Class of 2027

Emily Beydler, MD
University of Florida College of Medicine

I grew up in the Washington, DC area and studied neuroscience and biochemistry at the College of William and Mary. I fell in love with the brain, and after graduation spent two years in a post-baccalaureate research fellowship at the NIMH, where I studied circuit-based and neurosteroid therapeutics. I attended the University of Florida College of Medicine, where I continued research in the Department of Neurosurgery investigating pediatric stroke management. In the clinical years of medical school, I realized my passion for caring for patients' mental health during pregnancy and the postpartum period and spent time as a volunteer with the prenatal free clinic and as a student director of the psychiatry free clinic. The deep care for the community, broad clinical and research opportunities, and warmth amongst residents and faculty made Penn Psychiatry stand out to me on interview day, and I am thrilled to be a resident here! Outside of medicine, I enjoy caring for my pets and houseplants, going to museums, and biking. 

Lara Boyle, MD, PhD
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Research Track

Hi there! Early experiences with a developmental epilepsy disorder made me interested in how the brain constructs our experience of the world. I went to Yale University to pursue neuroscience, where I joined a research lab studying how chronic stress affects how we learn and remember fearful experiences in mouse models. During college, I watched family and friends struggle with psychiatric distress, and I realized the importance of having research that speaks to the needs and experiences of patients. After two years at Boston Children’s Hospital investigating changes in circadian rhythms in children with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, I joined the MD/PhD program at Columbia University. My thesis work used mouse models to study the activity of thousands of neurons during social recognition, and identified brain regions that allow us to learn to avoid individuals who do us harm. At the same time, my psychiatry rotations solidified my passion for mental health, particularly in the areas of mood, anxiety, and trauma. During residency I plan to study how stress and trauma affect neural activity and rhythms during sleep. Outside of the hospital, I love to cook, brew beer, play board games, throw the ball for my dog Ringo, and explore all that Philadelphia has to offer.

Lindsey Brier, MD, PhD
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
Research Track

I grew up in a suburb of Dallas, TX and was a proud band kid in a high school where this was actually cool (still second to the football team, of course). From there, I went to college in Houston where I continued to study music and completed a BS in math. I became interested in software and algorithm development as an undergrad and used this as a basis for a few different research endeavors during my graduate studies at WashU in St. Louis. Here, my main thesis focused on software and hardware development within optical neuroimaging. My clinical interest in psychiatry stemmed from witnessing the staggering effects social determinants of health had on patients I was caring for in St. Louis and seeing how developing more affordable and accessible interventional neuromodulation options could serve as a resource to help mitigate this. Outside of medicine, I try to stay very active in local music scenes, enjoy participating in recreational team sports, and am excited to explore Philly! 

Chance Dunbar, MD
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine

Hey everyone! I was raised in Sacramento, CA and went across the US to study biology at Brown University. After graduating, I moved back to Sacramento where I worked as a medical scribe for two years. I then attended UC San Diego School of Medicine and discovered my love for psychiatry after my 3^rd year clerkship. My interests include child and adolescent psychiatry, LGBTQ+ populations, and community psychiatry. Outside of the hospital I love to cook, spend time with my partner, try new restaurants, go to the rock-climbing gym, get out in nature, and relax with some hard-earned video games. I feel honored to be able to train at Penn where I’ve already found such a supportive environment both in my coresidents and program leadership. I’m so excited to be back on the east coast and explore Philadelphia!

Yasmin Issari, MD
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

I was born in Tehran, Iran but left the desert for the cold winters of Hartford, CT with my family when I was 5 years old. I went to Harvard for college, where I studied psychology and developed a passion for working with young people. After college, I spent a year in Medellin, Colombia where I developed youth programming at a center for former child soldiers while also conducting research on the ways communities cope following civil conflict, an experience that showed me how trauma can deeply impact human experience and mental health. A few years later, I found my way to medicine and began medical school at Columbia University. Though I initially planned on becoming a primary care physician and spent many evenings working at a student-run clinic for patients experiencing homelessness, listening to my patients share how significantly mental illness impacted their lives fostered my desire to become a psychiatrist serving underserved communities. I have a particular interest in trauma disorders, public/community psychiatry, and adolescent mental health. When I am not in the hospital, I enjoy spending my time creating in the pottery studio, practicing recipes from the GBBO, or planning my next hiking trip!

Ross Johnson, MD
Creighton University School of Medicine

Hi there! I have lived in Phoenix, Arizona for all but two years of my life. Unfortunately, I never became accustomed to the "dry heat." I studied animal behavior and neurobiology at Arizona State University. There, I fell in love with the interplay of genetics, biology, and human behavior. Around the same time, I started a leadership position at an interprofessional student-run free clinic serving the homeless of downtown Phoenix. Working at the clinic, I saw firsthand how social determinants of health and living conditions affect mental health. I knew then that I wanted to spend my career serving populations experiencing mental illness. After college, I packed my bags and moved to Omaha, Nebraska for medical school. I loved learning about medicine, and I was especially drawn to psychiatry and its pathologies that so greatly affect peoples' lives. During this time, I also enjoyed working with student government and faculty to design and implement medical education and curriculum change. I am so excited to be training at Penn, where I felt a strong connection during my interviews and a sense that its education would set me up for a long and successful career. In my free time, I enjoy running and hiking, playing pickleball, writing and recording music, and exploring new cities rich with history.

Hae-Min Jung, MD
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Hi! I grew up just outside Pittsburgh, PA, and bounced around a lot of different career goals from astronaut to chemist before majoring in Statistics in Williams College. With an MR physicist for a father, I grew up around MRI's and brains, and I did MRI research at Austen Riggs during my gap years. While doing research and volunteering, I decided to go into medicine after realizing I was drawn more to caring for other human beings in the present moreso than diving into statistical minutia (though I still have a soft spot for statistics). In medical school at Penn, I worked my way through the different blocks before resonating most strongly with Psychiatry and its emphasis on understanding the multimodal causes of suffering. My current interests are in exploring the overlap between Psychiatry and Buddhism, and I'm excited to explore more of this wonderful field at Penn!

Peter Lauro, MD, PhD
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Research Track

Hello! I grew up in northern New Jersey, but moved to upstate New York to study neuroscience at Hamilton College. I then lived for a few years in Washington DC, where I first became interested in medicine during a post-bac fellowship at the NIH. After that I joined the MD/PhD program at Brown, where my PhD work used awake brain recordings from neurosurgical patients with Parkinson's disease to identify brain activity associated with PD symptoms such as tremor and slowness. Upon returning to my clerkships however, I realized psychiatry was my calling as it allowed me to compassionately treat patients while understanding the complex interactions of mind, brain, and life experience. At Penn I am looking forward to continuing my neurosurgical/neuromodulation research with patients with intractable psychiatric illness, while learning how these disorders impact learning and cognition. Clinically I am interested in interventional and consult-liaison psychiatry, but I am very excited for broad training over the next few years. Outside of the hospital and lab, I enjoy spending time with my family.

Christopher Lea, MD
Duke University School of Medicine

I grew up outside of Atlanta, GA before attending Duke for my undergraduate years where I majored in Psychology. From my time working with military veterans conducting spirituality research, I chose to spend my gap year before medical school pursuing a Certificate in Theology and Healthcare at the Duke Divinity School before attending Duke for my MD degree. During my third year of medical school, I developed my passion for community psychiatry and marginalized populations, and I leveraged my time as a Duke Margolis Health Policy Scholar to explore policy level interventions to support the communities I hope to serve. With the disproportionately rising rates of suicide in Black youth, my research focused on Black youth suicide prevention strategies specifically in North Carolina. I have benefited greatly from mentorship, and I was heavily involved in mentoring high school students through my medical school’s SNMA chapter. Going forward, I plan to pursue child psychiatry and continue my work empowering marginalized communities to assist in their flourishing. In my personal life, I regularly attend therapy, frequent spin classes, explore restaurants, and stay connected with family and friends from all stages of my life.

Chase Stevens, MD
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Hi everyone! I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. I then completed my undergraduate studies at Spelman College, an HBCU and women’s college. There, I began to explore the human mind as a psychology major. I also furthered my interest in social justice through my studies at the college and working with various community organizations. Since entering medical school, I gravitated towards psychiatry because of the privilege to work with people of a marginalized community every day and the goal of understanding each patient as a whole person. My interests in psychiatry include community psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, emergency psychiatry and psychotherapy. Outside of work, you can find me exploring all of Philly’s amazing restaurants, walking around one of the many parks with my dog, Ella, or practicing yoga!

Demetrius Woodard, MD
Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University

I was born and raised in Southwest Philadelphia and lived in different sections of Philadelphia for the majority of my life. I attended Central High School (Class of 274!!!) and then went to The West Chester University of Pennsylvania to obtain my BS in microbiology. Next, I attended Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, and this afforded me the opportunity to go back into the community and work with community residents on projects such as our barbershop blood pressure intuitive and several college and career prep courses in High School across the city. I am excited to continue this community work in the field of psychiatry with my Penn family! My interests in the field include urban trauma focused psychotherapy, mental health policy and legislation, consult-liaison and forensics. Outside of the hospital, you will most likely catch me running on Kelly drive or crying from the Eagles, Phillies, and/or the Sixers.

Catherine Yang, MD
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia to two Chinese immigrants who met in West Philly. Though my family left the area when I was in high school, I eventually found my way back to the best city in the world and discovered my passion for psychiatry along the way. In high school, my first hospital volunteer experience involved providing hand massages and making conversation with patients across the hospital. Later, after four years of working for campus publications and taking as many creative writing classes as I could get my hands on at Yale, I became a Penn medical student driven by the mission to bring more arts, storytelling, and humanities to my school. In the process, I also learned a great deal from my peers and mentors via administrative and curricular leadership roles. I am now the proud co-founder of apenndx (PSOM's student-run literary magazine), PSOM's Student Curriculum Council, and PSOM's Medical Humanities Area of Concentration. I am even prouder to call Penn Psychiatry my new home, where I hope to take a deep dive into women's mental health, medical education, psychotherapy, and—of course—the medical humanities. You'll often overhear me talking about Chinatown, house plants, movies, animation, Philly food gems, and my aspirations of becoming a cat mom.