communications_committee

Elton Tong is a third-year medical student at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. He has lived across the Southern, Eastern, Midwestern, and Western regions of the United States, as well as in Hong Kong—experiences that have shaped his perspective on culture and community. He earned his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University.

Elton has been actively involved with APAMSA, serving as Co-President of his local chapter, a member of the National Leadership Committee, and now Midwest Regional Director. He is passionate about supporting student leadership and strengthening connections across APAMSA.

Outside of medicine, Elton is a music lover, coffee enthusiast, runner, and a diehard LeBron James fan. He is excited to continue bridging the rich cultural identities of the APAMSA community with the world of medicine.

Matthew is a third-year MD/PhD student at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Born and raised near Seoul, South Korea, he immigrated to Minnesota as a teenager. He later moved to California to earn his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Southern California before spending two years as a research associate in San Francisco. Now pursuing his PhD in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology in Dr. R. Stephanie Huang’s lab, Matthew focuses his research on developing computational models to predict cancer treatment outcomes, driven by a passion for translating data-driven insights into targeted clinical therapies.

His APAMSA journey began when he and his classmates revitalized their local chapter during his first year of medical school, leading to his current National Board role. Drawing from his immigrant background, he has a great appreciation for language and culture and is dedicated to empowering AANHPI voices in both clinical settings and the broader community. He looks forward to learning about fellow Midwest chapters this year.

Anh T. Luu is currently a third-year medical student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. In the summer of 2024, she pursued cardiovascular research on congenital heart disease (CHD) at Stanford, followed by research on the impacts of physical activity on CHD. Currently, she is particularly interested in pediatric radiology and pediatric cardiology.

She was born in Loma Linda, California, and raised in a small town in the Central Valley. Growing up in a rural area, she did not have a large AANHPI community, but since joining APAMSA in 2021, her AANHPI family has grown significantly. She has served as a local chapter Year 1 Representative and Conference Chair, a Community Outreach Subcommittee member, and Regional VI Director. This year, she hopes to foster meaningful connections between local chapters and their members, bridging gaps in underrepresented AANHPI populations.

In her free time, she enjoy hiking, exploring different cuisines, traveling, playing frisbee and tennis, and embroidery.

Lucy is a medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine. She grew up in Atlanta, Beijing, and Virginia (DMV represent!), and attended University of Richmond where she earned her B.S. in Biology and Healthcare Studies with minors in Music and Business. Prior to medical school, she worked as a medical assistant in breast oncology and healthcare consulting, with a continued interest in medical innovation to enhance patient care. Lucy is passionate about medical humanities, innovation, mentorship, and addressing disparities in health literacy and access to care within immigrant communities. She has served as Region 3 Director and is excited to continue supporting the APAMSA community as one of the Northeast Region Directors. In her free time, Lucy enjoys reading, digital art, photography, traveling, exploring new foods and cafes, and attending live music whenever she has the chance!

Quynh-May Nguyen is a second year medical student at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. She was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and studied Statistics, Biology and Asian American Studies at Northwestern University.
In high school, she began her involvement with Asian community organizations, serving as president of her school’s Vietnamese club and volunteering with the Vietnamese Association of Illinois. In college, she served as president of Northwestern’s Vietnamese Student Association for four years.
During her gap years, she worked as a case manager at Asian Americans for Community Involvement in San Jose and became an advocate and hotline responder at both Asian Women’s Home and Asian Women’s Shelter.
She was Georgetown’s co-president of APAMSA during her first year of medical school and was part of the National HEAL Summit Host Committee during her second year. Her interests include epidemiology and addressing health inequities within immigrant communities. After medical school, she hopes to pursue a career in psychiatry, pediatrics, or primary care.

Brian Vu is a third-year medical student at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Originally from Austin, Texas, he has ancestral roots in Vietnam. Brian earned his BA in Biology with minors in Asian American Studies and Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to medical school, he worked as a medical scribe at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and served as a health outreach coordinator at VietLead, a community-based organization supporting the Southeast Asian community in Philadelphia. As a medical student and future physician, Brian is passionate about drawing from his experiences with APAMSA, Brown, and VietLead to continue advocating for the Asian American community. In his free time, he enjoys tending to his plants, musical theater, cooking, and going to the gym.

Lara is now excited to serve as one of the Northeast Regional Directors and looks forward to connecting with and supporting even more schools across different states. Outside of medicine, she enjoys exploring new food spots, traveling, doing nail art, and playing volleyball, and she is excited to continue building community within APAMSA!

Lara Castaneda is a third-year medical student at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Middletown, NY. She is originally from Westchester, New York and then later headed to Stony Brook University for her undergraduate studies before continuing her path into medicine!

This marks Lara’s third year being involved with APAMSA. She previously co-founded and served as President of her medical school’s APAMSA chapter. She later served as Database Director supporting chapters across the organization, and then served as Region 2 Director, where she worked closely with schools across New York and New Jersey to help strengthen collaboration and support chapter initiatives.

Lara is now excited to serve as one of the Northeast Regional Directors and looks forward to connecting with and supporting even more schools across different states. Outside of medicine, she enjoys exploring new food spots, traveling, doing nail art, and playing volleyball, and she is excited to continue building community within APAMSA!

Kenneth Q. Tieu is a third-year medical student at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. Born and raised in Alexandria, VA, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Health Sciences with a concentration in Pre-Medical Studies and a minor in Biochemistry from William & Mary.

Prior to medical school, Kenneth worked as a medical scribe with Williamsburg Emergency Physicians, Inc., and later with Chartjoy (now Propel) in a family medicine clinic. He also served as a medical assistant at Nancy Aria, MD, PNC Dermatology. These experiences strengthened his clinical foundation and deepened his interest in patient-centered care.

Since beginning medical school, Kenneth has been actively involved in advocacy and leadership. He has served as Co-President of the LGBTQIA+ Health Interest Group, as a local chapter Co-President, and currently as a Regional Director. He is passionate about community building, women’s health, and advancing care for minority populations, particularly Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, as well as LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Kenneth aspires to integrate his advocacy and clinical interests into his future practice. After medical school, he plans to pursue a career in obstetrics and gynecology, with the goal of specializing in maternal-fetal medicine, fetal surgery, or reproductive endocrinology and infertility.

Lauren S. Kang is a third-year medical student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and will be taking a leave of absence during the 2026-27 school year to earn a Master of Public Health degree (school TBD!). Lauren was born in New York City to Korean immigrants and raised in Portland, Oregon, and she earned her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. She served as General Body Meetings Chair on the inaugural executive board of the WashU Pre-Medical APAMSA chapter, which was also awarded the title of APAMSA’s National Pre-Med Chapter of the Year during her tenure. Working to build the WashU Pre-Med chapter from the ground up with a group of passionate, enthusiastic people impacted Lauren deeply, and she feels that she owes the vast majority of both her love of leadership and leadership skills to that experience. She is thrilled to have been elected as National APAMSA’s newest Pre-Health Director and is incredibly excited to be able to give back to the APAMSA Pre-Health community that was so instrumental to her own personal and professional development.

This is Lauren’s second year on APAMSA National Board. She was most recently a Region VI (now Midwest Region) Director, and she has also previously served on one of APAMSA’s national committees and the board of her medical school’s chapter. Outside of APAMSA, Lauren’s personal and academic interests include disability justice—she recently finished her first term on the national board of MSDCI (Medical Students with Disability and Chronic Illness)—and racial disparities in HIV-related healthcare. She is obsessed with the NYT Crossword and Spelling Bee to an arguably concerning extent and also loves performing and teaching Kpop dance.

Angeline Yu graduated from Stanford University & School of Medicine this past year with a B.S. in Science, Technology, and Society, minor in Biology, and M.S. in Community Health and Prevention Research. She is currently an Associate Consultant in the life sciences industry while continuing to support Stanford’s human and planetary health and contemplative science departments as a communications/curriculum contractor, planning on applying to medical school this year. She has a deep passion for public health research and education advocacy, particularly in women’s health, social determinants of health, prevention science, and culturally competent healthcare.

As the previous Stanford Pre-Med APAMSA chapter president, 2024-25 National Network Director, and 2025-26 Pre-Health Director, she is ecstatic to have been re-elected for her second term, using her experiences to continue building APAMSA’s Strategy Branch and providing resources and tangible support to all pre-health students, no matter where they are in their academic and professional journey.

In her free time, she loves riding horses, a good competitive game of bananagrams, and perfecting her numerous coffee and matcha recipes. Originally from Honolulu, Hawai’i, she moved to the Pacific Northwest when she was three, so she loves the mountains and beaches and everything in between!