2019 Candidate Biographies
PRESIDENT
Thomas W. Eppes, Jr., MD ’78
Dr. Thomas W. Eppes, Jr., is a 1978 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. After graduating from his family practice residency in 1981, Dr. Eppes joined Forest Family Physicians which has since been an integral part of the creation of Central Virginia Family Physicians, the largest family practice group in the Lynchburg area since 1993. Currently, Dr. Eppes is the president of that group. He is co-chair of Collaborative Health Partners of Virginia, a start-up clinically integrated network based in Lynchburg. His office of five physicians precepts about six third-year UVA students each year.
Continually active in the state societies since the mid-80s, Dr. Eppes was president of the Medical Society of Virginia in 2008-09, was formerly on the MSV Foundation board and is an AMA alternate delegate. He graduated to AMA delegate in 2018, serving as immediate past chair in 2017-18. Initially appointed to the AMA’s Advisory Committee on Group Practice Physicians, now The Integrated Physician Practice Section. He was chair from 2015-2017 and is now immediate past chair.
Dr. Eppes’ practice partnered with Privia Medical Group in 2017, a group of 2,200 physicians in six states, (85 percent primary care) that is currently the largest medical group in Virginia. Dr. Eppes is on the board of directors and heads the Advocacy Section. Dr. Eppes has served as a member of the Medical Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2012 and as treasurer since 2014.
Dr. Eppes has three children plus two stepchildren and six grandchildren. His first son is a missionary to college and professional athletes, currently based at UCLA and US National Soccer Team. Son #2 is now a Marine major embedded in an Army unit at Fort Bragg. His daughter lives in Los Angeles. His stepson works for NBC in DC and stepdaughter is a domestic engineer in Richmond. Dr. Eppes’ wife, Clarkie, retired after 21 years working for Congressman Bob Goodlatte. Running for office is not in his playbook due to the wisdom she has given.
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Kevan E. VanLandingham, MD, PhD ‘85
Dr. Kevan VanLandingham was born and raised in Petersburg, Va.,, attending public schools in Petersburg. He is a multiple ‘Hoo, graduating from UVA with a BS in Applied Mathematics (’75), a PhD in Biomedical Engineering (’85) and MD in the School of Medicine (’85). He then completed an iInternal medicine internship at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Ann Arbor, followed by a neurology residency (’89) and neurology research fellowship (’90) at UVA. He completed his medical training with fellowships in clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy at University of Michigan Hospitals (’92).
Dr. VanLandingham joined the Neurology Division of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC, where he practiced for 14 years. He then joined the Neurosciences Drug Development group at GlaxoSmithKline for nine years, followed by the Clinical Sciences group at GW Pharmaceuticals/Greenwich Biosciences for the past four years, all in Research Triangle Park, NC.
Dr. VanLandingham has served as a member of the Medical Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2016 and as secretary since 2017.
Dr. VanLandingham met his wife,. Debara Tucci, MD ’85. in their first year of medical school. They have two sons and a daughter.
SECRETARY
Joel E. Bruce, MD ‘87
Dr. Joel Bruce was born in South Hill, Va., and attended Brunswick Senior High school in Lawrenceville, Va. He attended UVA from 1979 to 1983. He was a four-year member of the US Air Force ROTC detachment. He graduated with a degree in chemistry and a US Air Force officer’s commission. He attended UVA School of Medicine from 1983 to 1987. While there, he was a charter member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity graduate chapter.
He completed his internal medicine residency at the Wright-Patterson USAF Hospital in Dayton, Ohio in 1990. He then completed his nephrology fellowship at Wilford Hall USAF Hospital/ University of Texas at San Antonio in 1992. He remained in the program as a clinical professor and director of dialysis services from 1992 to 1996. His academic responsibilities included teaching medical students, residents, and fellows from the two programs as well as the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. In 1996 he left the US Air Force with the rank of Major and joined Southeast Renal Associates in Charlotte, NC. He was the president of the group when it merged with Metrolina Nephrology Associates in 2010. He remains in the practice today and is in charge of home dialysis initiatives. He is on the DaVita Dialysis home therapies national advisory board and is also a past president of the Charlotte, Medical and Pharmaceutical Society. He is an elder at Matthews Murkland Presbyterian Church and remains active in community health education initiatives.
Dr. Bruce has served as member of the Medical Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2016.
He met his wife, Faye, an ICU nurse at the time, during his residency. She is a nurse educator with Fresenius Kidney Care. They have two sons. Teyon lives in Charlottesville and is a graphic artist. Jadarius lives in Charlotte and is a residential real estate adviser.
MEMBER OF THE BOARD
Asha Narasimhan Chesnutt, MD ‘88
Dr. Asha N. Chesnutt completed her undergraduate education at the University of Virginia earning a BA degree in 1984. She then attended medical school at UVA and graduated in 1988. Dr. Chesnutt completed her internal medicine residency in 1991 and her Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship in 1996 at the University of California, San Francisco. She also served one year as chief resident and one year on the teaching faculty at UCSF. She is currently board certified in pulmonary medicine and in critical care medicine.
Dr. Chesnutt moved to Portland, Ore., after her time in San Francisco in 1996. She worked at The Oregon Clinic which is a large multispecialty clinic serving the Portland metropolitan area. Dr. Chesnutt worked in clinic, hospital and ICU settings and worked as a clinician educator supervising Providence Portland Internal Medicine residents during their ICU rotations and clinic rotations. Dr. Chesnutt worked at The Oregon Clinic for 20 years before leaving in 2016 to become a medical director at Providence Health Plan which is part of the Providence St. Joseph Health system. She oversees Pharmacy and Quality while continuing to work one weekend per month in a Providence facility ICU. She also serves as co-chair for the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee for Providence St. Joseph Health which has 51 hospitals across seven states.
Dr. Chesnutt is married to Mark Chesnutt, MD. Mark is a native Oregonian and is a professor of medicine and interventional radiology at Oregon Health & Sciences University. They have three children: Cameron (23), Mika (22) and Jack (18). In her free time, Dr. Chesnutt enjoys running and fitness, downhill skiing, and cooking. She has done medical volunteer work in Guatemala. She and her family love to travel and just returned from a two-week trip to Patagonia over the Christmas break.
Anastasia L. Williams, MD ‘98
Dr. Anastasia L. Williams graduated from Cornell University in 1991 and from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1998. After earning her MD at UVA, she completed a one-year internship in pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia, and finished her last two years of her pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland in 2001. Dr. Williams has maintained board certification from the American Academy of Pediatrics since 2001.
Dr. Williams founded Olde Towne Pediatrics, in Manassas, Virginia in 2004. In January 2019, Dr. Williams joined the Novant UVA Health System and she is currently the medical director of pediatrics for Novant Health UVA Health System. She is also an assistant professor for George Washington University and a clinical instructor for George Mason University. Dr. Williams has regularly been voted a “Top Doctor” by her peers in the Washingtonian Magazine and Northern Virginia Magazine and has been recognized in the Guide to America’s Top Pediatricians. Dr. Williams was also honored by the City of Manassas for her service to the community. Dr. Williams recently served on the Medical School Foundation Board of Trustees. She has also served on the boards of Smart Beginnings of Greater Prince William and the Northern Virginia Healthy Kids Coalition. Dr. Williams has been fortunate to participate on a number of mission trips to various places, including Rwanda, Ghana, Uganda, and Haiti. Dr. Williams is fluent in Spanish and Creole.
Dr. Williams lives in Manassas with her husband of 30 years, Sanford (UVA Law’96); and they have three children, Kiara (UVA’11 and UVA Law’15), Sanford (UVA ’13), and Nia (UVA’21).