It's hard to believe that the 2019 White Coat Ceremony inducting 19 new students to our program was 4 months ago!! They hail from the four corners of the US (including Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands!), representing 5 different non-USA countries of birth, 19 different undergraduate institutions, and 11 different proposed departments of study ranging from Biomedical Engineering to Epidemiology and Public Health to Physiology and Computational Biology.
Hometown: New Haven, CT
Undergraduate Institution: Marietta College
Major: Biochemistry; Spanish; Student-Designed Neuroscience
Activities/Interests: sports, biking, church, nonprofit leadership, entrepreneurial stuff
Fun fact: I’ve talked to my grandma over the phone nearly every day since I was four years old. She’s one of my closest friends. When I visit, I’m greeted by her thick Southern drawl and the aroma of either biscuits and gravy, peanut butter fudge, or red velvet cake. She’s now age 78, and I have no trouble spotting her among her contemporaries with her bright blonde hair!
Hometown: Bethesda, MD
Undergraduate Institution: University of California-Irvine
Major: Microbiology & Immunology
Activities/Interests: Hiking, camping, reading
Fun fact: Originally born and raised in Jordan, I immigrated to the United States in 2012. This move caused me to develop a taste for travel and exploration. Since then, I have lived in 4 different major US cities and visited over 25 states. Most recently, I took a solo road trip across the United States, starting from Los Angeles and ending in Washington DC. While traveling, I particularly like to find small-scale, local food places in order to properly experience the city I am in. I also thoroughly enjoy hiking and camping, and aim to visit as many national and state parks as possible.
Hometown: Haverford, PA
Undergraduate Institution: Barnard College
Major: Cell & Molecular Biology; Classics (Latin)
Activities/Interests: Jewish grad student life, spin classes, sailing & pottery
Fun fact: One of my majors in undergrad was Latin, and for my thesis I wrote about an ancient Roman medical encyclopedia and how it can help us understand metaphors of illness in Roman love poetry.
Joseph Brancale
Hometown: Staten Island, NY
Undergraduate Institution: Harvard University
Major: Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Activities/Interests: Coffee, Craft Beer, Running
Fun fact: I used to act on children's television shows when I was young, and have since lost all acting ability.
Fuyao Chen
Hometown: Shanghai, China
Undergraduate Institution: Vanderbilt University
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Activities/Interests: Beijing Opera, Cross-talk, Singing, Learning new languages
Fun fact: In my spare time, I enjoy learning different languages and traditional Chinese art forms, such as Beijing Opera and crosstalk. I joined the marching band in my college with no prior knowledge of football. It was a wild experience but a lot of fun!
Maya Deshmukh
Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, MI
Undergraduate Institution: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Major: Molecular Biology; Fine Arts
Activities/Interests: Ashtanga yoga, training working dogs, structural bio, ob/gyn interest group, sculpture
Fun fact: I completed degrees in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Art and Design (focusing on contemporary and figurative sculpture) at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. During undergrad, I spent a semester doing structural biology research in Professor Adnane Achour's lab at the Karolinska Instiutet in Stockholm. After graduating, I travelled to Israel on a Fulbright research fellowship to study structure-function relationships of functional amyloid-derived peptides and fibril-forming antimicrobial peptides using X-ray microcrystallography in Professor Meytal Landau's lab at the Technion. I currently live in Westville with my two dogs!
Hometown: Newark, NJ
Undergraduate Institution: Yale University
Major: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Activities/Interests: Branford College Grad Affiliate, Cancer Student Interest Group; trying new foods, watching movies, knitting
Fun fact: I was born in Sesimbra, Portugal and moved to the United States when I was three months old. In high school, I participated in a bioethics research program through which I explored the creation of a donor, or “savior,” child through pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. As a Yale undergraduate, I discovered a passion for pursuing cancer biology research alongside medical training. I spent two years post-graduation investigating cancer drug resistance at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, MA. Outside of science and medicine, I love drawing, reading, jogging, knitting, and trying new types of foods and recipes! A fun fact about myself is that I love donuts, although when I once tried to make them when I was younger, the dough didn’t rise properly and they looked more like cookies than donuts!
Jeffrey Duncan
Hometown: Allston, MA
Undergraduate Institution: Haverford College
Major: Biology
Activities/Interests: running, coffee, and cats.
Fun fact: I'm a passionate track athlete and fan. I once had the opportunity to commentate a professional track meet for a sports media company!
Chelesa Fearce
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Undergraduate Institution: Spelman College
Major: Biochemistry
Activities/Interests: MSC Vice President, Y2Y, Vox Kids Volunteer, Committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (CDISJ)
Fun fact: I go to the movies at least twice a month. My favorite author is Stephen King. I actually find his books/movies as funny.
Kevin Givechian
Hometown: Irvine, CA
Undergraduate Institution: University of Southern California
Major: Molecular Biology
Activities/Interests: Breaking Sid Tyagi's ankles during pick-up basketball.
Fun fact: I grew up in Southern California and graduated from USC. I spent a few years doing computational cancer genomics research which eventually guided me to the interface of genomics and tumor immunology. I am currently interested in the intersection of cancer biology, immunology, and machine learning and how to translate these insights to improve and/or develop novel treatment options for cancer patients. Outside of research and medicine, I spend my time playing soccer on the club team here at Yale, playing pick-up basketball with classmates, and eating (probably too many) chocolate chip cookies.
Ilhan Gokhan
Hometown: New York, NY
Undergraduate Institution: Duke University
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Activities/Interests: Healer's Art, piano, biking, seeing concerts/shows
Fun fact: During college, I camped out in a tent for two months to see the Duke-UNC basketball game!
Kerrie Greene
Hometown: Alpharetta, GA
Undergraduate Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Major: Biological Engineering; Brain & Cognitive Science
Activities/Interests: Music + coffee
Fun fact: I've trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO for volleyball!
Ann Johnson
Hometown: Columbus, GA
Undergraduate Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology
Major: Biology
Activities/Interests: Backpacking, Patient Navigating, Neighborhood Health Project, reading science fiction, ice climbing ?? (coming soon)
Fun fact: I love to do all things outdoors, and I aspire to train my cat to rock climb with me!
Samuel Liburd
Hometown: Cruz Bay, VI
Undergraduate Institution: University of the Virgin Islands
Major: Biology
Activities/Interests: Guitar, Video Games, Netflix, HPREP, Anatomy Teaching Program, Shadowing transplants
Fun fact: I was born and raised in the US Virgin Islands which I suppose is a fun fact in and of itself. I enjoy playing the guitar and having deep conversations with friends. Over the past few years I have learned how to play tennis and how to fence. As my undergrad institution was really big on marine biology research, I also learned how to swim and snorkel and have gone snorkeling through, in my biased opinion, some of the nicest coral reefs in the world.
Charles Robins
Hometown: Tallahassee, FL
Undergraduate Institution: Florida State University
Major: Biomedical-Chemical Engineering
Activities/Interests: Golf, hiking and the outdoors, working out, video games
Fun fact: I was born and raised throughout Florida (born in Tallahassee, grew up in south Florida in Naples and south Miami), and have been moving north since college. I researched at the Wistar Institute for a summer and I worked as a postbac research intern at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer before Yale. I played golf growing up and played in the US Kids Tour in Florida. I enjoy the serenity of the outdoors, to hike, hammock, and kayak.
Anush Swaminathan
Hometown: Monroe Township, NJ
Undergraduate Institution: Boston University
Major: Biology; Philosophy
Activities/Interests: Stand-up comedy, music, eating, going to research talks, keeping 100 feet away from the gym at all times, taking photographs on a potato
Fun fact: I love traveling, (I have traveled to 16 countries!) listening to classic rock music, and pursuing my passion for stand-up comedy.
Sidharth Tyagi
Hometown: Aurora, CO
Undergraduate Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder
Major: Integrative Physiology; Biochemistry
Activities/Interests: Playing basketball, attempting bar trivia, taking weekend trips to NYC and Boston
Fun fact: I'm on a mission to eat at every restaurant in New Haven! As you may have heard, New Haven has one of the highest restaurant-per-capita ratios in the U.S. If anyone else wants to join me in spending their hard-earned stipend, please hit me up!
Michael Vetick
Hometown: East Windsor, NJ
Undergraduate Institution: Rutgers University - New Brunswick
Major: Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Activities/Interests: Hiking and Piano
Fun fact: Outside of my scientific and medical endeavors, I have owned/driven 10 different cars in my life. I got my license when I was 17 (now 24) and grew up in a family of tradesmen. To save money on a car payment, I learned how do my automotive repairs myself. My first car was a 2001 Pontiac Aztek, which if you haven’t seen it, has been voted the ugliest car in the universe by several car magazines, haha. As you may suspect, I failed to win the “Best Car” superlative in my high school. However, the Aztek is now considered by many (myself included) a cool car. Popularized by the great TV show, Breaking Bad, Walter White drives this car and has turned it into the bat-mobile of the under-appreciated scientist. Although my Aztek is long gone, I still love SUV’s and enjoy taking my wife and dog off-roading and hiking.
Deanne Yugawa
Hometown: Kaneohe, HI
Undergraduate Institution: The University of Utah
Major: Economics; Biology
Activities/Interests: Traveling (mostly to Japan), binging Parks and Rec, playing board games, and eating New Haven Pizza
Fun fact: I didn't see snow until I went to college, but ended up living in a place where it snowed so much it couldn't even be plowed away!