A Massachusetts woman with ties to Tamaqua has been named as the first female Chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery/Surgical Director of the Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Dr. Jennifer D. Walker is the daughter of former Tamaqua resident Pauline Holmberg Walker of Aiken, South Carolina, and the late Thomas C. Walker Jr.After graduating summa cum laude from the University of South Carolina, Walker completed her medical education at the Medical University of South Carolina in 1991. She joined the cardiac surgical staff at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2001, where she served as the Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery Resident Education. She was named Director of the Cardiac Surgical Simulation Laboratory and Training Program in 2005.Her special interests are in bypass surgery, adult congenital surgery, valve repair/replacement and aortic surgery.She is the granddaughter of the late John and Pauline Holmberg and Thomas and Helen Walker, all of Tamaqua.