Mayo Clinic Residency Match 2018
In March, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine students participated in National Resident Match Day. During this exciting annual ritual, they learned where they’ll spend the next several years of their lives.
Learn more about some of these bright future Mayo Clinic alumni — where they’ve been, where they’re headed and what motivates them.
Christopher Aiudi, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Anesthesiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
Graduate: Doctor of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of Rhode Island, Kingston
Undergraduate: University of Rhode Island
Hometown: Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Dream job: Anesthesiologist at an academic institution with a balance of clinical duties and medical education responsibilities.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My family, patients and a desire to learn.
Best advice you’ve received: Find a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Tim Lamer, M.D. (ANES ’86), and Jonathan Charnin, M.D. (ANES ’17), — both in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester — provided endless support regarding career advice, research and clinical exposure.
Tanner Bommersbach, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Psychiatry, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
Graduate: Master of Public Health, Health Policy and Systems, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
Undergraduate: Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota
Hometown: Grand Forks, North Dakota
Dream job: Working for a federal public health agency or state health department.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? The opportunity to improve the quality of life of populations with severe mental illness.
Best advice you’ve received: People may not remember exactly what you did or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: J. Michael Bostwick, M.D. (P ’98, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic Rochester), has been a fantastic research and professional mentor. He is not only incredibly intelligent and thoughtful, but he also cares deeply about students.
George Bonadurer III, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Transitional, Intermountain Medical Center, Murray, Utah; Dermatology, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Undergraduate: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Hometown: Waukesha, Wisconsin
Dream job: Academic dermatologist
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Simply put, learning medicine and serving others is fun.
Best advice you’ve received: Dr. (Edward) Rosenow’s (I ’65, Rochester Emeriti Staff) platinum rule of medicine: Take care of every patient like you would want a member of your family cared for.
Lauren Carlson, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Family medicine, Allina Health, St. Paul, Minnesota
Undergraduate: St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota
Hometown: Victoria, Minnesota
Dream job: Full-spectrum family practitioner
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Conversations and relationships with mentors, patients, family and friends.
Best advice you’ve received: Your character matters!
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Margaret Gill, M.D. (MED ’93, FM ’96, Department of Family Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester), has modeled how to provide compassionate and intentional medical care. She has been a constant advocate throughout my medical training, always ready to meet up over a cup of coffee.
Tiffany Chen, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Pathology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Graduate: Masters of Global Medicine, University of Southern California – Los Angeles
Undergraduate: University of Southern California
Hometown: Fresno, California
Dream job: Molecular pathologist by day, ramen chef by night
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? I am motivated to do something that brings me fulfillment by helping others and spreading happiness to the people around me. My family, friends and mentors continue to inspire me to work toward this dream each and every day.
Best advice you’ve received: Never sell yourself short.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Gordon Honda, M.D. (UCSF), Jonathan Samet, M.D. (USC), and Joaquin Garcia, M.D. (APTH ’09, Mayo Clinic). I have been fortunate to have the most amazing mentors who are not only career mentors but also life mentors. Thank you for all of your guidance and support these past many years!
Ricky Cui, M.D., candidate
Residency match: Medicine-preliminary, West Suburban Medical Center, Oak Park, Illinois; Ophthalmology, Illinois Eye & Ear Infirmary, Chicago
Undergraduate: Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
Hometown: Jinan, China
Dream job: Academic ophthalmologist.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My parents sacrificed everything for me to have an opportunity to fulfill the American dream. They are my ultimate motivation.
Best advice you’ve received: If you don’t fail, you are not trying hard enough.
Margaret (Maggie) Cupit-Link, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Pediatrics, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri
Undergraduate: Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee
Hometown: Brookhaven, Mississippi
Dream job: To practice pediatric hematology/oncology with a focus on quality of life/palliative care
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? All of the children I have met who are or were being treated for cancer, and my faith and spirituality.
Best advice you’ve received: I asked pediatric palliative care physician Justin Baker, M.D., at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis how he could be so strong for so many patients. Dr. Baker said: “Before you go into a patient’s room, bring yourself into the current moment. Be fully present with your patient and their family. Listen to them, be in silence with them, laugh with them and cry with them. But when you leave the room, you must leave all that behind in order to be the same thing for the next patient. You must take a breath, say a prayer and start again, knowing that this patient needs you here now.”
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: The pediatric oncologist who treated me seven years ago at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Alberto Pappo, M.D., by modeling to me the many roles of an impactful physician.
Elizabeth Fracica, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Medicine-preliminary/neurology, Johns Hopkins/Bayview, Baltimore, Maryland; Neurology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
Graduate: Master of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
Undergraduate: University of Missouri, Columbia
Hometown: St. Joseph, Missouri
Dream job: Academic physician-researcher and leader in health care
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? The incredible opportunity to try to push the boundary of our understanding about the human brain and to try to leave this world a better place than when I came into it.
Best advice you’ve received: Remember to always leave space in your day. It is in this space that you create the opportunity for invaluable reflection, spontaneous trips with friends and family, and exploring new opportunities for personal and career growth. I believe this is a key practice which promotes long-term success and happiness in life.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: I am especially grateful to Joshua Sharfstein, M.D. (Johns Hopkins), who guided me through the process of successfully petitioning the FDA to add a black-box warning to all opioid and benzodiazepine class medications regarding the risk of respiratory depression and fatal overdose death with concomitant use.
Christopher Gibbs, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Orthopedic surgery/research, UPMC Medical Education, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Undergraduate: Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania
Hometown: Akron, Ohio
Dream job: Orthopedic surgeon and educator.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? The opportunity to serve patients, my community and God.
Best advice you’ve received: Keep your priorities straight!
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Aaron Krych, M.D. (MED ’05, OR ’10, Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic Rochester), and Christopher Camp, M.D. (MED ’10, OR ’15, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic Rochester). Since the beginning of medical school, they have helped me make decisions about career choice and through residency preparation and selection.
William (Will) Gibson, M.D., Ph.D. candidate
Residency match: Neurological surgery, Northwestern McGaw/NMH/VA, Chicago, Illinois
Undergraduate: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Hometown: Vancouver, Canada
Dream job: Neurosurgeon/translational neuroscientist
Hannah Gilder, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Neurological surgery, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Undergraduate: Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
Hometown: Fallbrook, California
Dream job: Jedi master
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Bringing kindness and compassionate medical care to patients and trying to be the best part of their worst days.
Best advice you’ve received: Take what you do seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.
Alexander Ginsburg, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Emergency medicine, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Graduate: M.A., geography; Master of Community and Regional Planning, University of Oregon, Eugene
Undergraduate: Arizona State University, Tempe
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Dream job: Taking care of people.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Seeing brave and generous people who confront adversity on a daily basis on behalf of their communities without concern for reward or recognition.
Best advice you’ve received: Doing the right thing is always the right thing.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Donald (Chris) Derauf, M.D. (PD ’11, Division of Community Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester), and Emily Leasure, M.D. (PCIM ’16, Division of Primary Care Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester), who both model empathy and humility in taking care of their patients. I hope to one day be as skilled and thoughtful a clinician as they are.
Shanette Go, M.D., Ph.D. candidate
Residency match: Anesthesiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland
Graduate: Ph.D., biomedical engineering and physiology, biomechanics, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rochester, Minnesota
Undergraduate: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Hometown: Avon, Connecticut
Dream job: Working for or starting a health care technology company, designing and developing wearable devices that can more accurately monitor patients, predict outcomes and optimize patient health.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My passion for moving the field of medicine and anesthesiology forward through science and technology. There’s so much information waiting to be harnessed; we just need to figure out how!
Leonard Haas, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Pediatrics, NYP Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York City
Undergraduate: Rutgers University, State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick
Hometown: Hillsborough, New Jersey
Dream job: Treating pediatric patients, teaching medical students and making new discoveries
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My pediatric patients, of course!
Best advice you’ve received: Believe in yourself, and follow your heart.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: I aspire to become a pediatrician like Philip Fischer, M.D. (PD ’99, Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester).
Ronee Harvey, M.D., Ph.D. candidate
Residency match: Internal medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis
Graduate: Ph.D., clinical and translational science, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Undergraduate: Oakland University, Rochester Hills, Michigan
Hometown: Rochester Hills, Michigan
Dream job: Academic hospitalist
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Seeing what those ahead of me have accomplished.
Best advice you’ve received: If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Katie Rieck, M.D. (I ’14, Division of Hospital Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester), has provided me with a wealth of advice and has been a shoulder to cry on — figuratively and literally.
Scott (Mitchell) Heiner, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Surgery-preliminary/urology, University of Utah Affiliated Hospitals, Salt Lake City; Urology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City
Undergraduate: Utah State University, Logan
Hometown: Ogden, Utah
Dream job: Aside from a urologist? I would say a film critic.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My wife. She works extraordinarily hard and has incredible exactness and discipline in pursuing her talents and goals.
Best advice you’ve received: Speak softly but carry a big stick.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Amir Khan, M.D. (MED ’92, OPH ’96, Department of Ophthalmology at Mayo Clinic Rochester), has been a great friend and an example of kindness and generosity.
Wyatt Hoch, M.D. candidate
Residency match: General surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson
Undergraduate: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Hometown: Perrysburg, Ohio
Dream job: Surgeon in a small community
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? The support of my family and friends.
Best advice you’ve received: You are what you continually do.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: John Stulak, M.D. (S ’06, TS ’08, CS ’09, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Mayo Clinic Rochester), motivated and guided me through deciding on a career in surgery.
Geoffrey Huntley, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Internal medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas
Undergraduate: Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
Hometown: Chana, Illinois
Dream job: One that keeps me enthusiastic to care for patients, advance the science, and love my family and friends.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? The people who root for me: being able to look them in the eye and tell them I have made the best out of each ounce of support they have given me.
Best advice you’ve received: It’s not about being the best. It’s about doing well enough to have the opportunities to make yourself the happiest.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Vuyisile Nkomo, M.D. (I ’97, CV ’01, Division of Structural Heart Disease, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester). His cardiology practice has the perfect balance of patient care, academic research, teaching and public health, which has been incredibly exemplary for me and allowed me to form my own version of an ideal medical practice. This would not have been possible without his enthusiasm to involve me in his research and practice.
Soyun (Michelle) Hwang, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Medicine-preliminary, University of Hawaii, Honolulu; Anesthesiology-critical care, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
Undergraduate: University of California, Davis
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii
Dream job: Intensivist by day, chef by night and world traveler on days off.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My mother who, as a single parent, sacrificed so much to ensure her two children got the education they needed. She inspired me to overcome difficulties with the brightest smile.
Best advice you’ve received: “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams.” — The Alchemist
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Mentorship has been the single most powerful force that has enabled me to be where I am today. I can easily recall at least 30 incredible mentors at Mayo who have changed my life for the better and for good. The most unexpected mentor (now my best friend and adopted grandmother) was Bani Mahadeva, my senior sage and one of the founders of Women’s and Gender Studies at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She became my family, made the best home-cooked Indian dinner whenever I was down, and shared 80-years of wisdom in overcoming the stereotypes of her time and culture as an educated woman and leader.
Somya Jalan, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Pediatrics, UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
Undergraduate: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Hometown: Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Dream job: Pediatrician/bakery owner
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My family.
Best advice you’ve received: There is never a right time for things to happen; just go with the flow and do the best you can.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Paul Galardy, M.D. (PDHO ’06), and Philip Fischer, M.D. (PD ’99) — both in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester — were wonderful mentors who provided constant encouragement and support in my pursuit of pediatrics and future career goals. They not only showed me the type of physician I want to become on day but also ways to make it possible.
Augustin Joseph, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Internal medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago
Undergraduate: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond
Hometown: Floral Park, New York
Dream job: Work for the World Health Organization on global health care systems design or work for Google/Apple/Amazon
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My family. Every one of my successes is because of their prayers, sacrifice and trust in me.
Best advice you’ve received: Plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: My CAMP (Career Advisory and Mentorship Program) mentor Adam Sawatsky, M.D. (I ’10, Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester).
Vytas Karalius, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Emergency medicine, Northwestern McGaw/NMH/VA, Chicago, Illinois
Graduate: Master of Public Health, Master of Medical Sciences, Loyola University Chicago, Illinois
Undergraduate: Michigan State University, East Lansing
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Dream job: A physician in emergency medicine who positively impacts the lives of his patients within the clinic and at a scale beyond the clinic, whether that be by becoming a leader in health care delivery, administration, research or medical education.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? The people I found myself surrounded by at Mayo and the patients we see each day.
Best advice you’ve received: So much of the advice and encouragement my mother has shared with me along the journey. She is a true inspiration to me through the way she has lived her own life and has always helped guide my way when I felt lost.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: At Mayo, I think we are fortunate to find ourselves surrounded by so many invaluable mentors — too many to mention. Benjamin Sandefur, M.D. (MED ’08, EM ’12, Department of Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester), has been an incredible mentor and adviser during my journey through medical school and into residency. I hope to one day be as amazing a mentor to future medical students as he has been to me.
Tyler Klobucher, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Undergraduate: College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, Minnesota
Hometown: Iron River, Wisconsin
Dream job: Wildlife conservationist.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My amazingly diverse family.
Best advice you’ve received: Don’t waste your time comparing yourself to others. It detracts from your main goal, which is to be the best version of yourself.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Too numerous to name. It’s the accumulation of small pearls of wisdom from physician-teachers that really change how you view yourself as a person and how your patients view you as a physician.
Jennifer Knight, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Transitional, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Radiology-diagnostic, University of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Seattle
Undergraduate: Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota
Hometown: Sacramento, California
Dream job: Radiologist working in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Friends, family, doing what I love, and feeling like I can be part of a team that will make a difference in people’s lives.
Best advice you’ve received: Find your people — find the specialty in which your colleagues are people you enjoy working with professionally and that you can see yourself being friends with.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Katie Hunt, M.D. (RD ’10, RBR ’11, Division of Breast Imaging and Intervention, Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic Rochester).
Benjamin Krippendorf, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Emergency medicine, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Undergraduate: Columbia College, New York City
Hometown: Salem, New Hampshire
Dream job: Emergency medicine
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Service to others.
Best advice you’ve received: Do what you love, and do it well. Then you will never have to work a day in your life.
Sarah R. Lund, M.D. candidate
Residency match: General surgery, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Undergraduate: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
Hometown: Lakeville, Minnesota
Dream job: General surgeon who teaches medical students and residents at an academic center
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? The concept of tikkun olam — the world is broken but, if everyone does their part, one day we can all take those broken pieces and put them back together. The following quote is what motivates me even when a task feels useless or hopeless: “It is not your responsibility to finish the work of perfecting the world, but neither are you free to desist from it.”
Best advice you’ve received: “Load the boat” — make sure to ask for help early and often when you need it so you aren’t alone trying to bail out a sinking ship.
Janice Ma, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Medicine-preliminary, Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, California; Dermatology, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California
Undergraduate: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Hometown: Arcadia, California
Dream job: Dermatologist with an interest in providing resources and care for those afflicted with occupational skin diseases.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My family, inspiring mentors and patients I have the privilege of providing care for.
Best advice you’ve received: “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” — John Wooden
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: I am so grateful for one of my mentors during my undergraduate studies, Vay Liang (Bill) Go, M.D. (I ’67, GI ’71), who encouraged me to pursue my medical school education at Mayo Clinic, where he had undergone training and served as faculty for decades. It was the best decision I could have possibly made and one that I have never looked back on.
I am indebted to so many individuals I have met at Mayo Clinic. In particular, I am extremely thankful for my medical school mentor family heads, Uma Thanarajasingam, M.D., Ph.D. (IMM ’08, MDPD ’08, I ’12, RHEU ’15, Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic Rochester), and David Wetter, M.D. (MED ’04, I-1 ’05, DERM ’08, DERMI ’09, Department of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic Rochester), both Mayo Clinic School of Medicine alumni, who have been so gracious in inviting our medical family to many fun outings and giving us a preview of life after medical school.
Francisco Maldonado, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Transitional, Gundersen-Lutheran Medical Foundation, La Crosse, Wisconsin; Radiology-diagnostic, Northwestern-McGaw/NMH/VA, Chicago, Illinois
Undergraduate: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Hometown: St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Bogota, Colombia
Dream job: Landscape photographer
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? The sacrifices my family made to give me better opportunities.
Best advice you’ve received: “The only time you start at the top is when you’re digging a hole.” — Edward Traut
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Matthew Gettman, M.D. (U ’00, Department of Urology), and Joel Fletcher, M.D. (RGI ’98, Department of Radiology), were invaluable and have shown me what it means to be a world-class physician, mentor and friend.
Monique Montenegro, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Medicine-preliminary, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois; Neurology, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Undergraduate: School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Dream job: Neurologist in an academic hospital
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My family.
Best advice you’ve received: The teaching you receive is a gift — not for you but for your future patients.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: I have been fortunate to have several mentors at Mayo. I have worked with Fredric Meyer, M.D. (NS ’87, enterprise chair, Neurologic Surgery and Executive Dean for Education, Mayo Clinic Rochester), and Jeremy Custforth-Gregory, M.D. (MED ’10, I-1 ’11, N ’14, MD ’15, N-AUD ’16, Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic Rochester), the longest, and both have given me invaluable advice and support.
Ryan Naylor, M.D., Ph.D. candidate
Residency match: Neurological surgery, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Graduate: Ph.D., biochemistry and molecular biology, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Undergraduate: University of California, Irvine
Hometown: San Diego, California
Dream job: Academic neurosurgeon with a basic science lab, and I’d love to be an M.D.-Ph.D. program director someday.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Medicine, for me, is a tool that allows me to walk alongside people during the most fearful moment of their lives. I want to be an excellent neurosurgeon so I can help bear my patients’ burdens, be a source of comfort and hope, and facilitate emotional and spiritual healing in their lives.
Best advice you’ve received: Live your life for an audience of one.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: David Daniels, M.D., Ph.D. (PRES ’08, NS ’13, Department of Neurologic Surgery, Mayo Clinic Rochester), introduced me to the field of neurosurgery, let me drill my first burr hole, and has been my biggest advocate and supporter over the past few years. He is a family man with hobbies outside of neurosurgery, and he is a true neurosurgeon-scientist. As such, he is a great role model for me. My Ph.D. mentor, Jan van Deursen, Ph.D. (P ’99, Division of Community Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic Rochester), is also one of the biggest professional influences and role models. Not only is he one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met, but he also is innovative and fearless when it comes to pushing the limits of science.
Allyson Palmer, M.D., Ph.D. candidate
Residency match: Internal medicine, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Graduate: Ph.D., clinical and translational science, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rochester, Minnesota
Undergraduate: The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio
Hometown: Hartford, Ohio
Dream job: Academic geriatrician
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My mother, father and grandmother.
Best advice you’ve received: Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Richard Weinshilboum, M.D. (PHAR ’72, chair, Division of Clinical Pharmacology), who encouraged me to apply to medical school in the first place. Grazia Isaya, M.D., Ph.D. (PD ’98, Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester), who gave me a shot and believed in me from the beginning, and James Kirkland, M.D., Ph.D. (GIM ’07, Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester), my Ph.D. mentor, who continually inspires me with his determination to advance the science and improve the human condition.
Kari Phillips, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Pediatrics, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Undergraduate: Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota
Hometown: St. Cloud, Minnesota
Dream job: Pediatric cardiology somewhere in Minnesota, with global health or work in an underserved area as a component of my work.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Coming to work each day and witnessing the strength and resilience of my patients and their families and working to make their experience with illness as painless as possible.
Best advice you’ve received: Find the place where your passion meets the needs of the world. Then do that for the rest of your life.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: I think some of my best mentors were my medical siblings. I had an awesome relationship with them, which has allowed me to ask tons of questions about everything from what books to buy to where to go for date nights in Rochester. They’ve helped me keep perspective, stay balanced and find meaning in the day-to-day life of medical school.
Nathaniel Robinson, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Joint general & cardiovascular surgery, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Undergraduate: Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
Hometown: Sandy, Utah
Dream job: Cardiothoracic surgeon
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Passion for fixing problems that people can’t fix themselves, helping people experience life or death experiences, and technicality of becoming skilled in the field.
Best advice you’ve received: Do what you are passionate about even if it’s challenging.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: John Stulak, M.D. (S ’06, TS ’08, CS ’09, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Mayo Clinic Rochester), was consistently positive and optimistic about his own life and career and how I could do it, too.
Brian Rodysill, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Psychiatry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Graduate: Master of Science in Clinical and Translational Science, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rochester, Minnesota
Undergraduate: University of Southern California, Los Angeles (USC)
Hometown: Rochester, Minnesota
Dream job: Mixed psychiatric practice with consult-liaison, outpatient psychotherapy and academic interests including neuroscience.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? The world is worth it.
Best advice you’ve received: “Pack light, and stay close to Earth.” — Kirk Rodysill, M.D. (EM ’91, I ’94, Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester)
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Brian Palmer, M.D. (MED ’04, P ’11, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester), and J. Michael Bostwick, M.D. (P ’98, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic Rochester), have been instrumental in my exploration of psychiatry. They helped me fall in love with the field with their candor, counsel and curiosity. Alexandra Wolanskyj-Spinner, M.D. (I ’95, HEMO ’98, senior associate dean for student affairs, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine), has also been critical to my success in medical school due to her care and advice through some trying times.
Mary Rolfes, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Child neurology, University of California San Francisco
Undergraduate: Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Hometown: Evanston, Illinois
Dream job: Academic child neurologist where I can care for patients and contribute to ongoing clinical research aimed at finding better solutions for children with neurologic diseases.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Seeing the resilience of pediatric neurology patients and their families.
Best advice you’ve received: Always stay curious and ask why.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Young Juhn, M.D. (PD ’99, Division of Community Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester), has taught me the power of research and how it has the potential to impact patient care on a day-to-day basis.
Sherrill (Charlie) Rose, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Obstetrics and gynecology, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Undergraduate: Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Dream job: Maternal-fetal medicine physician working with a diverse population of patients and colleagues.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Making life better for families and showing my son the joy of lifelong learning.
Best advice you’ve received: We do this every day, but our patients don’t.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Margaret Dow, M.D. (OBG ’13), Carrie Langstraat, M.D. (GYNO ’11)., and Enid Rivera-Chiauzzi, M.D. (OBG ’17) — all in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology: Thank you for the books, career advice and role modeling how to be amazing physician-mothers.
Saraniya (Nia) Sathiamoorthi, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Transitional, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; Ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine
Undergraduate: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Hometown: Woodbury, Minnesota
Dream job: Pediatric ophthalmologist
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Fixing kids’ vision and preventing blindness.
Best advice you’ve received: Create a career where you can’t wait to wake up every morning and work.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Brian Mohney, M.D. (OPH ’94, Department of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic Rochester), introduced me to the field of pediatric ophthalmology and taught me how to think critically about past and present research. I will forever be grateful for his mentorship.
Arya Shah, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Psychiatry, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Undergraduate: University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Dream job: Psychiatrist
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My parents.
Best advice you’ve received: Be yourself.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Brian Palmer, M.D. (MED ’04, P ’11), J. Michael Bostwick, M.D. (P ’98), and Cosima Swintak, M.D. (P ’07, CAP ’10) — all in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester — all are amazing psychiatrists but also amazing people who encouraged me to keep doing the things outside of medicine that energize me and keep me human.
Paul Stadem, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Family medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis
Undergraduate: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Hometown: Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Dream job: Full-spectrum family medicine while teaching medical students and residents.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? A desire to work toward health equity for patients regardless of their socioeconomic status.
Best advice you’ve received: Don’t compare your insides to others’ outsides.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Margaret Gill, M.D. (MED ’93, FM ’96, Department of Family Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester), has helped to show me the value that a family physician can have for individual patients, families and communities.
Kevin Veverka, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Transitional, MacNeal Hospital, Berwyn, Illinois; Dermatology, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wisconsin
Undergraduate: Loyola University Chicago, Illinois
Hometown: Carol Stream, Illinois
Dream job: General dermatologist treating a part-academic, part-community population.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Finding the path where I can wake up every morning, exciting for what the day will bring … day after day.
Best advice you’ve received: Trust before all. If others trust you will work hard, trust your knowledge, trust all that you do, you will achieve many things.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: All those in the Department of Dermatology: Dawn Davis, M.D. (PD ’03, DERM ’06), Christian Baum, M.D. (DERM ’10), Rochelle Torgerson, M.D., Ph.D. (MBIO ’00, MDPD ’00, I-1 ’01, DERM ’04, DERMI ’05), Megha Tollefson, M.D. (MED ’03, PD ’06, DERM ’10), who helped guide me in my decision to pursue the field, every step of the way.
Amanda Wanous, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Undergraduate: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Hometown: Blooming Prairie, Minnesota
Dream job: Pediatric medicine in an academic setting.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? My friends and family.
Best advice you’ve received: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.” — Dr. Seuss
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Erin Knoebel, M.D. (NEPH ’04, PD ’07, chair, Division of General Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester).
Vidhushei (Vid) Yogeswaran, M.D. candidate
Residency match: Internal medicine, University of California San Francisco
Undergraduate: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Hometown: London, United Kingdom; Brooklyn, New York
Dream job: I want to run clinical trials (academic cardiology subspecialty), and also work to actively empower communities and minimize disparities on a global scale.
What motivates you to achieve your dreams? Growing up in New York City and seeing how much your surroundings have to do with your health outcomes and overall success.
Best advice you’ve received: My father transformed his life from a refugee to an interventional cardiologist over 20 hard years, and every day he emphasizes that no dream is too big to accomplish.
Mentor or adviser who has helped in your medical career: Alexander Egbe, M.B.B.S. (CV-CH ’15, Division of Structural Heart Disease, Mayo Clinic Rochester), and Samuel Asirvatham, M.D. (CVEP ’00, Division of Heart Rhythm Services, Mayo Clinic Rochester), have been instrumental in introducing me to different aspects of cardiovascular disease and helping me see the public health/policy impact I can have in the field.