College of Allied Health Sciences Honors 2019 Class of Distinguished Alumni

The University of Cincinnati College of Allied Health Sciences annually presents Distinguished Alumni award on behalf of its four departments.

On Monday, April 22, Dean Tina Whalen presented the awards to each alumnus, who offered words of wisdom and gratitude to faculty, students, and fellow alumni. Immediately following the awards presentation, the alumni viewed student poster presentations at the 21st annual Presentation of Research and Innovation and Scholarly Endeavors.

Read about the 2019 UC College of Allied Health Sciences Distinguished Alumni below.

Brian Driscoll '89
Department of Rehabilitation, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences

Mr. Driscoll has over 20 years of experience in the development, sales and marketing of medical devices, specializing in disruptive technology. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Athletic Training, Mr. Driscoll began his professional career in clinical practice providing comprehensive prevention, evaluation, emergency care, treatment and rehabilitation of patients and athletes. Early in his career, he held various senior sales and marketing positions at medical device manufacturers, including Interpore Cross International, Silipos, Inc. and Innovation Sports, Inc. He became Vice President of Marketing for Cianna Medical, a leading manufacturer of devices for the treatment of breast cancer, then led the commercialization efforts for the BioZorb® implant as Vice President of Marketing for Focal Therapeutics, Inc. He currently serves as Director of Global Marketing and Clinical Education for Avenu Medical, manufacturers of the Ellipsys Vascular Access System for hemodialysis patients.

James Gruber '77
School of Social Work

James Gruber has been a social worker for 40 years. He received his BSW from UC in 1977 and began his career at Jewish Hospital as a medical social worker. He developed a passion for working with older adults and learned to communicate with patients impaired with dementia, but discovered there was little information and research for that population. Therefore, he pursued his MSW at the University of Texas in Geriatrics. Upon returning to Cincinnati after graduation, Jim started a symposium for social workers on services and interventions for the elderly. He served as Director of Resident Life and Enrichment at Cedar Village and became a consultant for Queen City Home Care to provide support to elderly clients who wanted to remain safely in their homes. His expertise and dedication to geriatric social work led him to create the James Gruber Endowed Fund for Aging Education at the University of Cincinnati College of Allied Health Sciences to implement an annual symposium for social workers and allied health professionals to showcase and discuss best practices in geriatric care. Last spring, he was honored as a Distinguished Alumni Honoree by the UC School of Social Work Alumni Board and continues to generously support the University of Cincinnati.

Janice Habel '83
Department of Clinical & Health Information Sciences

Janice Habel has served the University of Cincinnati community for nearly 40 years at the Hoxworth Blood Center. She began her robust career at Hoxworth after graduating from UC in 1983 with a degree in Analytical and Diagnostic Sciences. She held roles as a Staff Medical Technologist, Clinical Laboratory Scientist, and worked her way up to a position on the leadership team where she is currently the Division Director of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs, overseeing the quality and regulatory activities for six divisions of Hoxworth and ensuring compliance with the FDA. Since 2003, she has supported the UC College of Allied Health Sciences as an adjunct faculty member and has served on the Medical Laboratory Sciences Program Advisory Board since 2008. She also was an instructor for the first Medical Laboratory Sciences immunohematology courses, as well as a lab instructor and facilitator of online courses for the program.

Donna Murray '01
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Donna Murray, PhD, CCC-SLP, is the Vice President of Clinical Programs at Autism Speaks and Adjunct Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dr. Murray has spent more than 30 years as a clinician specializing in program development, diagnosis and treatment of individuals with autism. She joined Autism Speaks in 2013 and oversees the activities of the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN) and its transition to the Autism Learning Health Network (ALHN), a collaboration between Autism Speaks and some of the finest children’s hospitals and academic institutions in North America, specializing in developing a model of multi-disciplinary medical care for children with autism. Prior to joining Autism Speaks, Dr. Murray served as Director of Clinical Services for the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and the Co-Director of its Kelly O’Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, where she helped build one of the largest hospital-based autism programs in the United States. Dr. Murray received her PhD from the University of Cincinnati, in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, where she focused on the neurosensory aspects of communication, language and social skills in autism.