Medicine-Pediatrics Residents

PGY-1

Margret Chang
Alpert Medical School of Brown University

Margret graduated with a degree in English from the University of West Georgia. Not sure what direction her life would take after college, she dabbled for a year in science journalism before entering a health education and writing fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control. It was there she developed her passion for immigrant and refugee medicine - one that only strengthened during her years as a medical student at Brown University. Within Rhode Island, Margret has been credited with extending medical services to the state's large SE Asian community, offering frequent health screenings at local Buddhist temples and annual educational conferences for health care providers. Outside the hospital, Margret enjoys playing violin and piano, traveling, cooking, hiking, eating (Yum, chocolate!) and caring for her two pet froggies. She is looking forward to taking care of patients from all over the globe, and is also aspiring to travel the world learning to play the music and cook/eat the food from each country she visits.

Benjamin Felix
Indiana University School of Medicine

After graduating from Manchester College with a BA in Spanish, Ben's interest in global health has led him to experiences in India, Nicaragua and Kenya - including a rotation at Mother Theresa's home for the Dying in Calcutta. Ben enjoys photography, music and tennis. He looks forward to exploring this coastal state (and less so the intricacies of Rhode Island DMV!) and training for a career in global health.

Christina Leone
University of Massachusetts Medical School

A graduate of McGill University, Christina decided to relocate to the warmer climes of New England. While a student at UMass Medical School, Christina developed programs promoting global health rotations in Central America. She and her husband Andrew, a urology resident, look forward to finding time together, and for their other interests, which include international cooking, kayaking, reading, skiing and snowshoeing.

Kathryn Palumbo
University of Texas Medical School at Houston

A naïve of Rochester, NY, Katie earned a BA in Biology from State University of New York. She brought her training (and followed her heart) to Texas. As a middle school science teacher at a charter school in Houston, she developed a forensic science summer program and braved stints as a chaperone on the class trip to Washington, DC. At the University of Texas health Science Center, she advocated for community health and was awarded grants for child safety, health screening and outreach. She is happy to be back in the NE weather and enjoys traveling and baking. (Her interest in home cooking may be linked to her recent publication, prepared as an NIH summer research intern, on the prevalence of e.coli contamination of desserts at commercial food establishments.)

Stephanie Tecun
Alpert Medical School of Brown University

Although Boston-born, Stephanie lived with her family in Guatemala until the age of 9, when they moved to Rhode Island. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Providence College. As a medical student at Brown University, she built on her experiences in the Rhode Island Free Clinic and became one of the founders of a group committed to expanding free clinical services for the uninsured community in Providence. She is co-author of an article outlining the demanding process of planning and funding a new clinical site. She loves traveling - exploring the history and cuisine of the places she can visit - and looks forward to more experiences during residency. When local, she stays busy with swimming, running, bowling, board games and reading fiction.

Melinda Biernacki
University of Connecticut School of Medicine

After completing undergraduate studies in Biology at Reed College in Oregon, Melinda settled into New England. In Boston, she divided her time between bench research in hematology/oncology, co-authoring numerous publications, and working as a certified rape crisis intervention counselor. Completing her medical degree at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, she chose Med/Peds because she cherishes establishing long-term relationships with patients of all ages and looks forward to opportunities to bring the results of current research to bear on their conditions and needs. She enjoys long-distance running, bicycling (walking the walk for her patients by biking through the streets of Providence with her helmet!) and reading and has had a well-watered summer to support her interest in sustainable/local agriculture!

Rachel Epstein
Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University

After completing her BA and MA in Biology and Bioinformatics at Wesleyan University, Rachel matriculated to Jefferson Medical College in PA. Returning from a rotation in Ghana with Unite for Sight, she helped found a program at her medical school promoting visual health for the homeless in Philadelphia and providing on-going support for visual health programs overseas. She enjoys playing and teaching tennis and squash and has completed several half-marathons and long-distance charity bike events. Photography and painting are her more restful enjoyments, but the clinic staff is especially grateful for her experiments in baking!

Anne (Gabonay) Frank
University of Indiana

As an undergraduate at the University of Dayton, Anne's immersion experience in Cameroon sparked a collaboration between the local government and her university that ultimately beget the Kumba Municipal library - Anne remains active on their board today. Following completion of her undergraduate degree, Anne made a one year service commitment to Mother Cabrini HS in Washington Heights, NYC, teaching world history and study skills and taking on the additional role of faculty advisor to the Energy Up! Program - promoting healthy lifestyle skills for adolescents. In medical school, her interests led her to experiences in post-Katrina relief efforts, Honduras, and Kenya and were recognized with a Gold Humanism Award from the Indiana University School of Medicine. She's looking forward to more opportunities in residency, but also settling into Rhode Island with a new home and chances to pursue her joy of running, backpacking and exploring national parks.

Sarah Bagley, MD
Georgetown University

Sarah spent the first few years of life in MA before being transplanted to CT. She attended Brown for undergrad where she studied Classics so she could study abroad in Rome. After college, Sarah spent time in Boston and Rochester, NY doing pre-med coursework, pediatric advocacy, and staffing a homeless shelter. Finally ready for med school, she traveled south to Georgetown and is now so happy to be back in friendly Red Sox territory. When she is not in the hospital, you can find her sailing, running, or cooking. Her interests are global health, advocacy, and health policy.

Alexander Diaz de Villalvilla, MD
Yale University

I have interests in virtually all fields straddled by Med/Peds, but have pet favorites in tropical medicine and infectious diseases, critical care medicine, and gastroenterology. I have spent a little time abroad in Nagaland, India, doing some medical work in an isolated and totally unserved town; Brown has exhilarating and meaningful projects abroad, so ask us! My research interests are also broad, though I've done about 18 months' work under an HHMI fellowship doing cell biology in the field of acute pancreatitis, and am itching for a chance to do some microbiological stuff (helminths, please!). I enjoy running, listening to diverse musical genres (heavy metal is my bag), Providence's many cozy coffee shops, and a trip to an art museum whenever time allows.

Pooja Rao, MD
University of Rochester

Born in Manhattan, Pooja grew up in Avon, Connecticut after a brief flirtation with North Carolina. After attending Haverford College, she served in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa. After completing her service, she attended the University of Rochester for medical school, which fostered her interest in Med/Peds as well as global health. She is now happy to make her home in Providence with the Brown Med/Peds community. Though she is unclear what is in store for her future, she knows that it involves children of her own, a labrador retriever, lots of Bollywood movies, adding to her collection of scarves, and taking care of both adults and children.

Natthapol Songdej, MD
University of Rochester

After immigrating from Bangkok, Thailand at the age of 6, Natt grew up in Rowland Heights, California. He attended his hometown UCLA for college before venturing to the University of Rochester where he completed an MD/MPH degree. There, his interests grew in infectious diseases, and underserved and global health. A huge fan of sports, fantasy football, and all things Bruin, Natt has the proud distinction of once sporting Brutus Buckeye's mascot head at an Ohio State-Michigan football game. In Providence, he looks forward to continuing his personal and professional interests and feels extremely fortunate to be part of the Brown Med/Peds family.

Justin Eldridge, MD
Jefferson Med College

Originally from Cold Spring, New York (not the Long Island Cold Spring), Justin attended Cornell University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, for which he "concentrated" on, yes, General Biology. A year of travel and work after college found Justin in Philadelphia for medical school at Jefferson Medical College. Formaldehyde was not the only thing in the air, as he met his future wife, Kate, at medical school, and after wearing out Interstate 95 during the residency-program search, they were thrilled to match at Brown and call Rhode Island home. When not in his white coat, you can find Justin on the soccer field, basketball court, outside doing something outdoorsy, or online researching a new travel destination. And while they are not native Rhode Islanders, Justin and Kate have been adapting to the area by studying "Family Guy" episodes and using "wicked" as their new, favorite catch-all adverb and maybe Baby Lilly's first word.

Sylvia LaCourse, MD
University of Louisville

Sylvia grew up northern California, and attended the University of California - Santa Barbara where she majored in Environmental Studies. An internship brought her to Louisville, KY where she picked up her unbreakable habit of saying "y'all". After living in Senegal, West Africa with the Peace Corps, she attended post-bacc and medical school at the University of Louisville, and now wonders what a California/Kentucky/Rhode Island accent will sound like. She enjoys running, gardening, reading the New Yorker and admits to camping out on the couch with her partner and watching whole seasons of TV on DVD. She hopes to work in academic medicine where she can combine her interests in teaching, international health, and infectious disease.

Raina Phillips, MD
University of Illinois

Born and raised in sunny San Diego, Raina tired of the endless summers. Seeking out seasons (fall foliage--wow!), she attended college in Massachusetts and majored in Anthropology. After college, she joined Teach For America which placed her in one of Chicago's lowest performing schools teaching first grade. She loved it (!) but, after 3 years, decided to pursue her dream and go to med school. She wanted to stay close to her "kids" so she attended the University of Illinois at Chicago. Over the years, she has had the good fortune to study and volunteer in Central America, Europe, India and, most recently, Malawi. Raina hopes to pursue a career working with underserved populations around the globe.

Natasha Rybak, MD
Alpert Medical School