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Training future generations of family physicians.

Why Choose Family Medicine?

Family medicine physicians provide comprehensive, continuous healthcare to all members of the family throughout the course of their lives. By building relationships based on communication and respect, these physicians gain a deeper understanding of the whole person, including the range of physical, emotional and socioeconomic factors that influence a person’s health status.

The Department of Family & Community Medicine integrates biological, clinical and behavioral sciences to train our physicians to provide outstanding levels of patient-centered and culturally appropriate care.

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Education

Faculty Spotlight

John L Gatta

Clinical Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine

Dr. Gatta is a data scientist that specializes in the application of predictive models within the healthcare and education sectors. Dr. Gatta is an Associate Professor and past Director of Research for the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Northwestern University, where he develops and directs graduate coursework in predictive analytics and machine learning. Dr. Gatta's work has been recognized in both the education and healthcare sectors. He has been the recipient of local and national awards such as educator of the year from Northwestern University’s Clinical and Translational S...

Adam W Bennett

Clinical Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine

I practice primary care sports medicine, a newer field geared towards the non-surgical management of musculoskeletal complaints. Currently a team physician for the Chicago Bears (NFL) and US Soccer Men's National Team.

Noman Shahid

Instructor of Family and Community Medicine

Dr. Shahid is board certified in family medicine and palliative medicine. He completed his residency at University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria and fellowship training at Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Shahid’s clinical interests include: caring for seriously ill patients, hospital medicine, addiction medicine, and primary care. He believes in a life of service, and strives to provide comprehensive and compassionate care to his patients. He is thrilled to share his love of teaching, learning, and building long lasting patient relationships at Northwestern.

Frances C Baxley

Instructor of Family and Community Medicine

Dr. Frances Baxley currently specializes in family medicine. She completed her medical education at Harvard Medical School and completed her residency training at University of California, San Francisco. She has written a publication for the Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Journal and for the PRIMER journal of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. She serves on the Board of Directors for the HealthCare Foundation of Northern Lake County. She is also fluent in Spanish. 

Anna Balabanova Shannahan

Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine

Dr. Anna Shannahan (nee Balabanova) is currently Associate Director of Education at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern as well as Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Northwestern.​She was born in Russia, continuing to speak fluent Russian, and spent much of her life in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As an athlete and figure skating coach who earned a US Figure Skating Association Gold Medal, she is passionate about diet, exercise, and helping others achieve their health goals. At the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern as a medical student, s...

Katherine Wright

Research Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine

Dr. Wright's research examines the effectiveness of health and education policy measures while considering the mediating and moderating factors that influence population metrics. Within this context, she has also developed new methodological approaches to account for missing data, and has extensively analyzed large scale data such as the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Robert J Kasper

Instructor of Family and Community Medicine

Dr. Robert Kasper completed his residency in Family Medicine at Hinsdale Hospital in 2019. He is a 2016 graduate of Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University, and a graduate with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Benedictine University in 2011. Throughout his education, he has participated in various small-scale research projects in the fields of analytical chemistry, genomics, and obstetrics/neonatal care. He has a broad variety of personal and academic interests, including providing excellent low-risk obstetric care, expanding the understanding and appr...

Anuj Kumar Shah

Clinical Instructor of Family and Community Medicine

Anuj Shah is an Integrative Family Physician, based out of Heartland Health Center’s Lakeview Clinic. Dr. Shah graduated from Loyola’s Stritch School of Medicine, and completed his residency at the Greater Lawrence Family Medicine Center in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He continued onto a family medicine fellowship at MacNeal Family Medicine Residency, and received his Masters in Public Health at UIC. For almost 10 years, he worked as a family physician and educator at Erie Family Health Center in Humboldt Park. Dr. Shah developed his passion for holistic care through the University of Arizona Int...

Robert A Chase

Clinical Instructor of Family and Community Medicine

Dr. Chase has over thirty years’ experience in healthcare. He has particular clinical expertise in infectious diseases, infection control, clinical epidemiology, and population health.

Rosanne D Vasiloff

Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine

Dr. Vasiloff has been on staff at Northwestern Medicine since 2015. She is board certified in Family Medicine and Obesity Medicine. She sees patients ages 12 and up at Northwestern Medicine- Lakeview. She received her medical degree from Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine and completed her residency at Hinsdale Hospital, where she served as Chief Resident. 

Our Community

Our multiple affiliated care sites offer unique training experiences and comprehensive patient care.

Starzl Academy

Former trainee - Luisa Morales Nebreda, MD

Physician-Scientist Training & Resources

We offer a wide range of resources, mentorship opportunities and training to help our residents excel as physician-scientists. Explore all of the resources and hear from housestaff who are making research a major part of their career development plans.

VISIT THE STARZL ACADEMY SITE

Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to and inspired by a diverse and inclusive work environment. The Department of Family & Community Medicine seeks to attract inquisitive, motivated residents, faculty and staff and is committed to providing them with every opportunity for success.

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