Medical Humanities Council Membership

Jingyi Zhang (she/her)

MS1 (MD, Class of 2028)

I am interested in bioethics, narrative medicine, and patient-provider communication across cultures, especially around palliative care and medical decision-making. I am excited to work with everyone to grow the medical humanities community at PSOM and connect more students and faculty with each other!

Favorite Media: I love all the short stories, novels, and essays written by Yiyun Li!

Isabella Li (she/her)

MS1 (MD, Class of 2028)

I have always loved writing and reading and also have an academic background in bioethics and the history of medicine—I decided to pursue medicine after history classes in college showed me the interconnectedness between individual and society-level stories and the practice of medicine. At its core, I think medicine is about these stories, with medical humanities critically illuminating them so that we can be better providers of care. Super excited to share this interest with others as we help support the medical humanities community at PSOM!

Favorite Media: Dead End Memories by Banana Yoshimoto

Pamela Beniwal (she/her)

MS1 (MD, Class of 2028)

I was an Anthropology and Human Biology major in college, and I wrote a thesis on the influence of social movements such as the Breast Cancer Awareness Movement on the patient experience. I am also interested in narrative medicine and the use of art and writing as therapeutic devices for both healthcare workers and patients. 

Favorite Media: My favorite movie is Spirited Away! My favorite song is In My Room by Frank Ocean! Right now, I am reading Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by H.P. Lovecraft and And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. 

Daniel Bazianos (he/him)

MS1 (MD, Class of 2028)

I loved taking history courses as an undergraduate student, and I enjoy writing on the history of medicine. I am excited to help foster the humanities at PSOM!

Favorite Media: Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

Kass Zhang (they/them)

MS1 (MD, Class of 2028)

My interests lie in visual communications, whether that be through animation, dance, and or graphic / spatial design, and how it intersects with community health and wellbeing! In undergrad, dancing on stage, organizing culture shows and investigating museum studies showed me how powerful storytelling can be when conveyed through unspoken words ... and how incredibly creative and driven people are to find connection! Really excited to work with everyone and explore the many mediums of storytelling within the PSOM community and beyond!

Favorite Media: My favorite move is Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. A song that been on repeat has been The Line by Twenty-One Pilots.

Helen Zhou (she/her)

MS1 (MD, Class of 2028)

I studied ancient Greek and Latin language and literature in undergrad under Dr. Pura Nieto Hernandez. Within the medical humanities, I'm interested in research and creative writing pursuits at the intersection of classics, philosophy, theology, neuroscience, and the history of medicine and surgery. 

Favorite media: Adrianne Lenker, Bright Future

Sally Nijim (she/her)

MS3 (MD, Class of 2026)

Jennifer Guo (sher/her)

MS1 (MD, Class of 2028)

My interest in the medical humanities stems from the opinion that one of medicine's most rewarding aspects is hearing the stories of so many individuals, from patients to caregivers to physicians.

Favorite Media: Us and Them 

Angelina Ziarno (she/her)

MS1 (MD, Class of 2028)

I come from a long family of visual artists and lovers of history and literature, and I am no exception!  I joined the board of MHC because I am a true believer in the fact that exposure to art, music, and literature deepen our connection to ourselves, humanity, and each other, and directly make us better physicians as a result.

"...Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."
- Dead Poet's Society

Favorite Media: Cosmos by Carl Sagan

Phoebe Cunningham (she/her)

MS3 (MD/MPH, Class of 2026)

Co-founder and inaugural Co-Chair of the MHC with interests in visual illustration, environmental humanities, and medical education. 

Favorite Media: What if We Get it Right? Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson 

Bonnie Hu (she/her)

MS2 (MD, Class of 2027)

I love art and stories grounded in vulnerability. My interests extend across medicine, storytelling, and the visual arts.

Favorite Media: Last Things: A Graphic Memoir of Loss and Love by Marissa Moss

Andrew Scherffius (he/him)

MS2 (MD, Class of 2027)

I joined the board of the Medical Humanities Council at PSOM to facilitate all the amazing interests and talents my peers bring to the human side of medicine. My personal passion in this domain is the history of medicine—before I was a medical student, I was a graduate student unrolling ancient medical dissection scrolls and teasing apart the historical forces that shape contemporary medical practice. Medicine is messy, and the poetry, painting, music, and ethics with which we infuse it help us make sense of it all!      

Favorite Media: My screensaver of high-definition frog pictures  

Felicia Ho (she/her)

MS2 (MD, Class of 2027)

I grew up in a house of music and words, whether it be playing the piano and violin or spending hours digging into a classic English novel. After taking a course on patient, physician, and caregiver narratives in college, I finally connected my passions for the sciences and humanities together as storytelling. I hope to weave the patience, care, and listening skills I have developed over time in these artistic fields into future patient care. 

Favorite Media: Tuesdays with Morrie

Amanda Finegold Swain, MD

Faculty Director for UME Medical Humanities