Born and raised right here in Indianapolis, I am a huge fan of the city. Because of that, I have become a bit of a homebody. I've stuck around the state of Indiana for my undergrad years, as well as medical school and residency. I'm a very proud Hoosier, but do enjoy getting out of the state to venture off and travel to different parts of the country and world. Indianapolis has a nice big city feel with all the Midwest hospitality, but without the big city congestion. It's also great having events like the NCAA Final Four, the Indy 500, and the 2012 Super Bowl. There are a number of great breweries popping up around the city, which I certainly enjoy checking out as well. After my chief year, I will be staying at IU to complete an Endocrinology fellowship because I'm fascinated by taking care of patients with "the sugar".

I live just north of downtown with my wife, our new daughter, and our dog Toby. It's quite a handful, but there's nothing better than being a parent. It has been so fun growing as a family and I look forward learning how to be a dad, which is much harder yet more rewarding than anything I've learned up to this point in my life. I can't end my bio without mentioning that I am a huge Colts and Hoosiers fan, and my family is starting to see the "religion" that is IU basketball. September to March is the most exciting time of year as my schedule is filled with Colts and Hoosiers games and get togethers. It has been quite traumatic dealing with Peyton's injury, but nonetheless, I'm very excited for another season for the Big Blue!

I grew up outside of a small farming town in rural Michigan. Having watched Michigan football since before I could walk, naturally I went to U of M for undergrad, majoring in Cellular and Molecular Biology with a minor in History. It is there that I first met my future wife and we began dating during medical school at Wayne State University in Detroit. While still not yet married and both of us planning on pursuing Internal Medicine, we looked fairly extensively at most of the Midwest and a few East Coast Internal Medicine residency programs before finding the right program and couples matching here at IU. We were both drawn to the amazing breadth of clinical experiences as well as the surprising diversity of patients here in Indianapolis. During my training here, I also had the opportunity to pursue research with Stephen Sawada in the clinical application of echocardiography in minority populations and we developed a very close relationship working together over the last few years. In fact, most IU faculty are very approachable and there are many that I consider personal friends and mentors in my career development. After I finish my chief year I will be returning to Ann Arbor for a cardiology fellowship. While my wife and I are excited to move on in our training, Indianapolis was a great place to live and it will always hold a special place in our hearts, especially since we chose to get married here. Outside of work, I enjoy cooking, fishing, biking, watching movies, and spending time with my wife.

People tease me when they ask me where I claim to call home. I spent 18 years in Jonesboro, Arkansas then moved out to North Carolina for my undergraduate degree at UNC Charlotte. I followed that up with four years at UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. Despite all that, I still don't have a Southern accent. In between I spent an incredible month between college and medical school enjoying the Italian countryside. Unfortunately, I also spent a short time in a foreign prison after I was brought up on exaggerated charges by the hyperbole police. My previous jobs include Sno-Cone Maker (shaved ice if you want to be technical), construction worker, bar-back, research grunt, and finally resident. I'm a police officer away from my own little Village People. In the span of a month, I managed to graduate from medical school, get married, buy a house, and start a new career. And my mom said I would never grow up. I came to Indianapolis with my beautiful wife who is completing her Urology residency at IU. I will be joining the Pulmonary Critical Care division for fellowship in July 2012. In my free time, I like to enjoy cool refreshments on my back porch, occasionally in the hot tub, and watching the greatest basketball program in the nation. Tar Heels, son.

I was born and raised on Indiana corn, Bobby Knight basketball, and Chicago Bear football. I have lived throughout the great state of Indiana including the lovely city of Gary. My college days were spent at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN, which I'm proud to report was ranked as #15 by the Princeton Review for party schools in the nation this past year. I graduated from IU school of medicine in 2007. Around the time of graduation, I married my beautiful wife and spent time in Eldoret, Kenya with the IU-Kenya medical exchange program. I spent a year working in a basic science research lab before starting my residency in internal medicine. For my fellowship training in hematology/oncology, I will be traveling down to Houston, Texas with the MD Anderson cancer center. My time away from the hospital is largely dedicated to my two year daughter, 90lb dog, and wife. In my spare, spare time, I dominate fantasy football and often let golf dominate me.

I grew up in Indianapolis and have been here most of my life. I went to a high school on the Southside of the city (Perry Meridian for the Indy natives), graduated with a Biology and Chemistry degree from the University of Indianapolis, then attended medical school here at IU. In between college and medical school, I worked as a "Staff Microbiologist" testing meats, chocolates, and corn starch for the food and pharmaceutical industries. I am married - we celebrated our 7-year anniversary in 7/2011 - and have a 12-month old daughter named Ellie. We love to hike, kayak, and take walks with Ellie and our Great Dane, Bella. My professional interests are medical education - specifically bedside rounding, communication skills, and physical examination skills. After my chief resident year at Wishard, I will begin a pulmonary/critical care fellowship at IU.

Since I was born prior to Josh Smith (University Hospital Chief) and his wife is actively petitioning for him to change his name to her maiden name, Keenan, those that speak to me should address me as Joe The Other White Smith and refer to Josh Smith as Dr. Keenan. After all, his wife is a surgeon, and he is a mere internist. Further, all pages for Dr. Smith should first go to Dr. Keenan as he has both medical and surgical support for any questions.

I grew up struggling to tame the mean streets of Gas City, Indiana. There, I grew up dreaming of walking through the tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium. However, athletic ability was not a gift of mine so I settled for stumbling into the student section of Notre Dame Stadium. After four mystical years in the land of leprechauns, I traveled to the city where most of them arrived in America, Boston. Med School at Tufts University was great but a longing for a town with a friendly attitude towards Colts fans brought me back to Indiana for my residency. Now, I work as the Chief Resident for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety and in my spare time, hang out with my beautiful wife, Christina, and our two obese cats. Life is good. In closing, I have two words...Incident Reports!