Harvard Dermatology
Alumni News News for graduates and friends of the Harvard Combined Dermatology Program | Fall 2016
Inside: Alum Spotlight - Page 2 | resident updates - Page 3 | recent events - Page 4
Meet the New Harvard Dermatology First Year Residents! Gil Weintraub was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He attended Harvard College for undergrad and majored in Human Evolutionary Biology with a focus on the evolution of cooking. He returned to his roots to attend UCLA Medical School. Gil is interested in general and procedural dermatology, and integrating technology in medical decision making. Gil enjoys playing volleyball, cooking, and exploring Boston.
Left to Right from top: saami, pooyan, Girish, gil, patrick, emily, priyanka, cristina, johanna, jacqui
Johanna Sheu Song is from Michigan and still cheers for the Detroit Pistons & Lions! She migrated to the east coast to Johns Hopkins for her BA/MS in developmental biology. She attended Harvard Medical School and did a year of research at Boston Children’s Hospital. Johanna is interested in pediatric dermatology, cutaneous toxicities of chemo, oncoderm, and community derm. She and her husband Philip love surfing, paddleboarding, and skiing and have a new labradoodle puppy, Oakley! Priyanka Vedak grew up in the northwest Illinois suburb of Crystal Lake. At the age of 18, she entered Boston University's Seven Year Accelerated (BA/MD) Medical Program. 2017 will mark her 10th year in Boston and will officially make her an ex-midwesterner! She is interested in medical dermatology and the inpatient consult service. Priyanka enjoys traveling, yoga, crafts, and trying new cuisines. Jacqueline (Jacqui) Moreau was raised in Connecticut. She went to Boston University for undergrad and obtained a degree in public health. She then worked at Nature, and was a clinical research coordinator at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She was a medical student in the University of Pittsburgh's Clinical Scientist Training Program (MD/MS). Jacqui is interested in melanoma, technology in dermatology, and the skin microbiome. Patrick Mulvaney was born in San Antonio, TX and grew up in Albany, NY. He went to Harvard College where he majored in Human Evolutionary Biology/Economics and then attended Brown Medical School. He is interested in cutaneous oncology, Mohs surgery, pigmented lesions, medical education and quality improvement. With his fiancee (Lilli), he enjoys exploring local Boston restaurants, exercising and spending time with their pets, Pepper and Portland (a hedgehog and King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, respectively.) Emily Baumrin grew up in Brooklyn, New York, then attended Dartmouth College where she fell in love with the outdoors, hiking, skiing, and boating. She graduated from Penn Medical School. Her dermatology interests include infectious disease dermatology, global health, and inpatient consultative dermatology. She and her fiance live in Jamaica Plain and enjoy the pond, the Arnold Arboretum and all of the great JP restaurants.
Saami Khalifian grew up in Newport Beach, CA. He attended UC Berkeley and received his bachelor’s degree in Molecular & Cell Biology, while doing stem cell research at UCSF with Dr. Harold Bernstein. He went to Johns Hopkins medical school, and was involved in basic and translational research in hand and face transplantation. His interests in dermatology are in cutaneous immunology, complex medical dermatology, and inpatient dermatology. In his free time, he enjoys all outdoor sports, especially snowboarding, rock climbing, surfing and biking. Pooyan Rohani is from Houston, TX. He completed undergraduate and graduate work in Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M. He was then involved in R&D opportunities at two medical device companies in Minneapolis and Portland, OR. He is interested in the application of technology to enhance diagnostic and therapeutic options in dermatology and to further advance the field of teledermatology. Outside of medicine, he enjoys following politics and college football. Girish Mohan was born and raised in Naperville, IL. After high school, he moved to Chicago to begin the combined BS/MD medical program at the University of Illinois, taking a year during medical school to do research in the university’s Skin Immunology lab. Girish is interested in teledermatology, atopy, psoriasis, medical education and sun-safety education. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, outdoor activities and sports, especially basketball, and following Chicago sports. Cristina Thomas is a proud Midwesterner. She grew up in Freeport, IL and attended Northwestern University for both college and medical school. Her clinical interests include tropical dermatology and inpatient/consult dermatology. In her free time, she loves to travel, go to concerts, and try new foods.
Alum Spotlight:
Dr. Justin Ko What are some of your fondest memories from your Harvard Derm residency? I have such fond memories of my time at Harvard. In retrospect, I have a newfound appreciation for how much all of our attendings invested of themselves in us as residents, and how I now carry with me those imparted pearls, lessons, and memorable patients shared. Often in my day-to-day, I'll have a flashback to a memory from residency--impromptu kodachrome sessions in clinic with DJ, CoolSculpting with Dr. Avram, following Dr. Neel's 10 commandments, shopping for snacks for VA clinic with Dr. Haynes, those early Fall morning Wheel of Diagnosis didactic sessions with Dr. Burgin, being on the "A" team Dr. Ko with his continuity clinic team. with Dr. Tsao in Melanoma clinic, watching sodium thiosulfate melt away a calciphylaxis patients' pain with Dr. Kroshinsky on the inpatient service. When that happens, it serves as a reminder for me to "pay it forward" with my residents and trainees. Sharing my experience at Harvard with an incredible group of residency-mates was the icing on the cake--industry parties during that AAD in Miami, Whole Foods lunches before continuity clinic, the post-residency group study sessions, Tampa airport post-boards margaritas; these are cherished memories. I owe much of who I am today as a clinician, educator, and human being to the incomparable Dr. Taylor. There have been countless times when I find myself chuckling because I find myself channeling CRT in my daily practice. I am so grateful for his guidance, mentorship, and friendship--I cannot imagine having had a better role model as a clinician or human being. I've still got a ways to go on my tie collection, though! What has been your career path since leaving Harvard? I was incredibly fortunate to have had Hensin and Rob connect me with Paul Khavari at Stanford during my job search. It turned out to be a perfect fit, and I am going on 4 years in a place where I am lucky to be able to do all the things I enjoy and find most rewarding. There are always new challenges and opportunities to grow and learn and try new things, all the while being grounded in a supportive academic environment. In a way, it's a continuation of my residency experience but as an attending, and with nicer weather ; ) Please tell us more about your leadership and research efforts and how you were able to line up these opportunities. I have had the fortune of being at the right place at the right time. One of my main charges since coming to Stanford has been to help build and significantly expand the medical dermatology program to serve the clinical needs of the institution and its community partners, and in support of the department's research and teaching missions. The need to think both strategically about big picture while also "sweating the small stuff" operationally has resulted in my having opportunities to engage in and grapple with these issues within the larger organization. It has been rewarding to see a vision take shape, yet at the same time humbling to realize that the work of maintaining advances is often harder than having made the gains in the first place. I've also gotten quite involved in clinical and translational research in alopecia areata, which goes to show sometimes life is as much about circumstance as it is any grand plans. I certainly never in a million years thought I'd be doing research, much less in hair!
Dr. Ko with his family!
Tell us more about your family! My wife and I are loving California living! Our son Ryan just started kindergarten this fall, and is an incredible big brother to our daughter Sophie, who just turned 7 months and has me wrapped around her finger. These two fill our lives with joy and keep our days (and nights) interesting!
Resident Updates Valerie “Val” Carlberg (PGY-4), participated in the San Francisco Match and is delighted to continue her training as a pediatric dermatology fellow at Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington. Val’s interest in pediatrics predates her medical career, as she was a preschool teacher for many years before medical school. Citing an undeniable joy found while working with children, she developed an unwavering vision to become a pediatric dermatologist. She completed a pediatric internship at the Medical College of Wisconsin before joining Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Program, where she has maintained a continuity clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital for all three years of residency. She is an active member of the Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance and Society for Pediatric Dermatology and has presented at multiple national and international conferences over the years. Her interests include procedural dermatology and onco-dermatology and she has co-authored several chapters to address these unique aspects of pediatric medicine. It is with immense gratitude that Valerie thanks her mentors, family, and friends for supporting her on this journey.
Omar Badri (PGY-4) has participated in a number of educational and development initiatives. He worked with the AAD educational committee to translate educational materials into Arabic to help dermatologist working in Syrian refugee camps abroad. He has been co-managing a scholarship fund that provides mentorship and scholarships to underprivileged high school students demonstrating leadership and drive to improve their communities. He also won the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Innovation Challenge for development of software improving billing for providers. Finally, he has been working with Dr. Arash Mostaghimi and Kristina Liu (PGY-4) to roll out a decision support software to help PCPs manage acne
Blast from the Past! Left to Right: Kristina Collins, Mary Alice Mina, , Ruth Ann Vleugels, Nicole Velez, Sarah Gee
Resident Retreat ~ July 2016 Left: Arash Mostaghimi, Mitchell Rubenstein, Richard Johnson, Susan Burgin, Ellen Roh, Clarissa Yang, Joseph Merola Right (top to bottom): Sarah Robinson, Chao Yang, Liz Wallace, Patrick Mulvaney, Gil Weintraub, Andy Walls
September 2016 ~AADA
Legislative Conference
Earlier this month, two of our current residents – Rebecca Hartman (PGY-4) and Avery LaChance (PGY-3) – joined faculty member Dr. Shadi Kourosh at the AADA’s Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. There, the team joined forces with advocacy and legislative leaders in dermatology from around the country to discuss and advocate on behalf of key topics in health policy as they relate to our field and our patients. Major themes for this year’s conference included optimizing MACRA rollout, finding ways to fight against increasing drug costs, and increased federal funding to advance research in the field of dermatology.
Pictured here is the team with AAD President-elect Dr. Henry Lim (left) and with Congressman Walz (right) discussing issues facing dermatology.
Save-the-date! AAD Harvard Dermatology Alumni reception Friday, March 3, 2017
*** Become an Alumni Donor! *** The generosity of our alumni is essential to fostering an environment of leadership and scholarly excellence for which our program is known. Your contributions will support the following programs and initiatives for Harvard Dermatology residents: - Clinical and Translational Research: resident research projects have ranged from the examination of quality-of-life in patients with PRP, to studying malpractice surrounding dermatologic procedures, to molecular investigations into CD30+ cutaneous lymphomas. - Technology: technology innovations for medical education and clinical care can be used to enhance training experiences; resident projects to date include development of patient-education videos and developing clinical dermatology education smartphone apps. - Community Service: resident involvement in the community ranges from participation in clinics for the underserved in Boston, to skin cancer screenings, to laser tattoo removal on former gang members, and to moderating public access television programs. - Global Health: residents have traveled to India, Vietnam, Botswana, and Kenya to deliver dermatologic care around the world and implement lasting change.
Contributions can be made at: https://secure.massgeneral.org/dermatology-resident For contributions of $25,000 or more, please contact Dr. Rachel Reynolds (rreynold@bidmc.harvard.edu) to discuss details of creating a named opportunity. Contact us Email: info.hmsderm@partners.org | Phone: 617-726-5254 | http://www.hms.harvard.edu/dermatology/ Editors: Lia Gracey Maniar, Allen Ho, Liz Brezinski Wallace, Girish Mohan