Class of 2024

Leah Apple, MD (she/her)
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

I was born in Texas but spent much of my childhood in pre-dot-com San Francisco prior to moving to the Philadelphia area as a tween. I studied East Asian Languages & Civilizations as an undergraduate at Penn, and later put my Mandarin to use on the island of Jinmen where I taught English on a Fulbright fellowship.
I completed a post-bac at Bryn Mawr College with the primary intention of going to medical school to become a psychiatrist, and spent the following year working as a community HealthCorps volunteer in northern California. I’ve spent the last 4 years living in New York as a medical student, splitting my time between Manhattan and Cooperstown as part of the Columbia-Bassett longitudinal patient care program.
My current professional interests include child/adolescent psychiatry and psychodynamic therapy.

Lauren Behlke, MD (she/her)
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine

I was born and raised outside of Boston, MA and stayed close to home for my undergraduate degree at Tufts University. It was there that I cultivated my fascination with human behavior while majoring in Biopsychology. It was also my time in New England that led me to my love of being near the ocean; if you want someone to go to the beach with or join you for a walk along the river, I'm your person! I did a brief two year stint in preclinical psychopharmacology research before heading to medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. I've been interested in psychiatry throughout medical school and entered residency with a very broad range of interests within psychiatry, including perinatal psychiatry, addiction, and physician mental health/burnout. I fell in love with Penn and Philly (and the two rivers with bike trails!) on my interview visit, and I am excited to explore my new city and community.

Taylor Davis, MD (she/her)
University of Colorado School of Medicine

Hi everyone! I was born and raised in Pembroke Pines, FL and then went to the University of Florida where I majored in Psychology (Go Gators!). While in undergrad, I volunteered at a free clinic and this helped fuel my passion for wanting to work with underserved populations. I then ventured off to Denver, CO for medical school and experienced my very first winter and even tried skiing a couple of times! In medical school was where my love for psychiatry truly developed. I am passionate about psychiatry because I value the uniqueness of patient narratives and our specialty is one of the few that gets to explore this deeply. Choosing Penn for residency was an easy decision as I was impressed by the strength of the program, the emphasis Penn has on diversity/inclusion, and the people I met on my interview day. Within psychiatry, I am interested in women's mental health, child/adolescent psychiatry, and psychotherapy. In my free time, I like to try new restaurants, binge watch reality TV, and go on hikes!

Taylor Dibble, MD (he/him)
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine

Hi! I was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA and attended a small Quaker school in Center City for 14 years. I moved to the Southwest for college at the University of Arizona, majoring in French and molecular and cellular biology. After college, I spent a year working at Penn in the cardiac surgery department conducting retrospective studies of surgical outcomes at UPHS, gaining valuable research skills in study design and statistical analysis. I then moved to St Louis to attend medical school at WashU, my parents’ alma mater. There, I found a love for adolescent medicine and child psychiatry during my pediatrics and psychiatry clerkships. Through various extracurricular and research experiences in medical school, I developed a strong interest in gun violence prevention research and advocacy and hope to merge my research skills with my interest in child psychiatry to study suicide prevention in kids. I am thrilled to return home to Philly as a psychiatry resident at Penn. I was drawn to the program’s warm, supportive community and emphasis on diversity and am excited to spend the next 4 years here! Outside of medicine, I enjoy dining at Philly’s many outstanding restaurants/bars and going down the (Jersey) shore.

Joshua Gordon, MD, PhD (he/him)
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
Research Track

I grew up in a small town in Upstate NY before moving to Medford, MA to attend undergrad at Tufts University. I developed a strong interest in social and environmental determinants of health, which led me to major in International Relations with a concentration in Global Health, Nutrition, and the Environment. After working as a research assistant at the Boston Children’s Hospital for two years post-undergrad, I returned to New York to attend the MD/PhD program at the University at Buffalo. During my PhD in the Epidemiology department, I studied the associations between periodontal disease, systemic inflammation, the oral microbiome, and hypertension in postmenopausal women. After returning to medical school, I fell in love with the field of psychiatry, and I am excited to pursue a career combining clinical practice in psychiatry with population-based research in the research track at Penn! Outside of the hospital I enjoy rock climbing, trying new foods, playing with my cat Linda, listening to music, and exploring the city while listening to audio books.

Bruce Leewiwatanakul, DO (he/him)
School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona
Post Pediatric Portal Program

I spent most of my childhood in Los Angeles, CA and went on to get my undergraduate degree in biochemistry from UCLA before heading to Boston University for the MAMS program.  I then matriculated at ATSU-SOMA (in the Washington, DC cohort) for my DO degree and completed my pediatric residency and an additional chief year at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR.  Early on in my pediatric residency, I realized that I was drawn to caring for children experiencing mental health challenges and took the opportunity to train with the Post Pediatric Portal Program through Penn and CHOP!  I am particularly interested in working with children experiencing comorbid psychiatric and complex medical conditions, LGBTQ+ population, and children experiencing homelessness.  Outside of medicine, I love trashy reality TV, giving my money to TV streaming services and spending the remainder of my money on going out to eat, and going to Costco. 

Caleb Miles, MD (he/him)
Meharry Medical College

Hey there! I’m from Nashville, Tennessee. I went to Middle Tennessee State University as an undergraduate. Between college and medical school I traveled with Global Brigades to rural communities outside of Jinotega, Nicaragua and Ghana, Africa. There, I served as a medical and public health volunteer. I learned so much while serving the members of those communities, this also fortified my passion for medicine and providing quality healthcare to underserved communities. I went on to attend Meharry Medical College. Like many medical students, I was fascinated by various aspects in medicine early on and I didn’t quite know where my interests would lead. Early into my clerkships I had the opportunity of working in the psychiatric hospital, and as the saying goes, “the rest is history”! I instantly found psychiatric pathology fascinating. I enjoyed how psychiatrists thought through care management for their patients. I also saw the void of addressing mental health in underserved communities. My goal is to provide quality and novel healthcare to the communities that are often neglected. I’m incredibly grateful to train at Penn, where there’s a plethora of mentors and opportunities to help it’s residents develop into phenomenal psychiatrists. In my free time I probably can be found sketching, playing with my puppy Jocko, hanging out with my amazing co-residents or binging my favorite shows on Netflix.

Alexandra Miller, MD, MSEd (she/her)
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

I was born in New York City, and my family moved to Boston when I was a teenager. I took the long way to medical school. I was an English major at Harvard with a focus in creative writing, and I taught middle school English for six years and got a master's degree in education before I realized I wanted to be a doctor. I loved working with young people, and I realized that the times in my work when I felt the most joy were when I was connecting individually with my students and supporting them through difficult situations, both in and out of school. I completed my postbac program at Penn while working in pediatric oncology research at CHOP, and then I stayed at Penn for medical school. My experiences there, including working on an urban farm and rotating at a shelter for homeless youth, convinced me that psychiatry would be a perfect fit for me, combining my love of patient stories with my passion for advocacy. Penn Psychiatry was the perfect choice for me because of its commitment to diversity, wellness, and support of residents' interests. I hope to practice adolescent psychiatry in a community setting, allowing me to work with underserved and historically marginalized populations. Outside of the hospital, I enjoy singing, crafting, and spending time (ideally outside!) with my husband and our daughter, who was born during my fourth year of medical school.

Kevin Nguyen, MD (he/him)
University of California at Davis
Post Pediatric Portal Program

Hi hi! I grew up close to Sacramento, CA near the Sierra Nevadas and left to attend Brown University for my undergraduate studies in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I went back to California for medical school at UC Davis, during which, I grew to love psychiatry and knew that to better understand and to continue my work in  gender diverse and pediatric health, I would benefit from medical and psychiatric training. As a Post-Pediatric Portal Fellow, I have completed pediatric training, doing my residency at Valley Children’s Hospital in Central California and am now excited to join the Penn and CHOP family to continue my training in General and Child/Adolescent Psychiatry. I chose CHOP and Penn because of the amazing clinical opportunities to address intersectional identities as part of mental health as well as my excitement and love for Philly’s food and LGBT+ community! In my free time, I enjoy watching Korean dramas, wine nights, personal finance, and knitting.  

Dustin Todaro, MD, PhD (he/him)
Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans
Research Track

I was born in Lafayette, Louisiana but spent most of my childhood in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Upstate South Carolina. I moved back to Louisiana to pursue my academic studies in biology and chemistry at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where I cultivated a passion for medicine and basic science research. Following my undergraduate education, I joined the MD/PhD program at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. I completed my graduate training in biochemistry and molecular biology studying mechanistic conservation across the HECT ubiquitin ligase superfamily. My interests in molecular psychiatry and neuropsychiatric disorders led to the decision to pursue a research track residency in psychiatry. I am excited to be a part of the Penn Psychiatry family and look forward to the research and clinical opportunities ahead. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, live music, and exploring the city with my wife and dog.

Maya Torain, MD (she/her)
Duke University School of Medicine

I was born and raised not too far away in Baltimore, Maryland (Go Ravens!). I attended college at Yale University, where I studied Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. During college, I developed an interest in health disparities research, working on a qualitative study on the psychosocial determinants of obesity in adolescent girls of color. After graduation, I continued my work in health equity at the Center for Surgery and Public Health in Boston, MA, focusing on race, sexual orientation, and gender identity. After two years in Boston, I was ready for warmer weather and moved down South to Duke University for medical school. There, I found my fit in psychiatry, and I am so excited to continue my journey at Penn!
Outside the hospital, I love exploring Philadelphia’s beautiful parks, thrift shopping and watching reality TV. I can’t wait to explore Philly’s music and concert scene.

Philip Williams, MD (he/him)
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

I was raised outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with my five siblings and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Biological Basis of Behavior which was my first introduction to the fascinating fields of psychology, biology, and neuroscience. Upon graduation from Penn, I pursued a Master's Degree in Bioscience Enterprise at the University of Cambridge. When I got some time off from traveling around Europe I worked on a thesis project regarding the development and commercialization of a novel IL-2 based immuno-oncologic agent. The following year I enrolled at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania where I fell in love with the field of psychiatry. Outside of my medical studies I founded a company called SpectrumScores which aimed to help connect LGBTQ+ patients with the best healthcare providers to meet their unique needs. In my free time, I love to run adventure races, row, travel, read, and spend time with my family!