet another inspiring group of oncologists among them Dr. Philip Stella. It was Dr. Stella who introduced Jay to MSHO and led by example, demonstrating how to make one’s vision a reality. After establishing himself clinically, Jay took on the role as practice manager. During this time child #3 came along (Dax, now 13, a recent Bar Mitzvah and will be starting 8^th grade next Fall) and with three active kids, a wife with a career of her own, and one dog for good measure suffice to say life was “busy”! After 5 years in this position and a trip to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro Jay decided to leave managing the practice to others and focus more on his family. That was now nearly 10 years ago. During that time Jay took on the role within the education committee of MSHO and was fortunate to meet and collaborate with other board members (specifically Jerome Seid, MD) putting together the annual meeting CME presentations and on occasion finding banquet speakers. Jay credits his time on MSHO education committee as one of the inspirations for creating a hematology oncology fellowship program at St. Joseph Mercy. From its inception, to gaining ACGME approval took approximately 2 years with the inaugural class of fellows starting in July 2019. The fellowship program has been an extremely rewarding experience professionally and has elevated the cancer program as a whole. Jay is extremely grateful to his partners (now referred to as “faculty”) for their embracing of this program as well as the leadership from the local GME department and hospital itself for their support.  Now, as June approaches it is with excitement that this first class will be graduating and he is very pleased that they will both be staying in Michigan to start their careers. 

This summer Jay and Lisa will be celebrating 25 years of marriage and celebrating with a leisurely bicycle trip along the costa Brava. Following this, Jay heads to the alps for a 100 mile hiking trip that circumvents Mount Blanc! He is looking forward to his upcoming appointment as President of the MSHO board beginning September 2022 and hopes he will be ready for this new challenge.