Medical Student Scholars

Robert Nolan graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a BS in Chemistry. As a medical student, Bobby has served as a curriculum coordinator for the South Side Science Scholars program, where he helped foster interest in the basic sciences within the Chicago Public School system.

Bobby also served as a co-coordinator of the Washington Park Free clinic, where he was able to incorporate developmental screenings and a program with Reach Out and Read into clinic flow. A Bucksbaum grant helped to support his research this summer, which assessed communication and empathy techniques with patients during conscious procedures.

With the honor and opportunity that this scholarship entails, he hopes to continue to pursue this research while also delving into topics of pre-operative transparency. He also hopes to continue to strengthen Washington Park’s outreach and education programs, as well as to extend support to programs treating PTS within the south side of Chicago.

Mark Chee graduated from Duke University with a B.S. in Chemistry and minors in Biology and Global Health. Mark is the Patient Satisfaction and Quality Improvement Co-Chair at the Bridgeport Free Clinic, a student-run clinic that serves an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community on the South Side of Chicago. He also served as the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association’s National Conference Co-Chair, helping to plan the 2016. Mark has worked on health policy and medical education issues as Pritzker’s representative in both the Illinois State Medical Society and Chicago Medical Society Medical Student Sections as well as the Association of American Medical Colleges Organization of Student Representatives.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Vineet Arora, Mark is conducting research about the barriers and facilitators of generic prescribing among providers and how effective messaging about generics can promote generic prescribing.

Dr. Chee is an Internal Medicine Resident at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.

Laura Glick graduated from Tufts University with a B.A. in Psychology and Community Health. At Tufts, Laura was honored with the prestigious Presidential Award for Citizenship and Public Service. Laura conducted clinical and translational research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Under the mentorship of Dr. David Rubin, a Bucksbaum Institute Master Clinician, Laura has conducted research on Crohn’s disease, earning the Joseph B. Kirsner Research Award for Excellence in the Pritzker Summer Research Forum. Additionally, she is working with Dr. Vineet Arora to improve verbal handoffs in the hospital setting. As a medical student, Laura serves as the co-director of the Washington Park Pediatric Free Clinic, an executive board member of the Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program, a leadership council member of Peer Health Exchange, and as a member of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Program.

Dr. Glick is a Hospital Resident at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, CT.

Tae Yeon Kim completed a BA in Anthropology in 2013 at the University of Chicago, where she graduated with Honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Before medical school, she worked as a Research Assistant at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago. As a medical student, under the mentorship of Dr. Anna Volerman, Tae Yeon has conducted research to identify factors associated with the carry and use of inhalers by children with asthma in schools. Tae Yeon is on the board as the Interpreter Coordinator for Bridgeport Free Clinic, which serves a predominantly Cantonese speaking immigrant population. She also co-leads Big Ideas in Medicine, Reach Out and Read, and Pritzker Community Service Fellowship. She has served as a Peer Educator for the Health Care Disparities course and is a member of the Identity and Inclusion Steering Committee at the medical school.

Dr. Kim completed her residency at the University of Chicago Medicine and is currently a Pediatric Hospitalist for NorthShore Medical Group in Evanston, IL.

Matt Present graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in American History. He taught English for a year in a Japanese fishing village. Upon his return stateside, he wrote advertising and managed a creative team at Groupon for two years before leaving to become the founding editor of Grid, the Chicago Sun-Times Sunday business magazine. He has also worked as a ghostwriter, with work appearing Forbes and USA Today. Matt completed his post-baccalaureate education at Goucher College. At Pritzker, Matt is an executive board member of the Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program, works as a mentor in the Chicago Youth Partnership, teaches science to third-graders, and counsels students on human anatomy and healthy living. He also serves on the Pritzker Editorial Committee and the Service of Gratitude Planning Committee. Matt participated in Pritzker’s annual REMEDY medical service trip to Peru. Currently, he is conducting research with Dr. Neda Laiteerapong on individualization of glycemic control goals in patients with Type-II Diabetes Mellitus.

Dr. Present is a Pediatric Resident at the University of Rochester, Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester, NY.

Ashley Hite, graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2013 with a BA in Psychology, Neuroscience and Philosophy and a minor in Children‘s Studies. Following graduation, Ashley taught and coached sports teams for a year at a charter school in Newark, NJ.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Beth Plunkett, Ashley completed a research project titled “Exploration of Barriers Facing Physicians in Diagnosing and Treating Obesity.” This summer, under the advisement of Dr. Vela and with two of her fellow classmates, she served as a TA and coordinator for the Chicago Academic Medical Program, where they exposed minority students to the field of medicine through enrichment and mentoring. She also was invited to attend the Hazelden Betty Ford Summer Institute for Medical Students where she gained insight into the approach to treatment of the chemically dependent person through lecture, group therapy sessions and meals with patients with patients and specialty groups.

In medical school, Ashley was the co-President of Students National Medical Association (SNMA) and served on a free clinic board as Education chair of Maria Shelter Clinic, a free clinic for women in Englewood. She also served as the co-director of the Psychiatry Interest Group. Ashley was the fundraising chair for REMEDY, a medical service group, and this summer went on a medical service trip to Peru.

Dr. Hite is a Medicine Resident at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dara graduated summa cum laude and with election to Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009 with a BA in Biological Basis of Behavior and Hispanic Studies. Following graduation, Dara worked in consulting for three years at Bain & Company. As a medical student, Dara has conducted research with Vineet Aurora on the relationship between patient satisfaction and communication among their providers.

Dr. Adams completed an Otolaryngology Residency the University of Chicago and is currently a Fellow in Rhinology and Skull Base Surgery at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston, MA.

Hasenin Al-Kahersan, graduated with highest distinction and election to Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan in 2013 with a BS in Cell & Molecular Biology and Arabic & Islamic Studies. As a medical student, he has researched the pathophysiology of cataracts with Eric Beyer, MD/PhD. He has also helped to analyze Simfield, a cost-effective glaucoma-screening tool. After his first year, Hasenin travelled to Germany and Poland as a Medical Fellow with the Fellowship at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics, examining both physician involvement in Nazi crimes and issues in contemporary medical ethics.

Dr. Al-Khersan is an Ophthalmology Resident at the University of Miami Beascon Palmer in Miami, FL.

Steven graduated from Stanford University in 2012 with a BS in Biology with distinction. In medical school, he has developed an ongoing IRB-approved clinical trial on treating leukemia patients. Currently, Steven is the co-president for the Latino Medical Student Association, the local coordinator for ASAP, a youth substance abuse prevention program, and president of the Oncology interest group.

Dr. Bhutra is currently a Pain Medicine Fellow at the University of Virginia Health in Charlotesville, VA.

Anne graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 2007 with a B.A. in English Literature and minors in French Literature/Francophone Studies and International Peace Studies. Following graduation, Anne spent two and a half years as a volunteer social worker at an orphanage in Honduras.

As a medical student, under the mentorship of Dr. Niranjan S. Karnik and with a Summer Medical Student Fellowship from the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), Anne has researched the effects of homelessness on the mental health and behaviors of Chicago homeless youth. She presented her initial findings at the AACAP’s annual conference in October.

Anne also serves on the Pritzker student board for the Community Health Clinic, a free clinic in Chicago’s West Town; is Academic Chair for the International Medicine Interest Group; and co-coordinates SAMS, a student-run group that offers practice in medical Spanish.

Dr. Castro is an Assistant Professor in the Anesthesiology Department at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI.