Faculty
Brenda K. Fann, M.D., FAAFP
Director, Rush-Copley Family Medicine Residency Program, Assistant Professor, Rush Medical College
Dr. Brenda K. Fann is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and has always had an enthusiastic interest for teaching medical students and residents. Except for a two-year hiatus, Dr. Fann has been at our residency program and Assistant Professor at Rush Medical College since 2001.
Prior to that, she was Assistant Clinical Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of California in Riverside, California. There, her medical students awarded her the "Best Clinical 5th Year Professor". Inpatient medicine, case-based teaching rounds, interactive didactic lectures and evidence-based medicine are just a few of Dr. Fann's interests. Currently, she and two residents are co-authoring chapters for an evidence-based medical reference book.
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Dr. Fann is Director of our Family Medicine Center. Her goal is for the residents to receive a family-oriented, longitudinal, comprehensive experience during which the residents truly become the patient's family physician.
Besides her work in the residency program, Dr. Fann is Chair of the Credentials Committee for the hospital. Also active in her community, she serves as a Board Member at a local free medical clinic. There, she created three chronic care clinics emphasizing education and compliance for diabetic, asthmatic and hypertensive patients and was honored with the YWCA Women of Distinction Award and the Daily Points of Light Award for those accomplishments. Dr. Fann has also given several presentations to a variety of community groups on topics such as women and heart disease, alternatives to hormone replacement therapy, preventive medicine, well childcare, and cold & flu self-management.
Dr. Fann graduated in 1995 from the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford with Alpha Omega Alpha Honors. After completing her internship at St. Michael Hospital Family Practice Residency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she graduated from Kaiser Permanente Family Practice Residency in Riverside, California.
Spending time with her family, reading, gardening and quilting are some of Dr. Fann's personal interests.
Majad Ali, M.D.
Family Medicine Faculty, Rush-Copley Family Medicine Residency Program
Dr. Ali has been at Rush-Copley since 2001, where he first started as a Family Medicine resident. He was selected as "Resident Teacher of the Year" by his fellow residents and medical students that attended Rush-Copley for their Family Medicine rotation. Dr. Ali is one of our part-time adjunct faculty and has his own private practice. Dr. Ali likes performing in-office procedures such as intro-articular injection and minor surgical procedures, which complement his interest in musculoskeletal medicine.
Dr. Ali graduated from UTESA (Universidad de Technologica de Santiago) and he is fluent in Spanish.
He is Board certified in Family Medicine and is member of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Brett Cassidy, M.D.
Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty, Rush-Copley Family Medicine Residency Program
Dr. Cassidy is a Board Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist who has been practicing over for 10 years. Born in Madison, Connecticut, he received his undergraduate degree from Bucknell University and his medical degree from Emory University. Dr. Cassidy performed his residency at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago. He practiced as an Obstetrician in the United States Air Force and was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina for four years.
Dr. Cassidy has been practicing in Sandwich and Yorkville for two years. He resides in Yorkville with his wife and two daughters.
Natalie Choi, M.D.
Family Medicine Faculty, Rush-Copley Family Medicine Residency Program, Assistant Professor, Rush Medical College
Dr. Natalie Choi is a board-certified family physician who enjoys practicing full scope family medicine. She graduated from Southern Illinois University and completed her family medicine residency at the University of Missouri-Columbia. After graduation, she spent time practicing and teaching at both the University of Missouri and the University of Florida prior to coming to Rush-Copley.
Her clinical interest is women’s health, including prenatal care, gynecologic office procedures, and preventative medicine. A member of Society of Teachers for Family Medicine, she enjoys teaching residents and medical students both in the inpatient and outpatient setting. Dr. Choi is also interested in resident learning/education and how to best prepare future physicians as family medicine evolves as a specialty.
When not at work, she can be found relaxing at home with her husband, son, and 3 dogs. She enjoys running, cooking and traveling.
James Hawkins, D.O.
Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty, Rush-Copley Family Medicine Residency Program
Dr. Hawkins is a Board Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist who has been practicing over 19 years. Born in Evergreen Park, Illinois, he received his undergraduate degree from Illinois Benedictine College and his medical degree from Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Hawkins performed his Obstetrics & Gynecology residency at Cook County in Chicago.
He has been practicing in Sandwich and Yorkville for over 5 years. He resides in Yorkville with his wife and seven children.
Maria Lasher, D.O.
Family Medicine Faculty, Rush-Copley Family Medicine Residency Program
Dr. Lasher is board certified in family medicine. She earned her medical degree from Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2002 and completed her residency in family medicine at Rush-Copley Medical Center. She was Chief Resident before joining the faculty as a teaching physician.
Dr. Lasher is a professional member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and holds certifications in Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Advanced Trauma Life Support. She is interested in all aspects of family medicine, especially preventative medicine, women’s health and rural medicine.
Dr. Lasher frequently travels to clinics in rural locations of the western United States where she also works as a locum tenens physician.
Lorna H. London, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist, Rush-Copley Family Medicine Residency Program
Dr. London received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Iowa in 1989 and her Ph.D. in clinical community psychology from the University of South Carolina in 1995. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Institute for Juvenile Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she received extensive training in child and family therapy. She received her post-doctoral training at the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, and later served as their Director of Behavioral Medicine. Dr. London, a licensed clinical psychologist, has experience in the areas of pain management, behavioral medicine, psychological assessment, multicultural counseling and individual and family therapy.
She has co-authored articles which have been published in Advanced Medicine Journal, Headache Quarterly, Current Pain and Science Reports, and the Journal for Prevention and Intervention in the Community. She recently served as Editor for Community Interventions to Create Change in Children. She is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA).
Dr. London serves as staff psychologist at Rush-Copley, and regularly provides mental health services to patients and their families. Dr. London is also a regular presenter at both local and national psychology conferences, and also offers lectures to the community to promote health and wellness. Dr. London brings to Rush-Copley years of experience as an educator and clinician, and coordinates the behavioral science and community medicine curriculum for our residency. She regularly contributes to the educational lecture series, conducts Balint Group sessions, and is developing ongoing clinical experiences in the community to enhance the behavioral medicine experiences for the residents.
Dr. London enjoys cooking, biking, scrapbooking and spending time with her husband and three young children.
Gregory Milani, M.D.
Family Medicine Faculty, Rush-Copley Family Medicine Residency Program
Dr. Milani completed his undergraduate studies at University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and subsequently graduated from Loyola University Medical Center in June of 1992. He is an advocate for finding ways to improve the care of our patients and remains active in several hospital committees. He currently serves as the Chair of the Medication Safety Committee. Dr. Milani has been a teaching attending with our program since its inception and has twice been awarded the "Teacher of the Year" by the residents.
Dr. Milani has been with Rush-Copley Medical Center for over 14 years. Currently serving as the Medical Director of Rush Copley Primary Care Associates, Dr. Milani’s interactive, good-natured and friendly personality keep patients devoted to his practice. From pediatrics to general medicine and health maintenance, he has the tools and expertise to care for the entire family.
Deepak S. Patel, M.D., FAAFP
Director of Sports Medicine, Rush-Copley Family Medicine Residency Program, Assistant Professor, Rush Medical College
Dr. Patel is board-certified in family medicine and primary care sports medicine. Prior to joining Rush Copley, Dr. Patel was Associate Director at Flower Hospital Family Medicine Residency and The Toledo Hospital Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship in Ohio.
He enjoys many aspects of family medicine and sports medicine, including his special interests in evidence based medicine and preventive medicine. He has mentored and coauthored several publications on family medicine and sports medicine topics. He lectures on sports medicine topics at local and regional CME events. He maintains a private practice in family and sports medicine in Yorkville. Currently, he is also the team physician for Plano High School. Throughout his career, he has served as team physician for High Schools, Division-I Universities, and Semi Professional sports teams.
He completed his family medicine residency at University of Illinois College of Medicine in Rockford and also served as chief resident. Subsequently, he completed his primary care sports medicine fellowship at University of Michigan. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, education committee member of American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, member of the American College of Sports Medicine, and Assistant Professor at Rush Medical College.