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INFORMATION FOR

Purple

Below are the academic advisor, longitudinal coaches, student college representative, and affiliates of the Purple college.

Academic Advisor, Head of College

  • Henry S. Park, MD, MPH

    Associate Professor of Therapeutic Radiology; Vice Chair for Clinical Research, Therapeutic Radiology; Chief, Thoracic Radiotherapy Program, Therapeutic Radiology; Assistant Medical Director, Clinical Trials Office, Yale Cancer Center; Head of College, Purple College, Office of Student Affairs

    Dr. Henry S. Park is a board-certified radiation oncologist who serves as associate professor, vice chair for clinical research, and chief of thoracic radiotherapy for the Department of Therapeutic Radiology at the Yale School of Medicine. For the Yale Cancer Center, he is an assistant medical director of the Clinical Trials Office, through which he leads the radiation oncology committee and is associate leader of the lung clinical research team. For the medical school's Office of Student Affairs, he is the head of one of the six advisory colleges. He has previously held roles as the associate residency program director, medical student electives director, and continuing medical education director for radiation oncology. Dr. Park received his undergraduate degree from Yale College, master's degree from the Harvard School of Public Health, and medical doctorate degree from the Yale School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine internship at Harvard Medical School's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center before returning to Yale New Haven Hospital for his residency and chief residency in radiation oncology. Dr. Park subspecializes in radiation therapy for lung cancer and head and neck cancer, maintaining a busy clinical practice in New Haven. He leads a wide-ranging research program in clinical trials, real-world evidence, and health services. He has co-authored over 135 peer-reviewed original research articles and 45 reviews, book chapters, invited editorials, and practice guidelines. He serves as an oral and written boards examiner for the American Board of Radiology and as an active committee member for the American Society for Radiation Oncology, American Radium Society, SWOG, ECOG-ACRIN, and NRG. He has been honored with multiple awards for his contributions to patient care, clinical research, and medical education. Learn more about Dr. Park>>
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Longitudinal Coaches

  • Vanessa Cooper, MD

    Assistant Professor; Associate Director of Diversity and Inclusion Education, Neurology

    Dr. Cooper completed her undergraduate education in New York at Stony Brook University prior to attending New York Medical College in Westchester, New York. Following this, Dr. Cooper completed her medicine intern year and neurology residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. Dr. Cooper graduated completing a year as a chief resident in the residency program. Dr. Cooper followed her neurology training with further specialization in headache medicine at Yale. She was promoted to Assistant Professor of clinical neurology and Associate Director of diversity and inclusion education for the neurology residency program.
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  • Robert Elder, MD

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and Internal Medicine (Cardiology); Director, Adult Congenital Heart Program; Director Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program, Pediatric Cardiology

    Dr. Elder cares for patients with congenital heart disease across the lifespan, from birth through adulthood, and joined the Yale faculty in 2013 as a member of the Department of Pediatrics as well as the Department of Medicine to help further grow the Yale Adult Congenital Heart Program. After completing a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, he graduated from pediatric cardiology fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center. He spent an additional year of training at Emory University focused on the management of adults with congenital heart disease and currently is one of a small group of physicians in the entire country board certified in Adult Congenital Heart Disease. Dr. Elder has expertise in congenital cardiac imaging, including transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography. His research interests include long-term outcomes of adult survivors and specifically Fontan patients, with particular focus on the effects of Fontan circulation on the liver. He is interested in medical education and currently serves as the Program Director of the Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program as well as the Program Director for the advanced fellowship for Adult Congenital Heart Disease.
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  • Caroline Nelson, MD, FAAD

    Assistant Professor of Dermatology; Director of Inpatient Dermatology, Dermatology; Director of Grand Rounds, Dermatology

    Caroline Nelson, MD is a medical dermatologist and Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Medicine. She is the Director of Inpatient Dermatology and Grand Rounds. She also sees outpatients at the Yale Medicine Dermatology New Haven and Branford clinics. “As a medical student, what inspired me to go into dermatology was seeing the negative impact of skin diseases on quality of life. I wanted to make a difference, particularly for critically ill patients,” she says. Following her dermatology residency at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Nelson completed a fellowship in complex medical dermatology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute of Harvard Medical School. At Yale, Dr. Nelson attends on the consult service and focuses her clinical and research activities on severe cutaneous adverse reactions, such as drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN). She also has expertise in neutrophilic skin disorders and paraneoplastic syndromes. In her outpatient clinics, Dr. Nelson performs skin cancer screenings and treats patients with a variety of skin problems, including acne, psoriasis, and eczema. Dr. Nelson is passionate about medical education. She teaches the inpatient dermatology curriculum at Yale and has published a comprehensive board review and practice examinations to prepare residents for the American Board of Dermatology in-training and certification examinations. She finds particular fulfillment in her role as a longitudinal coach for Yale medical students. “Teaching is not simply about communicating facts,” she says, “it is about demonstrating how the doctor-patient relationship can improve the lives of patients with skin diseases.”
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Student College Representative

YSM Affiliates

Alumni Affiliates

Name
Degree
Specialty
  • Neurology
  • Pediatrics- NICU
  • Dermatology
  • General & Vascular Surgery
  • Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics
  • Pediatric ENT
  • Orthopaedic Surgery - Spine
  • Adult, Child, Family and Organizational Psychiatry
  • Hematology
  • Physician Associate
  • Cardiology, Clinical Pharmacology, and Population Health
  • Thoracic Surgery
  • OB-GYN
  • Psychiatry
  • Radiology
  • Internal Medicine- Cardiology
James Armstrong
'90 M.D.
Neurology
Donna Brezinski-Caliguri
'91 M.D.
Pediatrics- NICU
Eileen Deignan
'95 M.D.
Dermatology
John Eliopoulos
'63 M.D.
General & Vascular Surgery
Tanya Froehlich
'99 M.D.
Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics
Christine Harrington
'97 Phys. Assoc. Cert.
Pediatric ENT
Brandon Hirsch
'11 M.D.
Orthopaedic Surgery - Spine
Gary Lande
'71 M.D.
Adult, Child, Family and Organizational Psychiatry
Jack Levin
'57 M.D.
Hematology
Zhao (Amy) Li
'17 MMSc
Physician Associate
Cesar Molina
'80 M.D.
Cardiology, Clinical Pharmacology, and Population Health
Ashish Patel
'00 M.D.
Thoracic Surgery
Brian Rigney
'67 M.D.
OB-GYN
Lauri Robertson
'87 M.D.
Psychiatry
Philip Rothfeld
'72 M.D.
Radiology
Michael Soule
'12 M.D.
Psychiatry
Eamon Duffy
18 M.D., M.B,A,
Internal Medicine- Cardiology