August 2009 Newsletter Volume 4, Issue 1
-
WELCOME New UMed Students!
Communities & the Medical Facilities that Serve Them
Welcome UMed
2013! This issue is
dedicated to our
new students, part
of the College of
Medicine‟s Class
of 2013.
The new class is a
talented and diverse
class that represents
eight states, with over
62% of the students
coming from Illinois.
The youngest student
is 20, with the oldest
being 31. The average
age of the students is
23. Four students are
between the ages of
26 and 31.
MEET UMed 2013:
ANN ACHUFUSI
BRIAN BAMBERGER
ANGELA BIXBY
CARMEN CANCINO
BENJAMIN CARNEY
DANIEL CHOI
CELESTE CRUZ
KALI CYRUS
ANGEL DESAI
BETHANY DICKS
OLUBADEWA FATUNDE
JUSTIN FIALA
STEPHANIE GALLITANO
ANNE JENNINGS
ENOCH KOTEI
HOYON LEE
MELISSA LOPEZ
EDEN PAPPO
EUGENE PARK
YURY PARRA
GREGORY PODOLEJ
COREY THOMPSON
SABRINA UDDIN
OCTAVIO VEGA
The third annual
UMed Bus Tour is
scheduled to take
place on Saturday
August 22, 2009.
This year‟s theme
is communities and
the medical
facilities that serve
them. Members of
UMed program are
working to put
together an
interesting and
exciting tour of the
multiple
communities that
exist around the
Chicago area.
Communities to be
examined will be the
ethnic communities
that represent the
diverse population in
Chicago and the local
neighborhoods.
This year‟s guest
speakers are Drs.
Arthur and Claire
Kohrman.
UMed Orientation and Book Discussion This year‟s
book discussion
on August 11th
will focus on
“Mama Might
Be Better off
Dead” (Laurie
Kaye Abraham).
It is an eye-
opening account
of the care for
the urban poor
in America by
following the
medical
challenges of a
Chicago family.
The discussion
will allow
UMed students
to critically
consider
healthcare
policy and
programming
and how they
directly affect
the patients they
may serve as
urban
physicians.
(Continued on page 14)
2 UMED NEWSLETTER
Ann Achufusi
Brian Bamberger
In her free time, Ann
likes to spend time
with her family and
friends, keeping up
with the news,
listening to music,
traveling and
exercising. In the
upcoming months she
is determined to
become a better cook.
When she becomes a
physician, she would
like to incorporate in
her work medical
journalism, and other
outlets toward
working to improve
the quality and
comprehensiveness
of reporting of health
and medical issues in
minority and
immigrant
communities. She
loves the city of
Chicago, and thinks
it‟s a great place to
go to medical
school, and an
ultimate setting to
take part in a
program like the
Urban Medicine
Curriculum.
Hailing from Glen
Ellyn, IL, Brian
Bamberger graduated
in 2006 from the
University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign,
where he was part of
the last graduating
class of the Honors
Biology major.
Since graduation,
Brian completed two
years of service in
AmeriCorps. His first
AmeriCorps position
sent him to „Charm
City,‟ where he
served in homeless
outreach at the
Franciscan Center in
Baltimore. Brian
then spent a year in
Washington, DC
working at the
S.O.M.E. (“So
Others Might Eat”)
free Medical Clinic
and doing Hispanic
outreach at the
Spanish Catholic
Center. He has a
passion for serving the
homeless and, as of
right now, wants to go
into primary care.
In his free time, Brian
plays softball, runs,
reads, and tries to play
guitar. A self-
proclaimed band nerd,
he also plays three
different types of
clarinet and has been
known to conduct an
ensemble or two.
Ann Achufusi is a
2009 graduate of
Loyola University
Chicago, where she
majored in
Molecular Biology,
and minored in
Sociology. While at
Loyola, she worked on
malaria research.
3
Angela Bixby
Carmen Cancino
much and wishes to
participate in medical
missions while in
medical school. In the
future, she aspires to
work in an urban area
helping underserved
and diverse
populations; therefore,
she is excited to be
part of the UMed
program and learn
about health care and
policy among others.
Angela‟s hobbies
include reading, Yoga,
Pilates, and hanging
out with family and
Angela is 30 years old
and originally from
Medellin, Colombia.
She came to the
United States in 2001
with the dream of
becoming a doctor.
She completed a B.S.
in Neuroscience at
UIC last May. Angela
currently works as a
student research
assistant at UIC
College of Medicine,
and she loves working
with patients.
Moreover, she enjoys
volunteering very
friends. An interesting
fact, Angela is also a
Dental Rehabilitation
Technologist and
owned a dental
laboratory back in
Colombia for three
years. She is very
excited to meet her
UMed colleagues.
baccalaureate
program at California
State Fullerton, to
prepare for medical
school. She is a non-
traditional student
with a variety of
diverse life
experiences, and is
proud to call herself
an M1 at UIC!
Carmen has a love for
urban medicine, and,
while working
through the post-
baccalaureate
Carmen Cancino was
born and raised in Los
Angeles. Her pride
and joy are her two
children—ages five
and fifteen months—
both of whom have
the pleasure of
relocating with her to
Chicago to experience
their first Christmas
with “real” snow!
A graduate of UCLA
with a BA in
Sociology, Carmen
entered the post-
program at Fullerton,
participated in research,
and volunteered in the ER
at her local county
hospital. Ironically, it is
the same hospital in which
Carmen was born.
During her downtime,
Carmen loves to read,
cook, and watch movies,
but enjoys most the
quality time she spends
with her two kids.
4 UMED NEWSLETTER
Benjamin Carney
Daniel Choi
My name is Daniel
Choi and I was born in
Chicago, IL and raised
in Mount Prospect. I
stayed nearby for my
undergraduate
experience at
Northwestern
University where I
studied Biological
Sciences. Although I
love Chicago, I take
every opportunity to
travel. I was fortunate
enough to be able to
study abroad twice:
studying public health
in Paris and working
on a community
development project in
Masaka, Uganda.
My dream is to be able
to live in both places
again at some point in
the near future. In my
free time, I love to run,
workout, cook, watch
movies, and spend
time with my family
and friends. In
addition, I‟m a huge
White Sox, Bears, and
Bulls fan and love
sports in general. I
just recently moved to
the South Loop and
have been enjoying a
relaxing summer but
cannot wait for school
to start!
Benjamin Carney
grew up in Rogers
Park on the North
Side of Chicago. He
studied English
Literature at the
University of
Michigan before
working as a
paralegal and then
math teacher in
Brooklyn, NY.
Benjamin has also
worked as a janitor, an
airport liaison, a
cultural ambassador to
Poland, a Cubs ticket
broker and a doorman.
More recently, he has
worked in laboratories
investigating Ovarian
Cancer at UIC and
Cerebral Palsy at the
hospital formerly
known as ENH.
Benjamin is fond of
reading, eating and
biking. He once
considered buying a
sailboat and briefly
owned a non-
functioning
motorcycle (1974
Honda CB 350/4). He
is looking forward to
beginning.
5
Celeste Cruz
Kali Cyrus
My name is Celeste
Cruz I am originally
from Guatemala but
have lived in Chicago
for most of my life. I
graduated from UIC in
2008 with a bachelor‟s
degree in Psychology
and a minor in
Chemistry and
Spanish. I have
volunteered in Rush
University Medical
Center as a research
assistant in the
Anatomy department.
The studies I was
involved with
monitored bone
growth around bone
implants in rat models
in order to improve
bone implants in
clinical scenarios. I
was also a member of
the cuddler club,
which allowed me to
spend time with
Kali Cyrus is
originally from West
Palm Beach, Florida
and has spent most
of her life in tropical
climates. Although
looking forward to
Chicago living, she
is not looking
forward to the
Chicago winter and
buying her first real
winter coat!
Kali was a 2006
graduate of Stanford
University, majoring
in Psychology and
minoring in Human
Biology.
premature infants. My
favorite hobby is black
and white
photography. I also
enjoy spending time
with my family and
boyfriend, watching
movies, and relaxing.
I look forward to being
a part of the UMed
program and working
with underserved
minority populations.
After graduating, Kali
decided to pursue her
Master of Public
Health at the
Rollins School of
Public Health at
Emory University
where she expanded
her interest in the
physician's role in
mediating health
policy.
After being admitted
to UIC in 2008, Kali
decided to defer for a
year and moved to Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil
where she lived for 8
months. During her
time there, she helped
start a nonprofit
organization seeking
to establish
transparency as an
umbrella organization
for smaller NGO's
throughout the Rio
Area.
Kali loves attending
concerts, collecting
music, people
watching, and
traveling in her free
time.
6 UMED NEWSLETTER
Angel Desai
Bethany Dicks
University. With her
previous background
in international
development and
interest in social
policy, Angel hopes to
pursue public health
issues in the future.
In her free time, Angel
enjoys music (all
kinds!), books,
cooking (and eating!),
tea, and traveling!
Georgetown, she had
the fortunate
opportunity to intern
in India for a summer
as a primary school
teacher, as well as to
study abroad in
Strasbourg, France.
After graduation,
Angel enrolled in a
premedical post-
baccalaureate
program in
Pennsylvania, and
later came back to
Chicago to work as a
prostate cancer
research coordinator
at Northwestern
Angel Desai is
originally from a
northern suburb of
Chicago, but has
been away from the
area for the past 9
years and is excited
to finally be able to
return! A 2007
graduate from
Georgetown
University, Angel
majored in Regional
and Comparative
Studies with a
concentration in
international
development and
globalization.
During her time at
Bethany Dicks grew
up in Chicago and
moved to Appleton
Wisconsin in the sixth
grade. From there she
attended the
University of
Minnesota - Twin
Cities and graduated in
May of 2009 with a
dual degree, a B.A.
with honors in
Psychology and a B.S.
in Genetics, Cell
Biology, and
Development.
She has spent this
summer relaxing and
enjoying the Pacific
Northwest hiking and
backpacking in Crater
National Park and
Glacier National Park.
She enjoys spending
time with friends and
family, running,
reading, and swimming.
Her main concerns and
passions within the
urban medicine
community are
pediatrics and ensuring
that both children and
their families receive
not only primary care
but access to specialty
care as well.
7
Olubadewa Fatunde
Badewa Fatunde is
originally from
Houston/Dallas, TX
(long story), although
his family is originally
from Nigeria and he
has lived all across the
US in the last 2 years.
Badewa graduated
from the University of
Texas at Austin (UT)
in 2006. As a UT
undergraduate,
Badewa was a
medical interpreter for
Spanish speaking
patients, and is
passionate about
improving access &
quality of care to
underserved patients in
the US & abroad. So
he later studied these
issues along with the
composition of
America‟s health care
system in an MPH
program from
Dartmouth, which he
finished in 2008.
Hopefully, Badewa‟s
time in New
Hampshire has
adequately prepared
him for the brutal
Chicago winters!
Badewa maintains his
sanity mainly by
playing sports (yes, all
of them) & his tenor
saxophone. He also
loves to cook, eat, and
listen to Chris Rock or
anything else that
makes him laugh.
Justin Fiala Justin Fiala is a
Chicagoan through
and through. Raised
just a stone‟s throw
away from the city in
the northern suburbs,
at an early age he
succumbed to the
allure of the urban
environment.
Justin recently
graduated from UIC
where majored in
Spanish, with a focus
on Latin American
literature. While at
UIC he assisted on a
psychiatric study
examining HIV risk
amongst LGBT youth
in the Chicagoland
area, and hopes to
continue working
with this population.
Justin was also
greatly influenced by
his semester of study
in Valparaíso, Chile
and hopes to integrate
his love of Hispanic
culture and the
Spanish language into
his medical career.
Places you might spot
him during his free
time include: the new
Modern Wing of the
Art Institute, any
number of Chicago
area thrift shops, the
gym (there‟s a lazy
river… need we say
more?!), and at his
stove trying a new
recipe.
8 UMED NEWSLETTER
Stephanie Gallitano
is excited to be
returning to her
home state of
Illinois. After
spending the past six
years out of state,
she looks forward to
being back to a city
with real snow and
Bears fans (although
she will miss NYC
pizza).
Stephanie attended
Washington
University in St.
Louis and majored
in Biology and
minored in
Chemistry. While in
school, she
participated in
different research
opportunities and
provided patient
education in a local
clinic.
For the past two
years, Stephanie has
been working with
HealthCorps
designing a
nutrition, physical
fitness, and mental
resilience program
in a public New
Anne Jennings
Anne Jennings is from
Hull, MA and
graduated in 2008
from the University of
Virginia with a degree
in Biology and
Bioethics. After
graduation, she spent
the year working in
Boston and
Cambridge. In
Boston, as a Case
Aide, she supported
social workers at the
Big Sister Association
of Greater Boston. In
Cambridge, she
worked with Science
Club for Girls, an
inaccurate title, as she
coordinated science
clubs for girls and
boys in 1st and 2
nd
grade. This position
included some
management of grad
student volunteers,
handout creation,
instrument making,
and practicing a
serious teacher‟s
voice. In June, she
took a three week trip
to Guatemala and got
to climb a volcano.
Anne enjoys reading
and eating, as well as
sports or games that
she can win at.
Stephanie Gallitano
York City high school.
She loved working
with teenagers on a
daily basis and hopes
to incorporate those
wonderful experiences
into her future medical
career.
In her spare time,
Stephanie loves food
(check out her recipe
blog:
www.eatinggreenforlif
e.wordpress.com).
When she isn‟t eating,
she enjoys working
out, being outdoors,
and reading.
9
Enoch Kotei NEWMAN
Enoch Kotei was born
in London, England and
raised in Newark,
Delaware. His family
is originally from
Accra, Ghana. A small
town guy most of his
life, Enoch was eager to
pursue higher education
in Philadelphia and
now Chicago, where he
can enjoy city life and
serve those in greatest
need. Enoch graduated
Hoyon Lee
Hoyon Lee is from the
Chicago suburb of Long
Grove, but throughout
her life has lived in 8
different states. She
studied biology and
psychology at
Northwestern
University. Her interest
in Urban Medicine
began when she
volunteered with several
non-profit organizations
in Chicago during
college.
In her spare time, she
enjoys swimming,
watching television and
movies, and attending
festivals.
in 2007 from Temple
University with a
Bachelor of Science
degree in Biology. Soon
after, he was offered a
National Science
Foundation Fellowship
to attend graduate
school, where he
recently received a
Master of Science
degree in Biology. His
research centered on a
Hepatitis B viral gene
product that contributes
importantly to liver
cancer.
Enoch will be joined in
Chicago by his fiancée,
who will be attending
the Illinois College of
Optometry. In his free
time, Enoch likes to
play basketball, spend
time with friends &
family, and make hip-
hop music.
10 UMED NEWSLETTER
Melissa Lopez-Preyess NEWMAN Melissa Alia Lopez
was born and raised in
Humboldt Park on the
northwest side of
Chicago. She
graduated from the
University of Chicago
in 2007 and majored in
Latin American
Studies. For the past 2
years, she has enjoyed
working at the
Multicultural Health
Eden Pappo has lived
her whole life in
Glenview, Illinois, and
attended Glenbrook
South High School. In
May she graduated
from Duke University,
and is now used to
Southern weather and
will have to prepare for
the snow again. She
majored in
International
Comparative Studies
concentrating on Latin
America, as well as
Spanish.
Eden is part of the
UMed program
primarily because of the
Spanish-speaking
population, and because
of the urban medicine
she encountered
working in hospitals in
Ecuador in the summer
of 2008. It was a life-
changing experience!
Eden Pappo NEWMAN
Hobbies include
cooking, tennis,
friends and running.
She was excited
to run into a high
school friend at
second-look day, who
is now her roommate.
Research Program at the
University of Chicago
Hospital doing
community-based
research in the Pilsen
and Humboldt Park area.
Shout out to her gente at
¡Viva La Salud! During
her free time, she enjoys
hanging out with her
husband (just married!),
cooking and training for
triathlons.
11
Yury Parra
Yury Parra was born
in Bucaramanga,
Colombia and she
came to the United
States when she was
13. Yury graduated
from New York
University in 2008
with a B.A. in Biology
and over the past year
she has taken graduate
courses
in health policy and
international health.
During her
undergraduate years,
she participated in a
number of health
programs throughout
New York City.
With the support of
Youth Venture and the
NYU Reynolds
foundations, she
founded Heart to Heart,
an organization that
conducts free blood
pressure
screenings among
communities with a high
risk for hypertension and
also provides health
education. Her hobbies
include photography and
traveling.
Yury looks forward to
participating in UMED,
Eugene Park
Christian Health Center
as a bilingual
HIV/AIDS Outreach
Worker. He hopes to
continue to make a
positive impact in these
communities both as a
medical student and as a
licensed physician.
The one thing Eugene
loves most about the
Windy City: the
diversity. Each of
Chicago‟s many
neighborhoods has a
Eugene Park grew up all
his life in Seoul, South
Korea; he moved to
Chicago in 2004 to
attend Northwestern
University. There, he
majored in
Communication
Sciences and Disorders
with a concentration in
developmental cognitive
neuroscience.
Since graduating,
Eugene‟s worked in
Chicago‟s West Side
with the Lawndale
to bring her
experiences and
learn from those of
her fellow
classmates.
very distinct
personality that can
take years to really
appreciate.
Unfortunately,
Chicago‟s cold
keeps Eugene
indoors more often
than he‟d like.
Eugene loves to
play sports, chill
with friends, and
travel abroad
whenever possible.
12 UMED NEWSLETTER
Gregory Podolej
Greg Podolej has
called Notre Dame
home for the past four
years, but has always
been a Chicagoan at
heart. As a biological
sciences major, his
interest in public
health and healthcare
disparities has taken
him to several
international
destinations including
Ecuador, Mexico, and
Haiti. His
commitment to
medicine is to serve
marginalized
communities wherever
they may be, but a
special place is
reserved in his heart
for struggling
immigrant families in
Chicago—this most
likely originates from
his Polish immigrant
background.
Greg likes to go to the
beach, bask in the
warm Chicago
summer, run, and
explore the city. He
looks forward to
rolling in his new ride
(CTA) around town,
getting to know the
communities he will
be serving, and
brushing up on both
Polish and Spanish.
Not to mention
returning home to his
parents in Park Ridge
for some great Polish
food!
Corey Thompson
Corey Thompson is
originally from
Kalamazoo, Michigan
though he has spent the
past six years in
Chicago. Currently
living in Uptown, he has
never ceased to be
amazed at the
tremendous amount of
diversity and disparity to
be found in the city.
With a lifelong interest
in language and culture,
Corey graduated from
Western Michigan
University in 2001 with
majors in English
literature and Spanish
and in 2003 with a
master‟s in Spanish.
He has lived in Spain,
Mexico and Brazil,
and tries to visit a new
country every year.
Since moving to
Chicago, Corey has
worked as a Spanish
teacher and as a
purchaser for an event
design company. He
is truly excited to start
medical school and to
discover his niche in
medicine.
In his spare time,
Corey enjoys
gardening, cooking,
reading, watching
movies, traveling,
and spending time
with his family,
friends and two
spoiled cats.
13
Sabrina Uddin was
born in St. Petersburg,
FL and spent half her
life growing up in
Florida and California
though most of her
family resides in the
suburbs of Chicago.
Originally a warm-
weather girl, Sabrina
admits to permanently
finding herself
freezing in Chicago‟s
windy weather!
A 2009 graduate from
the University of
Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, Sabrina
majored in Spanish
and minored in
Chemistry. Spending
a semester abroad in
Ecuador, Sabrina had
the opportunity to
volunteer in
underserved areas of
the Ecuadorian
community and gain
proficiency in Spanish.
She hopes to be able to
use her love for
Spanish and the
sciences to work in
medical facilities
around Chicago that
are in need of both
interpreters and
doctors.
During her downtime,
Sabrina likes to read,
watch romantic
comedies, spend time
with her friends and
large family, and loves
to travel.
Sabrina Uddin
Octavio Vega
Octavio Vega was
born and raised in
Chicago, which is
where his family
currently resides. He
is one of six siblings,
including three
brothers and two
sisters. While he is a
brother to his siblings
and a son to his
parents, Octavio is
also the proud uncle of
a niece and two
nephews.
In 2008, Octavio
completed his
undergraduate
education from the
University of Illinois
at Chicago with a
degree in Kinesiology.
Among his most
memorable
experiences at UIC are
his executive board
position in the Health
Oriented Latino
Association (HOLA)
and his assistance in
an Exercise
Psychology research
study.
Octavio‟s favorite
activities include
playing racquetball
with his father, going
for bike rides along the
lakefront, watching
movies, and spending
time with family and
friends. While
focused on his short-
term goals, Octavio
hopes to ultimately
practice medicine in
Chicago.
14 UMED NEWSLETTER
UMed Continues to Grow
0
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Age 20 Age21 Age 22 Age 23 Age 24 Age 26 Age 29 Age 30 Age 31
Umed ~ Class of 2013 Age
0
5
10
15
20
CA DE FL MA NY TX WI IL
Umed ~ Class of 2013 State of Residency
CA
DE
FL
MA
NY
TX
WI
0
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8
10
AI AK B W O M
UMed Class of 2013 Ethnicity
Students
Sixteen different
undergraduate programs.
A number of students
have completed MPH
degrees, or have plans
to complete one.
The Office of Special
Curricular Programs is
excited to welcome the
members of UMed
2013 into the program
and looks forward to
their participation in
the years to come!
Chicago is a very diverse
city with many languages
spoken, and the UMed
class is reflective of that.
Together, nine different
languages are spoken by
the students, including
Polish, Urdu, Korean, and
Portuguese. The 2013 class
has an interesting educational
background as well. UMed
13 brings with them
knowledge and experience
from
(Continued from page 1)
58%
42%
UMed ~ Class of 2013 Sex
Females
Males
15
We’re on the Web! See us at:
http://www.uic.edu/depts/mcam/umed/index.shtml
Urban Medicine College of Medicine University of Illinois 990I College of Medicine East 808 S. Wood Street Chicago, IL 60612 Phone (312) 996-6920
Fax (312) 996-9922 E-mail [email protected]
our Tagline here.
“Educating Physician Leaders to Serve Urban Communities”
UMed