PGY1

Where I am from: I was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, and moved to St. Louis for college at WashU, where I studied neurobiology. I spent a gap year in Chicago, then moved to Nashville for medical school at Vanderbilt. I entered medical school planning to pursue adult neurology but discovered during my clerkship year that I love working with pediatric patients.

Where I am going: I am interested in neuroimmunology, as well as general pediatric neurology. I am also passionate about health equity and plan to incorporate advocacy into my career as a child neurologist.

Why I am here: My husband and I met as undergrads at WashU, so coming back to St. Louis feels like home for us. We love our neighborhood in South City, the low cost of living, being able to bike to work, and the good food here! I was looking for a large pediatric neurology program with a strong representation of subspecialties and many research opportunities. In addition to that, I have found that both our program and the broader pediatrics program have a supportive culture and strong sense of community among residents, which has made my transition much more enjoyable!

Where I am from: I was born and raised in St. Louis. I stayed for here college and went to WashU, where I majored in Environmental Biology and German. I finally left St. Louis for medical school, where I attended the University of Kansas School of Medicine.

Where I am going: I am currently most interested brain injury and recovery. Whether that may mean neurocritical care and working with TBIs, or neonatal neurology with more focus on hypoxic injury, I love being in the hospital inpatient setting. I am also very interested in concussion, return-to-play protocols and headache treatment. I have really enjoyed my experience with clinical research and hope to be able to continue some aspect of clinical research in my future!

Why I am here: I love the city of St. Louis and knew that I wanted to return back to spend time with my family. St. Louis has a truly underrated food scene as well as incredible parks and green spaces, like Forest Park, where I love to spend a lot of my time. I met so many incredible people at WashU and St. Louis Children’s during my time in clinical research as well as volunteering in undergrad that I knew it was the place I wanted to train at after graduation. I had previously worked in the pediatric neurosurgery department in between college and medical school and it was my first exposure to child neurology. The incredible mentors and research opportunities, as well as a big NICU and PICU, were definitely strong factors in my decision to come to WashU.

Where I am from: I grew up in Morrow, OH which is a rural area near Cincinnati.  I majored in chemistry at Wright State University in Dayton, OH and continued there for medical school at Boonshoft School of Medicine.

Where I am going: I’m interested in a lot of the peds neuro fields including epilepsy, neuromuscular, fetal, and movement.  I am very excited explore the various options during residency! I’m also interested in med-ed and will likely pursue a career in academic medicine that includes working closely with residents/medical students.

Why I am here:  I really wanted to be at a program like WashU that had exposure to the full spectrum of child neurology and had great faculty in the various fellowship areas especially since I’m still exploring and deciding where exactly within child neuro I want to end up. I also find that I learn better by seeing patients than just reading so I wanted to be at a program with a large patient population.  During my interviews WashU seemed like the program that best balanced having a large patient population with also supporting its residents so that they still had time to actually learn from the patients they saw.  I also felt like the residents were happier here than at some of the other programs I interviewed with.  I have really enjoyed my time in the program and love how kind and supportive the faculty is and how friendly all the other residents are.  The city is really nice with lots of green space and the cost of living in the Midwest is definitely a win.  Plus, it’s relatively close to my family which was important to me.

Where I am from: I grew up about 45 minutes outside the City of Saint Louis in Lake Saint Louis! I am a Saint Louisian through and through. I love toasted ravioli, Cardinals, Blues, and our beautiful Forest Park. I attended Saint Louis University (Go Billikens!) for college and majored in Neuroscience. This was the beginning of my love for neurology! I attended University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou) for medical school, where I participated in ECHO Autism. I enjoyed my research on the difference between presenting clinical features for girls and boys during autism evaluation.

Where I am going: I am so excited to experience the various neurological specialties Washu has to offer. Currently, I am interested in many different areas and hope to dwindle this list down over the next five years. My top interests are general child neurology (because I love being able to see everything), neurodevelopment, neuroimmunology, and neurogenetics.

Why I am here: I wanted to be able to stay here in Saint Louis close to my family and friends for residency. Washu offered everything I was looking for in a child neurology program. They are highly regarded for clinical skills and research. During my pediatric years, I was able to opt into a neurology track for my continuity clinic, which will allow me to near down my subspeciality interest early on in residency while also honing my skills. The adult neurology training is intermixed with the three years of child neurology, which, based on the literature, has been shown to reduce burnout amongst child neurology residents and improve retention for neurology boards. Lastly, I was given an amazing tour by Ezra Pehlivan, PGY-5, who was incredibly welcoming and made me feel at home immediately. I am so excited to grow as a clinician within this program!

Where I am from: I grew up in the Kansas City metropolitan area with my younger sister and parents. For undergrad I attended Stanford University and studied Human Biology with a concentration in global health disparities. I returned home for medical school and attended the University of Kansas School of Medicine. This is where I realized pediatric neurology was the career path I wanted to pursue. I deeply appreciate the vulnerability of children and want to be every child’s biggest advocate - that combined with my academic interest in the brain/spine made pediatric neurology a no-brained choice.

Where I am going: As an intern, I cannot say that I’m sure where I’ll end up. I’m passionate about outpatient medicine and long-term care of my patients. Many fields within neurology allow for this deep connection between the provider and patient, and I find many topics to be fastening. That is why I chose this program - I feel supported in any choice I make.

Why I am here: WashU provided the most welcoming opportunities to “do what you please”. I was drawn to the idea that resources could be found for anything I was passionate about including, advocacy, community service, scholarship, and feedback. I appreciated that the program allows for each resident to explore what they’re individually interested in. I’m so happy to be a part of such a collaborative and supportive group!