NY doctor with Ebola a serious student with funny side, friends say

By Ellen Wulfhorst NEW YORK (Reuters) - The young doctor diagnosed with Ebola in New York City is a big-hearted man with a serious interest in international emergency medicine and a flair for languages, yet his friends call him "a goofball." Craig Spencer, originally from the Detroit area, has specialized in International Emergency Medicine at the highly respected Columbia University-New York Presbyterian Hospital since 2011, according to his online LinkedIn resume. He spent a month treating Ebola patients in Guinea with the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders, returned to the United States on Oct. 17 and was diagnosed with the virus on Thursday, health officials said. "Craig is one of the most brilliant and delightful people I have ever had the pleasure of working with," said Leslie Roberts, a professor of population and family health at the Columbia University Medical Center. "He will be in the forefront of my thoughts and motivations as we struggle on with this outbreak," said the professor, who is treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone with the World Health Organization. The 33-year-old Spencer was listed in stable condition on Friday at Bellevue Hospital, the United States' oldest public hospital, where he was in isolation. He was feeling well enough to talk to family members and chat on his cellphone, officials said. "Craig is all heart," said a former fellow student who asked not to be identified by name. "He can basically be summed up as everyone's friend." In school, Spencer expressed interest in working with migrant workers in Asia, another former fellow student said. He is fluent in Chinese, French and Spanish and speaks some Greek, Spencer wrote on LinkedIn. He met Morgan Dixon, now his fiancée, when they both studied at Henan University in China, according to their online résumés and a wedding announcement. The couple live together in New York City's Harlem neighborhood. Dixon, who has been quarantined at Bellevue, works at the HOPE Program, an organization that teaches employment skills to poor New Yorkers. "Our thoughts and concerns are with our colleague and her fiancé at this time. We have spoken with high-level officials at the New York City Department of Health and have been assured that there is no risk at our workplace," the organization said on its website. Spencer and Dixon are slated to be married next Sept. 5, according to their online wedding announcement. "Craig's friends say he's a goofball," the announcement said, describing him as "gifted in both art, music and science, and a go-getter." He attended Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Wayne State University School of Medicine. He graduated in 1999 from Grosse Pointe North High School in Michigan, a spokeswoman for the school said. A yearbook photo shows him with a wide smile and dark curly hair. On his Facebook page, which has been taken down, Spencer posted a picture of himself in elaborate protective gear. "Please support organizations that are sending support or personnel to West Africa, and help combat one of the public health and humanitarian disasters in recent history," he wrote in the caption.One friend responded: "Watch out for the Ebola!" (Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Lisa Shumaker)