Brent Duran, D.O., MPH

Med/Peds Program Director
Director of Internal Medicine Education - Wesley Medical Center
Associate Professor
Hospitalist 

Dr. Duran received his medical degree from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, and completed residency training at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency program. Following graduation, Dr. Duran joined the KUSM-W Med/Peds faculty, supervising residents on both the pediatric and internal medicine hospitalist services and has remained director of internal medicine education at Wesley Medical Center. He completed a Master of Public Health through KUMC with a focus on administration. His special clinical interests include management of hospitalized critically ill patients across the age spectrum with an emphasis on sepsis education. This interest has included published research, past chair of the Sepsis Collaborative at WMC and quality improvement projects spanning across the region. Outside of medicine, Dr. Duran enjoys time with his wife and kids, attending concerts and trying to keep up with fantasy football.

Cynthia Kibet, M.D.

Med/Peds Associate Program Director
Director of Internal Medicine Education - Resident Continuity Clinic 
Clerkship Director - Internal Medicine 3rd Year Student Clerkship
Assistant Professor

Dr. Cynthia Kibet received her medical training at the University of Nairobi School of Medicine, graduating in 2007. She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics at KU School of Medicine-Wichita in 2021. Following graduation Dr. Kibet joined KUSM-W Med/Peds faculty, supervising residents at the Internal Medicine Resident Continuity Clinic. Dr. Kibet's interests are in medical education, preventive medicine and obesity management. Dr. Kibet enjoys listening to audio books, baking and gardening with limited success due to the lovely and predictable Kansas weather.

Conner Baus, M.D.

Med/Peds Associate Program Director
Instructor – Internal Medicine
Hospitalist 

Conner Baus is a clinical instructor for the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, specializing in hospital medicine. He received his medical training at University of Kansas School of Medicine, graduating in 2020. He then matriculated through the Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency program at KUSM-W. His primary role is as an adult and pediatric hospitalist with KUSM-W working at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, where he teaches residents and medical students. He also supports and supervises residents in the outpatient setting at the resident-run KU Internal Medicine Clinic.

Nathan Tofteland, M.D.

Division Director Med/Peds
GI Fellowship Program Director
Associate Professor - Gastroenterology

Dr. Tofteland received his medical degree through the University of Kansas School of Medicine and completed residency training at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program. Prior to medical education, he received degrees in biblical/religious studies and philosophy at Tabor College. Following residency graduation, he joined the faculty of KUSM-W, supervising residents on the KU Hospitalist Service at Wesley Medical Center and in residency continuity clinics. He then went on to complete a gastroenterology fellowship at the Kansas City campus of the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 2014. In July 2014, Dr. Tofteland returned to the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita as an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine's Division of Gastroenterology. Outside of his professional responsibilities, Dr. Tofteland enjoys cycling, running, reading, and along with his wife, trying to keep up with his young children's active lives.

Melissa Jefferson, M.D.

Pediatric Program Director

Melissa R. Jefferson, M.D., is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist. She graduated from the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in 2002. She works in Kansas City, Missouri, and three other locations and specializes in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology-Oncology. Dr. Jefferson is affiliated with Wesley Healthcare Center.

Jennifer Jackson, M.D., FACP

Internal Medicine Program Director
Associate Professor
Hospitalist

Dr. Jackson earned her medical degree at the University Kansas School of Medicine, then completed her residency training at KU School of Medicine-Wichita in internal medicine. After practicing general internal medicine in the rural community of Pratt, Kansas, Dr. Jackson returned to Wichita and joined the teaching faculty at KUSM-W where she served as the director of medical education for the Internal Medicine Resident Clinic. She now serves as chief hospitalist at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital, where she treats her own patients as well as oversees and teaches resident physicians. Dr. Jackson is certified by Cleveland Clinic’s Institute for Functional Medicine and started a functional medicine consult practice in Wichita in 2019.

Deshanett Clay, M.D., MPH

Instructor

Dr. Deshanett Clay earned a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience from UCLA. After a few years, she moved from her hometown of Long Beach, California, to Philadelphia to attend Drexel University School of Public Health, where she obtained her Master of Public Health with a concentration in community health & prevention in 2011. Dr. Clay received her medical training at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, graduating in 2017. As a third-year medical student she founded the Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Student Interest Group on the Wichita campus. In 2021, she completed her residency training in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.

Dr. Clay’s interests are in medical education; infant mortality; and diversity, equity and inclusion in the health care workforce. She is a member of faculty at both the Pediatrics and Internal Medicine Continuity Clinics. Dr. Clay has also taken on the role of assistant director for the Jager Society, serving as an academic coach and as a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) facilitator for medical students.

Dr. Clay loves to head to the West Coast to visit her family in Southern California and Arizona. She loves to spoil her nephew and nieces who are very special to her. In addition to spending time with family and close friends, she enjoys cooking and baking; shopping (she is a known “sneakerhead”); and assembling and mounting jigsaw puzzles.

Bryn Kovacic

Med/Peds Residency Coordinator