Fall 2018 Fellows Yearbook

RESIDENCY IN HEALTH POLICY FELLOWSHIP

Fall 2018 Fellows Yearbook

Fall 2018 Fellows Sarah Alsamarai is a 3rd year Internal Medicine resident at GW. She is a graduate of Boston College, Harvard School of Public Health, and Tulane University School of Medicine. She is interested in health policy in order to find ways to increase access to care for her patients and create a more socially just health care system locally and globally. Sarah plans to pursue a career in Infectious Disease, and has research experience in the field of antibiotic resistance. Rebecca Boyer is a fourth year medical student at GW. S She received her B.S. in Health and Human Biology from Brown University in 2014. There, she was involved in research focused on the intersection between social determinants of health and access to psychiatric treatment for severe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder under Dr. Steven Rasmussen. In medical school she has been actively involved in the American Medical Association and is currently working a project that will focus on medicine-assisted treatment of opioid addiction in Emergency Department settings. She is currently applying to Emergency Medicine residencies, and is planning on pursuing a career in critical care or pediatric emergency medicine. David Burstein is in his final year of residency in the Primary Care track through the Department of Internal Medicine at The George Washington University. He completed his medical education at Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois. He is currently applying for health services research fellowships set to begin in July 2019, with the intention of becoming a clinician- investigator in topics related to doctor-patient relationships and the care of those with serious illness. Dr. Burstein is the recipient of a GW Hospital Innovation Leadership Award and has a primary research interest in the desire and ability of physicians to help or care for others. By taking both an interpersonal and systems-view of the doctor-patient relationship, he hopes to make contributions in topics such as cost-effectiveness, physician burnout, and end-of-life care.

Jessica Chamish is a second year pediatric resident at Children's National Medical Center and part of the Leadership in Advocacy, Underserved, and Community Health track (LAUnCH). She completed her undergraduate education at Vanderbilt University with a Major in Medicine, Health, and Society. During this time, Jessica worked abroad in South Africa at a government run tuberculosis hospital where she was introduced to the complexities of global health and health policy. After college, Jessica served with AmeriCorps working as a school-based mentor with at-risk youth in the rural town of Hayden, Colorado. Jessica then pursued her medical education at Albany Medical College with the intention of becoming a pediatrician, an advocate for children, and expanding her interests in global health, health care delivery and policy. Valerie Curren is currently a pediatric cardiology fellow at Children's National Medical Center. She completed her Bachelors Degree at Colgate University. Her interest in comparative health care systems lead her to Dublin where she earned her medical degree at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She completed her pediatric residency at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh where she was inspired by her colleagues and their strong spirit of advocacy. She spent a year at Columbia University's Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital as a hospitalist in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit. Valerie has a particular interest in social determinants of health, the impact of public policy on the future of health care for children, and serving as an advocate for children with congenital heart disease. Jeanne Delgado is a current second-year pediatric resident at Children’s National Medical Center and is part of their Leadership in Advocacy, the Underserved, and Community Health (LAUNCH) track. She is from Savannah, GA and studied chemistry at Emory University before attending medical school at Brown University. She has an interest in caring for underserved and immigrant populations with focus on HIV, global, and reproductive health.

Kristen Briana Everett is a student at The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Doctor of Medicine. Kristen is interested in taking this course to better understand the multi-faceted network and relationships that make-up the health system in US in order to better understand health policy and its implications for pediatric patients. She is interested in exploring career options related to health policy that will allow her to continue medical practice while integrating a passion for underserved and community health.

Luis Dominguez grew up in the DC area and attended Dartmouth College. He then matriculated at SGU, graduating with a dual MD/MPH degree with distinction. During his residency in Internal Medicine at Jersey City Medical Center-RWJ Barnabas Health, he served as House-Staff Representative, liaising between the administration and residents. He was appointed Patient Safety Officer, due in large part to his work on Quality Improvement, and graduated with multiple awards for scholarship. Jessica Hippolyte is a second year pediatric resident at Children’s National Medical Center. She received a B.S. degree from Cornell University and her M.P.H. in 2010 from George Washington University. She recently graduated from The Ohio State University in 2017 with a M.D. degree. She has a passion for health and science with a specific interest in the union between clinical medicine and public health, specifically using behavioral health interventions to support her patients and the community at large. Kathryn Humes is a 3rd year internal medicine resident at GW who is originally from Columbus, Ohio. She attended Wake Forest University for her undergraduate education, and then she worked at The Ohio State University Hospital doing pulmonary fibrosis research for a year while applying to medical school. She then attended Wright State University for medical school. She is interested in health policy specifically as it relates to the affordable care act and recent changes to the health care system. Meaghan Kelly is currently in her final year of residency in Child Neurology at Children's National Medical Center. She was born and raised in Fanwood, NJ. She attended Rutgers University as an undergraduate, where she earned degrees in Cell Biology and Neuroscience, and Psychology, and attended Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School for her medical training. After completing her Child Neurology training, Meaghan plans on caring for general child neurology patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. Her interest in health policy stems from the desire to better advocate for her patients, and help them navigate a complicated and evolving health care system.

Natasha Khawaja earned her BBA in 2006 from The George Washington University in Marketing and International Business. Shortly after, she moved to New York City and began working in the banking and finance sector. After much traveling, mentoring, volunteering, and soul searching, she started began a career in medicine. She graduated from the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2017 and is a second year Family Medicine Resident in Washington, D.C.

Sarah Lane is a fourth year medical student at GW, and is originally from St. Simon's Island, Georgia. She received her B.S. in Microbiology, M.P.H. in Health Policy and Management, and Certificate in Global Health from the University of Georgia in 2015. Sarah's experience in health policy before medical school involved an internship at the Greater New York Hospital Association and research focused on expanding access to Medicaid providers in Athens, Georgia. In medical school she has been actively involved in the American Medical Association and served on a research team through the Milken Institute School of Public Health looking at value-based payment systems for patients in the safety net. Jeffery Lankowsky is a third year internal medicine resident at the George Washington University. He completed his bachelor’s degree with a major in Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Michigan. He received his medical degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. While in medical school he participated in the co-curricular program Medical Political Action and the Community. He was given the opportunity to learn about healthcare policy and to lobby the state legislature regarding issues of medical education.

Amin Memon, M.D. completed his B.S. in Biology at Texas Tech University and received his medical degree from University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Upon graduation, he completed his internship in psychiatry at University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital. He was born in England, and has lived in the London, Kenya, Australia, and the United States. He enjoys watching football, playing tennis, chess, and working the field of medicine; in addition to spending time with family and friends.

(Ralph) Linwood Millett is currently a third year resident in the George Washington University Internal Medicine Department. He grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, attended The University of Notre Dame for his undergraduate degree, and went to The University of Cincinnati for medical school. His current plan is to complete a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology. He is particularly interested in better understanding the current state of American healthcare from a system's level and learning about possible future directions, especially at a time when repayment structures and public access appear to be in flux. In attention he is interested in understanding the American system in the context of the rest of the world and how that might better inform policies at home. Estevan Rivas was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. He went college at Our lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas where he majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry, Spanish, and Anthropology. He Matriculated at the University of North Texas-Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. After graduation he moved to DC to start my family medicine residency at The WCGME/Unity Health care. He is interested in minority issues, health disparities, social determinants of health, and preventive health. Elizabeth Robinson is a second year dermatology resident engaged in clinical research and the American Academy of Dermatology's national teledermatology task force. As a biomedical engineering undergraduate, she has worked in labs that challenged her to think creatively and pragmatically. After college, she worked in healthcare consulting for three years with a focus on integrating systems. She is most interested to using her background in a variety of medical industries to become active in developing health policy and applying new technologies to make our practices as physicians simpler and more effective for practitioners and patients. Brenna Rosenberg received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University and completed further undergraduate studies in Hebrew at the University of Haifa in Israel, and in Global Healthcare Technology at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She also pursued graduate studies in Population Health at Thomas Jefferson University. She worked as a biomedical engineer in the Department of Defense at Walter Reed National Medical Center performing clinical research on post-TBI psychiatric illness in military service members. She received her M.D. from the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University.

Gowri Ramachandran received her B.A. in Anthropology and B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During her time at UNC, she was involved in several research projects through the School of Public Health. Later, she worked for the Evolutionary Anthropology department at Duke University and studied genes involved in dental enamel formation and mutations prior to transitioning to medical school at the University of Toledo College of Medicine. She is now a third year psychiatry resident at GW and is planning to pursue a forensic psychiatry fellowship. Samir Sethi is a 4th year Anesthesiology Resident at George Washington University. He grew up in Delaware and attended the University of Delaware where he majored in life sciences and biology. He then attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia before residency. Samir enjoys traveling and learning more about other countries and their health care systems. During medical school he spent one month in St. George's Hospital in London learning about their healthcare system. Next year he plans to continue his training in a dual cardiac and critical care anesthesiology fellowship. Andy Simmons is currently a fourth-year emergency medicine resident at George Washington University. He graduated from Weill Cornell Medical College after completing a post-baccalaureate course at the Harvard University Extension School. Prior to shifting careers to medicine, he majored in Russian Studies at Principia College and was a USAID fellow of the inaugural US-Russia Volunteer Initiative working with civil society organizations in Novosibirsk. His previous work includes advocacy for international conflict prevention and resolution with the International Crisis Group in Washington, DC. Leah Steckler During her undergraduate studies and medical school she has lived in the Washington, DC area and has worked at the National Institutes of Health doing clinical research for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. During medical school, she spent the summer between first and second year working at the American Academy of Pediatrics, Department of Federal Affairs. Through this opportunity, she learned how policy is made regarding the pediatric population and pediatricians on issues ranging from general health concerns, Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education, Medicare/Medicaid and CHIP, and the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. She was accepted to the Government Relations Internship Program (GRIP).

Sara Teichholtz received her M.D. from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Faculty of Health Sciences in Be'er Sheva, Israel. She received her B.A. in Neuroscience from Wellesley College, and started medical school at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University before transferring to Ben-Gurion to pursue medical training with a more global focus. In medical school, she spent summers doing medical work in Nepal and Ghana, has been involved in volunteer opportunities such as Global Health Made Local, which pairs medical students with families involved in the healthcare system, and was a member of Ben-Gurion Students for Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Kerry Townsend is a fourth year medical student at GW, in the health policy track. She majored in biology at Bowdoin College, and interned at the White House Office of Health Reform, shortly after the Affordable Care Act was passed. Prior to medical school she was a research assistant at the NIH, where she worked on clinical trials with directly acting antiviral therapy for the treatment of hepatitis C virus. At GW, she worked with Dr. Sarani to publish a paper in JAMA Surgery about the association between Medicaid coverage and hospital lengths of stay after injury. Kerry is currently applying to residency in Internal Medicine, and hopes to be a primary care provider.