Thanks to our past Editorial Fellows and Senior Editorial Fellows

Ghassan S. Abu-Sittah, MBChB was head of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon when he served as co-editor of the June 2022 issue on health care in conflict zones. He founded the Conflict Medicine Program of the Global Health Institute at the American University of Beirut.

Sofia Ahsanuddin was a researcher at the Stanford Byers Eye Institute in Palo Alto, California, when she served as editor of the March 2023 issue on clinicians in government. She had also finished her third year as a medical student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She previously worked as an academic researcher at various institutions, including the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering, Innovation, and Design; Weill Cornell Medicine; and the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai. She has a long-standing interest in public policy and health care ethics.

Megan Patrick Alcauskas, MD was a neurology resident at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City when she edited the December 2006 issue on global health and the ethics of international medical volunteerism. She received her MD from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her interest in international health and medical ethics began after she volunteered at a rural health clinic in Haiti as an undergraduate at Boston College. She spent her junior year at Oxford University studying medical sociology, specifically the interaction between medicine and politics in developing countries. While in medical school, Megan interned for a summer at the Department of Health and Human Services in the Global Health Office and was a member of American Medical Student Association's National Health Policy Taskforce. She was also founder and editor of a health policy newsletter and was active in the hospital's bioethics committee. Her work can be found in Medical Economics and The P&S Journal as well as in numerous student and resident publications.

James Aluri, MA was a third-year medical student at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore when he was the editor of the April 2017 issue on moral psychology and “difficult” clinician-patient relationships. Previously, he spent a year as a research associate with the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. He received a BA in biological sciences and in musical studies from the University of Southern California and an MA from the Bioethics & Society Programme at King’s College London. His research interests focus on medical ethics education and the history of medical education.

Jordan P. Amadio, MD, MBA was a senior neurosurgery resident at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, when he edited the January 2015 issue of Virtual Mentor on intervening in the brain: ethics and neurosurgery. Dr. Amadio is co-founder of NeuroLaunch, the world’s first neuroscience startup accelerator. He was educated at Princeton and MIT and received his MD at Harvard Medical School. In 2014, he received the American Medical Association Foundation’s Excellence in Medicine award recognizing his leadership in the early-stage medical innovation community and was named “40 under 40” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. His research interests lie at the interface of emerging technologies and the human nervous system, including neuromodulation and wearable computing.

George L. Anesi was a fourth-year medical student at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, pursuing a dual degree as a graduate student in the Department of Bioethics, when he edited the October 2010 issue of Virtual Mentor on ethical challenges in modern cardiovascular medicine. His research in the Center for Genetic Research Ethics and Law focuses on personalized genomic medicine and end-of-life care. He received a BS in biological chemistry and a BA in chemistry from The University of Chicago, where he was editor in chief of the Chicago Maroon.

Claire K. Ankuda, MD, MPH was an intern in family medicine in the urban underserved track at the University of Washington in Seattle when she edited the July 2012 issue of Virtual Mentor on the ethics of shared decision making. She is a graduate of the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health. Her research interests include the assessment of the quality of decision making, especially at the end of life; surrogate decision making; and disparities in end-of-life care.

Thalia Arawi, PhD was the founding director of the Salim El-Hoss Bioethics and Professionalism Program at the American University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center in Lebanon when she served as co-editor of the June 2022 issue on health care in conflict zones. Her research included clinical ethics, biomedical ethics, philosophy of medicine, humanitarian medicine, ethics in conflict zones, mental health ethics, and medical education.

Adam Aronson was a second-year medical student at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri, when he edited the November 2012 issue on improving allocation of limited resources. His research interests include cancer, Alzheimer disease, and other diseases of aging. He is considering a career in oncology.

Gaurab Basu, MD, MPH was a physician and the founding co-director of the Cambridge Health Alliance Center for Health Equity Education and Advocacy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when he served as co-editor of the October 2022 issue on health care waste. He was also an instructor in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School; a health equity fellow at the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard University; and a faculty affiliate at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Jason Batten, MA was a fourth-year medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine and a graduate fellow at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics in Stanford, California, when he served as editor of the September 2018 issue on ethics in precision health. He taught high school chemistry and physics for 6 years in low-income schools in South Central Los Angeles as a Teach For America corps member and an employee of Green Dot Public Schools. After earning a master's degree in bioethics, he worked in the clinical ethics department of a community hospital in Los Angeles. He is interested in medical education and clinical ethics, and his research applies empirical and theoretical approaches to communication, decision making, and institutional policy in critical and palliative care.

Jessica Benham, MA was a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania when she served as coeditor of the November 2019 issue on conceptualizing quality of life in reconstructive transplantation ethics. She is a cofounder of the Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy and holds a master's degree in communication studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato, as well as a master's degree in bioethics from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests lie primarily in the rhetorical and ethical constructions of disability in society. 

Anne Bertkau was a fourth year medical student at New York University when she edited the April 2005 issue on professional self regulation. She graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College in 1999 and worked as a consultant for McKinsey and Company before beginning medical school. At NYU, Anne helped to establish a professional development curriculum for medical students. She planned on doing a residency in internal medicine following medical school.

Alessandro Blasimme, PhD was a senior scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, when he served as coeditor of the December 2019 issue on ethics, values, and responsibility in human genome editing. He graduated with a degree in philosophy and obtained a master's degree in bioethics from La Sapienza University of Rome as well as a doctoral degree in bioethics from the University of Milan. His research focuses on ethical and policy issues in biomedical innovation and biotechnology, and his areas of expertise include translational medicine, precision medicine, regenerative medicine, genetic engineering, digital health, and aging.

Laura M. Blinkhorn, MD was an intern at Swedish Family Medicine Residency-First Hill in Seattle when she edited the October 2013 issue on mental illness and the law. She is a 2013 graduate of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Her professional interests include primary care management of mental illness, cross-cultural medicine, and health care for the homeless.

David R. Block was a fourth-year medical student at University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences when he was editor for the medicine and the social contract issue of Virtual Mentor in April 2004. He received a BA with honors in biomedical ethics and biology from Brown University in May 1999. While at Brown, he spent summers at the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania and at the Hastings Center. He also worked as an editor for The Catalyst, the university's interdisciplinary humanities and sciences magazine. Following graduation, he completed a one-year fellowship at the Institute for Ethics at the American Medical Association in Chicago. At the time of his issue's publication, David planned a career as a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

Allison R. Bond, MA was a third-year medical student at Boston University School of Medicine when she edited the July 2013 issue on incentives and motivation in health care. She holds a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting from New York University and a bachelor of science degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She has written about science and medicine for a variety of publications, including Scientific American, Scientific American MIND, Discover magazine, and Reuters Health. Her academic interests include rheumatology, endocrinology, and the intersection of medicine and journalism.

Meredith Broderick, MD joined the faculty at University Hospitals of Cleveland Case Medical Center as assistant professor in the Department of Neurology in August 2008. Dr. Broderick completed her residency training in neurology at University Hospitals of Cleveland Case Medical Center and a fellowship in sleep medicine at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic in Palo Alto, California. Her interests include behavioral sleep medicine and raising awareness about sleep disorders. Dr Broderick was editor for the September 2008 issue of Virtual Mentor on ethical issues in sleep medicine.

Nathaniel J. Brown had completed 2 years of medical school and was pursuing a doctorate in the Department of Health Care Ethics in the Saint Louis University MD/PhD program in May 2009 when he edited the Virtual Mentor issue on specialty choice and business decisions in medicine. His interest is in business ethics in medicine, and he is affiliated with the Bander Center for Medical Business Ethics at Saint Louis University.

Bob Burke was a second-year medical student at Stanford University when he edited the Virtual Mentor issue on physicians in public roles in December 2005. Bob graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a degree in biochemistry. He lived and worked in Warsaw, Poland, with his wife, Jessica, while she completed a Fulbright fellowship. At Stanford, Bob evaluated the ethics of clinical trials in the developing world at the Institute for OneWorld Health, worked at the Center for Advanced Pediatric Education, a simulator-based training program for residents and nurses in pediatrics, and conducted basic science research in the Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease.

Marley E. Burns was a second-year medical student at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill when she edited the September 2012 issue of Virtual Mentor on confidentiality. Her primary research interests are in pediatrics. Burns recently co-authored six review articles for The Monday Life, a nonprofit organization working to improve the hospital environment for pediatric patients. She is also involved with research exploring the transition from pediatric to adult health care for adolescents with chronic health conditions.

David Buxton was a resident in adult psychiatry at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, when he edited the July 2010 issue of Virtual Mentor on pediatric palliative care. He graduated from Emory University with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies with a focus in Tibetan Buddhism. Dr. Buxton studied medicine at the Medical College of Virginia Campus at Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating with honors in psychiatry. During medical school, Dr. Buxton founded the Honduras Outreach Medical Brigade Relief Effort, a nonprofit student-driven medical mission group that provides health care and sustainable development to local communities in Honduras. He was introduced to the field of pediatric palliative care when working with Noah’s Children, a pediatric palliative care program in Richmond, Virginia.

Amy Cadwallader, PhD was the director of regulatory and public policy development at US Pharmacopeia when she served as the editorial fellow of the April 2024 issue on global medical supply chain security. Dr Cadwallader received a PhD in pharmacology and analytical toxicology from the University of Utah, an MS in biology/forensic science from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a BS in chemistry and in biochemistry and molecular biology from Dickinson College.

Adrienne Carmack, MD was a fourth-year resident in urology at the University of Miami when she served as a theme issue editor for the January 2006 issue on ethical issues in medical screening. A native Texan, she received her BS in human physiology from Boston University after spending two years at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science. She received her medical degree from the Texas A&M University College of Medicine. Her primary areas of interest are medical ethics, medical literature, and education. While in medical school, Adrienne spent a month at the Journal of the American Medical Association learning the editorial process.

Sophia Cedola was a second-year medical student at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City when she edited the December 2013 issue on medicine’s role in the “good death.” She earned her BS in psychology, graduating summa cum laude with thesis honors, from Tufts University in 2010 and completed the Bryn Mawr College Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program in 2011. She has worked for the Columbia University Medical Center Cardiothoracic Surgery Lab and the multi-institutional Lung Transplant Outcomes Group. Her interests include medical education, quality improvement, organ donation and transplantation, palliative care, and end-of-life issues.

Karel-Bart Celie was a second-year medical student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York City when he edited the May 2016 issue on clinical ethics consultation. Prior to medical school, he studied philosophy at Boston College, and he hopes to combine a career in surgery with ethics. His philosophical interests include bioethics, personhood in medical ethics, and metaphysics.

Alexandra Charrow, MD, MBE was a fifth-year resident in the Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Program in Boston, Massachusetts, when she served as editor of the December 2018 issue on physicians' power to name. She graduated from Yale University with a BA in philosophy and from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine with an MD and an MBE. Her bioethical writing and research focus on the limitations of medical norms, body modification and enhancement, and the ethics of body-related identity politics.

Tessa Chelouche, MD was a family physician in Israel, where she was also co-chair of the Department of Bioethics and the Holocaust of the UNESCO Chair of Bioethics, Haifa, when she served as coeditor of the January 2021 issue on legacies of the Holocaust in health care. She coauthored the Casebook on Bioethics and the Holocaust (UNESCO Chair in Bioethics, 2013) and has published articles and presented at numerous national and international conferences on topics involving medicine, ethics, and the Holocaust.

Arina Evgenievna Chesnokova, MPH was a third-year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas when she edited the March 2016 issue on medicine and the law. Arina completed her masters of public health degree at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in 2011, where she developed a special interest in health law and public health ethics. Subsequently, she worked as a researcher at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia PolicyLab. Her scholarly interests include reproductive health law and policy and geospatial components of health disparities.

Jennifer Chevinsky was a third-year medical student when she edited the June 2013 issue of Virtual Mentor on physician leadership and team-based care. As a student participant in the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine’s SELECT Program, Jennifer was on rotations at the Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania at the time. She was the student director for the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities and a member of the American Medical Association medical student section’s Committee on Bioethics and Humanities. She has a degree with honors in bioethics in cross-cultural perspectives from the University of Connecticut’s combined program in medicine. Jennifer’s interests include international perspectives on bioethics, Jewish medical ethics, genethics, and values-based practice in medical education.

Marshall H. Chin, MD, MPH was the Richard Parrillo Family Distinguished Service Professor of Healthcare Ethics in the Department of Medicine and associate director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago in Illinois when he served as co-editor of the November 2022 issue on price transparency. He also co-directed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Advancing Health Equity: Leading Care, Payment, and Systems Transformation National Program Office and co-chaired the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network Health Equity Advisory Team.

Erica Chou, MD was an assistant professor in pediatric hospital medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee when she served as co-editor of the May 2023 issue on interprofessional education and innovation. She was also a director for the medical school’s early clinical learning course and previously directed medical school interprofessional education. Her interests included medical education curriculum design and implementation.

Barbara Chubak, MD was a fellow in the Department of Bioethics at the Cleveland Clinic when she served as a theme issue editor for the August 2009 issue of Virtual Mentor on problematizing the principle of autonomy.

Bennett William Clark was a fourth-year medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California, and was applying for residency in internal medicine when he served as the September 2009 theme issue editor on the topic of ethical questions in genetic testing. He graduated from Yale with a bachelor's degree in philosophy.

Niki Kasumi Clements, PhD was the Watt J. and Lilly G. Jackson Assistant Professor of Religion and the Allison Sarofim Assistant Professor of Distinguished Teaching in the Humanities at Rice University in Houston when she served as co-editor of the June 2021 issue on transgenerational trauma and the August 2022 issue on inequity and iatrogenic harm. Her work is grounded in the philosophy of religion and the history of Christianity, and her research focuses on how humans can shape their lives through daily practices and come to critique the factors that render humans differentially vulnerable to structural violence. She is the volume editor for Religion: Mental Religion (Macmillan Reference, 2016) and the author of Sites of the Ascetic Self: John Cassian and Christian Ethical Formation (University of Notre Dame Press, 2020).

Margaret Cocks, MD, PhD was a second-year resident in anatomic and clinical pathology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore when she edited the August 2016 issue on ethics in pathology. She completed her PhD in the history and philosophy of science at Cambridge University.

C. Alessandra Colaianni, MD, MPhil was a third-year medical student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore when she edited the February 2013 issue on the hospital's roles as a business and a public service. She was an otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon focusing on the treatment of patients with benign and malignant tumors of the head and neck at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, when she served as co-editor of the October 2021 issue on palliative surgery. Her research interests include medical ethics, medical culture, and narrative medicine. Prior to medical school, she worked at the Advisory Board Company, a health care administration consulting firm in Washington, D.C.

Terri Davis was a physician assistant and third-year medical student at West Virginia University (WVU) School of Medicine in Morgantown when she was the editor of the January 2017 issue on human trafficking and medicine. After meeting members of the Hope and Liberation Coalition in preparation for working on the issue, she coordinated an exhibit with them at WVU’s Health Sciences Center and the Morgantown Art Center for National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

Monya De was a fourth-year medical student at the University of California-Irvine College of Medicine when she was the editor of the February 2004 issue of Virtual Mentor on paternalism in medicine. Monya graduated from Stanford University, where she earned a degree in human biology with honors and a minor in English literature. At Stanford, she studied biomedical ethics and was a medical columnist and arts editor for the Stanford Daily newspaper. After graduation, she worked in strategy consulting for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. During her medical school years, she traveled to Ecuador to study Spanish and volunteer in between climbing volcanoes and exploring the Galapagos Islands.

Matthew W. DeCamp entered the Duke University Medical Scientist Training Program in 2000 following completion of a BS from Purdue University. He was the theme issue editor for the topic on standards of care, which appeared in the December 2004 edition of Virtual Mentor. At the time of his issue's publication, he was in his third year of graduate work in the Department of Philosophy, and his PhD thesis examined global distributive justice. His past research interests included the effect of health care commodification on the patient-physician relationship and the ethical issues raised in population-based genetics research. Matt had been actively involved with Duke University's Institutional Review Board, the Center for the Study of Medical Ethics and Humanities, the Center for Genome Ethics, Law and Policy, and the Program on Global Health and Technology Access.

Robert Deiss was a fourth-year student at the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine when he served as theme issue editor for the August 2007 issue on language, culture, and belief in the medical encounter.

Fernando De Maio, PhD was the director of research and data use at the American Medical Association Center for Health Equity in Chicago, Illinois, when he served as co-editor of the April 2022 issue on health equity in US Latinx communities. He was also a professor of sociology at DePaul University, where he taught social epidemiology and data analysis. His most recent book, co-edited with Maureen Benjamins, was Unequal Cities: Structural Racism and the Death Gap in America’s Largest Cities (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021).

Diana N. Derige, DrPH was the vice president of health equity strategy and development at the American Medical Association in Chicago, Illinois, and adjunct faculty at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health when she served as co-editor of the April 2022 issue on health equity in US Latinx communities. Over the previous 20 years, she designed and managed several private philanthropic, government, and nonprofit programs.

Raymond De Vries, PhD was the associate director of the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor and a visiting professor at the CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care at Maastricht University in the Netherlands when he served as editor of the October 2019 issue on the value of decision science for clinical ethics. A medical sociologist, he is involved in research on the regulation of science, international research ethics, the difficulties of informed consent, and bioethics and the problem of suffering, among other topics.

Gaurav Jay Dhiman was a third-year medical student at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine when he edited the June 2015 issue on ethics in rehabilitation medicine. After completing his clinical training, he hopes to become a clinical, bioethics, and health policy professor and possibly join a think tank. He has interned for US Senators Dianne Feinstein and Bill Nelson and for the Center for American Progress.

Isha Marina Di Bartolo, MD was a primary care resident at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia when she served as editor of the January 2019 issue on health care for undocumented immigrants. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Medicine and a "DACA-mented" physician whose primary research interests include health disparities, mitigation of implicit bias, immigrant health care, and access to care.

Elena Diller was a fourth-year student at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta when she served as editor of the April 2023 issue on meat and health. She planned to start training in internal medicine during the summer of 2023, and she is passionate about sustainable food systems that reduce harms to and promote health equity among people, animals, and the environment.

Jennifer Dobson, MD was a recent graduate from Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, when she served as editor of the July 2021 issue on visibility and measurability in health care.

Patricia Doerr, MD was a fourth-year resident in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she served as co-editor of the April 2020 issue on anesthesiologist-surgeon relationships. She completed her undergraduate education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Morehead Scholar, and completed medical school at the University of Virginia. After completing a chronic pain fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, she plans to practice general anesthesia and pain medicine and to contribute to the development of enhanced recovery after surgery pathways.

Natasha H. Dolgin was a sixth-year MD/PhD candidate at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine in Worcester when she edited the February 2016 issue on liver transplantation. Her doctoral work is on liver transplantation policy and outcomes research undertaken in the Clinical and Population Health Research Program and the Department of Surgery. She is on the Ethics, Grievances, and Professional Standards Committee of the Massachusetts Medical Society and previously worked as a research assistant in the Department of Bioethics at the Cleveland Clinic.

Julia C. Dombrowski was a fifth-year student in the joint MD/MPH program of Duke University School of Medicine and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health when she edited the May 2004 issue on medicine's response to terrorism. She received a BS degree in biology from the University of New Mexico in 1998. During the 2002-2003 academic year, she completed a Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship at The University of North Carolina. Julia put her interest in bioethics into practice by volunteering in a needle exchange program and working as a biomedical research trainee in Nigeria. During a clinical research fellowship in 2002, she had the opportunity to learn about the ethical issues inherent in research with human subjects. Julia has been writing, both scientifically and creatively, since college and plans to make writing and editing a significant part of her medical career.

C. Noelle Driver, MD, MS was a third-year dual medical degree/master's degree student at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, when she served as editor of the June 2019 issue on limits to patient preferences. She was a resident in anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, when she served as editor of the September 2022 issue on what we owe workers in health care earning low wages. She earned a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and in ecology and evolutionary biology from Yale University and a master's degree in clinical and translational sciences at Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Her primary interest is in intensive care medicine, and she researches quality-of-life and health outcomes in a variety of disease settings.

Jeffrey M. Dueker, MPH was a first-year medical student at Saint Louis University when he coedited the May, 2009 issue of Virtual Mentor on specialty choice and business decisions in medicine. He completed his master’s in public health degree at Saint Louis University and was a research assistant in the Department of Health Care Ethics. He was the first coordinator for the Bander Center for Medical Business Ethics and remains affiliated with the center. His research interests include ethics, patient safety, and public health.

Matthew L. Edwards was a third-year medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine in Galveston when he edited the March 2015 issue of the AMA Journal of Ethics on ethical issues in anesthesiology. Matthew graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and received a graduate certificate in public health from the University of Texas School of Public Health. He received a Wood Library-Museum Fellowship in Anesthesiology in 2013 and the American Osler Society’s William B. Bean Student Research Award in 2014. His research has been published in Anesthesiology, the Bulletin of Anesthesia History, and Sociological Insight.

Erin Egan, MD, JD was a resident in the Department of Medicine at Loyola University Medical Center and a senior associate at the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy when she was the editor for the patient safety and medical error issue in March 2004.

Jeanne Elkin, MD, MBE was a categorical pediatric resident at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania when she served as editor of the February 2023 issue on child abuse and neglect. She earned her BS from the University of Notre Dame and her MD from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where she also earned an MBE. She was interested in primary care, medical education, pediatric bioethics, and care of patients with trisomy 21.

Bethany M. Erb was a medical student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine & Public Health (UWSMPH), with a Path of Distinction in Bioethics, when she edited the September 2024 issue on nonhuman animal research. She studied solid organ transplant-related medical crowdfunding in the UWSMPH Department of Surgery. She was a former Shapiro Scholar with a research emphasis in pre-operative shared-decision making and chair of the UWSMPH Student Ethics Committee. She holds a degree in British and American Literature with honors and is an avid scuba-diver and trekker.

Stephanie K. Fabbro, MD was a first-year resident at The Ohio State University in Columbus when she edited the December 2012 issue of Virtual Mentor on getting into medical school and residency. She intended to complete a medicine internship before entering her chosen specialty, dermatology. Dr. Fabbro graduated from Northeast Ohio Medical University with her medical degree as well as her certificate in bioethics and won the North American Primary Care Research Group Award for her contribution to research in medical education. Her research and career interests include ethical innovation in medical education, complex medical dermatology, and psychocutaneous disorders.

Katie Falloon was a second-year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, when she edited the January 2014 issue on ethics and assisted reproductive technology. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a degree in English.

Jessica Fanzo, PhD was the senior nutrition and food systems officer in the Nutrition and Food Systems Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome when she served as editor of the October 2018 issue on health and food ethics. During her editorship, she was on leave of absence as the Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Global Food and Agricultural Policy and Ethics at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She was also serving as director of the Global Food Ethics and Policy Program at Johns Hopkins and co-chair of the Global Nutrition Report.

Colleen Farrell edited two issues of the AMA Journal of Ethics. When she was editor of the September 2013 issue on motherhood and medicine, she was a second-year medical student at Harvard Medical School in Boston, and when she was editor of the September 2016 issue on ethics and interprofessionalism in medical education, she was a fifth-year medical student at Harvard. She received her BA in women’s and gender studies from Williams College in 2010 and worked as a research assistant at the Hastings Center, a nonprofit bioethics research institute, from 2010 to 2012. She plans to pursue residency training in family medicine and has interests in primary care, creative writing, and medical education.

Anum Fasih, MD was a primary care physician at Indiana University Health in Bedford, Indiana, when she served as editor of the September 2020 issue on behavioral architecture in health care. She graduated from the Family Medicine Residency Program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, and she completed medical school training in her hometown of Karachi, Pakistan. 

Miriam Fishman was a fourth-year medical student at New York University School of Medicine when she edited the April 2007 issue on professionalism in medical school. She received a BA in history from Yale University and was a research fellow at the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research in Bethesda, Maryland, before entering medical school. At NYU she worked with the Professional Development Committee to design, implement, and refine a professional development curriculum for the medical students and is active in the school's free clinic.

Astrid Floegel-Shetty, MA was a graduate of the Loyola Marymount University Bioethics Institute when she served as co-editor of the July 2023 issue on how medicine over relies on BMI. She planned to pursue a career in health law. Her scholarly interests included competency, mental health and substance use disorders, moral injury and trauma, justice, and health humanities.

Mariam O. Fofana was a fifth-year MD/PhD student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, focusing on infectious disease epidemiology, when she edited the June 2014 issue of Virtual Mentor on the intersection of race, ethnicity, and medicine.

Alex Folkl, MSc was a fourth-year medical student at the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington when he edited the May 2012 issue on the patient-physician relationship. After graduating in May of 2012, he will begin a family medicine residency at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Alex completed his BSc and MSc at the University of Guelph, in Guelph, Ontario. He plans to pursue a career in rural family and emergency medicine.

Lilliana Freire-Vargas was a second-year medical student at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Illinois, when she was the editor of the January 2018 issue on clinicians’ responsiveness to violence.

Catherine Frenkel was a third-year medical student at Albany Medical College in New York when she edited the February 2010 issue of Virtual Mentor on ethics and innovation in surgery. She was a member of their Bioethics Scholars Program and edited the medical student newspaper. Catherine earned her master's degree in physiology and biophysics from Georgetown University and graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University with a bachelor of arts degree in English.

Ishani Ganguli, MD is a physician and journalist. She was in her first-year of residency in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston when she edited the September 2011 issue of Virtual Mentor on patient safety. Dr. Ganguli received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Harvard College in 2005 and an MD from Harvard Medical School in 2011. Her interests include primary care, quality and safety in health care, shared decision making, and medical education.

Mark Gilbert, PhD was an artist and a research associate with the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, when he served as editor of the June 2020 issue on portraiture in health care. He was an associate professor in the School of Art and Art History at the University of Nebraska at Omaha when he served as editor of the July 2022 issue on arts-based research in health care.

Melissa Gitman, MD, MPH was a third-year resident in internal medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia when she served as the theme issue editor for the December 2009 issue on ethics of HIV care. She obtained her medical degree from McGill University in 2006 and her master’s degree in public health in 2009 from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Gitman plans to pursue fellowship training in infectious diseases at Mount Sinai Medical Center in July 2010.

Sophia Görgens, MD was an emergency medical services fellow at the New York City Fire Department and Northwell Health in New York City when she served as the theme issue editor for the December 2023 issue on patient belonging, placement, and turfing. She did her residency at Zucker School of Medicine-Northwell at North Shore/Long Island Jewish. She has a particular interest in the medical humanities, ethics, and disaster medicine.

Thomas Gossard, MD was a preliminary intern in internal medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, when he edited the October 2024 issue on sleep stewardship. He will be joining Massachusetts General Brigham as a neurology resident. He has a passion for sleep research and for understanding sleep’s effects on holistic health and its relation to neurodegenerative disease.

Allison Grady served as the Theme Issue Editor for January 2008 issue on ethical issues in diagnosing and treating addiction. At the time her issue was released she was a senior research assistant and editor for Virtual Mentor at the American Medical Association in Chicago. Prior to her position at the AMA she was the volunteer and special projects coordinator at the Middlesex United Way in Middletown, Connecticut. A 2003 graduate of Smith College, she plans on pursuing a master's degree in nursing.

Scott B. Grant attended the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, as part of the Brown-Dartmouth Medical School program. He was a fourth-year student there when he edited the May 2010 issue of Virtual Mentor on ethics in cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. He obtained a master of bioethics degree from the University of Pennsylvania and entered general surgery residency at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in July 2010. His research interests include enhancement; informed consent for surgery; surgical innovation; surgical error, patient safety, quality improvement, and preoperative checklists; polytrauma and mangled extremity syndrome; and the patient-doctor relationship.

Rebecca Grossman-Kahn, MD, MBA was a practicing emergency psychiatrist in St Paul, Minnesota, when she served as the editorial fellow for the March 2024 issue on psychiatric inpatient environmental architecture. She earned a BA degree from Stanford University and MD and MBA degrees from the University of Michigan and completed psychiatry residency at the University of Minnesota. Her professional interests include medical education, forensic psychiatry, clinical ethics, and narrative medicine.

Kara J. Gulewicz was completing her third year of medical school at Washington University in St. Louis when she was the editor of the June 2011 issue on complementary and alternative therapies. Kara received a BA in biology from Cornell University and had authored papers on animal behavior published in Behavioral Neuroscience and the Journal of Zoology. Her academic interests lay at the intersection of science, ethics, and philosophy and encompassed the tensions between science and non-evidence-based claims, including religion and alternative medicine.

Ashwath Gunasekar was a fourth-year medical student at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, when he was editor of the June 2018 issue on ethics in burn care.

Kerri Hecox, MD was a graduate student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, pursuing an MPH in Health Policy and Administration when she served as theme issue editor for access to care in July 2005. She graduated from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 2001, and completed a residency in family medicine at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 2004. Dr. Hecox has a strong interest in understanding access-to-care barriers in the Latino population, and plans to work both domestically and in Latin America on confronting these barriers, particularly as they relate to maternal-child health issues.

David Henderson, MD was the chair of the Department of Family Medicine and the associate dean of the Office of Multicultural and Community Affairs at UConn Health in Farmington, Connecticut when he served as coeditor of the December 2021 issue on health justice and diversity in medical school admissions.

Gretchen Hermes, PhD was a fourth-year medical student at the University of Chicago when she served as the theme issue editor for parental competence in medical caregiving and decision making in October 2006. She received a BA in English language and literature from the University of Chicago, then worked at the Smithsonian Institution on one of the first multimedia offerings, Life Story, on the race to discovery the structure of DNA. She received a master's degree in comparative religion from Harvard Divinity School, founding an on-campus organization dedicated to the study of religion and healing, and was assistant curator of Emotions and Disease, an exhibit at the National Institutes of Medicine. Her doctorate through the Committee on Human Development examined the biological effects of chronic social isolation; her postdoctoral fellowship included an examination of the neurodegenerative changes associated with chronic infection with Toxoplasma gondii.

Emily Herrington, PhD, MA was a public humanities fellow at the Senator John Heinz History Center, a Smithsonian Institute affiliate museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when she served as coeditor of the November 2019 issue on conceptualizing quality of life in reconstructive transplantation ethics. She holds a PhD in communications and a master's degree in bioethics. Her research interests are in the intersection of science studies, disability studies, and communication studies.

Austin J. Hilt, MPH was a third-year medical student at Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, Ohio, where he was also pursuing a master's degree in medical ethics and humanities when he served as editor of the March 2019 issue on health care organizations and community development. Prior to medical school, he received an MPH from Youngstown State University, where his studies focused on food access and community development. His professional interests include primary and behavioral health care integration, psychosomatic medicine, responding to the challenges of poverty, and promoting sustainable improvements in health through community-wide engagement and investment. 

Grayson Holt, MSW, MA was an incoming medical student at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, when he co-edited the November 2024 issue on peace in healthcare. Before medical school, Grayson was a Mandel Leadership Fellow at Case Western Reserve University, where he received master of social work and master of arts in bioethics and medical humanities degrees. His research interests include hospital architecture, addressing violent and aggressive behavior in psychiatric settings, and promoting health equity.

Shaili Jain, MD obtained her medical degree from the University of Liverpool in England. She completed a residency in psychiatry including a chief resident position at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. She was an attending psychiatrist with Aurora Behavioral Health Systems in Wisconsin when she was the editor in the July 2006 issue examining the state of the art of healing in the 21st century.

Vinayak Jain, MBBS was a resident physician at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, when he edited the January 2024 issue on critical pedagogies in health professions education. He was also a member of the Georgetown University Medical Center Teaching Academy for the Health Sciences. His scholarly interests lie at the intersection of diagnostic reasoning, structural competencies, and equity in medical education. 

Matthew Janko was a second-year medical student at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, where he was a member of the Clinical/Translational Research Pathway Program and the student government, when he edited the January 2012 issue on vaccines and ethics.

Linda Jiang was a third-year medical student at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, on a 4-year merit scholarship when she served as editor of the April 2019 issue on innovating nanoethics. Previously, she attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she double majored in mathematics and biology and minored in applied international studies. Her academic and research interests include computational medicine, mathematical biology, biological engineering, and public health policy.

Emily Johnson was a fourth-year medical student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora when she edited the April 2016 issue on disability, ethics, and medicine. She has a long-standing interest in working with persons with disabilities. She is pursuing a career in family medicine and plans to continue to work with this population.

W. Miller Johnstone III, MD, PhD was a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Buffalo in New York when he edited the September 2015 issue on gynecologic oncology. He received his MD from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and his PhD in endocrinology and physiology from North Carolina State University.

Trahern W. Jones was a fourth-year medical student at Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minnesota, when he edited the July 2014 issue of Virtual Mentor on ethical issues in the physician-athlete relationship. He joined the University of Arizona pediatrics residency program in Tucson in July 2014. His research interests include medical ethics and medical professionalism.

Maseray Kamara, MD was a fourth-year medical student at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in East Lansing when she was the editor of the October 2017 issue on safe water access and the roles of clinicians. She was a general surgery resident at Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center when she served as the editorial fellow of the August 2023 issue on robotic surgery. In her work, she uses medical journalism to promote health literacy and empower patients and their families, specifically concerning diseases of the colon, rectum, and anus.

Nadi N. Kaonga, MHS was an MD student at Tufts University Medical School and a predoctoral candidate at Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute in Boston when she edited the May 2015 issue on observing professional boundaries.

Holland M. Kaplan, MD was a second-year internal medicine resident at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, when she served as editor of the July 2019 issue on the ethics of representing unrepresented patients. Her interests include palliative care, end-of-life care, medical ethics, and medical decision making.

Abraar Karan, MD was an MPH candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, when he edited the July 2016 issue on the ethics of international health systems development. He was an internal medicine resident in the Doris and Howard Hiatt Residency in Global Health Equity and Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston when he served as editor of the January 2020 issue on culture, context, and epidemic containment. He is a graduate of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he served as the student body president and was part of the Global Health Pathway.

Jennifer Kasten, MSc was a third-year student at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, when she served as editor for the March 2008 issue on medicine and personhood. Jennifer received a master's degree in the history of medicine from Oxford, and another master's degree in the control of infectious disease from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she held a Marshall Scholarship. She is interested in the history and philosophy of medicine, religion and bioethics, pediatric surgery, and tropical medicine. She hopes to prove that surgeons, too, can ask interesting questions about the world.

Olivia S. Kates, MD, MA was an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine in the Division of Infectious Disease in Baltimore, Maryland, when she served as editor of the June 2024 issue on antimicrobial stewardship. She also previously edited the May 2024 issue on antimicrobial resistance and the May 2021 issue on ending the HIV epidemic. She is an associate director of ethics and qualitative research at the Transplant Research Center and bioethicist at the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University. Her studies focus on ethical challenges in transplantation and infectious diseases, including pretransplant vaccination requirements, antimicrobial stewardship in transplantation, and xenotransplantation. 

Dhruv Khullar was a student at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was a fellow at the Center for Public Leadership, when he edited the August 2013 issue on ethics in cancer prevention and treatment. He is an intern at the White House Office of Management and Budget. His work has recently been published in the Journal of the American Medical AssociationUSA Today, and The New York Times.

Louise P. King, MD, JD was a second-year resident in obstetrics and gynecology at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas when she served as theme issue editor for the April 2008 Virtual Mentor on medical care for US immigrants. At the conclusion of her training, Louise hopes to combine a strong interest in bioethics and health policy with a career in gynecologic oncology.

Mark J. Kissler, MS was a second-year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, when he edited the March 2013 issue on conscience rights and responsibilities. He holds a master’s degree in narrative medicine from Columbia University in New York City.

Eran Klein, MD, PhD was a second-year resident in neurology at Oregon Health and Science University when he completed his theme issue on expertise in medicine in February 2006. He received his medical degree and a doctorate in philosophy from Georgetown University. His dissertation, directed by Edmund Pellegrino, MD, was on developing a Heideggerian approach to the epistemology of skills and expertise in medicine. He coedited The Story of Bioethics: from Seminal Works to Contemporary Explorations with Jennifer Walter in 2003.

Lakshmi Krishnan, MD, PhD was an internal medicine physician, cultural historian of medicine, and the founding faculty director of the Medical Humanities Initiative at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, when she edited the January 2024 issue on critical pedagogies in health professions education. Her academic work focuses on professional identity, diagnosis, and diagnostic health disparities. She was named a National Endowment for the Humanities fellow, and she was a principal investigator on a Mellon Foundation grant to establish the Georgetown-Howard Center for Medical Humanities and Health Justice. 

Rashmi Kudesia, MD was in her third year of fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City when she edited the October 2014 issue of Virtual Mentor on ethics and reproductive care. Her clinical and research interests are polycystic ovary syndrome and access to fertility knowledge and treatment. Dr. Kudesia has a longstanding passion for reproductive ethics and women’s health advocacy. She completed medical school at Duke University and her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Jeff Kullgren, MPH was a second-year student at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine when he served as editor for the January 2004 issue on physician activism. Jeff received a BS in sociology from Michigan State University and an MPH in health management and policy from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Jeff interned at the AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families in Washington, D.C., and at the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in Rockville, Maryland. He also worked at Chicago Health Outreach, Inc, a community health center in Chicago. Jeff's research experiences include studying the effects of welfare reform and how Medicaid managed care has affected people with HIV/AIDS. At the time of publication, he had most recently worked at the University of Michigan Economic Research Initiative on the Uninsured, where he evaluated community-based initiatives to improve uninsured adults' access to health care.

Bharat Kumar, MD was a second-year internal medicine resident at the University of Kentucky in Lexington when he edited the May 2013 issue that explored the ethics of pain measurement and management. He was a Yale/Stanford Johnson & Johnson Global Health Scholar and the recipient of the 2013 Jordan Fieldman, MD, Award for Healthcare Advocacy. Dr. Kumar received his MD from Saba University School of Medicine and his BA in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include rheumatology, immunology, medical ethics, medical education, and narrative medicine.

Jackie Landess, MD, JD was a first-year resident in psychiatry at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University in Chicago when she edited the August 2010 issue on sexual orientation, gender identity, and patient care. She received her MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a JD from Indiana School of Law in Indianapolis. Her research interests include adolescent and forensic psychiatry; particularly policy work to reduce juvenile delinquency and improve adolescents’ transition from the foster care system. Further research interests include patients’ rights and access to care, especially in rural settings.

Megan Lane was a fourth-year medical student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor when she was editor of the April 2018 issue on plastic and reconstructive surgery. She earned her BA from Washington University in St. Louis. She was a member of the Ethics Path of Excellence at the University of Michigan Medical School, and she also published an article in the AMA Journal of Ethics while attending medical school.

Alexander Langerman, MD, SM, FACS was an associate professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery as well as radiology and radiological sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in Nashville, Tennessee, when she served as co-editor of the October 2021 issue on palliative surgery. He also directed the Surgical Ethics Program at the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at VUMC and the Surgical Analytics Lab in the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering. He was a founding member of the Consortium for Surgical Ethics and an affiliated scientist at the International Centre for Surgical Safety in Toronto.

Tom LeBlanc was a recent graduate from the Duke University School of Medicine in September 2006 when he edited the Virtual Mentor issue on humanist approaches to the end of life. He received a bachelor's degree in biomedical ethics from Brown University. While at Duke he also earned a master's degree in philosophy, focusing on topics in medical ethics. At the time of his issue's publication, he had begun his internship in internal medicine at Duke University and had career interests in palliative care, oncology, medical ethics, medical education, and literature in medicine.

Chuan-Mei Lee, MD, MA graduated from Harvard Medical School in May 2012 and began a residency in psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco shortly after editing the June 2012 issue on psychiatry. She holds a master’s degree in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University and has an interest in medical humanities.

Edward J. Lee was a fourth-year medical student at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis when he served as editor of the July 2020 issue on Humor in Health Care. He earned a BS in biochemistry and molecular biology and BA in philosophy at Ursinus College. He planned to pursue a residency program in neurology.

Jeanne Lee, MD was a second-year internal medicine resident at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina when she edited an issue of Virtual Mentor on quality of life and geriatric patients in June 2008. She received a bachelor of science degree at University of South Alabama and her medical degree at Duke School of Medicine. She plans on practicing hospitalist medicine after her training.

Justin P. Lee was a third-year medical student at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles when he served as editor for the February 2009 issue on professional responsibility in preventing violence and abuse. He received a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in Shakespeare and Renaissance literature. His interests include medical education, medical journalism, and medical humanities. He plans to pursue a career in hospital medicine.

Sarah Lee was a second-year medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City when she served as the February 2008 editor on caring for the incarcerated patient. Sarah received a bachelor of arts degree in comparative literature from Columbia University in 2001 and worked as an editor for The Paris Review and Random House before applying to medical school. She has particular interest in working with underserved communities, both in the United States and abroad.

Steve Y. Lee, MD is a graduate of Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, where he completed a scholarly concentration in biomedical ethics. Dr. Lee was a first-year resident in the Department of Medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine when he edited the October 2011 issue of Virtual Mentor entitled “Doctors after Hours: Physicians as Citizens.” He was the 2010-2011 AMA-Medical Student Section delegate to the AMA House of Delegates.

Diana Lemos, PhD, MPH was the director of evaluation and learning at the American Medical Association Center for Health Equity in Chicago, Illinois, when she served as co-editor of the April 2022 issue on health equity in US Latinx communities. She was also an adjunct professor in the Program in Public Health at Northwestern University and a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workgroup for the American Evaluation Association. She earned an MPH degree in health education and health promotion from University of Texas’ School of Public Health in Houston and a PhD degree in community psychology from DePaul University. Her work was dedicated to achieving equity and health justice and centering minoritized and marginalized voices and communities in spaces that traditionally excluded their expertise and knowledge.

Hazel Lever, MD, MPH was a primary care physician at the Center for Refugee Health and Unity Hospital in Rochester, New York, when she served as co-editor of the January 2023 issue on segregation in health care. She graduated from the primary care internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and earned her MD and MPH at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is interested in advancing health equity in primary care and in creating structural change to promote health justice.

Ariane Lewis, MD was the director of the Division of Neurocritical Care in the Department of Neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City when she served as co-editor of the December 2020 issue on socially situated brain death.

Justin List, MAR a former fellow at the Institute of Ethics at the American Medical Association and previous editor for Yale University's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, was a second-year student at the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago when he explored illness-poverty relationship in Virtual Mentor's November 2006 issue.

Joy C. Liu, MD, MPH was a hospice and palliative medicine fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City when she edited the December 2024 issue on evidence-based design in healthcare. Her work in public policy, health equity, and global heath has been featured in ABC News, Undark Magazine, and Doximity. 

Ajay Major, MBA was a second-year medical student at Albany Medical College in New York when he served as editor for the March 2014 issue on the problem of mistreatment in medical education. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Union College in 2012 as part of the Leadership in Medicine Program, an eight-year combined-degree BS/MBA/MD program with Union Graduate College and Albany Medical College. He was the editor in chief of the Union College Concordiensis for two years and founded in-Training, the online magazine for medical students. He is also a medical student advocate and works with Students for a National Health Program, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Student National Medical Association.

Sonya Makhni, MD, MBA was a first-year resident in internal medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor when she was the editor of the November 2017 issue on ethics of collaborative health systems design. A graduate of MIT, she received her MD from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Jay R. Malone, MD, MS was the pediatric chief resident at The Children’s Hospital of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City when he edited the October 2012 issue of Virtual Mentor on pediatric critical care and emergency medicine. He serves on the ethics committee for The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and is a facilitator for the clinical ethics course at The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He received his MD, certificate in public health, and BS with distinction in zoology and biomedical sciences from The University of Oklahoma. He received his MS in health care ethics from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He plans to pursue fellowship training in pediatric critical care medicine.

Weisheng Renee Mao was a third-year medical student at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC, when she was the editor of the May 2017 issue on ethics in mental health and oncology. She is interested in psychiatry, medical ethics, and medical humanities.

Denisse Rojas Marquez, MD, MPP was an emergency medicine resident at Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts when she served as co-editor of the January 2023 issue on segregation in health care. She co-founded Pre-Health Dreamers, an advocacy organization for undocumented immigrants pursuing careers in health and science. She earned her MD at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and her MPP at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is interested in promoting health justice in urban underserved settings, increasing diversity in the health care professions, and advancing the well-being of immigrant communities.

Deirdre Coyle Masterton was a fourth-year medical student at New York University and one of the founding members of the Professional Development Committee there, when she edited the December 2003 issue on professionalism in medical school. Deirdre graduated from Washington & Lee University with a biology degree in 2000 and planned a career in obstetrics and gynecology.

Sean C. McConnell, PhD was a senior policy analyst at the American Medical Association in Chicago, Illinois, where he focused on genomics and precision medicine when he served as coeditor of the December 2019 issue on ethics, values, and responsibility in human genome editing. His interests also include digital health and augmented intelligence. He earned a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular genetics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago.

Marta Michalska-Smith edited two issues of the AMA Journal of Ethics. When she was editor of the February 2015 issue on the culture of medicine, she was a second-year medical student at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, and when she was editor of the August 2017 issue on iatrogenesis in pediatrics, she was a first-year medicine-pediatrics resident at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She received her MD from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and her BA in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. Her interests include the culture of medicine, quality improvement, and the intersection of medicine, public policy, and ethics.

Andrew C. Miller, MD was a fellow in pulmonary and critical care medicine in a joint training program at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania when he edited the September 2010 issue of Virtual Mentor on the topic of natural disasters, quarantine, and public health emergencies. Dr. Miller graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in 2005 and completed his residency and chief residency in a 5-year combined emergency medicine and internal medicine training program at the State University of New York Downstate/Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. He has been active in post-disaster medical relief work domestically and in Pakistan, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. He has received the 2010 AMA Paul Ambrose Award, the 2009 AMA Foundation Leadership Award, and the 2008 EMRA Leadership Excellence Award.

Kathleen K. Miller, MD graduated from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in 2014. She served as editor for the journal twice. During her second year of medical school, she edited the May 2011 issue of Virtual Mentor on the country doctor. Four years later, as a first-year resident in pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Dr. Miller edited the April 2015 issue of AMA Journal of Ethics on ethics in the diagnosis and treatment of autism.

Elizabeth Miranda, MPH was a second-year medical student at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles when she served as editor for the February 2014 issue of Virtual Mentor on unwarranted variation in medical care. She completed her undergraduate education at Harvard University in 2011 with a degree in organismic and evolutionary biology and a minor in global health and health policy. In 2012, she graduated from The Dartmouth Institute of Health Policy and Clinical Practice with a master’s degree in public health. Her scholarly interests include health policy, quality improvement, and disparities in health care.

Kratika Mishra was an MD/MBA candidate at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles when she served as co-editor of the July 2023 issue on how medicine over relies on BMI. She planned to pursue a career in psychiatry and eventually work clinically with immigrant populations. Her primary professional interests included trauma-informed care in preventive settings, weight-inclusive approaches to health care, and the use of technology to improve the accessibility and affordability of mental health care.

Megan Moreno, MD earned her medical degree at George Washington University, where she was involved in writing and editing for GW's health policy journal, Reform Watch. She completed a pediatric residency and then took a chief resident position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During residency, Dr. Moreno also obtained a master of science degree in education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was in the process of pursuing a fellowship in adolescent medicine when she was the editor for the March 2005 theme issue on adolescent medicine. In October of that year, Dr Moreno edited another issue of Virtual Mentor, this one on ethical issues in the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Her primary areas of interest are adolescent medicine and the role of education in illness prevention, particularly in the area of STDs and reproductive health.

Peter Moschovis was a fourth-year student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and an MPH candidate at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health when he worked on the May 2005 issue that explored the role of faith in the patient-physician relationship. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a BA in philosophy in 2000. Following graduation, Peter spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar in Greece, studying refugee and immigrant public health. His work in Greece focused on the health needs of Kurdish and Afghan refugees and victims of trauma in post-war Kosovo. He also worked as a medical volunteer at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics. Peter's research interests include the medical ethics of ancient philosophy, medical ethics education, and the role of spirituality and theology in the formation of ethical beliefs.

Samyukta Mullangi was a dual-degree student at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School in Boston when she edited the August 2014 issue of Virtual Mentor on the humanities in medical education. Her interest in narrative medicine stems from her days as a creative writing major at Emory University, where she studied with novelist Jim Grimsley and US poet laureate Natasha Trethewey. She serves on the steering committee for Arts&Humanities@HMS and freelances for Scientific American.

Jewel Mullen, MD, MPH, MPA was the associate dean for health equity and an associate professor of population health and internal medicine at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School when she served as coeditor of the December 2021 issue on health justice and diversity in medical school admissions.

Kelsey Mumford was a fourth-year, dual-degree medical student at Dell Medical School and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin when she served as editor of the June 2023 issue on patient-centered transgender surgical care. During a year-long leave of absence from school, she worked in the Department of Bioethics and the Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health. She graduated with a BS in nursing and BSA in biology from the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing and has also earned a registered nurse license.

Melanie Mund, MBE was a fourth-year medical student at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, New York, when she edited the April 2011 issue entitled: "The “R” Word: Ethical Allocation of Medicine’s Resources." She received her BA in English and her master’s in bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania. She will be entering the residency program in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Connecticut.

Hari Nadiminti was a fourth-year medical student at the University of Miami School of Medicine when he edited the September 2005 issue on ethical challenges in organ donation. He attended the University of Miami and received a BS with honors in biology in 1999. Hari's interest in medical ethics began during college when taking a religion and bioethics course in the department of religious studies. After the course, he worked on a two-year medical ethics research project focusing on determining the ideal health care surrogate.

Vinod E. Nambudiri, MD, MBA was a resident in internal medicine and dermatology in the Harvard Combined Medicine-Dermatology Residency Training Program in Boston when he served as the editor for the December 2014 issue of Virtual Mentor on telemedicine’s challenges for the medical profession. His interests include complex medical dermatology, medical leadership, and the integration of technology into medicine.

Gillian Naro was a fourth-year medical student at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and a member of the Global Health Scholars Program when she served as editor of the September 2019 issue on the ethics of global health "immersion" in health professions education. She sat on the Board of Trustees for the Pennsylvania Medical Society's Medical Student Section and was the chair of the American Medical Association Student Section Committee on Bioethics and Humanities. Her professional interests include medical ethics and health care policy, and she hopes to pursue a career in internal medicine.

Lina Nayak was a second-year medical student at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis when she served as the November 2007 theme issue editor. Ms. Nayak graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Ms. Nayak has published in Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, and the NATO Science Series. She served on the board of directors for Student Pugwash, the U.S. student affiliate of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, and moderated the Health Working Group for their 2007 national conference. Ms. Nayak was also active in Medical Student Government and served as a representative to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Alon B. Neidich was a medical student at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston when he edited the March 2012 issue of Virtual Mentor on organ transplantation. He conducted research in transplant immunology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He obtained a bachelor’s degree with honors in law, letters, and society from the University of Chicago, where he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow investigating informed consent and women’s attitudes towards obstetric and pediatric biobanks. His work has been published in the American Journal of TransplantationProgress in Transplantation, the American Journal of Medical Genetics, the Journal of Medical Ethics, and The New Physician.

Jacquelyn Nestor was a fifth-year MD/PhD student at Hofstra-Northwell School of Medicine at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, when she edited the December 2016 issue on ethics in neuropsychology. Her thesis research examined the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus. She is also interested in the ethical questions raised by emerging technologies and end-of-life care.

Thomas Ng was the theme issue editor for an issue entitled: "Patients, Doctors, and Medical Device Technologies" which appeared in the February 2007 edition of Virtual Mentor. At the time of his issue's publication, Thomas was a second-year student in the MD/PhD program at the University of Southern California and the California Institute of Technology. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, he earned a BS in bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His research interests include neuroscience, medical imaging, and the application of technological advances in medicine and health care.

Ariadne A. Nichol was a third-year medical student at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and a research assistant at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, when she served as editorial fellow of the February 2024 issue on health ecology and disease transmission. She earned a bachelor’s degree in human biology with honors from Stanford University and has worked with Doctors Without Borders and the World Health Organization.

Timothy Nicholas, MA was a third-year medical student at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, when he co-edited the November 2024 issue on peace in healthcare. He has interests in clinical ethics, medical education, and the health humanities.

Lisa Nijm was a recent graduate of the MD/JD program at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and School of Law when she served as the theme issue editor on ethics of quality care in June 2004. She accepted a residency in ophthalmology at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago.

Osagie K. Obasogie, JD, PhD was the Haas Distinguished Chair and Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law with a joint appointment in the Joint Medical Program and School of Public Health when he served as editor of the March 2022 issue on abolition medicine.

Michael J. Oldani, PhD, MS was a professor of pharmaceutical sciences and administration as well as the campus director of the Interprofessional Practice and Education Program at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon when he served as co-editor of the May 2023 issue on interprofessional education and innovation. In addition, he was a 2021-2022 Academy for Professionalism in Health Care Leadership Excellence in Educating for Professionalism fellow. His medical anthropological work has focused on pharmaceutical sales, psychiatry, and the mental health of vulnerable/marginalized communities in Canada and the United States.

Taylor Olmsted, MD was a pediatric hematology/oncology fellow at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston when she was the editor of the February 2018 issue on graphic medicine and health care ethics. Her interests include benign hematology with attention to immune thrombocytopenia. In addition to scientific pursuits, she is interested in comic art and its role in medical ethics and humanities.

Babak J. Orandi, MD, MSc was a first-year general surgery resident at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore when he edited the April 2009 issue of Virtual Mentor on clinical research ethics. A former Fulbright fellow and a past fellow of the NIH’s Clinical Research Training Program, he received his undergraduate, medical, and master’s (in clinical research) degrees from the University of Michigan.

Rimma Osipov was a third-year medical student and a PhD candidate in the Institute for the Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston when she edited the July 2011 Virtual Mentor issue on physician authors. She received her BA in history from UCLA in 2006. Her research interests include history of medicine, literature and medicine, and, particularly, medical education.

Byram H. Ozer, MD, PhD was a second-year resident in neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles when he edited the August 2012 Virtual Mentor issue on personalized medicine. He received his MD and PhD degrees from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and completed his internship in internal medicine at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Neil Parikh was a second-year student at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine when he served as editor for the March 2007 issue on media influence on the practice of medicine. Neil received his undergraduate education at USC also, where he double-majored in biology and journalism. Enthusiastic about the journalism-medicine intersection, Neil had been a medical intern/reporter for the Orange County Register and with the CNN medical unit. He worked extensively with a health advocacy group to break down language barriers in hospitals and conducted clinical research in Mumbai, India, investigating the barriers that prevent HIV patients from receiving medication.

Ravi Parikh was a fourth-year student at Harvard Medical School in Boston and a Knowles Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when he edited the November 2013 issue on patient consumerism. Ravi is the administrative chair of the Crimson Care Collaborative, a network of student-run clinics in Boston that serves patients who have limited access to primary care. His opinion pieces have been published in the Washington PostHuffington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Boston Herald, and the Tampa Bay Times, and he is an editor of Medgadget, a blog about medical technology and innovation.

Jin K. Park was a MD/JD candidate at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut when he edited the August 2024 issue on standards in medical-legal partnerships. His research interests focused on legal and political determinants of health.

Amirala Pasha, DO, MS was a second-year resident in the Department of Internal Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland when he served as editor for the May 2014 issue of Virtual Mentor on ethical issues in geriatric care. Dr. Pasha is a graduate of the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. He obtained his graduate degree in biomedical engineering from the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California. Dr. Pasha has strong interests in academic medicine, primary care, health policy, law, ethics, medical humanities, and biomedical engineering.

Kathleen M. Patchan was a second-year medical student at the University of Maryland in Baltimore when she served as editor for the January 2009 issue on medical care for the homeless. Prior to medical school, she worked for 5 years in health policy at the Congressional Research Service and the Institute of Medicine and for 2 years at Christ House, a medical shelter for the homeless of Washington, D.C. She intends to work with underserved populations, focusing on infectious disease or internal medicine.

Nikhil A. Patel, MS was a fourth-year medical student at the Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minnesota, when he edited the October 2015 issue on physicians, human rights, and civil liberties. He completed an MPH in global health with interdisciplinary concentrations in public health leadership and in humanitarian studies, ethics, and human rights at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He plans to pursue a career in psychiatry and hopes to build on his multidisciplinary training and on his experience working with refugees in the US and at the Thai-Burma border by developing and scaling models of mental health care delivery for vulnerable populations, locally and globally.

Trisha Paul was a second-year medical student at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor when she edited the January 2016 issue on patient- and family-centered care. She recently published the book Chronicling Childhood Cancer: A Collection of Personal Stories by Children and Teens with Cancer (Michigan Publishing, 2015) and aspires to become a pediatric oncologist and pediatric palliative care physician.

Subha Perni was an intern at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City when she was the editor of the June 2017 issue on moral distress and medicine. A graduate of Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, she has received awards for research in philosophy and oncology and grant funding for research on moral distress, pancreatic cancer, and cultural differences in autonomy in medical decision making.

Jillian L. Peters was a second-year medical student at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, when she was the editor of the December 2017 issue on health care ethics and professionalism in the era of climate change. She completed her BA in neurobiology at Harvard University, where she served as president of the Harvard Undergraduate Bioethics Society. Her research focuses on global health, infectious disease, and bioethics.

Patrick S. Phelan was a senior medical student at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, when he served as editor of the March 2020 issue on wielding organizational influence in health care. He completed the requirements for the master of population health sciences (MPHS) degree in clinical epidemiology and was awarded MD and MPHS degrees in 2020. Outside of clinical medicine, Patrick's academic interests include research methodology, biostatistics, and ethics.

Elina E. Pliakos was a fourth-year medical student at the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois, when she served as editor of the August 2021 issue on economic decision modeling in health care. She is a graduate of Brown University, where she concentrated in biology and science and society. Her research interests lie in the field of health economics and outcomes research.

Thaddeus M. Pope, JD, PhD was the director of the Health Law Institute at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St Paul, Minnesota, when he served as co-editor of the December 2020 issue on socially situated brain death.

Ashish Premkumar, MD was a first-year fellow in maternal-fetal medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Feinberg School of Medicine and a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at Northwestern University in Chicago when he was the editor of the March 2018 issue on global reproductive health ethics in the 21st century. His research interests include perinatal illicit substance use, the role of maternal race/ethnicity in adverse health outcomes, and global health inequalities in reproductive health.

Manish Tushar Raiji was a second-year student at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine when he served as an editor for the May 2006 issue on conflict of values in the clinical setting. He received a BS in economics and science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a research focus on economic disparities. He also served as an associate editorial page editor and columnist for the Michigan Daily. He then joined Teach for America and taught sixth-grade mathematics in Baltimore, Maryland, while concurrently receiving a master's degree in teaching from Johns Hopkins University.

Michelle Raji, MD was a first-year psychiatry resident at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, when she served as the editorial fellow of the September 2023 issue on palliative psychiatry. Her research interests included palliative care, psychodynamic psychotherapy, history of psychiatry, and social determinants of mental health.

Badr Ratnakaran, MBBS was a geriatric psychiatrist at the Carilion Clinic Center for Healthy Aging in Roanoke, Virginia, when he served as editorial fellow of the October 2023 issue on geriatric psychiatry. He earned his medical degree from Government TD Medical College Alappuzha (previously Alleppey) in India and completed residency training in psychiatry at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram. He completed his second residency training in psychiatry and fellowship training in geriatric psychiatry at Carilion Clinic-Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. His other professional interests included consultation-liaison psychiatry, palliative care psychiatry, physician well-being and burnout, and the interface of arts and psychiatry.

Ashvini K. Reddy, MD was a resident in the Department of Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, when she edited the December 2010 issue of Virtual Mentor on the topic of ethics in ophthalmology. Her interests include pediatric eye disease, public health, and medical ethics.

Amanda J. Redig was in her second year of the MD/PhD Medical Scientist Training Program at Northwestern University when she was the editor of the November 2004 theme issue on research ethics. Mandy graduated from the University of Arizona (UA) where she earned a BS with honors in biochemistry and a creative writing minor. While a student at UA, Mandy participated in laboratory research in the Veterinary Science-Microbiology Department and worked at the Arizona Cancer Center. During her first year as a medical student, Mandy worked as an intern with the Ethics Group at the American Medical Association, an experience which helped further her interest in bioethics. Mandy returned as editor of the April 2006 issue of Virtual Mentor that examined Ethical Issues Posed by Emerging Epidemics. As an aspiring research physician, she hopes to focus her career on the relationships between clinical oncology, medical research, and science policy.

Michael J. Rigby was a fifth-year student in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison and a PhD candidate in molecular neuroscience studying the mechanisms that underlie neurodegenerative diseases when he served as editor of the February 2019 issue on the ethical dimensions of using artificial intelligence in health care. He earned a BS in molecular and cellular biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is interested in pursuing a career as a physician-scientist in neurology.

Thomas Robey, MD, PhD was an emergency medicine resident at Yale-New Haven Hospital when he edited the June 2010 issue of Virtual Mentor. He studied medicine and bioengineering at the University of Washington and biology, engineering, and the history and philosophy of science as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Robey co-founded Seattle’s Forum on Science, Ethics, and Policy and has taught ethics to medical and undergraduate students. He derives great meaning from being one strand in the health care safety net.

Dana Marie Roque, MD a 2007 graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, was a first-year resident in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the Magee-Womens Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center when she was a theme issue editor for the September 2007 issue of Virtual Mentor.

Emily Rothbaum was a fourth-year medical student at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York and applying for a pediatrics residency when she completed her theme issue on cost of care in March 2006. She graduated from Harvard College with a degree in the history of science and medicine in 2001. Before starting medical school, she spent time doing health policy research at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. During medical school, Emily co-founded and wrote for a health policy newsletter for medical students and faculty. As a pediatrician, she plans to combine clinical practice with continued involvement in health policy research and advocacy.

Anthony C. Rudine, MD, MBA was a third-year resident in the combined internal medicine and pediatrics residency program at the University of Tennessee in Memphis when he edited the March 2011 issue on health information technology and clinical practice. After residency, he plans to complete a fellowship in neonatal and perinatal medicine and pursue a career as a clinical bioethicist.

Mitali Banerjee Ruths, MD was a second-year resident in pediatrics at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston when she served as a theme issue editor for the June 2009 issue of Virtual Mentor entitled: "Medicine and the Environment: Doing No Harm." Dr. Ruths received her medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Matthew Rysavy was a medical student at the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine and a PhD candidate in epidemiology at the university’s College of Public Health in Iowa City when he edited the January 2013 issue on ethical issues in evidence-based medicine. His interests include clinical epidemiology and medical education. He has been active in the design and implementation of the evidence-based medicine curriculum at the Carver College of Medicine.

Sara Scarlet, MD, MPH was a fifth-year general surgery resident and member of the hospital ethics committee at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she was the editor of the May 2018 issue on trauma surgery ethics. She was a chief resident in general surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she served as co-editor of the April 2020 issue on anesthesiologist-surgeon relationships. She underwent advanced training in surgical ethics at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago and plans to pursue a career in trauma surgery and critical care.

Seth Scheetz, MD was an internal medicine resident physician at the University of Chicago in Illinois when he served as co-editor of the November 2022 issue on price transparency.

Marguerite Reid Schneider was in her final year of the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Cincinnati when she edited the June 2016 issue on ethics and mental health. Her dissertation research focused on executive function in adolescents with and at risk for bipolar disorder. After graduating, she joined the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Program as a research track resident.

Abraham P. Schwab, PhD was the senior fellow in the Institute for Ethics at the American Medical Association in Chicago, Illinois, when he was the editor of the June 2005 issue on ethics in family medicine.

Arya Shah, MD was a third-year psychiatry resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, when she served as editor of the April 2021 issue on compassionate force. She earned a BA degree in neuroscience from the University of Southern California and an MD degree from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. Her professional interests include the intersection of mental health, law, and society in addition to the medical humanities.

Anna Shifrin was in her second year at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, when she edited the November 2008 issue of Virtual Mentor on ethics in prevention. She is interested in the relationship between the humanities and medicine.

Myrick C. Shinall, Jr., MD, MDiv was completing an internship in general surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and planned to continue training as a general surgeon when he served as the October 2009 theme issue editor on religion, medicine, and medical ethics. He graduated in 2009 with a medical degree from Vanderbilt Medical School and the master of divinity degree from Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville.

Laura Sigman, JD was a fourth-year medical student at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine when she completed her theme issue on system constraints to optimal medical care in May 2008. She planned to continue her medical training in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore beginning in the summer of 2008. Prior to medical school, she received a JD from Harvard Law School and worked in health law for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Lisa Simon, MD, DMD was a second-year medical student at Harvard Medical School in Boston and a fellow in oral health and medicine integration at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine when she was the editor of the September 2017 issue on incarceration and correctional health care. She was a resident physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a faculty affiliate at the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care, and a fellow in oral health and medicine integration at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine when she served as editor of the January 2022 issue on inequity along the medical-dental divide. Her work centers on achieving health equity through medicine and oral health integration. 

David Sine, D.Bioethics was the chair of the Department of Bioethics at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Missouri when he served as editor of the November 2020 issue on risk management ethics. He is also a certified professional health care risk manager and a former federal executive with experience in multiple disciplines, including enterprise risk management, organizational ethics, high reliability, and patient safety. He earned a doctorate in biomedical ethics from Loyola University Chicago.

Hunter Jackson Smith, MD, MPH, MBE was a third-year preventive medicine resident at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland, and serving as a Captain in the US Army Medical Corps when he was editor of the August 2020 issue on ethics, public health, and addressing the opioid crisis. He was affiliated with the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, where he focused on the ethics of social determinants of health, the intersection of epidemiology and bioethics, and ethical decision making.

William R. Smith was a third-year medical student at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, when he was the editor of the February 2017 issue on legitimacy and authority in medicine. Previously, he was a fellow in the Department of Bioethics at the National Institute of Health’s Clinical Center. His research has focused on role morality, legitimacy in health care, and the ethics of radiation policy in medical imaging.

Elizabeth A. Sonntag, MD was a pulmonary and critical care fellow at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill and an alumna of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago when she served as editor of the May 2019 issue on advanced cardiopulmonary care ethics. She was also serving on the UNC Hospitals Ethics Committee and teaching an elective in medical ethics at the UNC School of Medicine. Her clinical interests include pulmonary hypertension and critical care, and her research interests include end-of-life decisions, advanced life-sustaining therapies, clinician burnout, and development of medical ethics curricula.

Natasha Sood, MPH was a fourth-year year medical student at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, when she served as co-editor of the October 2022 issue on health care waste. She was a co-founder of Medical Students for a Sustainable Future and the project director of Climate Resources for Health Education. Her research and advocacy efforts focused on climate and health education, disaster preparedness, and climate-smart health care.

Siddharth Srivastava was a second-year medical student at Johns Hopkins when he served as editor for an issue of Virtual Mentor on public health and physicians as agents of the state, published in December 2007. Sid has a strong interest in government and politics as they relate to medical ethics.

Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH was a second-year resident in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine/Palmetto Health when she edited the April 2010 issue on obesity. Dr. Stanford received her MD from the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine. She served as a health communications fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, worked as a behavioral sciences intern at the American Cancer Society, and completed a medicine and media internship at the Discovery Channel. She was a journalist for LiveStrong.com and she reviewed articles for the Journal of the National Medical Association. An American Medical Association Foundation leadership award recipient, she was selected for the Paul Ambrose Award for national leadership among resident physicians in 2009.

Alex Stark was a fourth-year medical student at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago when he edited the January 2011 issue on the role of guidelines in medical practice. He graduated with a BA in philosophy with a specific interest in medical ethics from Northwestern University. He will be pursuing a career in general surgery and furthering his interest in medical and surgical ethics.

Ilana Stol, MD was a hospice and palliative medicine fellow at the University of Pittsburgh when she edited the August 2008 issue on roles of physicians in healthy dying. She recently completed an internal medicine residency and geriatric medicine fellowship at the Yale School of Medicine. Her clinical and research interests include the intersection of geriatrics and palliative medicine, medical care for older adults with intellectual disability, and complex medical decision making in geriatric patients with multiple comorbidities.

Erika Strickler, MD was a first-year resident in family medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque when she edited the November 2023 issue on health and loneliness.

Timothy Sullivan was a second-year student at Georgetown University School of Medicine when he was the editor of the January 2007 issue on ethics of cancer care and research. Originally from the Boston area, Tim graduated from the University of Rochester in 2003 with a BA in psychology. Following college he spent two years doing breast cancer research for the radiation oncology department at Massachusetts General Hospital. Before beginning medical school, Tim traveled to Durban, South Africa, where he lived for three months while volunteering at a small HIV clinic. In addition to medical ethics, Tim's interests include medical education, medical humanities, and disparities in health care.

Kimberly Swartz, MA was a third-year medical student and first-year law student at the University of Florida in Gainesville when she edited the April 2014 issue on third parties in the clinical encounter. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology and master’s degree in bioethics from New York University. Her work has been published in several journals including the Journal of Reconstructive Microsurgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and the Journal of Juvenile Justice. Her interests lie in ethics and health policy as they pertain to pediatrics and reproductive health.

Matthis Synofzik was pursuing a joint medical and doctorate degree at the University of Tübingen when he served as the theme issue editor for the February 2005 edition that explored quality of life and clinical decision making. His philosophical interests at that time centered on ethics, continental philosophy, and philosophy of mind, and his medical study focused on neurology and cognitive neuroscience. He was undertaking experimental work for his thesis on models of sensorimotor integration of ego-motion. These two fields of interest are reflected in Matt's extracurricular work as a nurse at the neurosurgical intensive care unit at the University Hospital (since 2001) and as a research assistant at the Department of Medical Ethics (since 2002). Matt has put his personal and academic concern for the improvement of health in developing countries into practice by providing medical and social work services in Guatemala (2001) and in Sudan (2004).

Zachary Tabb, MD was a second-year pediatrics resident in the Dr Kelly DeScioli Global Child Health Pediatrics Residency Program at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where he practiced at Texas Children's Hospital, when he served as editor of the February 2020 issue on the global burden of cancer inequality. He had lived and worked in low-resource settings, such as in Uganda as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 2008 through 2010 and in Tanzania as a Fogarty Global Health Fellow from 2016 through 2017. He is passionate about medical education, strengthening health systems, and developing solutions to health care disparities, especially concerning global child health.

Zoe Tao, MD was a graduate of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas when she served as co-editor of the June 2021 issue on transgenerational trauma. She was a general surgery resident at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland when she served as co-editor of the August 2022 issue on inequity and iatrogenic harm.

Zujaja Tauqeer was a third-year medical student at Harvard Medical School in Boston when she was editor of the March 2017 issue on language and hierarchy in medicine. She previously did graduate work in history of medicine as a Rhodes Scholar at University of Oxford. Her research interests lie at the intersection of clinical medicine and the humanities, including the history and ethics of medical practice.

Joshua Tompkins was a second-year medical student at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles when he edited the November 2010 issue of Virtual Mentor entitled: "Gray Matters: Neuroethics in the Twenty-First Century." A veteran journalist, he has covered science and health for The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. He plans to specialize in psychiatry while continuing his work in journalism.

Annie J. Tsay, MPH was a third-year medical student at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, when she served as editor of the November 2018 issue on false beliefs in health care. She majored in public health studies with an emphasis on international health at Johns Hopkins University and earned a master of public health degree in the epidemiology of microbial diseases from the Yale School of Public Health. Her primary interest is infectious diseases, specifically emerging pathogens and their social implications. Her research interest is harmonizing clinical and basic science data to improve patient care and outcomes. 

Cynthia Tsay, MPhil was a second-year medical student at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut when she edited the December 2015 issue of AMA Journal of Ethics on clinical research ethics. Her research interests include the history of medicine, medical ethics, and health policy. She received her MPhil in the history, philosophy, and sociology of science, medicine and technology from the University of Cambridge, where she wrote her thesis on the role of women physicians on the front during World War I.

Jennifer Tseng was a fourth-year student at the University of California, Davis when she edited the July 2008 issue of Virtual Mentor on sex and gender in medicine. She planned to pursue a career in surgery with a particular focus on the interface between psychiatry and surgery in patient care. Her eclectic interests began when she diverted time formerly spent viewing the San Francisco Bay from her dorm room at the University of California, Berkeley to the study of a double major in history and molecular and cell biology with an emphasis in neurobiology.

Sri Lekha Tummalapalli, MD, MBA was a second-year internal medicine resident at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City when she edited the November 2015 issue on high-value care. She graduated from Harvard University with a joint MD/MBA degree. She is interested in quality improvement, medical education, and hospital administration.

Nneka N. Ufere was a second-year medical student at Washington University in St. Louis when she served as the theme issue editor for the November 2009 issue on humanizing physician learning. She graduated with high honors in molecular and cellular biology and a minor in psychology from Harvard University. At Harvard, she served as a senior editor for the Harvard Health Policy Review. In addition to medical ethics, Ms. Ufere’s interests include medical sociology, medical journalism, and disparities in health care.

Ryan Van Ramshorst, MD was a second-year resident in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and a National Health Service Corps Scholar when he edited the August 2011 issue of Virtual Mentor on caring for the underserved. He served on the Texas Pediatric Society Resident Section Executive Planning Committee and the Texas Pediatric Society Committee on Community Health Advocacy/Community Access to Child Health. Dr. Van Ramshorst planned on pursuing a career in primary care pediatrics and children’s health advocacy.

Laura Vricella, MD was a third-year resident in obstetrics and gynecology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, when she edited the October 2008 issue of Virtual Mentor on ethics and neonatal intensive care. Prior to her medical training she completed a Fulbright Scholarship studying women's health care in Senegal. Her research interests include ethical and international issues in women's reproductive health.

Cameron R. Waldman was a second-year medical student at Albany Medical College in Albany, New York, when he was the editor of the November 2016 issue on transgender health and medicine. Prior to entering medical school, Cameron worked as a research assistant at the Hastings Center, an institute for bioethics and public policy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.

Sarah Waliany was a fourth-year medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California, when she was the editor of the October 2016 issue on health professionals with disabilities. In addition to editorial work and medical ethics, she is interested in clinical research in oncology and the development of novel curricula in academic medicine.

Anji Wall was in the fifth year of her combined MD/PhD program at Saint Louis University in Missouri when she edited the March 2009 issue of Virtual Mentor on challenging patient-physician relationships. Her doctorate will be in health care ethics. Ms Wall's interests include research ethics and clinical ethics, particularly temporary medical volunteer work in developing countries.

Robert J. Walter, DHCE was a third-year medical student at Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago when he was editor of an issue entitled: "Roman Catholic Medical Ethics: Beginning and End-of-Life Issues" in May 2007. He received a BA with honors in applied philosophy and an MA in health care ethics, both from Loyola University Chicago. He earned his doctorate in health care ethics at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. At the time of his issue's publication, Rob was a senior associate at the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy and a member of the Northern Illinois Catholic Ethics Network. His research interests include religion and ethics and end-of-life issues.

Ariel Wampler, MD was a plastic and reconstructive surgery resident physician at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts, when she served as editor of the September 2021 issue on implantable material and device regulation.

Tanyaporn Wansom, MD, MPP was a resident in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center when she was the theme issue editor for the July 2009 issue of Virtual Mentor on medicine in the era of globalization. She graduated from University of Michigan Medical School and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. During medical school, she served as the national chair of the American Medical Student Association’s Committee on Global Health and spent over 2 years in Thailand as a Fulbright and Fogarty/NIH Clinical Research Scholar working with and advocating for marginalized populations such as injection drug users and commercial sex workers. Dr. Wansom received her bachelor’s degree with high honors from Swarthmore College with degrees in Chinese studies and biology in 2002.

Kenshata Watkins was a second-year medical student at Howard University College of Medicine when she edited the February 2011 issue on ethical challenges in community-based participatory research. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2004 with a BSEd in Exercise Science/Pre-Exercise Physiology. Medicine and creative writing are her life passions. Kenshata plans on pursuing a career in social medicine, a goal that stems from experiences she had working with the HIV/AIDS and homeless communities in Washington, D.C., after college. Her other career interests include medical education, research, ethics, and understanding patients through the medical humanities.

G. Robert Watts, MPH, MS was the chief executive officer of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council in Nashville, Tennessee, when he served as editor of the November 2021 issue on health care and homelessness. He also served as a nonfederal member of the Biden-Harris administration’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, where he earned an MPH degree in health administration and an MS degree in epidemiology. He also holds a certificate of theological studies from Alliance Theological Seminary.

Jennifer L. Weinberg, MD, MPH, MBE edited two issues of Virtual Mentor. When she edited March 2010 issue on the topic of global health ethics, she was an MD/MBE candidate at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Dr. Weinberg was a third-year resident in preventive medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore when she again served as a Virtual Mentor editor. The April 2013 issue was on the effects of lifestyle on health. In addition to her MD, Dr. Weinberg has master’s degrees in public health and bioethics and certificates in environmental and occupational health, global health, and women’s health research. Her professional and research interests include the impact of lifestyle factors on health, health outreach and education, and ethical considerations in global health and telemedicine.

Jeremy Weleff, DO was an addiction psychiatrist at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, when he served as editor of the July 2024 issue on harm reduction and opioid use disorder. He also previously edited the December 2022 issue on stillness and solidarity. He completed psychiatry residency training at the Cleveland Clinic and subsequent addiction psychiatry and public psychiatry fellowships at Yale School of Medicine. His research interests include how homelessness, addiction, and structural determinants of health interface with psychiatry, justice, and society. 

Charles Wells was a third-year medical student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and was the editor on the topic of physician accountability, which appeared in July 2007. He earned a BA in philosophy from Princeton University, where he wrote his thesis about the influence of luck on moral status. He studied ethics and philosophy of science on a Rotary Scholarship at the University of Bristol.

James M. Wilkins, MD, DPhil was a geriatric psychiatry fellow at Partners Healthcare in Boston when he was the editor of the July 2017 issue on quality of life in dementia. A graduate of Bowdoin College, he completed a DPhil in human genetics at the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar and received an MD from Harvard Medical School. He completed his psychiatry residency in the Massachusetts General Hospital-McLean Hospital Adult Psychiatry Residency Program, where he served as chief resident in geriatric psychiatry in addition to holding a fellowship in bioethics through the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School. His academic interests lie at the interface of geriatric psychiatry and bioethics.

Katherine Wu, MD, MA was a resident at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, when she served as editor of the February 2022 issue on tactical health and law enforcement. She planned to practice psychiatry, with a focus on women’s mental health or consult-liaison psychiatry. Her other interests include medical ethics and increasing access to mental health care.

Matthew K. Wynia, MD, MPH was a professor of medicine and public health at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora and the director of the University of Colorado's Center for Bioethics and Humanities when he served as coeditor of the January 2021 issue on legacies of the Holocaust in health care.

Amanda S. Xi, MD was a transitional year resident at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit when she edited in the July 2015 issue on patient care in the Affordable Care Act era. She will be continuing her training at Massachusetts General Hospital in anesthesiology. She graduated in 2015 from Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine and obtained her BSE and MSE in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan. In addition to medical ethics, she is interested in social media (she writes at her self-titled blog), health policy, and advancing women in medicine.

Alexander T. Yahanda, MS was a dual-degree MD and master of population health sciences candidate at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, when he served as editor of the May 2020 issue on sharing health decisions. He obtained bachelor's degrees in biology and economics from the University of Virginia and a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University. 

Elena M. Yates was in her third year as an MD/PhD dual degree student at Saint Louis University (SLU) when she edited the January 2010 issue of Virtual Mentor on nurses and the medical team. Elena received her BS in biology from the University of Dallas in 2006 with a concentration in Spanish. She was a research assistant and coordinator of SLU’s Bander Center of Medical Business Ethics and working on her doctorate in health care ethics at the time.

Shara Yurkiewicz was a second-year medical student at Harvard University when she edited the Virtual Mentor issue on power of diagnosis in December 2011. She graduated cum laude from Yale University with an intensive BS in biology. Shara has conducted ethics research on personalized medicine at the Hastings Center and on palliative care at Harvard. Her other academic interests include medical education and medical journalism, and she has written for a variety of publications, including the Los Angeles Times and Discover.  

Danish Zaidi, MTS, MBE was a third-year medical student at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, when he was the editor of the July 2018 issue on religion and spirituality in health care practice. He earned his master of theological studies degree from Harvard Divinity School and served as a chaplain-intern at Boston Children’s Hospital. He completed his master of bioethics degree at Harvard Medical School.