Behind the Microscope

Dr. Peter Hotez is the Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine as well as the Co-Director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. Dr. Hotez earned his Bachelor’s degree from Yale, his PhD from Rockefeller University, and his MD from Weill Cornell Medical College. H...

Dr. Chrystal Paulos is an Associate Professor in the departments of Surgery and Microbiology and Immunology at Emory University and the Director of Translational Research for Cutaneous Malignancies at the Winship Cancer Institute. Dr. Paulos earned her PhD in Biochemistry from Purdue University and did post-doctoral fellowships in gene therapy at the University of Pennsylvania and in Tumor Immunol...

Dr. Brandon Fornwalt is the Senior Vice President of Cardiology at Tempus Labs. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina, his MD from Emory, and his Ph. D. from Georgia Tech, followed by a one-year internship in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Boston. As you will hear, his passion for research took him next to the University of Kentucky as an Assistant Professor wher...

Dr. John O’Shea is the Scientific Director at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the NIH, Chief of the branch of Molecular Immunology and Inflammation, and a senior investigator whose lab studies cytokine signaling transduction. Dr. O’Shea earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence University in New York, his MD from the University of Cincinnati, and c...

Dr. Boghuma Titanji is an infectious disease fellow at Emory University. Dr. Titanji earned her MD in Cameroon, followed by 2 years in general practice before moving to England to pursue graduate school. She earned her Master's in Tropical Medicine and International Health from the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene followed by a Ph. D. in Infectious diseases from University College Lo...

Dr. Joanna Bonsall is an associate professor of Medicine at Emory University, the chief of hospital medicine at Grady Memorial Hospital, and clinical co-director of the medical scientist training program at Emory. She earned her BS, her PhD, and her MD from Emory University and did her residency in Internal Medicine at Emory before joining the faculty. Today, she shares with us her perspectives on...

Dr. Jennifer Spicer is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Disease at Emory University. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, her MD and MPH from Emory, and trained in internal medicine and Infectious disease at Emory before joining the faculty. Today she shares her passion for teaching, her thoughts on the changing landscape of medical educa...

Dr. Gregory Lesinski is a Professor and the Vice-Chair for Basic Research in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University. Dr. Lesinski earned his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from The Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio. He obtained his MPH in Clinical Investigation from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio and completed his post-doctoral training at The Ohio Sta...

Today we are excited to announce an upcoming webinar by the AAMC subcommittee on Training Opportunities for Physician Scientists. This session will focus on Physician Scientists in Biotech and will feature both early career and established physician-scientists working in Industry. This session is for those thinking about pursuing a career in biotech, whether they are senior faculty or MD-PhD stude...

Dr. Megan Roche is a Ph. D. student at Stanford, a running coach, a professional runner, and co-author of the book “The Happy Runner.” She earned her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Duke, her MD from Stanford, and is now doing her graduate work in epidemiology with a focus on population health and genetics for athletes. Today we discuss her professional journey, including her unique path to...

Dr. Paul Cederna is the Robert Oneal Professor of Plastic Surgery, Chief of the Section of Plastic Surgery, and Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Dr. Cederna earned his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering and his MD from the University of Michigan. He then did his residency in General Surgery and Fellowship in Microsurgery at the Universit...

Dr. Amy Rule is a pediatric and neonatal hospitalist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at CCHMC/UCCOM (Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center/University of Cincinnati College of Medicine).  In the US, her research is focused on resource-constrained communities including immigrants and refugees and cultural humility, and global health education for healthcare trainees with the APPD...

The American Physician-Scientists Association (APSA) is hosting a session about planning for retirement, home purchases, college funds, emergencies, and debt management for Physician Scientists with Tyler Olson of Olson Consulting. We catch up with Briana Christophers for a preview of whats to come. The session will be on 1/27/22 at 8pm eastern time. Sign up here: https://www.physicianscientists.o...

Dr. Bert Shapiro is a legend in the MSTP world. He received his bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College, his Ph. D. from Harvard University, before becoming faculty at Harvard. He later went to the NIH where he spent the rest of his career, spending his final 17 years heading the MSTP which oversees the T32 awards that support dual-degree training at over 50 programs nationwide. Today, Dr. Shapi...

Dr. Christina Gavegnano is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Emory University. Dr. Gavegnano earned her PhD in Molecular and Systems Pharmacology from Emory University and has focused her research on the role of JAK inhibitors in the treatment of HIV. With the outbreak of the COVID pandemic, she refocused her efforts and, along with her collaborators,...

Dr. James Boyer, MD, is the Ensign Professor of Medicine in Digestive Diseases and the Emeritus Director of the Liver Center at Yale School of Medicine. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Haverford College and his MD from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, followed by internal medicine residency at Cornell and Yale and a Fellowship in hepatology at Yale. Today he shares his personal and professio...

Dr. Michael Mina is the newly appointed Chief Science Officer at eMed and a former Assistant Professor of Epidemiology as well as Immunology and Infectious disease at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Mina earned his MD and PhD from Emory University, with postdoctoral fellowships at Princeton University and Harvard Medical school. He completed his residency training in clinical patholog...

Dr. Anne Piantadosi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Dr. Piantadosi earned her MD and PhD from the University of Washington, followed by residency and an infectious disease fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2019, she was recruited to Emory and has a joint appointment in the Department of Pathology and the Department of Medicine. Today...

Webinar announcement! We catch up with Dr. Michael Donnenberg, MD, to discuss the webinar he organized entitled: Preparing early: What to think about in your 1st and 2nd Med School Year. Presented by the AAMC subcommittee on Physician-Scientist Post-graduate training. Recording of the webinar can be found here: https://vimeo.com/648693976 The webinar took place on Wednesday, November 17, 8pm-9:30p...

Dr. Lawrence (Skip) Brass, MD, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Medicine and Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Brass pursued his MD/PhD training at Case Western Reserve University, followed by residency and hematology/oncology fellowship training at UPenn before joining faculty. In today’s episode, we discuss the evolution of MD/PhD tr...

Dr. Dean Jones is a Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Biochemistry at Emory University. Dr. Jones received his PhD in Biochemistry from Oregon Health Sciences University. He then studied nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University and molecular toxicology as a post-doctoral fellow at the Karolinska Institute as a post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Jones has had an incredibly...

Briana Christophers is a 4th year MD-PhD student at the Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional MD-PhD program. Though early in her academic and scientific career, Briana has already established herself as a thought-leader and a strong advocate for diversity in the physician-scientist pathway. As an undergraduate at Princeton University, she worked in organizations such as Prin...

Dr. James Zimring is a Physician Scientist, Author, and Professor of Pathology at the University of Virginia. Dr. Zimring got his BS, MD, and PhD at Emory University, followed by a residency in clinical pathology at Emory University. Today, Dr. Zimring shares his incredible personal and professional story and how it has shaped his approach to science, medicine, and mentorship. He also discusses hi...

Dr. Dan Hunt is a Professor of Medicine and the Director of the Division of Hospital Medicine at Emory University and the immediate past president of the Association of Chiefs and Leaders of General Internal Medicine. He received his MD from Vanderbilt University, completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine, and then spent 11 years in private practice before being recruited as a clinicia...

Dr. Kimryn Rathmell is the Chair of Medicine at Vanderbilt University. She is the Physician in Chief at Vanderbilt Hospital, the Hugh Jackson Morgan Chair in Medicine, the Deputy Director for Research Integration and Career Development, and Professor of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa and her MD and PhD from Stanford Un...