Diane Chan Diane comes to us from Boston, completing an MD/PhD at Boston University and just finishing up her internship at BU Medical Center. Her graduate work included experiments to determine the role of mutations in the leucine- rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene in Parkinson disease pathogenesis. Before starting medical school, she had traveled to Zambia with UNICEF to investigate the effects of HIV/AIDS on women and children within that country, publishing her experiences in Elle magazine. She enjoys camping, rock climbing and traveling, and is a piano soloist. Jeffrey Dewey Jeffrey also comes to us from Boston, completing his MD at BU and internship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He has participated in research in the improvement of automatic measurements of subcortical structures in brain MRI and in the role of the immune system on breast cancer metastasis to the brain. Before starting medical school, he taught math, science and social studies in Los Angeles through Teach for America, and was nominated for Teacher of the Year by students and faculty. He is a drummer/percussionist and has interests in homebrewing and Sherlock Holmes scholarship.
Ilena George Ilena is coming from New York City, having completed medical school at NYU and her internship year at Lenox Hill Hospital. She was one of 30 medical students from across the US who was selected to participate in a year- long research training at the NIH. Her research focused on the development of new MRI methods to investigate the origin of disability in MS and related disorders. She has a BA in English Literature from Stanford University, and as a high school student, she participated in the creation of With Their Eyes, which has been performed throughout the US and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She also enjoys hiking, volleyball and New York theater. Krithi Irmady Krithi completed her medical degree at Mysore Medical College in India, followed by a PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. She has completed her internship at Griffin Hospital here in Connecticut. During her PhD training, she was involved in the discovery of the role of fibroblast growth factor- 2 in the maturation of astrocytes in the hindbrain. Subsequent research has included the role of neurotrophins in experimental models of stroke and other neuropsychiatric disorders. She enjoys traveling, reading and bird watching, in particular South Asian aquatic birds.
Saien Lai Saien completed her medical school training at Wayne State University, and has been at Yale for her internship year. During medical school, she developed a project comparing the utility of the traditional 128 Hz tuning fork versus the Rydel- Seiffer tuning fork for detecting sensory axonal neuropathies, and the results were published in the Journal of Clinical Neuromuscular Disease this year. Previous research experience has included the development of vaccine models using ELISA and Western Blot. She is interested in arts and crafts (particularly origami and crochet), reading and Sudoku. Kwan Hon (Vincent) Lau Vincent completed an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Toronto before leaving the Motherland for medical school at Mount Sinai in New York. He has been at Yale for his internship year. He has an interest in medical education, and has done research into the design of computer- based teaching modules in medical education. Before medical school, he taught English and technical writing to university science students in the Czech Republic, and he started a medical Cantonese class at Mount Sinai. He is an accomplished pianist, having achieved Royal Conservatory of Music Grade 10 Level, and also enjoys basketball, hiking and writing.
Andrew Liu Andrew completed medical school at Chicago Medical School, and will be joining us after completing his internship at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. During medical school, he developed an interest in a career as a clinician- scientist, and participated in the Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) program. He helped to develop a novel approach to generate induced human cortical neurons from accessible neuronal precursor in the nose, creating an epigenetic profile that is more similar to native cortical neurons than cortical neurons derived from fibroblasts. He enjoys trying new foods, outdoor activities, and attending concerts and musicals. Reshma Narula Reshma completed her medical school training at New York Medical College, and has been here at Yale for her internship year. Prior to medical school, she worked as a clinical research fellow in cerebrovascular disease, focusing on subarachnoid hemorrhage and the post- operative complications and outcomes following intracranial hemorrhage. She has been active in volunteer work, including the New York City Rescue Mission and Big Brothers and Big Sisters. She chaired the orientation committee for her medical school and was a member of a 3- time champion flag football team at NY Medical College.
Sirisha Sanamandra Sirisha completed her medical training at St. John s Medical College in Bangalore, India, and then completed training in Family Medicine through the University of Illinois. She was Chief Resident in her final year of training. She won numerous merit awards during her medical training, and was nominated for the Pope Paul VI Award for outstanding academic background, extracurricular activities and leadership skills. She has worked as a research fellow at the University of Wisconsin, where she was involved in translational research involving stem cell therapy for stroke, and several clinical research projects in functional MRI. She enjoys running, and has been active in numerous volunteer organizations.