University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

After attending Whitman College in Washington for her undergraduate degree in English, Deirdre spent a year teaching English to middle school students in France. She then worked at Gould Farm, and later as a mental health specialist at McLean. At medical school at University of Chicago, she has been passionate about reducing disparities in healthcare, and has conducted research to explore inequalities in primary care mental health screening. She also led an urban high school health advocacy group, served as a peer educator. Outside of medicine she enjoys skiing and reading long-form journalism and contemporary fiction.

Howard University College of Medicine

Karima was raised primarily in Saudi Arabia before attending the University of Virginia, where she majored in religious studies. She went on to medical school at Howard University, where she was involved in several wellness initiatives, including helping to create RealTalk, a mental health support group for medical students. She also served as a remote tutor for students preparing for Step 1. Karima is interested in child and adolescent psychiatry as well as cross-cultural psychiatry. She is a former champion runner and loves reading science-fiction and Afrofuturism literature.

Duke University School of Medicine

Matt was raised in Iowa and attended college at the University of Chicago, where he majored in biology and psychology. He then joined the MSTP program at Duke University, where his PhD work focused on learning in songbirds. Matt also helped to organize an after-school curriculum for parents of children attending an at-risk school. Matt plans to continue on his well-paved path as a physician-scientist and is particularly interested in child and adolescent psychiatry. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball and hiking.

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Rachel journeyed from Nova Scotia to Williams College, where she studied political economy. She then spent two years as a research assistant at MGH utilizing computer models to analyze clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of HIV treatment in several African countries prior to beginning medical school at Columbia University. She co-founded and led the Companionship Project in medical school, pairing students with terminally ill patients and completed a longitudinal clerkship year in upstate New York as part of the Columbia-Bassett program. Outside of medicine, she is an avid rock climber and also enjoys playing basketball.

University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

Kate attended Northwestern University for her undergraduate degree in political science, before spending time in the Bay Area where she worked first at Google and later as a Project Manager at UCSF on a nationwide program to expand access to long-acting contraceptives. She completed her medical degree at University of Chicago, where she has volunteered extensively in a women’s correctional facility, including teaching health education lessons for incarcerated women. Outside of medicine, she is a crafter, marathon runner, and open- water swimmer.

University of Alabama School of Medicine

Ricky attended University of Alabama for his undergraduate degrees in biology and German, and stayed on for medical school in Alabama as well. During medical school, he taught a science Olympiad program at a local underserved high school and served as a TA for junior medical student courses. He is passionate about child-adolescent psychiatry and perinatal psychiatry, and he has a particular interest in the outcomes of premature infants. Ricky is a musician, playing the piano and accordion, and he and his wife enjoy taking their three rescue dogs out for walks along nature trails and in state parks.

USF Health Morsani College of Medicine

Born and raised in Colombia, Andrea attended Emory University for her undergraduate degree in biology. In medical school at University of South Florida, she has participated in research on assessing the burden of chronic disease among uninsured Tampa Bay residents with a focus on importance of screening for psychiatric diseases and hypertension. She also led her school’s Peer Support Network and is an advocate for optimizing mental health in medical providers. Andrea is an avid traveler, enjoys true crime podcasts and has a six-year old Yorkshire terrier.

University of Massachusetts Medical School

Rebecca was born in Nigeria and completed her undergraduate work at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she majored in psychology with a specialization in neuroscience. She continued to medical school at UMass, where she was very active in the Student National Medical Association, serving on the Executive Board and as a member of Parliament for the New England Region. She did significant outreach with local communities, including helping to establish health screening clinics. Rebecca is interested in child and adolescent psychiatry, as well as global mental health. In her free time, she loves cooking West African cuisine (the spicier the better!).

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Josh comes to MGH/McLean from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, following his undergraduate work in psychology and neuroscience at Penn State University. Prior to medical school, Josh’s interest in child psychiatry emerged as he challenged himself to work as a preschool teacher and an activity leader on a child/adolescent inpatient psychiatry unit. Josh will be joining our “Child Track” and is particularly interested in child/adolescent consult-liaison psychiatry as well as working with children and families who have experienced medically-related trauma. Josh is also an avid musician and served as director of the Pitt medical student musical production.