Faculty and Staff

Brent Duran, D.O.

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

Dr. Duran received his medical degree from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and completed dual 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. Dr. Duran is a die-hard Jayhawks, Chiefs and Royals fan. He and his wife have a daughter, Elsie, who is the light of their lives. He enjoys music and attends as many concerts as possible with Arcade Fire being his favorite band.

Cynthia Kibet, M.D.

Med/Peds Associate Program Director
Instructor - Internal Medicine

Dr. Cynthia Kibet is an Instructor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. She 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. Dr. Kibet's interests are in medical education and preventive medicine. She is the co-director of the third-year medical student Internal Medicine Clerkship and a member of faculty at the Internal Medicine Resident Continuity Clinic. She also plans on working in School Based Health Care with the Pediatrics program. She is a member of the Gold Humanism Society.

Nathan Tofteland, M.D.

Past Med/Peds Residency Program Director
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 dual 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, and served as the associate program director for the Med/Peds Residency Program. He completed gastroenterology fellowship training 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 assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine's Division of Gastroenterology and took over as Med/Peds Residency program director. Outside of his professional responsibilities, Dr. Tofteland enjoys cycling, running, reading, and, along with his wife, trying to keep up with his young childrens' 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.

William J. Salyers, Jr., M.D., MPH, FACP

Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine Program Director
Professor - Department of Internal Medicine 

Dr. Salyers grew up in Ellsworth, Kansas, and attended Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in biology. He began his medical training at the KU School of Medicine in Kansas City and completed his clinical training on the Wichita campus, graduating in 2003. Following his residency training in Internal Medicine at KUSM-W in 2006, he joined the faculty as an assistant professor.

Prior to starting his fellowship training in gastroenterology, Dr. Salyers completed a Master of Public Health degree through KUSM-W and also dedicated additional time to working in hospice care prior to obtaining board certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Salyers completed his fellowship training in gastroenterology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2011 and returned to KUSM-W, where he is currently chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and program director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

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