Meet our Students

PhD candidate Seden Bedir moved from Turkey to the U.S. to study at UMass Chan Medical School. She aims to engineer RNA sequences that don’t exist in nature in order to enable mRNA-based therapeutics beyond vaccines. In her free time, she mentors students from Turkey.  

Fourth-year medical student Omar Taweh is continuing his emergency medicine training at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The future doctor speaks three languages and is a proud advocate for refugees.  

Inspired by her local upbringing and global interests, DNP student Morgan Hill is conducting a cultural competency project in Worcester to evaluate how UMass Chan’s Doctor of Nursing Practice curriculum covers social determinants of health in a cultural context.

Medical student Yuying Zhang has made advocacy for diverse populations her mission, establishing a FAFSA guidance program in North Quincy and creating a pipeline program in Worcester to increase the diversity of future dermatology applicant pools. 

UMass Chan MD/PhD student Nick Bolden has discovered a pathway in the brain that could block addictive behavior. Inspired by his father, a retired judge, Bolden has devoted his career to treating addiction.

Fourth-year medical students Naomi Stuffers and Elisa Rocha traveled to Rwanda this fall to perform obstetric fistula repairs with Cynthia Hall, MD, and the International Organization of Women and Development.

Doctor of Nursing Practice student Cynthia Delmas, RN, established a community health initiative to help the homeless population in New Bedford. Her organization has provided preventive health care measures such as wound care and free toothpaste and clothes for the past five years.

Inspired to become a physician after several family members were diagnosed with cancer, medical student Colin Burnett, MSc, is an advocate for LGBTQI+ cancer survivors.

Clevanne Julce, MPH, remembers being obsessed with Band-Aids as a kid, but views her work in the Clinical and Population Health Research PhD program at UMass Chan as a more permanent cure.

DNP student nurse Sarang Raj was drawn to health care after his grandmother became sick. Now, he’s developing an ultrasound pilot study for other aspiring nurse practitioners at UMass Chan.

Abandoned on a doorstep as a newborn, medical student Jennifer Marino promotes reproductive rights and food security.

PhD candidate Suk Namkung has lived on three continents. He aims to investigate and advance a new generation of gene therapy viral vectors.

PhD nursing student Ian A. Lane is a podcast host and advocate for sexual and gender minority youth.

MD/MBA student Emilee Herringshaw is focused on projects that support patient-driven solutions. The aspiring dermatologist shares stories of her life living with diabetes on her blog.

PhD candidate Lucas Restrepo tackles movement disorders using fruit fly genetics and, in his spare time, plays the banjo.

Inspired by her sister’s death from cervical cancer to be a women’s health advocate, first-year nursing student Jeneba Aruna is chronicling her journey as a woman of color in STEM on YouTube.

After college, MD/PhD student Ethan Loew was torn between practicing bench science or becoming a clinician, but his postgraduate experience in a lab and a hospital showed him how he could combine the two.

Summer camps fueled PhD student Ashley Harkins’ passion for neuroscience and led her to study neuroinflammatory disorders at UMass Chan.

Ballerina-turned-nurse Melanie Ostiguy says her history as a dancer complements her work in the hospital.

PhD candidate Maureen Hester has experienced UMass Chan as an undergraduate intern, research laboratory technician and as a PhD student. Her research targets Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungal pathogen that can cause pneumonia and progress to meningitis.

Third-year medical student Naaz Daneshvar is an advocate for patients and families with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Shawna Steadman, MSN’09, returned to her alma mater to earn her Doctor of Nursing Practice. Through her scholarly project, she aims to make it easier to access patient preferences about their care.

Second-year medical student Megan Lo helped generate an electronic database to track perinatal comorbidities for epilepsy patients in Bolivia this summer via the Global Health Pathway.

MD/PhD student Claire Branley is passionate about fighting food insecurity to prevent disease. The president of the UMass Chan Community Garden, Branley is researching community-based nutrition policy.

William Mar’s pursued nursing as a second career after spending 20 years as a software developer. Now he is furthering his nursing career by pursuing a PhD. Learn more about him in this Student Spotlight video.

Medical student Theo Eldore has been recognized for his contributions furthering the development of LGBTQIA+ research and community.

Kathleen Morrill, a PhD candidate in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, has made national headlines for her research into behavioral traits of dogs.

Being able to assist in caring for a loved one in her time of need confirmed Nisha Naik’s decision to become a nurse practitioner. She came to UMass Chan to focus on mental health while earning her DNP.

Carly Herbert, an MD/PhD student at UMass Chan Medical School, is a student investigator and the first or second author named on six publications on rapid COVID-19 tests.

Movies piqued PhD candidate Humberto Ochoa’s interest in science. He’s conducting RNA research in the lab of Nobel Laureate Craig C. Mello, PhD, to understand the national decline in fertility.

Yuki Fujita, MPH, will graduate with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree on June 5. While a student, Fujita studied perinatal depression in women experiencing high-risk pregnancies at UMass Memorial Medical Center.

Stella Barth is using her background as a science teacher and clinical research coordinator in her first year in the Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health track.

PhD student Megan Fowler-Magaw is researching the pathogenesis of ALS, using a specific gene that is found in 97 percent of cases.

After 30 years in the business world, nursing student Raj Patel is on the way to a second career in mental health.

A second-year medical student in the Urban Health Scholars Pathway, Emma Dudley aims to work with vulnerable and urban populations. She researches populations in recovery court and volunteers for the Worcester Refugee Assistance Project.

PhD student Katya Makeyeva investigates how small RNA pathways regulate gene expression of reproductive cells in the lab of Nobel Laureate Craig Mello, PhD.

Medical student Evan Bilsbury works in a lab focused on ocular gene therapy and macular degeneration. He also volunteers at the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Jeannece Batista, a Worcester native, is a Graduate Entry Pathway student in the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing.

Emmet Karner, a PhD student in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, was inspired by a passionate and influential teacher to go into the field.

T.H. Chan School of Medicine student Vanessa Avalone is enrolled in the Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health track, focused on health care disparities and health issues specific to urban and rural communities.

Zareen Barry became a nurse in her 20s and discovered she loved teaching. The Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing’s PhD program is preparing her for a faculty position.

As president of UMass Chan Medical School’s chapter of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science, PhD candidate Daniel Hidalgo provides cultural training and advocates for diversity in STEM fields.

T.H. Chan School of Medicine student Kassandra Jean-Marie was better prepared for medical school because of the UMass Baccalaureate MD Pathway Program.

Nursing PhD student Saisha Cintron is driven by a passion to provide support systems to teenagers facing adversity. She chose a PhD program so she’d be in a better position to affect systemic change.

MD/PhD candidate Nick Peterson is studying host-pathogen interactions in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology and is co-chair of the MD/PhD Curriculum Committee.

Exposed to UMass Medical School as a high school student, Isaac Ofori stays involved in the Worcester community on his way to pursuing a career in critical care.

Emily Everett, a student in the Graduate School of Nursing’s DNP program, played an important role in the Vaccine Corps rollout.

PhD candidate Sarah Cleveland’s mission is to ensure that diverse voices are represented and heard. Cleveland, who studies mechanisms of T cell tolerance, wants to pursue a career in science policy after earning her degree.

Sabahat Rahman is in the Global Health Pathway and the PURCH track. Her activities include the student-led Worcester Asylum Clinic and COVID-19 research and outreach.

Oscar de la Rosa has worked as an EMT and a public health prevention specialist. He is pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at the Graduate School of Nursing.

Jenya Kolpakova, a PhD candidate in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences’ neuroscience program, came to the United States from Ukraine when she was 15. She is studying changes in the brain due to binge alcohol drinking.

Over the years, Andrew Cauley witnessed family members facing a number of chronic health-related issues. His experience with loved ones influenced his decision to enter medicine from a preventative health care perspective.

Amanda Hazeltine, RN, a GEP to DNP student in the Graduate School of Nursing, worked in health care communications and education for 13 years prior to becoming a nurse.

Cesar Bautista Sotelo, PhD candidate in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, is using cutting-edge techniques to study how cells and the genome shed offer information on human development, aging and disease.

Elke Schipani grew up caring for her grandfather, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease when she was 6. The many hours spent with him influenced the career path she has chosen.

Heather Lovelace, FNP-BC, RN, fourth-year DNP student in the Graduate School of Nursing, came to Massachusetts from California to earn her doctorate degree.

MD/PhD student Webb Camille sees a future as a hospitalist as well as a researcher, allowing him to do bench and clinical research that will ultimately benefit his patients.

Medical student Angela Essa said she has “always been really curious about medicine and the biology of disease and how we treat it.”

Helen Tsiagras, RN, Doctor of Nursing Practice student in the Graduate School of Nursing Graduate Entry Pathway Program, began her nursing career during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also serves as secretary for the Graduate Student Nursing Organization.

MD/PhD student Laël Ngangmeni, MBS, started school when she was 3 in her home country of Cameroon. A natural-born learner and curious thinker, Ngangmeni knew science was her calling.

Born and raised on Cape Cod, Ryan Barrette knew he would have a future in medicine after witnessing the care given to his cousin, who was diagnosed with DiGeorge syndrome.

Emily Davenport always knew she wanted to be a nurse. Now in her third year on the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner track, she began work as an RN at UMass Memorial Medical Center when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Mohona Gupta, third-year PhD candidate in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, moved to Massachusetts from Kolkata, India in 2018 to attend UMass Medical School. It was the first time she had ever left her hometown, her family and her house for more than a few days.

Second-year School of Medicine student Mina Botros is the co-president of the Worcester Free Care Collaborative, a group of free medical programs in the greater Worcester area that offers free patient care. 

Graduate School of Nursing student Irina Rojas knew health care was her calling when she witnessed doctors and nurses caring for New Orleans in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Anne Carlisle, PhD candidate in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, came to Massachusetts from Nebraska in 2015. She is studying in the Dohoon Kim lab, investigating the role of selenium in cancer cells.

GEP-DNP student Madeline Lane serves as a co-president for the Graduate Student Nursing Organization. She plans to become an adult gerontology primary care nurse practitioner and is passionate about connecting with others and serving diverse groups.

Sean Teebagy is an aspiring physician, a Shrewsbury native and Holy Cross graduate. The son of a physician, he is passionate about helping others and giving back to his community.

Kasturi Biswas, a PhD candidate in neurobiology, traveled from her native India to Massachusetts to study at UMass Medical School.