WMed welcomes three new faculty members

Jacob Baker, MD, PhD, Thomas Koster, DO, Ian Thomas, MD
From left to right: Jacob Baker, MD, PhD, Thomas Koster, DO, and Ian Thomas, MD.

The medical school welcomed three new faculty members in August to its departments of Family and Community Medicine, Medicine, and Pathology.

Jacob Baker, MD, PhD, began his new role at WMed on August 5 as an assistant professor of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Baker is an alumnus of Calvin College where he graduated with honors in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in biology.

After graduation, Dr. Baker began the dual pursuit of his MD and PhD degrees at Michigan State University. He earned his PhD in microbiology and molecular genetics in 2017 and graduated with his MD degree from the MSU College of Human Medicine in 2019. Dr. Baker remained in Michigan for his residency and completed his three years of training in internal medicine at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids.

Prior to coming to WMed, Dr. Baker completed a two-year infectious disease fellowship at Corewell Health West/MSU in Grand Rapids. He is board certified in internal medicine and a member of the American College of Physicians, the Infectious Disease Society of America, and the Michigan Infectious Disease Society. Dr. Baker is also the recipient of several honors and awards and the author of several research publications.

Meanwhile, Thomas Koster, DO, joined the medical school on August 5 as an assistant professor of forensic pathology in the Department of Pathology. Dr. Koster is an alumnus of the University of South Florida where he earned a bachelor’s degree in integrative biology with a concentration in human anatomy in 2014.

Dr. Koster earned his DO degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2019 and completed his pathology and laboratory medicine residency in 2023 at the University of Vermont Medical Center. After residency, Dr. Koster completed a one-year fellowship in forensic pathology with the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department.

In addition to Drs. Baker and Koster, the medical school also welcomed Ian Thomas, MD, MSc, BSc, RMSK, RSCC, CSCS, on August 5 as an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Dr. Thomas earned his bachelor’s degree in biomolecular science from the University of Michigan in 2014 and a year later he graduated with his master’s degree in biomedical science from the University of Toledo. Dr. Thomas remained at the University of Toledo for medical school and graduated with his MD degree in 2020.

After medical school, Dr. Thomas completed his residency training in family medicine at Mercy St. Luke’s in Perrysburg, Ohio. After residency, Dr. Thomas completed a one-year fellowship in sports medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and was a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School during that time.

Dr. Thomas is a member of several professional societies, including the National Strength and Conditioning Association; the American Academy of Family Physicians; the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine, and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.