Class Note 1995
Issue
May-June 2026
Class Note 1995. Although we had a great turnout for the reunion in June, there were a number of classmates who could not attend due to family, work, and other commitments. Please send us some updates for yourself or for friends—Kaja and I would like to hear from you!
On the way up to Hanover, my family stopped in Fairfield County, Connecticut, to visit Nicole Vines Verlin, her husband, Ryan, and daughter Maya (10). Nikki is the vice president of special markets at Simon & Schuster, where she has worked for eight years, and she just celebrated her 30th year in book publishing. In their free time Nikki and Ryan travel internationally to support Maya, an accomplished Irish dancer who recently competed in her second Irish Dancing World Championships in Chicago in March.
I recently caught up with Dr. Christina Miyake (Monkmeyer),who lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Robert, and their children Halle (16), Sydney (14), and Zach (12). A pediatric electrophysiologist, Christina serves as director of the cardiovascular genetic arrhythmia program at Texas Children’s Hospital, where she is at the forefront of research into rare, inherited heart rhythm disorders that can lead to sudden cardiac death in children. An internationally recognized expert in her field, Christina is working to improve diagnosis, develop more effective treatments and cures, and ultimately prevent sudden cardiac death. Her groundbreaking work helped lead to the discovery of TANGO2 deficiency disorder, a once highly fatal genetic condition. Even more remarkably, she identified an effective vitamin-based treatment. What was once a devastating diagnosis with high mortality is now a manageable condition, allowing children to survive with the potential to lead full, healthy lives. Through her work with families who had lost children to previously undiagnosed cardiac syndromes, Christina recognized a widespread need for broader genetic testing and comprehensive family support. In response, she founded Improving Health Outcomes and Pediatric Evaluation in Kids with Heart Rhythm Disorders (iHOPE-Kids), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free genetic testing, clinical evaluations, and CPR training to families. The foundation (ihope-kids.org) also fosters collaboration among researchers worldwide to accelerate discoveries in rare cardiac diseases. Deborah Healy Gilmore serves on the foundation’s board, further strengthening its mission and reach. Amid all these amazing accomplishments, Christina recently earned her M.P.H. from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where Jane Kim served as her dean. Christina’s research has been featured in numerous medical publications, and the stories of her patients have appeared in People magazine. Most recently, she was recognized by Katie Couric at South by Southwest as a leading woman in rare disease research. Christina’s work is both life changing and life saving. If you are interested in getting involved, please reach out to Christina!
—Beth Webster, c/o DAM, 7 Lebanon St., Suite 107, Hanover, NH 03755; websterew@gmail.com; Kaja (Schuppert) Fickes, 2 Bishops Lane, Hingham, MA 02043; kaja.k.fickes.95@dartmouth.edu
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On the way up to Hanover, my family stopped in Fairfield County, Connecticut, to visit Nicole Vines Verlin, her husband, Ryan, and daughter Maya (10). Nikki is the vice president of special markets at Simon & Schuster, where she has worked for eight years, and she just celebrated her 30th year in book publishing. In their free time Nikki and Ryan travel internationally to support Maya, an accomplished Irish dancer who recently competed in her second Irish Dancing World Championships in Chicago in March.
I recently caught up with Dr. Christina Miyake (Monkmeyer),who lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Robert, and their children Halle (16), Sydney (14), and Zach (12). A pediatric electrophysiologist, Christina serves as director of the cardiovascular genetic arrhythmia program at Texas Children’s Hospital, where she is at the forefront of research into rare, inherited heart rhythm disorders that can lead to sudden cardiac death in children. An internationally recognized expert in her field, Christina is working to improve diagnosis, develop more effective treatments and cures, and ultimately prevent sudden cardiac death. Her groundbreaking work helped lead to the discovery of TANGO2 deficiency disorder, a once highly fatal genetic condition. Even more remarkably, she identified an effective vitamin-based treatment. What was once a devastating diagnosis with high mortality is now a manageable condition, allowing children to survive with the potential to lead full, healthy lives. Through her work with families who had lost children to previously undiagnosed cardiac syndromes, Christina recognized a widespread need for broader genetic testing and comprehensive family support. In response, she founded Improving Health Outcomes and Pediatric Evaluation in Kids with Heart Rhythm Disorders (iHOPE-Kids), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free genetic testing, clinical evaluations, and CPR training to families. The foundation (ihope-kids.org) also fosters collaboration among researchers worldwide to accelerate discoveries in rare cardiac diseases. Deborah Healy Gilmore serves on the foundation’s board, further strengthening its mission and reach. Amid all these amazing accomplishments, Christina recently earned her M.P.H. from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where Jane Kim served as her dean. Christina’s research has been featured in numerous medical publications, and the stories of her patients have appeared in People magazine. Most recently, she was recognized by Katie Couric at South by Southwest as a leading woman in rare disease research. Christina’s work is both life changing and life saving. If you are interested in getting involved, please reach out to Christina!
—Beth Webster, c/o DAM, 7 Lebanon St., Suite 107, Hanover, NH 03755; websterew@gmail.com; Kaja (Schuppert) Fickes, 2 Bishops Lane, Hingham, MA 02043; kaja.k.fickes.95@dartmouth.edu