Carole St. Pierre-Engels ’72 MD’76, 75, died Feb. 17, 2025. An emergency medicine physician, she was the medical director of the Aroostook County, ME, Emergency Medical Services. Born in Berlin, NH, Dr. St. Pierre-Engels was the first in her family to graduate from high school. After medical school and an internship in Hawaii, she went on active duty in the commissioned officer corps of the US Public Health Service, assigned to be the physician for the Washburn, ME, Medical Center.
It was there, in 1978, that she met Richard C. Engels, a Presque Isle attorney, whom she married a few months later. After completing her service, Dr. St. Pierre-Engels worked at the Cary Medical Center in Caribou, ME, where she became the medical director of the emergency department, in addition to the county EMS. She also served as both president and secretary of the Aroostook County Medical Society; on the Maine Medical Association’s Continuing Education Committee; and as president of the Aroostook Emergency Medical Services Council.
In her free time, Dr. St. Pierre-Engels enjoyed photography and sang with the Caribou Choral Society. She is survived by her husband, two sons and daughters-in-law, five grandchildren, and a brother and sister. Gifts in her memory may be made to the Northern Maine Community College Foundation’s Engels Family Fund.
Shawna Cutting Malkoff, MD, MS, 47, died July 29, 2025. She was a vascular neurologist and an associate professor of neurology at Brown. Dr. Cutting Malkoff earned her medical degree at Vanderbilt and then went to Rush University, where she completed a neurology residency, vascular neurology fellowship, and Master of Science in clinical research.
She came to Brown in 2016, where her clinical interests included the intersection of pregnancy and stroke and fibromuscular dysplasia. She was also involved in numerous clinical trials. As co-director of Brown’s neurology residency, Dr. Cutting Malkoff found fulfillment teaching, training, and mentoring trainees; in 2018 her residents named her Teacher of the Year.
She was also named a Positive Champion of the Learning Environment by The Warren Alpert Medical School, earned a Dean’s Award, and received The Miriam Hospital’s Physician C.A.R.E. Award. In 2022, she became a medical officer for the US Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Cutting Malkoff’s innumerable friends, colleagues, and family members will remember her for her honesty, hard work, refusal to give up, and empathy. She is survived by her husband, two children, mother, father, stepmother, sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew.
Lori A. Underhill, PhD, 62, died Oct. 15, 2025. She was an assistant professor of pediatrics (research) at Brown. Born in Warwick, Dr. Underhill received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science as well as her doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Rhode Island.
She completed postdoctoral training in reproductive medicine at Women & Infants Hospital. She then joined Brown’s faculty while continuing her research career at Women & Infants’ Kilguss Research Institute. Dr. Underhill received many awards throughout her career, presented her research around the world, and published her work in numerous scholarly journals.
Her greatest joy in life came from spending time with her children, family, and friends. Her sense of humor and infectious laughter lit up every room she entered. She loved reading, the beach, and cheering on the New England Patriots. She is survived by her four children, three siblings, and her partner, Bob Chasse. Donations in her memory may be made to the Save One Soul Animal Rescue League of Wakefield, RI.
Peter J. Quesenberry, MD, 87, died Nov. 13, 2025. He was the Paul Calabresi, MD Professor of Oncology and a professor of medicine at Brown. Before launching his distinguished, decades-long career as a physician-scientist, Dr. Quesenberry earned a BA in literature from the University of Virginia, studying with William Faulkner. That education served him throughout his career; an engaging writer, he authored nearly 600 papers, more than 100 chapters, and several books.
After graduating from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Dr. Quesenberry completed an internship at Boston University before being called to military service, as a US Navy medical officer in Vietnam. He then returned to Boston to complete his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology/oncology at Tufts University.
Dr. Quesenberry held multiple significant academic and clinical leadership positions, including director of the Cancer Center at UMass Medical Center, chair of Research at Roger Williams Medical Center, and director of Hematology/Oncology at Rhode Island Hospital. In his groundbreaking research, Dr. Quesenberry focused on cytokine modulation of hematopoiesis and bone marrow stem cells. He was the principal investigator of the Stem Cells and Aging Center of Biomedical Research Excellence at Rhode Island Hospital, which is now in its third cycle of funding from the National Institutes of Health.
His contributions to the field of oncology were recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America in 2006, and the Special Achievement Award from the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, of which he was the American editor, in 2014. He served as president of the International Society for Experimental Hematology and vice president and board member of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America. He was a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation.
By all measures an extraordinary scientist and personality, Dr. Quesenberry will be deeply missed by his family, students, collaborators, colleagues, friends, and researchers worldwide. His wife of 57 years, Marilyn, died five days after his death. They are survived by their two sons, including Matthew I. Quesenberry RES’08, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at Brown.
Edward Chu ’80 MMSc’83 MD’83, 66, died Nov. 13, 2025. He was the director of the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, vice president of cancer medicine, and the Carol and Roger Einiger Professor of Cancer Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Born in Detroit and raised in Rhode Island, Dr. Chu completed his residency at Roger Williams General Hospital and a fellowship in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute, where he became a senior clinical investigator.
He had a distinguished career as a physician-scientist, holding tenured positions and increasingly senior leadership roles at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center; and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he was chief of hematology-oncology and deputy director of the Hillman Cancer Center. He was committed to providing compassionate care to his patients and advancing his research to improve the treatment for colorectal cancer.
Dr. Chu joined Montefiore Einstein in the fall of 2020. In a mere two years he transformed the cancer center into a fully integrated, unified enterprise, which resulted in its first comprehensive status designation from the NCI. His accolades included the NCI Commendation Medal, Public Health Service Achievement Medal, and the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chinese American HematologyOncology Network.
He was the founding editor-in-chief of Clinical Colorectal Cancer, published more than 195 scientific articles and 50 book chapters, and co-authored 24 editions of the Physician’s Cancer Chemotherapy Drug Manual. Dr. Chu was committed to mentoring the next generation of cancer researchers, physician-scientists, and leaders across the spectrum of cancer-relevant disciplines. He is survived by his loving wife, Laurie Harrold, MD, and two children; his sister, Freda Chu ’82 MD’85; two dogs, many cousins, and countless friends and colleagues.
Paul Y. Liu, MD, 65, died Jan. 26, 2026. He was chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and professor of surgery at The Warren Alpert Medical School. Born in Fort Collins, CO, Dr. Liu played violin professionally for the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra while an undergraduate at Colorado College. He earned a master’s degree in philosophy and physiology as a Marshall Scholar at Oxford. At Harvard, he received his MD and completed his residency and a research fellowship, and served as senior and chief resident in plastic surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Liu held faculty appointments at the University of Miami, the Lahey Clinic, Brigham and Women’s, and Roger Williams Medical Center, where he was chairman of the Department of Surgery, before joining Brown’s faculty in 2011. His research interests included the use of genetic manipulation of the wound environment to speed healing and using mathematical modeling to accelerate the development of new wound therapeutics. He co-founded PAX Therapeutics, a start-up focused on the healing of tendon and ligament injuries to restore full mobility and improved function.
He was president of the Wound Healing Society, program co-chair for its annual meetings, and director of the Functional Diabetic Limb Salvage and Wound Healing Foundation Conference. Colleagues and students will remember Dr. Liu for his humility, generosity, and unwavering commitment to nurturing the next generation of surgeons and researchers. Motivated by deep faith to serve others, he participated in medical missions that brought reconstructive care to underserved communities.
Dr. Liu served with his wife in church leadership and played with the Warwick Symphony Orchestra. His highest priority was his family; he is survived by his wife of 37 years, SallyAnne Lund, MD; two children; two sisters; and in-laws, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Contributions in Dr. Liu’s memory may be made to the Wound Healing Foundation or the Warwick Symphony Orchestra.
Robert W. Panton ’83 MMSc’86 MD’86, 64, died Feb. 26, 2026. He was an ophthalmologist in the Chicago suburbs for 35 years. Dr. Panton grew up in the Chicago metropolitan area and graduated from Oak Park-River Forest High School as the class valedictorian. As part of Brown’s seven-year bachelor’s and medical degree program, he graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors and a combined AB/ScB in English/creative writing and biology. After earning a master’s degree in pharmacology and his medical degree, Dr. Panton completed his internship in internal medicine at the University of Chicago and residency in ophthalmology at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, and then a corneal transplantation fellowship at the Wilmer Institute of Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Panton joined his late father, John H. Panton, MD; his brother, Peter J. Panton ’79 MD’82, PMD’15, PMD’21; and his sister, Elizabeth Panton Karkazis, OD, in practice in 1991 at the Panton Eye Center in Elmwood Park, IL. He was a member of the medical staffs of Rush Oak Park Hospital, Gottlieb-Loyola Hospital, West Suburban Hospital, and Westlake Community Hospital. Dr. Panton was active in multiple professional societies including the Chicago Ophthalmological Society, the Illinois Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Chicago Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. He served as president of both CMS and ISMS; the latter presidency intersected with the peak of the COVID-19 crisis.
Dr. Panton assisted Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in formulating the state’s pandemic strategy. His monthly columns in the ISMS Journal kept Illinois doctors informed about the rapidly evolving science and changing health policy response. With his family, Dr. Panton endowed professorships at both The Warren Alpert Medical School and the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He and his family also underwrote the anatomy laboratory at Brown and the waiting room at the University of Illinois Department of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Panton was a strong supporter of youth sports, and coached youth baseball and basketball. The Panton Eye Center was a longtime sponsor of River Forest Youth Baseball and Softball. Drawing on his background and interests in creative writing, Dr. Panton served for many years as a member of the editorial board of Medicine@Brown. He is survived by his wife, Marika; three children; two brothers; and his sister. Donations in his memory may be made to Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church of Westchester, IL, Assumption Greek Orthodox Church of Chicago, or St. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church of Rockford, IL.