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Current Students

	Katherine Bates, MD (Pediatric Cardiology) graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 2005. She completed her pediatric residency training at the University of Michigan in 2008 and served as chief resident the following year. Dr. Bates then came to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she completed her pediatric cardiology clinical fellowship in 2012. She is currently a research fellow in the pediatric cardiology division and is funded by the Pediatric Hospital Epidemiology and Outcomes Training grant at CHOP. Her research interests focus on understanding and improving handoffs between care providers as they change shifts. Dr. Bates is also active in CHOP’s Interstage Single Ventricle Monitoring Program, part of a nationwide collaborative to improve quality of care for a particularly vulnerable group of infants with congenital heart disease. Dr. Bates is in the HPR track.

	Dominique Bayard (Pulmonary and Critical Care) Dr. Bayard is in the HPR track.

	Michael Chaknos (Nephrology) Dr. Chaknos is in the HPR track.

	Kara Beth Chenitz, MD (Nephrology) Dr. Chenitz is in the HPR track.

	Nathaniel DeNicola, MD (Obstetrics & Gynecology) received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. He earned his medical degree from the University of California, Irvine and completed residency at Tulane University. He has worked as an Assistant Medical Director in Southern California and served on the ACOG Louisiana Legislative Committee. His research interests include decision modeling for elective deliveries and antenatal corticosteroids for late preterm births. He will also investigate the use of social media in political action. He aspires to work in health policy and legislative affairs. Dr. DeNicola is in the RWJ track.

	Kelly Epps, MD (Cardiology) received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She went on to complete residency in internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is currently a fellow in Cardiovascular Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania and is pursuing advanced training in Interventional Cardiology. Her research interests include cardiovascular outcomes in women with ischemic heart disease, cardiovascular disease risk prediction, and cardiovascular systems of care. Dr. Epps is in the HPR track.

	Monica Ferguson, MD (Internal Medicine) received her undergraduate degree in Bio-psychology and Spanish from Tufts University and her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed training in the primary care internal medicine program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Following residency she joined the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania as an Instructor of Medicine. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the same division. After working as a primary care physician and teaching medical students and residents for more than 10 years, Dr. Ferguson found herself increasingly drawn towards clinical research in part due to her involvement in a Patient-Centered Medical Home demonstration project. She applied for and received a Diversity Supplement from the NIH, which gave her the opportunity to work on a mentored research project and begin to take formal coursework. Dr. Ferguson then received a Cancer Control Career Development Award for Primary Care Physicians from the American Cancer Society, which will enable her to complete the MSHPR program. Her research interests include cancer prevention and health disparities.

	Hiu-fai Fong, MD (Pediatrics) received her undergraduate degrees in Biology and Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She then went on to earn her medical degree at Harvard Medical School and MIT in the Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program. She completed her pediatrics residency training at Children's Hospital Boston and Boston Medical Center. She was inspired to become a child abuse pediatrician in part through experiences as a volunteer rape crisis advocate. She is currently pursuing subspecialty training in Child Abuse Pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Her research interests include examining barriers to high quality mental health care in sexually abused children, and designing interventions to improve long-term medical and mental health outcomes in maltreated children. Dr. Fong is in the RWJ Track.

	Brandi Freeman, MD (Pediatrics) received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology with minors in Chemistry and French from Duke University. She completed a post-baccalaurete year at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and then received her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. While at Baylor, she took an additional year to complete the Clinical Research Training Program at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Freeman completed pediatric residency training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She has served the Student National Medical Association as National President and also the National Medical Association as Postgraduate Physician Trustee. Dr. Freeman’s research interests include health disparities, the use of technology to improve communication between physicians and parents/patients and physician workforce diversity. Dr. Freeman is in the RWJ track.

	Jennifer Goldstein, MD (Internal Medicine) received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University, where she majored in Biology. She earned her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and completed her Internal Medicine residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Dr. Goldstein’s research interests include the influence of industry relationships on physician practice and issues surrounding physician satisfaction. Dr. Goldstein is in the HPR track.

	Anjali Gopalan, MD (Internal Medicine) received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry and biology from Rice University. She completed medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. She then went on to complete an internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania and was a member of the program's primary care track. Following residency she spent a year as an instructor of medicine in the section of hospital medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Her current research interests include the roles of behavioral and information economics in the communication between healthcare providers and patients. Specifically, she is interested in researching alternative, more effective ways to present medical information to patients regarding chronic disease management, particularly diabetes. Dr. Gopalan is in the RWJ Track.

	Joanna Hart (Pulmonary and Critical Care) received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Northwestern University and her medical degree from the University of Virginia. She completed her Internal Medicine training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and is currently a Pulmonary and Critical Care fellow at the same institution. Her research interests focus on end-of-life care and decision making in the intensive care unit. She currently works with Dr. Scott Halpern and the Fostering Improvement in End-of-Life Decision Science (FIELDS) Program at Penn. She plans to pursue a career as an academic intensivist. Dr. Hart is in the HPR track.

	Nathan Irvin, MD (Emergency Medicine) received his undergraduate degree at the University of California at Riverside in biology, followed by a medical school degree from Harvard. He completed his emergency medicine treatment at the Alameda County Medical Center- Highland Hospital program, where he served as Chief Resident during his final year. Dr. Irvin is interested in youth violence and hospital based violence prevention programs, and in particular, exploring ways the emergency department can serve as an avenue to identify at risk individuals and get them into preventative programs. Dr. Irvin is in the RWJ track.

	Saurabj (Harry) Jha, MBBS, MD (Radiology) Dr. Jha is in the HPR track.

	Lindsay Jubelt, MD (Internal Medicine) received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her medical degree from Stony Brook University. She completed residency in the primary care track at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research interests are in care delivery and focus on improving care coordination and the value of care for high-risk, chronically ill patients. Dr. Jubelt is in the RWJ track.

	Erica Just (Pediatrics) Dr. Just is in the HPR track.

	Shreya Kangovi, MD (Internal Medicine/Pediatrics) received her undergraduate degree from Columbia University and her medical degree from Harvard University. She did a combined Internal Medicine/Pediatric at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Kangovi is pursuing community based research that will provide tools to lay the groundwork for establishing a of a city-wide Community Health Worker program. Dr. Kangovi is in the RWJ track.

	Sara Keller, MD, MPH (Infectious Diseases) received her undergraduate degrees in Neurobiology/Physiology and Psychology at the University of Maryland. She completed her Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She completed her medical degree at Duke University, and completed residence in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. She is currently a fellow in Infectious Diseases and in the Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Safety, both at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests include linkage to care in HIV patients, longitudinal quality of care in HIV patients, and improving the quality of care for outpatients on parenteral antibiotics.

	Chen Kenyon, MD (Pediatrics) graduated with a degree in mathematics from University of Rochester and went on to medical school at Boston University and residency training at the Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics where he served as a chief resident. He spent a year as a pediatric hospitalist and health services researcher at Children's Hospital Boston before starting the Clinical Scholars Program. His research interests include improving quality of care and reducing health care disparities for children with chronic disease. During the CSP, he will focus on identifying children with asthma with the highest resource utilization for enrollment in appropriately tailored interventions. Dr. Kenyon is in the RWJ track.

	Meghan Lane-Fall, MD (Anesthesiology) graduated with high distinction from the University of California at Berkeley in 2001. At Berkeley, she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received a Bachelor of Arts in Molecular and Cell Biology and in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Human Sexuality. In 2006, she graduated from Yale University School of Medicine, where she was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. Dr. Lane-Fall undertook anesthesiology residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), where she became the inaugural Robert Dunning Dripps Scholar. She completed residency training in anesthesiology in 2010 and a critical care medicine fellowship at HUP in 2011. Dr. Lane-Fall’s research interests include processes of care in critically ill patients and advancement of quality improvement research in the perioperative setting. She is particularly focused on communication and teamwork in the intensive care unit and the operating room. Dr. Lane-Fall is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care and is a fellow in Penn’s Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Safety. She is board certified in anesthesiology and critical care medicine and practices as an attending anesthesiologist and surgical intensivist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lane-Fall is in the HPR track.

	David Lee, MD (Emergency Medicine) received his undergraduate degree at Harvard University in biochemistry, followed by a medical school degree from the University of California, San Francisco. He completed his emergency medicine residency at the Bellevue NYU program in New York City. Dr. Lee is interested in emergency department utilization, specifically the relationship of patient volume between hospitals and other clinical care settings. He is also interested in using mathematical models to predict changes in emergency department volume due to external factors such as hospital closures. Dr. Lee is in the RWJ Track.

	Amanda Lerman, MD (Adolescent Medicine) received her undergraduate degree from Yale University, where she majored in Anthropology. She earned her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College then went on to complete residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the primary care track. She is currently a fellow in Adolescent Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and is interested in investigating the effects of media on adolescent sexual risk behaviors. Dr. Lerman is in the HPR track.

	Ilona Lorincz (Endocrinology) Dr. Lorincz is in the HPR track.

	Victoria Mayer, MD (Internal Medicine) received her undergraduate degree in Human Biology from Brown University and her medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine. She completed residency training at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Primary Care/Social Medicine Program, where she then served as the Chief Resident. She is currently a Fellow in the Division of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Mayer's research interests include health disparities, chronic disease prevention and management in vulnerable populations, and food insecurity. She is interested in the development and evaluation of interventions that address hunger and food insecurity in community and clinical settings. Dr. Mayer is in the HPR Track.

	Mary McKenzie, MD, MA (Pulmonary and Critical Care) graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Idaho. She then earned a Masters in Death and Society from the University of Reading, England. In 2007, she graduated from Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine, receiving the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award as voted on by her classmates. She went on to complete internal medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. She is currently a senior fellow in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Her research interests include understanding how repeated decision-making by physicians, patients and surrogates alters processes of care and affects patient outcomes. Her current research is funded by both a 2012 Penn-CMU Roybal Center on Behavioral Economics and Health Award and a Spring 2012 University Research Foundation Award. Dr. McKenzie is in the HPR track.

	Shivan Mehta, MD (Gastroenterology) Dr. Mehta is in the HPR track.

	Chileshe Nkonde-Price (Cardiology) is originally from Zambia but grew up in the United Kingdom. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge and her medical school degree from University College London. Following medical school she worked in the National Health Service (NHS) for three years at both University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust where she received her Membership to the Royal College of Physicians of London (MRCP). She then moved to the United States and completed her internal medicine residency at Drexel University where she served as an Administrative Chief Resident in her final year. She then went on to Yale University to pursue her cardiology fellowship. Dr Nkonde-Price is interested in cardiovascular disease in women and specifically how cardiovascular technologies and drug therapies predict outcomes in women. She is especially interested in disparities in cardiovascular care including the factors that are driving the rising prevalence of cardiovascular disease in minority women. She is also passionate about promoting awareness and exploring the impact of mobile technology and social media as a means to promote heart healthy behaviors. Dr. Nkonde-Price is in the RWJ track.

	Mitesh Patel, MD, MBA (Internal Medicine) received his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan in Biochemistry and Economics. He obtained an MBA in Health Care Management from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a medical degree from the University of Michigan. Dr. Patel completed his residency training at the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include leveraging concepts from behavioral economics to better design health policy to improve population behavior and studying how to advance medical education by teaching concepts of health policy and the health care system. His career interests include academic medicine and health policy. Dr. Patel is in the RWJ track.

	Ashok Reddy, MD (Internal Medicine) received his undergraduate degree from Emory University in Anthropology and his medical degree from the University of Washington. He completed a primary care residency at University of Washington where he served as a chief resident. Dr. Reddy is interested in organizational structure and delivery of primary care to underserved populations. Dr. Reddy is in the RWJ track.

	Kristin Rising, MD (Emergency Medicine) received her undergraduate degree from Yale University and her medical degree from the University of California San Francisco. She completed her emergency medicine residency at Boston Medical Center. Prior to medical school she worked in health policy positions at Health Access California and Consumers Union, and she spent an additional year at UCSF doing research as a fellow in Clinical and Translational Research. Dr. Rising's current research interests include factors contributing to ED "bounce-backs" and significant morbidity and mortality after recent ED discharge. Dr. Rising is in the HPR track.

	Benjamin Roman, MD (Otolaryngology) earned a B.A. in philosophy from Princeton University and a medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and completed residency training at NYU Medical Center. After the RWJ program, he will complete a Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Broadly, he is interested in improving the effectiveness of head and neck cancer care. More specifically, his research will focus on disparities and issues of access in cancer care, risk stratification and decision-making about cancer treatment and end-of-life care, and the value and cost-effectiveness of new technologies. Dr. Roman is in the RWJ track.

	Lisa Rosenbaum (Cardiology) grew up in Portland Oregon and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Human Biology. She received her medical degree from University of California San Francisco and completed her residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital. She just finished clinical cardiology fellowship at NYPH Weill Cornell, the last year of which was spent as an Editorial Fellow at the New England Journal of Medicine. Her research interests include using behavioral economics to improve implementation of evidence based medicine, as well as developing a better understanding of how we make medical decisions under uncertainty. She also loves to write. Dr. Rosenbaum is in the RWJ Track.

	Corinna Schultz, MD (Pediatrics) received her undergraduate degree from Columbia University and her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College. She completed her pediatric residency at Brown's Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, RI where she stayed as chief resident for an additional year. Corinna then came to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where she is currentlypursuing a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. Her research interests include family and patient education especially as it relates to sickle cell disease, as well as effects of geography on disease outcomes and access to care. Dr. Schultz is in the HPR track.

	Janice Scobie, MD, MS (Cardiology) received her undergraduate degree in Biology & Society from Cornell University. She completed medical school at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and then completed her internal medicine residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She then went on to complete a cardiology fellowship at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Her clinical and research interests include cardiovascular disease prevention, disparities in cardiovascular disease and care, factors that impact patient adherence after a cardiovascular event and utilization of cardiovascular technologies, access to health care, and health policy to improve health care access and reduce disparities. Dr. Scobie is in the RWJ track.

	Rebecca Kurnik Seshasai, MD (Nephrology) received her Bachelors of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She received her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed her Internal Medicine residency at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA. She is currently pursuing a fellowship in Nephrology at the University of Pennsylvania and is participating in the MSHP masters program as part of her fellowship training. She is interested in geographic variation in the management and outcomes of dialysis patients and how to improve quality of care for the frequently hospitalized dialysis patient population. Dr. Seshasai is in the HPR track.

	Jennifer Shin, MD (Hematology/Oncology) Dr. Shin is in the HPR track.

	Marc Smaldone, MD (Urology) earned a B.A. in History from Tufts University and a medical degree from Stony Brook University. He completed his general surgery and urology training at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where was selected as a Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor Scholar and served as a section representative and consultant to the American Urological Association Residents Committee. After completing a fellowship in Urologic Oncology, he stayed on staff at the Fox Chase Cancer Center as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery. His research interests include competing risks assessment, comparative effectiveness, cost effectiveness analysis, and evaluation of surgical quality of care measures for cancer patients. Dr. Smaldone is in the HPR track.

	Stephanie Sober, MD (Obstetrics & Gynecology) received her undergraduate degree in International Relations and Spanish from Stanford University. She completed a post-baccalaureate year at Bryn Mawr College and then received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She completed residency training in Obstetrics & Gynecology at Pennsylvania Hospital. She is currently a second-year fellow in Family Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests include contraception, especially for medically complicated patients, and pregnancy prevention in adolescents. Dr. Sober is in the HPR track.

	Gita Suneja, MD (Radiation Oncology) graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Applied Mathematics. She worked as a financial analyst before transitioning to a career in medicine. After completing a Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program at Goucher College, she earned her medical degree from Brown University, and went on to a residency in Radiation Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Suneja is currently the chief resident in Radiation Oncology. Her research interests include disparities in cancer treatment and outcomes, with a focus on HIV-infected patients with cancer. She is also interested in global oncology, and has several projects ongoing to study and improve oncology infrastructure in Botswana. Dr. Suneja is in the HPR track.

	Samuel Swisher-McClure, MD (Radiation Oncology) attended Middlebury College for his undergraduate studies receiving a degree in English literature. He then attended medical school at West Virginia University graduating in 2007. He completed internship with the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 2008, and subsequently completed his Radiation Oncology residency at the University of Pennsylvania in 2012. He served as the chief resident for the Department of Radiation Oncology from 2011-2012. He is currently appointed as an instructor in the University of Pennsylvania Department of Radiation Oncology. His research interests focus on comparative effectiveness and the clinical factors associated with patient outcomes in radiation oncology, with particular focus on the utilization of new technologies in cancer care. Dr. Swisher-McClure is in the HPR track.

	Christine Veenstra, MD (Oncology) Dr. Veenstra is in the HPR track.

	Roy Wade, MD, PhD, MPH (Pediatrics) received his undergraduate and PhD. from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a focus on Molecular Microbiology. He completed medical school at Dartmouth Medical School and pediatric residency training at the University of Virginia. After residency, he completed a Minority Health Policy Fellowship at Harvard Medical School earning an MPH in Health Policy Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Wade is interested in coordination and improving care for children and youth in the welfare system. Dr. Wade is in the RWJ track.

	Jason Wagner, MD (Pulmonary and Critical Care) graduated with a Bachelor of Science from UC Berkeley with High Honors. He then graduated medical school at the University of California, San Francisco with an Area of Concentration in Medical Education. He then began an internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania where he was awarded a Penn Pearl Award for excellence in clinical teaching. Following residency, he served as one of three chief medical residents in the Department of Medicine. He is currently a senior fellow in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. His current research interests include understanding how increased ICU capacity strain affects patient outcomes, discerning critical care efficiency from rationing, and improving the quality of critical care in non-academic community ICUs. He was the recipient of the Bradley Award for Health Evaluations Research for his work on ICU capacity strain. His career goals include attending in the medical ICU and nurturing an active research program that seeks to improve our nation’s provision of high-quality critical care. Dr. Wagner is in the HPR track.

	Elizabeth Wallis, MD (Pediatrics) Dr. Wallis is in the HPR track.

	Susan Wilson, MD (Family Planning) received her undergraduate degree in biology with a distinction in research from Cornell University. She then completed a 2-year program as an Emerging Infectious Disease Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Susan earned her medical degree from UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School and completed her residency training at Tufts University. Susan led an organization that mentored first-time pregnant adolescents in Newark, NJ during medical school and presented research involving physician knowledge of contraceptive use in adolescents during residency. Dr. Wilson’s current research interests include contraceptive decision-making in adolescents, increasing knowledge about and access to highly effective forms of contraception for adolescents, minority, and high-risk populations. In the future she also hopes to collaborate with community programs to educate teens and women about healthy living as a means to combat and prevent chronic health problems such as obesity. Dr. Wilson is in the HPR Track.

	Baligh Yehia, MD (Internal Medicine) received his undergraduate and medical degrees with honors from the University of Florida, where he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society, and the Gold Humanism Honor Society, for his excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service. After medical school, he completed an internal medicine residency on the Osler Medical Service at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, followed by a fellowship in infectious diseases at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. During fellowship, he was award the Robert Austrian Award for his scholastic excellence and leadership. Dr. Yehia holds a Master of Science in Health Policy Research from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master in Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. His teaching and research focus on health equity, patient safety and quality, and public policy, with special attention to populations with and at risk of acquiring HIV. He as published in the areas of HIV/AIDS, health services utilization, economics, and health policy; and his work has appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Clinical Infectious Diseases, AIDS, the American Journal of Public Health, and Medical Care Dr. Yehia is actively involved in organized medicine, contributing to the development of policy on healthcare reform, access to medical care, performance measurement, and public health. He currently serves on the Clinical Affairs Committee of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and is a member of the American Medical Association GLBT Advisory Committee. He is past National Chair of the American College of Physicians Council of Associates, which represents the interests of 18,000+ internal medicine residents and fellows, and past National Chair of the American Medical Association Resident and Fellow Section, the nation’s largest organization of resident and fellow physicians with over 31,000 members. He resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he maintains an active research program and care for patients at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases; and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. For more information on Dr. Yehia and his work, visit www.bymd.org. Dr. Yehia is in the HPR track.