The Our Stories Podcast

HMO Wellness is proud to present a conversation with Christine Kempton, MD, MSc, professor of hematology and bleeding disorders. In this episode you will hear about Dr Kempton's journey from ballerina to physician, a journey that was influenced by several very supportive mentors at Mayo Clinic and Oregon Health Sciences. While in training in Chapel Hill a professor questioned Dr Kempton's decision...

HMO Wellness is excited to share a conversation with Anisha Patel NP-C, the lead APP site coordinator for Johns Creek. In this episode you will get to hear about Anisha's journey from solid organ transplant to cancer care which included learning a whole new language, working closely with experienced oncologists and nurses who were "phenomenal," and managing emotions that come with wanting to provi...

The HMO Wellness program is delighted that two of Emory's most impactful Wellness Champions have joined us for this episode of the Our Stories podcast. In this episode you will get to hear from both Krystyna Morgan, MPH, NBC-HWC who serves as Director of the Emory WHSC Office of Well-Being (EmWELL) and Evan Thoman, PhD, PMP, CWP the former Chief Well-Being Officer for Emory Healthcare. Krystyna de...

Jesse Handler, MD, PhD is our special guest for this episode of the Our Stories podcast series! In this episode Dr Handler shares his inspiration for going into medicine, oncology, and cancer research. His intrigue with cancer biology started way back in high school with a guest lecturer, who later would become Dr Handler's first lab mentor when he was an undergraduate. When not in the lab or clin...

HMO Wellness is so very pleased to bring this feel good episode with Dr Udhay Grewal to you! Dr Udhay Grewal has joined the NET group on the GI team after training in Iowa where he "caught the bug" for this type of work. Expert mentors in Iowa helped him develop a passion for the unique science of NETs as well as the opportunity for comprehensive patient care in oncology. Outside of oncology, Dr G...

What a delight to present a podcast conversation with Dr Nate Wilson, one of HMO's newest faculty members. In this podcast you will get to hear about Dr Wilson's enthusiasm for multiple medical specialties, and how he found his way to oncology, and then melanoma. Interest in helping people, taking care of the whole person, was instrumental in his choice of medicine as a career, and his specializat...

HMO Wellness is excited to present a conversation with one of our new neuro-oncologists, Laura Donovan, MD, in this episode of the Our Stories podcast. In this episode you will get to hear about Dr Donovan's journey into medicine, a plan she had since childhood, and then into neurology and eventually to the space of caring for people dealing with brain tumors. One of her mentors in NYC was instrum...

HMO Wellness is so pleased to present a conversation with the new Director of Survivorship Services, Neil Iyengar, MD. Dr Iyengar comes to Atlanta via Chicago, where he grew up, and then New York, where he did his training in oncology. In Chicago Dr Iyengar was brought up by parents who encouraged his interest in science, in particular physiology (a science museum with a walk-through heart helped)...

The Our Stories podcast series is pleased to present a conversation with Kevin Bonney, PhD, one of the newer HMO faculty members. In this podcast you will get to hear about Dr Bonney's journey to Atlanta by way of Michigan where he grew up, to Chicago for schooling at Northwestern and then NYC where he worked at NYU developing a passion for teaching. Here at Emory Dr Bonney will be working in HMO...

HMO Wellness is pleased to share a conversation with Jill Barnholtz-Sloan, PhD, who graciously shares her story with us for this episode of the Our Stories Podcast. Dr Barnholtz-Sloan comes to Atlanta after work in Cleveland, South Florida and at the NCI. Her training was in Texas with time spent in Austin and then Houston where she got her PhD in biostatistics. She was draw into STEM at a young a...

How fortunate we are to have Lisa Sudmeier, MD, PhD, record her story for this episode of the HMO Wellness Our Stories podcast. To kick of the podcast Dr Sudmeier shares how her mom’s work as a nurse, and the appreciation patients had for the work her mom did, inspired her to go into health care. Great mentors in training at Wash U in St Louis and then in Wisconsin (her home state) encouraged Dr S...

HMO Wellness is excited to share the latest episode of Our Stories podcast, a conversation with Troy Grant, MHA, manager for Financial Planning and Analysis. Get ready to hear about Mr. Grant's journey from accounting to healthcare operations which started right out of college in Florida. Thankfully Mr. Grant had a great experience with a talented and caring mentor in his first job, a relationship...

Shipra Gandhi, MD, MS, one of HMO's newest faculty members, has graciously shared her story in this episode of the HMO Wellness Our Stories podcast series. Enjoy hearing about Dr Gandhi's inspiration for going into medicine and oncology including growing up in India with multiple medical family members where she noticed the impact you might have on people's lives by working as a physician. Oncolog...

HMO Wellness is proud to present a conversation with Nishi Shah, MBBS, MPH, who is a physician scientist in our hematology division. Given the positive experiences as a young person training at Emory, and a love for Atlanta (shout out to Piedmont Park), Dr Shah joined the myeloma faculty group after training in Arkansas and New York. In this podcast Dr Shah shares her early formative experience wa...

HMO Wellness is pleased to present another Our Stories podcast, this time with Jacob Berchuck, MD, a newer member of HMO who is taking care of patients with GU cancers, engaging in clinical research and collaborating with oncologists across disease groups. In this episode, Dr Berchuck shares his journey into medicine which began as a young person going to clinic with his grandfather. His interest...

Our Stories is pleased to present a conversation with Kari Esbensen, MD, PhD, a newer member of HMO but a longer time member of several Emory specialties including palliative care and hospice, medical ethics and academic medicine with responsibilities in research and teaching. In this podcast Dr Esbensen shares her passion for taking care of patients and families in a holistic way that feels more...

The HMO Wellness program is excited to present the latest Our Stories podcast, a conversation with Tarun Aurora, MD. In this podcast Dr Aurora shares his full circle journey from growing up in Georgia, where he attended undergraduate and medical school, to Ohio and then Tennessee (for training) before returning to Georgia for work at Grady taking care of people dealing with sickle cell disease. Th...

In this episode oncology social worker Joy McCall shares about her journey to social work, rooted in values of listening deeply. She shares memory of witnessing her father pay deep attention to people, which left an imprint on her that she carries into her work. She was the first social work intern with Winship Cancer Institute, 14 years ago and over the years has had the pleasure of mentoring new...

The Our Stories Podcast is excited to introduce one of HMO's newest faculty members, Dan Halperin MD. Dr Halperin has moved from Texas to Georgia to join our neuroendocrine program with a goal of promoting research and patient care. In this podcast Dr Halperin shares his experience in cell biology when he knew that one day he would become an oncologist, as well as the value of really good mentorsh...

Our Stories podcast is delighted to present a conversation with Rebeca Leon, RN, BSN, Nursing Professional Development Specialist at Winship Emory Midtown (WEM). Ms. Leon shares her journey to WEM through other Winship sites including clinical work with multiple teams on Clifton Road and at Emory St Joseph Hospital. Her care for other people was something her family noticed at a young age, and she...

The Our Stories podcast series is pleased to present a conversation with Susan Modesitt MD, director of gyn oncology at the Winship Cancer Institute. In this episode you will hear about the big plans Susan had for herself at 6 years old, one of which came to fruition with her career in medicine. Dr. Modesitt's time at Emory is rooted in her undergraduate education, #Eagle, which included time at t...

The Our Stories Podcast series is pleased to present a conversation with Dr Janghee Woo, MD, PhD. In this podcast Dr Woo shares his excitement for science, an excitement that started at a young age, and was perpetuated by coursework in immunology, participation in the Human Genome Project and graduate training in Boston with inspiring mentorship. A tendency to be a curious person, as well as someo...

In this episode, Jamisha Estes, Manager of Clinic Operations, Building C, Winship Cancer Institute shares her story. Her inspiration to work in healthcare came from her mother, a nurse of 30 years, who taught her to "do what is right because it is right." She understood the importance of helping families through the concrete and practical elements of cancer treatment because of her aunt's cancer j...

The HMO Wellness program is delighted to present another episode of the Our Stories podcast with Maria Leon-Camarena, MD, one of our first year HMO fellows. In this episode, Dr. Leon-Camarena shares her inspiration for a career in medicine as the first person in her family to go to medical school (and only the second to go to college). While she lived in many places as a young person, her medical...

In this Episode, Dorice Nolan, Phlebotomy Supervisor for Laboratory Services shares her story. She reflects on lessons learned from her 8th grade science teacher, Ms. Anderson, who was tough, but invited her and her classmates to take pride in themselves. She learned to not hide what she knows, but to move through the world with confidence. Dorice also shares about the profound impact of her mothe...