My Backyard

Dr. Steffini Stalos, 38, of Providence has joined the Rhode Island Blood Center as Assistant Medical Director, aiding in various aspects of administration, but primarily in the areas of donor safety and production management.

A graduate of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM), she recently completed a fellowship in Transfusion Medicine, and previously had completed her residency in clinical pathology.

She holds a bachelor of science degree from Tulane University in New Orleans and a master’s in cellular molecular biology from the University of Texas at Dallas.

The daughter of an award winning composer and realtor, Dr. Stalos was drawn to medicine from her own battle with an autoimmune condition when she was younger.

“I spent a lot of time in the hospital, but not in the way I would have liked it to have been,” she said. “But that heavily influenced my choice of career. I would be able to help people who are ill.”

Dr. Stalos is aware of the challenges facing the blood donation field, and in particular is cognizant of situations that may relate to current economic conditions.

“It’s hard to say how the economy could impact our donations,” she said. “It could go either way. Maybe people want to help their fellow man through donation. On the other hand, there’s a lot of moving and upheaval.”

She’s sees expansion of the blood donor pool as important, along with increasing knowledge that will allow some people who had previously been deferred from donating to again become eligible to donate.

Brought up in Texas, her father Sam Stalos composes classical music for brass instruments and won first place from the International Trumpet Guild (ITG) for composition in 2006 for a piece entitled Nobody Move, and won again the following year for a piece entitled Two Variations from Round Suite for Brass Trio.

Dr. Stalos’ mother, Young Hee Stalos, is a successful realtor. She came to the United States after being educated at the prestigious Ehwa Womans University in Seoul, Korea. While working as a manager of the Stars and Stripes bookstore, she met Sam Stalos, who she would later marry.