Chief Editors
Christian Renwick
Christian is in the SOM Class of 2024. He has been involved in research for nearly eight years, since his freshman year in undergrad. In that time, Christian has been involved with basic science, clinical, and translational projects, several of which have led to conference presentations, article publications, and a book chapter. Research has been a passion and key component of his education to date, and will continue to be so throughout his career.
Janet Yan
Janet is a fourth-year medical student from Cary, North Carolina. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2019. She joined the founding UVAMSR team as a Managing Editor and is excited to continue to help share the brilliant works of her colleagues as co-Editor-in-Chief. She is interested in general surgery, GI, and outcomes research. Outside of medicine, you'll find her reading fiction and memoirs, staying active with pilates, baking desserts to share, and getting too invested in the Great British Bake Off.
Arts Directors
Fatima Choudhary
Fatima Choudhary is a third-year medical student at UVASOM. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry from UVA in 2017. Her research interests include vascular and interventional surgery and determinants of health outcomes. She is passionate about scientific discovery and the dissemination of novel ideas and knowledge. She has an interest in interventional and diagnostic radiology and hopes to advance patient-centered care through clinical research.
Leela Ekambarapu
Leela is a fourth year medical student originally from Northern Virginia. She graduated in 2020 from the University of Pittsburgh with a double degree in Neuroscience and Economics. Her academic interests include internal medicine, medical education, and social determinants of health. After completing residency, she also hopes to be involved in academic medicine. Outside of medicine, she enjoys dancing, photography, and trying out new restaurants.
Managing Directors
Nadim Barakat
Nadim Barakat is a 3rd year medical student at UVA. He graduated from UVA with a major in Biology and a minor in Psychology. Before entering medical school, he explored the application of artificial intelligence (machine learning and computer vision) in areas of medical care like fall and stroke detection. His current research interests are in orthopaedics as well as in meta-research such as exploring the inappropriate use of causal language in observational studies and its ramifications in addition to evaluating financial motivations in published economic analyses.
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Brian Florenzo
Brian Florenzo is a current fourth-year medical student originally from Columbia, Maryland. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 2020 with degrees in Neurobiology & Spanish. He is interested in expanding research opportunities for members of the UVA health community and providing avenues for interdisciplinary awareness and discussion. Outside of research, Brian enjoys hiking, traveling, cooking, as well as linguistics & global politics.
Katherine Krievs
Katherine Krievs is a current third-year undergraduate nursing student from Midlothian, Virginia. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Minor in English at UVA. She is interested in working in a pediatric critical care setting, and plans on furthering her education to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. Outside of academics, she enjoys running, hiking, and reading.
Nancy Shen
Nancy is a fourth-year medical student from Virginia Beach, VA. She graduated from Cornell with a degree in biological sciences. She is interested in pathology and dermatology, with hopes someday to become a dermatopathologist. Outside of her passion for graphic design and writing, she devotes her time to tutoring, running, and finding delicious food to try around town.
Associate Editors
Jeffrey Bellinger
Jeffrey is a fourth year medical student planning on applying into otolaryngology this Fall. One of his main research interests in medical school has been analyzing how patients interact with medical information and if the medical information available to them is appropriate. Outside of medicine, he enjoy playing soccer, running, and trying new breweries.
Ani Chandrabhatla
Ani is a 4th year medical student interested in everything involving the heart and lungs. He studied biomedical engineering at the University of Virginia and, after a stint in healthcare management consulting, returned to UVa for medical school. During undergrad, he spent 4 years in a cardiac pharmacology lab at the intersection of computational medicine and wet-lab biology. His research interests include cardiac systems biology, natural language processing, machine learning in medical imaging, and research funding for surgeon scientists.
Taylor Horgan
Taylor Horgan is a fourth-year medical student originally from Phoenixville, PA. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018, with a degree in biology. During undergrad, she spent 2 years working in a genetics research lab identifying genes involved in rare genetic diseases and their cellular function. Her clinical and research interests include autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, genetic diseases, and abdominal transplantations. In her spare time she enjoys reading and creative writing.
Farah Kabir
Farah, originally from Springfield, VA, is currently an M2 student. She graduated from UVA in 2021 with majors in Neuroscience and Statistics. During her time as an undergraduate, she was research assistant in a lab dedicated to investigating the underlying mechanisms of sympathetic neurodevelopment. After completing her undergraduate studies, she pursued her Master's degree in Biostatistics and Data Science at Weill Cornell. With a passion for data-driven research, her specific interests lie in predictive analytics, early disease detection and surveillance, and genomics. She is enthusiastic about engaging with the research and narrative works of her peers through UVA MSR.
Evan Lamb
Evan is an MD-PhD student who has recently started the graduate school portion of his training. His interests broadly include Infectious Disease, Immunology, and Epidemiology. Originally from Iowa, Evan is proud to be at UVA and eager to support The UVAMSR in its mission.
Reema Patel
Reema Patel is a third-year medical student at UVA, originally from Northern VA. For undergrad, she went to the College of W&M where she majored in neuroscience. After graduating, she spent a few gap years at the NIH doing research at the Center for Infectious Disease Imaging. She is excited by the prospects of precision medicine in driving innovation in healthcare forward, with broader research interests spanning areas in neurology, oncology, and cardiology. She is also involved in research aimed at improving Medicaid access for specific immigrant populations. In her free time, she enjoys playing basketball, exploring hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and going to standup shows in the DMV area. She looks forward to working with the UVAMSR team as an associate editor to further their mission and highlight stories and research experiences from individuals of various healthcare backgrounds to the rest of the UVA community.
Claire Thomas
Claire studied biology and chemistry at Duke University, before returning to her home state of Virginia to attend the UVA School of Medicine. She has a particular interest in ophthalmology and vision-centered research.
Shaina Twardus
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Michael Vitti
Michael Vitti is a current third-year medical student from New Jersey. As an undergraduate studying biomedical engineering, he worked in a quantum mechanics lab investigating the vibrational properties of materials by designing large-scale mechanical models of different molecular structures. In medical school, he has translated his mathematical skills to clinical research, conducting statistical analysis for SpO2 data on neonates. He is dedicated to exploring the intersection between engineering and clinical research and is currently interested in pathology and neonatology.
Hajira Wehelie
Hajira Wehelie is an M3 from St. Paul, Minnesota with a BS in Biochemistry and an MPH from the University of Minnesota. She is currently interested in global health, one health, ENT, and pediatrics.
Allan Weidman
Allan is a 4th year medical student at the University of Virginia and currently a research fellow at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School. He is involved in a variety of clinical, translational, and quality improvement research projects at several institutions and intends to pursue a career in plastic surgery and medical education.
Cami Westlake
Cami is an MD/PhD student at UVA. She graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2020 with a BA in Medicine, Health, and Society. Her research interests include infectious diseases and women’s health, and she is currently pursuing her graduate studies in the Criss lab studying the host-pathogen interactions of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. With a strong passion for research, Cami is excited to review submissions to the UVAMSR!