northeast

Lan N. Ðoàn, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She is a social epidemiologist with training and applied experience in conducting community-based participatory research (CBPR) using mixed methods approaches, community-partnered health needs assessments, and participatory systems science methods. Her research focuses on how social determinants of health contribute to cardiovascular and psychosocial health risks and disparities across the life course. She examines the impact of aging on effective health promotion strategies for older adults, particularly addressing social isolation and loneliness through community-tailored approaches.

Dr. Usha Krishnan is a Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, as well as Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Comprehensive Care Center. She attended the University of Bombay, Seth G.S. Medical College (India), and completed her residency at Westchester Medical Center and fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. In addition to clinical responsibilities, she is actively involved in medical education at every level. She is closely involved with the Pediatric Cardiology fellowship at Columbia University and is the director of the fellowship Clinical Competency Committee, which oversees fellow education and training. She is the director of medical student and resident education in Pediatric Cardiology and is closely involved with the Foundations in Clinical Medicine and Major Clinical Year training at the medical school. She was inducted to the Virginia Apgar Society of Medical Educators at Columbia University in 2018. She is also actively involved in research, both in Pulmonary Hypertension and Pediatric Cardiology and is PI/co-investigator in multiple clinical trials, both NIH sponsored and other grants.

Bryan Le, MD, is an attending physician and assistant professor at Montefiore Einstein. He is also the Associate Program Director of the Montefiore Rehabilitation Department residency program. Dr. Le’s clinical focus is on neurologic rehabilitation, with a particular focus on spasticity management, including botulinum injections, baclofen pump management, and cryoneurolysis. He also manages non-surgical musculoskeletal injuries and performs therapeutic injections for shoulder, hip, and knee injuries.

Dr. Nolan Kagetsu studied chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After graduating from Albany Medical College (before the creation of APAMSA!), he completed a residency in diagnostic radiology at Mount Sinai West and a fellowship in Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology at NYU. He currently is a diagnostic neuroradiologist at Mount Sinai in New York City. He advises the Mount Sinai APAMSA chapter. Nolan serves on the APAMSA alumni advisory board and serves on the ACR Council Steering Committee. He has written about unconscious bias, microaggression, and being an upstander. He is a Professor of Radiology and Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He has 2 adult children and lives with his wife in New York City. You can follow him on X (Twitter) @nkagetsu and Instagram @NYCneurorad

Roy S. Chuck M.D., Ph.D. is a cornea and refractive surgery specialist. He has expertise in the field of laser techniques for refractive eye problems and has published, patented (with products both in development and already in market) and lectured extensively throughout his career. Dr. Chuck also has strong research interests in dry eye, ocular surface stem cells and corneal transplantation. Dr. Chuck, a U.C. Berkeley trained engineer, graduated from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons where he received his M.D., Ph.D. degree. He then proceeded on to ophthalmology residency in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Washington University School of Medicine, where he also served as faculty Chief Resident. He completed his fellowship training in Cornea and Refractive Surgery at the Doheny Eye Institute of the University of Southern California. Dr. Chuck has served on the faculties of Ophthalmology and Engineering at Washington University, University of Southern California, University of California Irvine and the Johns Hopkins University, where he held the Tom Clancy Professorship in Ophthalmology and was the Director of Refractive Surgery at the Wilmer Eye Institute. At present, he is Professor and Paul Henkind Chair of Ophthalmology and Genetics and the longstanding Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, one of the largest eye care centers in the country. Among his other professional appointments, Dr. Chuck serves on the steering committee for the evidence-based medicine Cochrane Collaborative Eyes and Vision Group, as the elected Editor-in-Chief of the ARVO journal Translational Vision Science and Technology (TVST) and as the Secretary for Quality of Care for the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). Dr. Chuck was also one of the first Asian Americans to assume leadership of a major academic ophthalmology department in the U.S.

I am currently an attending physician in the Kings County Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology and an assistant professor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. I went to medical school at GWU School of Medicine in DC, intern year at Bronxcare Hospital, and residency at Northwell Health/ Hofstra School of Medicine. Focus areas – all kinds of cancer, and also functional radiosurgery – use of radiation to treatment trigeminal neuralgia, psychiatric disorders e.g. OCD, tremor, and seizures.

Born to refugee parents in the Bronx, Khamarin was recruited into CAAAV’s Youth Leadership Project (YLP) and participated with the program in the early 2000s. After becoming a youth organizer, he led YLP’s Health Justice Campaign for quality healthcare services for Southeast Asian refugees against Montefiore Medical Center.  Khamarin was later a co-founder of Mekong NYC in 2012, and currently serves as the Campaign Director. He has waged and won a campaign to improve healthcare services for underserved Southeast Asian refugees in the Bronx to include language justice, patient navigation, and culturally sensitive treatments, and trained over 200 youth organizers.  As Mekong’s Campaign Director, he developed community strategies and campaigns through leadership development, community power building and advocacy with elected officials and allies, which includes Anti-deportation and Economic Democracy campaigns. He has built partnerships and solidarity through local and national AAPI, SEA coalition and movement spaces for social justice. Khamarin earned a BS in Health Services Administration for CUNY New York City College of Technology, he is also a Licensed Optician and was a trained leader in Somatics.

Dr. Catherine Shu is the Price Family Associate Professor of Medicine and a board-certified medical oncologist specializing in the treatment of thoracic cancers, with a focus on lung cancer. She received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University, followed by her M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. After residency at Columbia University Medical Center, Dr. Shu completed her fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she was appointed Chief Fellow. She currently serves as the Director of the Thoracic Medical Oncology Service. She has presented her work at numerous international conferences and has published in the top peer-reviewed oncology journals. She treats the entire spectrum of lung cancer and has a particular interest in earlier stage and surgically resectable disease, specifically on drug combinations to help improve survival in this setting. Additionally, she runs the thoracic oncology clinical trial portfolio and devotes part of her research effort to patients with targetable mutations such as EGFR. Of all her achievements, she is proudest to be able to offer individualized and compassionate care to each and every one of her patients. She understands that each patient and family carries forth a different set of beliefs, goals, and needs. Working alongside an exceptional multidisciplinary team, she is dedicated to improving the survival and bettering the quality of life of her patients.

Greetings! My name is Philip Chang and I’m currently an attending burn surgeon at Weill Cornell Medical Center. My life journey started in Mobile, Alabama, as the first born son of Korean immigrants. I attended Harvard for undergrad, University of Alabama for medical school, University of Illinois at Chicago for general surgery residency, and. University of California at Davis for burn surgery fellowship. I have been an attending burn surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and University of Cincinnati prior to coming to Weill Cornell. My hobbies include origami, piano, sci-fi and history reading, kayaking, and paint-by-numbers. I have an amazing spouse, 2 children, and 1 occasionally stubborn dog. Of note, my oldest daughter is planning to apply to medical school next year.

Dr. Wu is a faculty member in the Division of General Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS). She received her MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin and MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, followed by internal medicine training at New York University Langone Health and a general medicine fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and HMS. Her research focuses on improving cardiometabolic disease outcomes through promoting healthier nutrition and addressing health-related social needs such as food insecurity. Clinically, Dr. Wu practices as a primary care physician. Additionally, she serves on the editorial board of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, advises the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA), and teaches medical students at HMS. As a past national president of APAMSA, she remains passionate about serving the AAPI community.

Arlene Y. Zhou, DO is a chief general surgery resident at Hoboken University Medical Center in New Jersey. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University at Buffalo and her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harlem. During medical school, Dr. Zhou was actively involved in APAMSA, served as Liaison for the local chapter of APAMSA, and later advanced to roles as National Conference Director and Hepatitis Conference Director. She continues to remain active in APAMSA through participation in the Bootcamp series and by mentoring medical students navigating the residency application process. As a first-generation physician, Dr. Zhou is passionate about guiding and supporting students in medicine, helping them navigate the challenges of medical training and pursue their goals in healthcare.

Dr. Jaclyn Chen is a board-certified psychiatrist in private practice, trained at Stony Brook Medicine (MD, Psychiatry Residency) and Albert Einstein/Montefiore (Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship), with an undergraduate background in Human Biology & Biological Engineering from Cornell University. Her clinical focus in psychiatry centers on the comprehensive treatment of ADHD, mood disorders, and bipolar disorder, with a particular interest in stress, burnout, and the ways these conditions impact functioning across personal and professional domains. She also integrates interventional approaches, including ketamine-assisted treatment, as part of a broader toolkit for patients with refractory mood symptoms. In addition to individual care, she works with couples navigating relational challenges, recognizing the powerful role relationships play in mental health. Beyond direct clinical work, she is committed to mental health advocacy, aiming to reduce stigma, promote access to care, and foster open dialogue about psychiatric wellness in diverse communities.

Eric R. Gross MD, PhD, FASA (@ericrgross.bsky.social, @ericrgross) is a physician-scientist and practicing anesthesiologist within the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine at Stanford University.  He runs a NIH-funded research laboratory studying how alcohol metabolism impacts anesthesiology and in general human health. He is a member of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Neuroscience Institute, and Center for Asian Research and Education (CARE).  Dr. Gross is also the section editor for basic science for the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia and the editorial fellowship director for the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.  Today, Dr. Gross will discuss the health implications of alcohol flushing.

Lucy is a third-year medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 2023 with a degree in Public Health, where she first developed a passion for using medicine as a tool for advocacy and education. At Mount Sinai, she has found a home in the Department of Anesthesiology, where she has founded organizations to bring exploration of the field by students of all backgrounds and lead initiatives to help ease pain and anxiety in the perioperative settings through research, technology, and quality improvement. Growing up in China and seeing the impact of cancer on her own family furthered her commitment to public health advocacy. Today, she partners with Dr. Eric Gross to bring attention to alcohol flush—a condition that affects more than 500 million people worldwide but is rarely talked about—by educating both physicians and communities about its cumulative health risks.

Dr. Juliann Wang, MD, MPH, is a second-year resident in Family and Social Medicine at Montefiore. She graduated from the University of California, Davis, with a major in Global Disease Biology. During her time at UC Davis, Juliann volunteered as a patient advocate and undergraduate co-director at the Paul Hom Asian Clinic, a student-run clinic that served the Asian community. After college, she spent two years traveling and worked as a medical scribe and school aide for students with special education needs. She then moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where she pursued an MD/MPH dual degree. In medical school, Juliann partnered with community organizations to provide medical services to people experiencing homelessness and helped organize initiatives to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health issue in the state. Her research focused on removing barriers to care for individuals living with HIV. She served as a leader and mentor through her roles as diversity ambassador, APAMSA vice president, and clinical scholar teaching associate. Her interests span a broad range, including carceral medicine, addiction medicine, reproductive health, gender-affirming care, and more. Outside of medicine, she enjoys exploring the city with friends, watching the latest Netflix movies and shows, and cuddling with her dog.

Dr. Tiffany Shu is a PGY-2 family medicine resident at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY. She obtained her BS in Biology from Boston College and her MD from Chicago Medical School. One of her strongest passions is patient education which is highlighted by her experience as a Public Relations Officer for her student run clinic where she worked with the Lake County Health Department to design, publish and distribute 25,000 COVID-19 vaccine flyers during the pandemic. She continues these efforts in projects to incorporate digital media for her patients in the Bronx to increase access for patient education. Dr. Shu is also on the HIV track to expand her scope in becoming a primary care physician for a wider population of vulnerable and underserved patients.

Dr. Haas is board certified in Family Medicine, Osteopathic Manual Medicine (OMM) and Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (NMM), with special interests in pediatric care and post-surgical recovery through OMM. She currently serves as an associate professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harlem, and also sees patients at her private practice, Haas Osteopathic Medicine, in Manhattan’s Flatiron district. Previously, she taught at Des Moines University’s (DMU) College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she served as assistant professor of OMM in addition to treating patients at DMU’s OMM clinic. Dr. Haas earned her medical degree from Des Moines University, where she also completed an undergraduate fellowship in OMM. She went on to complete a Family Medicine residency at Fox Valley Family Medicine in Appleton, Wisconsin, followed by an additional residency in OMM/NMM at Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine. Outside of her work, Dr. Haas finds joy in yoga, cooking with ingredients from local farms, and spending time outdoors and with the people she loves.

Perry Pong, MD 余 永新 醫生 is the Director of Medical Education and Training at the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center. Prior to this, he was the Health Center’s Chief Medical Officer for 16 years and led by three principles: 1) Provide safe quality medical care; 2) Provide a good patient experience; and 3) Provide a good staff experience. In his new role, Dr. Pong teaches new nurse practitioners and doctors to navigate the health system and pilots a coaching program to help staff to further their education, including RN and nurse practitioner programs. Dr. Pong came to the Health Center in 2007 from New York City’s Health and Hospitals/Jacobi Medical Center, where he was the Associate Medical Director for Ambulatory Care Services. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and was born and raised in San Francisco, California. His roots trace back to his great-grandfather, who came to the US in 1888.

Stephen Lin

Membership Vice President

University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine

Philip Nguyen-Powanda

Membership Vice President

University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix

Stephanie Lam

Region I Director

University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine

Brian Vu

Region I Director

The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

Lara Castaneda

Region II Director

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Middletown

Yue Jiao Jiang

Region II Director

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Harlem

Timothy Liu

Region II Director

New York University Grossman School of Medicine

Maggie Zhou

Region II Director

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Stephen Chien

Region III Director

Drexel University College of Medicine

Jeffrey Wang

Region III Director

Drexel University College of Medicine

Lucy Zhou

Region III Director

Drexel University College of Medicine

Christopher Chan

Weill Cornell Medical College

Emily Cheng

Weill Cornell Medical College

Michelle He

Weill Cornell Medical College

Starr Jiang

Weill Cornell Medical College

Jasmine Yu

Weill Cornell Medical College

Walter Tsou, MD, MPH is a nationally known consultant on public health and health care reform.  He is a retired Adjunct Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Pennsylvania where he taught community health at their Center for Public Health Initiatives. He is a Past President of the American Public Health Association and former Health Commissioner of Philadelphia.  He was the founding Deputy Director for Personal Health Services and Medical Director of the Montgomery County (PA) Health Department from 1991-2000.  He has extensive experience in public health and has lectured widely on public health and health disparities.

Nationally, he is a Board Advisor at Physicians for a National Health Program and Healthcare-NOW.  He is Past Chair of the Board of the Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum.  Locally he is on the boards of Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, Hepatitis B Foundation, Health Care for All Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia County Medical Society.  His medical degree is from the University of Pennsylvania; his MPH is from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, and he has an honorary Doctorate in Medical Sciences from Drexel University.

Born in South Korea and raised in the greater LA area, Kevin Riutzel is a family physician currently working in Los Angeles, CA.  The clinic he works at is a federally-qualified health center in LA’s Koreatown primarily serving local Korean-American and local AAPI communities, many of whom are the 1st generation in their families to immigrate to the U.S.

He has served in several roles for the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association including National President for three terms.  He finished his undergraduate studies at UC San Diego and graduate studies at Columbia University.  After graduating from Touro University Nevada, he completed his training in family medicine at UC Irvine with a focus on integrative medicine.  He served as one of the chief residents while at UC Irvine.

Kevin takes a particular interest in mental health in AAPI communities along with providing an integrative and holistic approach to the care he offers to the communities he serves while focusing on a work-life balance to stay energized for the patients he serves.

Hanna Lee (she/her) is a disabled and neurodivergent Korean-American art therapist and art educator with an extensive background in working with people of all ages and abilities. She is a passionate proponent of using the arts to provide a variety of supports for historically marginalized populations and has spoken on this topic through organizations such as the National Art Educators Association, Department of VSA at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the International Conference on Disability Studies, Arts, and Education. Working with and advocating for diverse communities has allowed her to explore art-making as an unlimited means of honest expression and personal growth beyond the social, economic, physical, and intellectual limits to which people are often confined.

Lee’s educational background includes a Masters in Art Therapy and Counseling from Drexel University and a Masters in Art Education with an emphasis on Inclusive Practices from Moore College of Art & Design.  She currently works with Asian Americans as a therapist at Mango Tree Counseling & Consulting and serves as Director of Research at the Asian Americans with Disabilities Initiative to provide investigative research, advocacy, and resources for Asian Americans with disabilities. Lee is also an adjunct professor at her alma mater, Moore, where she is currently establishing an art therapy minor.

Sharon is a Family Nurse Practitioner who provides primary care in Mandarin and English at a federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Philadelphia Chinatown. She studied Environmental Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and completed her nursing education at Columbia University. As a former Care Coordination Nurse and School Nurse in several outpatient settings, she has a special interest in understanding how social, cultural, and environmental factors affect health status. In her spare time, she runs the @ClimateHealthNurse blog and Instagram page, where she writes about sustainability and wellbeing.

Jimmy was born and raised outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  He came to the US in 1995 to pursue his education and after exploring several paths became an EMT. In 2005 he joined the National Guard where he went on to oversee medical logistics for the 111th Medical Group.  He has been working as an EMT or Technician inside the hospital since 2007.  He holds many specialty medical certificates and has wide ranging experience working in the emergency room, trauma department, surgical ICU, and remote medicine.  Jimmy achieved Master Sergeant rank and  teaches several courses through the Air Guard as a 4N, which is the civilian equivalent of an LPN.

Her AMA journey began as President of the LKSOM AMA Chapter during her first year, and she now serves as the AMA-MSS Region 6 Chair and a Delegate in both the MSS and Pennsylvania caucuses to the AMA House of Delegates. Organized advocacy has been the most transformative part of her medical school experience, showing her the power of persistent, diverse voices, even when outnumbered. She is passionate about helping others find their voice and forge their unique path. Outside of work, you can find her at a dance workshop learning a new style, exploring the Philly neighborhoods with her camera, or booking her next flight.

Catherine Freeland is the Associate Director of Public Health Research at the Hepatitis B Foundation. Catherine received her Ph.D. at Thomas Jefferson University, College of Population Health with a concentration in Health Behavior Science and a dissertation on addressing low hepatitis B birth dose uptake in Nigeria. She led the effort to incorporate values and preferences for people with lived experience within the updated 2024 World Health Organization Guidelines and continues to focus on addressing barriers and facilitators to hepatitis B elimination globally.

Pratistha Koirala, MD, PhD, was elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees in June 2021. Dr. Koirala is a gynecologic oncology fellow at Fox Chase Cancer Center and Temple University in Philadelphia.

Dr. Koirala’s health care journey began thousands of miles away, in Nepal, in the foothills of the tallest mountains in the world. In pursuit of education her family immigrated to the United States when she was a child. Her family story, of poverty and a lack of access to health care, inspired her to become a physician. Years later, as a medical student in the Bronx, she cared for patients living in the poorest congressional district in the United States. After witnessing the impact of social determinants of health on both a population and at an individual patient level, she became active in health policy, aiming to better the health and well-being of her community.

When she joined the AMA as a medical student, one of her first endeavors was celebrating and promoting the organization’s accomplishments as a membership recruitment chair. Since then, Dr. Koirala has served in multiple leadership roles in organized medicine; notably, she was a member of the Executive Council of the Medical Society of the State of New York and served on the board of directors of the AMA Political Action Committee.

Dr. Koirala attended college at the University of Connecticut and graduated with a major in biology. She completed her MD, her MS in genetics, and her PhD in molecular pharmacology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her research has ranged from understanding the role of immune checkpoint inhibitors in sarcoma to the genetic basis of cardiac development. She completed residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Danbury Hospital and a health equity fellowship at Boston Medical Center. As a physician scientist, Dr. Koirala understands the power the AMA has as a trusted voice in medicine and public health.

Dr. Koirala’s work and accomplishments within the AMA reflect the value she places in diversity in medicine and health equity. Her actions and advocacy are driven by her personal story as an immigrant, as someone who has lived in poverty, as a woman, as a scientist, and as a trainee working with underserved populations.

Minh Than is a third-year Hematology-Oncology fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. He was born in Denver, Colorado. He studied molecular biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder before completing a combined MD/PhD at Yale University. He completed Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Pennsylvania. His current interests include basic and translational science for improving therapeutic strategies for solid malignancies. In his free time, he enjoys rock climbing, board games, and the Philly food scene.

Cecilia Jiang is a fifth-year radiation oncology resident at the University of Pennsylvania. She was born in Pittsburgh, PA and grew up in Edison, NJ. She studied biology at the University of Chicago and worked as a hospitalist scribe at Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ for a year after graduation. She then completed her medical degree at Emory University School of Medicine. Her clinical interests include radiation toxicity mitigation and imaging. In her free time, she enjoys visiting bakeries, used bookstores, and picnicking in the park.

Jason Han is currently a cardiac surgery resident at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He is in his 8th and last year of training and aspires to be an academic cardiac surgeon with a focus on humanism, education, and writing. He has been recognized for these efforts as the recipient of the Penn Pearl Teaching Award, the Donald Liu Hero of Humanism in Surgery Award, and the Fellowship at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics. As a medical student and resident, he wrote a monthly column for the Philadelphia Inquirer that combined personal experiences with deeper reflections on patient perspectives. He has written over 80 columns to-date and has been featured at various regional and national meetings such as the “Telling Your Health Story” and “Finding Your Voice” conferences. He has written extensively about his identity as a Korean American Immigrant, and how his background influences, and enhances his interactions with patients. In the academic sphere, his writing about surgical education and culture has been featured in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Annals of Surgery.

Dr. Mariam Ansar is an Internal Medicine PGY-2 Resident physician at Cooper University Hospital, Camden, New Jersey. She completed her medical school from Medical College & Hospital, in Kolkata, India and has worked there in critical care and emergency medicine for 2 years. She is passionate about community outreach internationally and seeks to impact global healthcare. Recently she was part of a global health elective to native communities in Bocas Del Toro, Panama is association with Floating Doctor’s (a nonprofit NGO). Previous year, she played a crucial part in organizing a ‘Winter coat drive’ organized by Cooper at Mount Cavalry Chruch, NJ. She is the co-president of GME Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council for this session 2024-2025 at Cooper Hospital and is also the founder of Usmle_Helpline, an initiative to mentor students from across the world on a similar journey to residency. She has previously been the College representative for South Asian Medical Student’s Association (SAMSA), Elsevier Student Ambassador, and has organized several health camps in India in association with Child Rights and Youth (CRY) organization.

Hi everyone, I’m Eunice! I’m a PGY-2 Family Medicine Resident at the Jefferson Center City campus. I studied Biology and Health: Science, Society and Policy at Brandeis University. After college, I served as an AmeriCorps VISTA to secure $700,000 in grant funding for a rural behavioral health organization. I then attended SUNY Upstate Medical University, where I contributed over 400 hours of advocacy and community service. Notable moments included representing 17 medical schools at the Medical Society State of New York House of Delegates; teaching medicine to high school students; providing respite to Hospice patients; fundraising for migrant workers; and working with Syracuse University law students to run a COVID-19-based writing competition and publication in the Syracuse Law Review. In 2021, I was awarded the National Health Service Corps scholarship, which paid for two years of medical school in exchange for working as a doctor in a medically underserved community. In residency, I’m working on my MPH at the Jefferson College of Population Health and enjoying going to Washington DC to advocate for our patients. Outside of medicine, I love getting late-night water ice with my church community group, attending free concerts at the Curtis, and going on Philly food adventures with my boyfriend. Would love to talk to you about health advocacy and medicine!

Jessica is a second-year family medicine resident at Bryn Mawr Hospital. She attended Case Western Reserve University for college and received her medical degree from Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine in New Jersey. She also doubled as a writer who covered Asian American literature for various publications and explored her identity as a Chinese American immigrant. Her writing has been featured in Zora, Los Angeles Review of Books, and many other publications. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and visiting museums.

Hi! I’m a PGY-2 in the Pediatrics Residency Program at Saint Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. I’m a proud New Jersian, went to Columbia University for undergrad where I majored in economics, and went to Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine for medical school. I plan to apply for pediatric gastroenterology fellowship after residency. Some of my hobbies are traveling, hiking, painting (not well!), and exploring Philadelphia on foot (you never know what interesting things you’ll stumble across). I‘ve been passionate about creating spaces for dialogue about Asian American identity and the Asian American experience since undergrad, both inside and outside the context of medicine. I hope to use my career to support diverse voices and advocate for diverse needs.

TingAnn Hsiao is a first year psychiatry resident at Cooper University Hospital. She was born in southern New Jersey. For college, she attended Cornell University and completed a major in Human Biology, Health, and Society and a minor in Health Policy. Afterwards, she pursued her MD/MPH at Thomas Jefferson University. During medical school, she conducted qualitative research and completed her master’s thesis on fentanyl test strips and other harm reduction strategies in the Emergency Department. Her current clinical interests include consult-liaison and addiction psychiatry. Outside of clinical work, she enjoys fostering cats and taking care of her houseplants.

Christopher grew up in Chappaqua, New York, and attended Haverford College, where he majored in biology and competed in men’s foil as part of the fencing team. After graduation, he spent three years researching breast cancer therapeutics at Thomas Jefferson University, which deepened his passion for medicine and solidified his commitment to the field. Currently, Christopher is a second-year medical student at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. He serves as the president of APAMSA at Jefferson, which focuses on addressing healthcare disparities, promoting health equity, and advocating for AAPI health issues. He is also actively involved in JeffHOPE, a student-run organization that provides free healthcare services to underserved and homeless populations in Philadelphia as a Screening and Procedures CM at Our Brother’s Place.

Anuhea Leite-Ah Yo, a proud Native Hawaiian, is currently in her clinical year as a Physician Assistant student at Drexel University. Born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, she graduated from Kamehameha Schools: Kea’au in 2014 and later earned her degree in Biology, with a minor in Psychology, from Wells College in New York. Along her journey, she gained valuable experience working as an EMT-B, Physical Therapy aide, Chiropractic aide, and Registered Behavioral Technician, each role deepening her love for caring for others.

In her free time, Anuhea enjoys being in the ocean surfing, playing volleyball, and cooking with her ‘ohana and friends. Her heart has always been with her Native Hawaiian community, who have helped her become who she is today. Anuhea’s path in medicine is driven by her desire to bring knowledge and care back home to Hawai’i, where she hopes to serve those who need it most and continue the spirit of aloha.

Stephen Chien

Region III Director
Drexel University College of Medicine

Jeffrey Wang

Region III Director

Drexel University College of Medicine

Sandy Yang

Region III Director
Sidney Kimmel Medical College

Jessica Hseuh

Co-Membership VP

Georgetown University School of Medicine

Lillian Phung

DUCOM APAMSA Co-President

Lucy Zhou

DUCOM APAMSA Co-President

Kevin Lim

DUCOM APAMSA Advocacy and Education Chair

Winni Gao

DUCOM Advocacy and Education Chair

Bobby Van

DUCOM APAMSA Community Service Chair

Celter Odango

DUCOM Community Service Chair

Sharon Shania

DUCOM APAMSA Social Chair

Olivia Nguyen

Temple University Pre-Medical APAMSA President

Dr. Victor Sta. Ana (pronounced “Santa Ana”) is a family physician, Medical Director of Homeless Services at the Institute for Family Health, and Director of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Primary Care Scholars Program. Dr. Sta. Ana graduated from Brown University with a concentration in Ethnic Studies and focus on Asian and African American literature.  He subsequently earned a Master’s Degree in Education and taught Science and Special Education in the NYC public school system.  In 2005 he changed careers to medicine, ultimately graduating from Albany Medical College and completing residency at the Institute for Family Health’s Beth Israel Residency in Urban Family Medicine. After residency he joined the faculty of the new Harlem Residency in Family Medicine where he continues to teach and provide patient care.

Since 2010, Dr. Sta. Ana has partnered with Damayan Migrants Workers Association, a grassroots organization dedicated to organizing low-wage Filipino workers, combating labor trafficking, promoting human and workers’ rights, and developing social justice leaders.  Through his work with Damayan, he conducts worker health assessments in support of their applications for legal immigration status as survivors of labor exploitation.  He has worked in community-based settings such as federally-qualified health centers, homeless shelters, food pantries, public schools and jails.  

In 2015 he was chosen to direct Mount Sinai’s Primary Care Scholars Program for medical students interested in careers in primary care for underserved communities, and in 2021 he was promoted to Medical Director of Homeless Services at the Institute for Family Health.  In this role he oversees five health centers for people with lived experience of homelessness. Dr. Sta. Ana also provides direct care at the Ali Forney Center for homeless LGBTQIA+ youth, and the Broadway Presbyterian Church for chronically homeless adults.

Dr. Sta. Ana has appeared in local and international news media advocating for domestic worker rights, advocated successfully at the state-level for homeless and runaway minors to consent to their own medical care, published, and has been invited to present locally, regionally and internationally on his clinical and advocacy work.  Dr. Sta. Ana lives in Queens, NY with his partner and 3-year old.

Dr. David Yang is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine. He earned his BS in Biomedical Engineering and BSAS in Electrical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, MD from LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, and his MHS from Yale University. He recently completed his emergency medicine residency through the Yale Emergency Scholars Program and his Yale Emergency Scholar and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) fellowship. 

Nationally, Dr. Yang has served as Mental Health Co-Chair for the Asian American Pacific Medical Students Association (APAMSA) and on the Equity and Inclusion Committee with the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). At the local level, he works closely with the sexual assault forensics committee and providing language concordant education to improve bystander interventions in cardiac arrest.

Dr. Yang’s current research focuses on addressing disparities of care in three domains. First, he examines the discrimination that healthcare workers face in the clinical setting with a particular focus on Asian Americans. Second, he focuses on improving the quality of care that survivors experience after a sexual assault. Third, he examines disparities in health outcomes and prehospital service utilization.

Jasmine is a third-year medical student at Yale School of Medicine. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2021, with a second major in Medicine, Health, and Society. During her time at Vanderbilt, she founded the university’s Doctors Without Borders student chapter, focusing on serving both global and local communities. In Nashville, she established and developed public health workshops for local refugees with the goal of increasing health literacy on critical topics such as navigating the U.S. healthcare system and first aid.

Now in New Haven, Jasmine continues her commitment to community health by organizing Mandarin CPR workshops for local immigrants, training over 100 Mandarin-speaking individuals in the past year. She is passionate about improving community health and looks forward to integrating these efforts into her future career as a physician.

Dr. Zilin Cui is a PGY-2 psychiatry resident at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston, MA. She is interested in going into child and adolescent psychiatry. She graduated from UMass Medical School in 2023, and before that she completed my undergraduate studies at UChicago.

Contact information: Zilin.cui@bmc.org

Dr. Ishita Sunita Arora (she/her/hers) is a Faculty member at the Department of Internal Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and a Research Fellow in Community Evaluation and Youth Programming at the Research Institute for Structural Change, Michigan State University. Dr. Arora is a clinical, community, and applied social psychologist who works with underserved and marginalized populations in the resource-limited settings of South Asia and the United States. As a psychotherapist and research scientist, her healthcare services focus on four core areas – (a) advancing health equity and evidence-based policy for women’s, reproductive and maternal health, (b) promotion of girl empowerment and prevention of gender-based violence, (c) advancing anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice, and (d) equitable access and utilization of mental healthcare among historically minoritized communities. Dr. Arora has expertise in community-engaged participatory research, mixed-methods research, program development and evaluation, implementation science, and violence prevention and intervention in academic medicine, community and not-for-profit organizations. Dr. Arora earned her Ph.D. in Human Services Psychology from the University of Maryland and a Master’s in Liberal Studies and Leadership from Ashoka University, India. Dr. Arora’s work is guided by anti-racist, anti-casteist, anti-oppressive, decolonial, and liberatory praxis.

Volunteer Health Interpreters Organization (VHIO) is a student-run organization at UC Berkeley that strives to eliminate language barriers in healthcare by providing free language interpretation and translation services in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over the past 17 years, we have worked with various healthcare organizations and medical schools to facilitate effective communication between providers and patients.

Many limited English proficient (LEP) patients do not have access to medical interpreters when they need the service, leading to lapses in understanding during the clinical encounter. A healthcare interpreter ensures that the patient and provider can communicate effectively, and in addition, acts as a cultural buffer and patient advocate.

Our presentation will explore what it means to have cultural competence vs. cultural humility when interacting with LEP patients of different cultural backgrounds, and how healthcare professionals can maintain a collaborative relationship with patients’ interpreters.

Contact information: cal.vhio@gmail.com

Henry Bronson Professor of Pharmacology and Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, Academician of Academia Sinica and Connecticut of Academia of Science, Chairman and founder of Consortium for Globalization of Chinese Medicine (CGCM)

Professor Yung-Chi Cheng has been a leader in cancer and viral pharmacology. There are four approved drugs in Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Hepatitis B (HBV), including the first anti-CMV drug, Gancylovillin and first anti-HBV drug, Lamivudine™ (3TC), discovered from his lab. Currently he has four additional drug candidates, including Chinese medicine PHY906 under clinical trials for the treatment of cancer, Hepatitis B Virus, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). His leadership in antiviral and anticancer research has been recognized by his service as a member and Chairman of the Therapeutic Study Section of NIH, a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the Division of Cancer Treatment of the National Cancer Institute, and a member of the AIDS Research Advisory Committee of NIH, a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research. 

He is also chief consultant for many government and research institutions in Taiwan, mainland China and Hong Kong. He also holds honorary professors in more than 20 institutions in greater China. He is the founder of Society of Chinese Bioscientist in America which just celebrated 30 year birthday. He is also a consultant for many pharmaceutical firms and is the scientific founder of three biotechnology companies sponsored by Yale University, including Achillion who went public, PhytoCeutica who licensed its lead candidate drug PHY906, and Yiviva who is developing evidence-based botanical products to address aging-associated diseases. Throughout his career he has received numerous honors, including the Leukemia Society of America Scholar Award, the Rhodes Memorial Award from the American Association for Cancer Research, ASPET Award (Am Soc Pharm and Exp Therap), an Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute and Cheung on Tak Intl Award for Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Med among many others, Fellow of the National Foundation of Cancer research. He was the strategy consultant in biotech area for the Division of Science and Technology of Yunnan Province and has as academician working station in Quanming. He has received more than 10 honorary professor or doctor degrees from different institutes around the world.

Professor Cheng’s interests are in the development of new drugs and the improvement of the use of clinically proven drugs for the treatment and prevention of cancer, and cancer associated viruses such as herpes virus, human immunodeficiency virus or hepatitis B virus associ­ated diseases. The types of agents are deoxyribonucleoside analogs, folate analogs and compounds that interfere with DNA and RNA metabolism. Currently he is interested in exploring the potential uses of Chinese medicines for unmet clinical needs.

Eling Tsai is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. She specializes in eating disorder treatment and prevention, weight-inclusive diabetes management, and family feeding. Eling received her Master of Public Health degree at the Yale School of Public Health and has experience in counseling and programming in a variety of settings, including private practice, hospitals, and community centers. 

Eling uses a Health at Every Size® and Intuitive Eating approach to support her clients in improving their health, well-being and outlook around food.  In addition to individual counseling, Eling enjoys educating groups about weight stigma, cultural competence in healthcare, and the joys of building a positive relationship with food and nutrition. 

Dr. Jake Gallagher completed his residency at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, a level 1 trauma center and had the privilege of performing OMT on a variety of patients from newborns to acutely ill patients in the ICU. He was also in residency during the covid pandemic, and experienced treating patients with OMT in that setting. Currently, outside of teaching at Touro, he works at his private practice in Stamford, CT, where he see many patients with forms of chronic pain, often incorporating OMT with home exercise planning and mindfulness practices (thinking about somato-emotional types of pain) when appropriate.

Dr. Oen-Hsiao is the Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine), Medical Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation at the Yale New Haven Health Heart and Vascular Center. She is a non-invasive cardiologist, focusing on women’s heart health, prevention, and general cardiology.  She also sees patients in the office and also reads echocardiograms, nuclear stress tests, and cardiac CTs. She did her undergrad at Brown University and medical school at the Yale University School of Medicine.

Email: joyce.oen-hsiao@yale.edu

Barry J. Wu, MD, MACP received his BS degree in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and MD from the University of Rochester. He completed his internal medicine residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. He is a Professor of Medicine and co-directs the first and last courses at Yale School of Medicine and recruits and trains 200 faculty involved in the clinical skills training and interprofessional education for medical, nurse practitioner and physician associate students. He co-directs the Connecticut Older Adult Collaboration for Health (COACH) 4M to enhance the geriatric workforce in primary care and is Chair of the Health Committee for the Yale China Association and collaborated on a model of residency training at Xiangya Hospitals adopted by the government of China. He is married with one son and faculty advisor for the Yale APAMSA Group, Yale ACP Internal Medicine Interest Group and Yale Health Professional Christian Fellowship. His email is barry.wu@yale.edu.

Yingfei Wu, MD, MPH completed her BS from the University of California, Los Angeles, MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She trained in Internal Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and is currently a General Internal Medicine fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Wu served on her local APAMSA chapter board at the Medical College of Wisconsin as well as on the APAMSA National Board, including as National President from 2018-2021. Her research experience ranges from basic neuroscience research and qualitative community surveys to systematic reviews and analyses of large clinical trials. Dr. Wu is passionate about primary care and clinical research in chronic cardiometabolic diseases, especially in addressing health inequities for minority/underrepresented populations.

Dr. Hiroshi Sogawa is a multi-organ transplant surgeon, performing adult and pediatric liver, kidney, pancreas, and intestinal (multi-visceral) transplant, and hepatobiliary surgery (including robotic- assisted and laparoscopic liver resection and pancreas surgery). Dr. Sogawa has served as the associate director of adult and pediatric liver transplant. Prior to joining the medical staff at Westchester Medical Center, Dr. Sogawa served as Director of Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship/Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, preceded by an appointment as Assistant Professor of Surgery at Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center. 

A graduate of the Shiga University of Medical Science in Shiga, Japan, Dr. Sogawa completed residency in general surgery and gastrointestinal surgery at the Tokyo Women’s Medical University Hospital in Tokyo, Japan. Then he came to the US and completed a residency in general surgery at the State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook. Following residency training, Dr. Sogawa completed a multi-organ transplant and hepatobiliary surgery fellowship at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Sogawa also completed a research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School for tolerance induction using mixed chimerism. 

Dr. Sogawa is Professor of Surgery, Vice Chair of Education, and Surgical Clerkship Director at the Department of Surgery, New York Medical College. Dr. Sogawa’s research interests focus on improving post-transplant outcomes, induction of clinical immunologic tolerance in transplant recipients, safety and efficacy of living donor liver transplantation, intestinal transplantation, and minimally invasive (robotic and laparoscopic) hepatobiliary surgery. He is a member of numerous committees at national and international organizations as well as an editorial board member of major surgical journals.

Dr. Mina L Xu, MD, is the Director of Hematopathology and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, specializing in diagnosing blood diseases and cancers. She is an internationally recognized academic pathologist and is also Director of Yale Pathology’s Expert Consultation Practice. Dr. Xu’s research focuses on the pathogenesis of hematopoietic malignancies, aiming to translate findings into diagnostic and therapeutic advancements in the field. Specifically, she is working on spatial multi-omics of lymphomas in transformation and in the development of novel cancer biomarkers.

Karen Chen is a second-year medical student from Dallas, TX at the Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S). She serves as the Columbia APAMSA chapter’s co-president. She is also the co-director of the Human Rights Clinic at Columbia. Karen graduated from Stanford University in 2022 with a B.S. in Computer Science and minor in Human Rights. Prior to medical school, Karen spent a year as Fulbright Research Scholar at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, conducting global health research to develop novel corneal transplant hydrogel alternatives for use in low-resource areas. Karen is passionate about AANHPI issues, driven by her desire to address the healthcare disparities at home and abroad, and hopes to serve as a voice for the AANHPI community in future career in medicine.

Kanoe Evile is a second year medical student at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons. She grew up in the town of Haleiwa, HI on O’ahu in a Filipino-Samoan family that inspired her love for her community and Pacific Health. She completed her B.S. in Biological Engineering with a minor in Linguistics at MIT before entering the MD/PhD Program at Columbia. She is passionate about addressing Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) issues and looks forward to best serving these communities at the intersection of medicine and public health. Currently, she serves as the NHPI Director on the APAMSA National Board.

​​Ted Shi is a second-year medical student at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians in Surgeons. He is originally from Overland Park, Kansas and attended The University of Texas at Dallas, where he received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. In medical school, he serves as the social chair for the school’s APAMSA chapter, where he plans social events for the organization.

Maya Xia is a second-year MD-PhD student at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians in Surgeons. She is originally from Houston, TX and graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s in Neuroscience. Prior to starting medical school, she worked at the National Institutes of Health, where she studied mechanisms underlying PTSD in mouse models. At Columbia, she serves as the culture and education chair for the school’s APAMSA chapter.

Dr. Ethan Daniel Fried is a graduate of the City College of New York, Sophie Davis School for Biomedical Education (a 7 year BS-MD program) and the SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine.  He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at SUNY Downstate-Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn and a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Cornell University Medical School – New York Hospital.  He has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health.  He also has a Master’s Degree in Health Professions Pedagogy and Leadership from Hofstra University.  Dr. Fried is currently Associate Chair for Education and Internal Medicine Residency Program Director at Lenox Hill Hospital, part of Northwell Health and Professor of Medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine at Northwell/Hofstra.  He is also Associate Designated Institutional Official for Lenox Hill and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Northwell Health.  In 2012, Dr. Fried was inducted as a Master of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Shwetha Iyer is Program Director of the Primary Care/Social Internal Medicine Program at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She received her medical degree from Temple University and completed her residency in the Primary Care/Social Internal Medicine Program Track at Montefiore. She developed and completed training as a global health faculty fellow in the Global Health and Clinical Skills Fellowship at Montefiore. Her area of interest includes medical education, specifically in curriculum development and coaching. She has adapted and teaches a weight management curriculum for residents, developed and co-directs the clinical reasoning curriculum, and has refined the advocacy and women’s health curriculum for the residency program. Her current curricular focus is the development of the Master Adaptive Learner model and structural competency in residency education.  Prior to her current position, she served as Associate Program Director for the Primary Care/Social Internal Medicine Program.

Dr Timothy B. Sullivan is Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the founding Program Director of the Psychiatric Residency Training Program, from 2013-2023, at Northwell Health/Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH); and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Donald and Barbara Zucker SOM at Hofstra/Northwell. After graduating from Dartmouth Medical College, he trained in Internal Medicine and Hematology-Oncology at Saint Vincents Hospital in Greenwich Village, New York; and subsequently pursued further training in Psychiatry at the New York Hospital Westchester Division, Cornell University Medical Center, where he then served as a member of the faculty for several years.

Dr Sullivan is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association; Fellow of the International Society for Affective Disorders; Co-Chair of the Psychotherapy Section of the World Psychiatric Association; Vice President of the World Association for Dynamic Psychiatry, a member of the Executive Council for the World Federation of Psychotherapy, and Associate Editor of Psychodynamic Psychiatry. He is also Chair of the Education Committee for the American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis (AAPDPP).

Dr Sullivan, throughout his career, has been active in the communities where he has worked, maintaining relationships with and frequently lecturing to NAMI, as well as serving for several years as First Vice President of the Board of Westchester Arc, and as a member of the Board of Governors of NYSARC. He currently serves on the Board of Partners Health Plan, a first-in-the-nation managed care organization focused on providing quality care for individuals with developmental disabilities.

In addition to founding the psychiatry residency training program at SIUH when he arrived there in 2011, he has subsequently, in his role as Chair, focused on modernizing systems of care and recruiting teaching faculty from distinguished institutions; collaborated with other hospital departments on a variety of projects, including Integrated/Collaborative Care models; developed programs that improve the recognition and treatment of persons with substance use disorders in primary care settings; promoted efforts to enhance behavioral care for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and their families; participated in community public health initiatives targeting underserved communities and populations at risk, especially adolescents; and helped begin hospital programs addressing resident and physician wellness. His current area of academic interest is the structure of future psychiatric practice and the training/educational needs of future psychiatrists, with an emphasis on proposed models of psychotherapy training.

Dr. Walker-Descartes attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry where she obtained her Doctorate in Medicine. Upon graduating from medical school, she did a residency in Pediatrics at New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, NY and subsequently pursued further training in a combined General Academic Pediatrics and Child Abuse Fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Dr. Walker-Descartes is currently on faculty at Maimonides Children’s Hospital of Brooklyn. In the Department of Pediatrics, she serves in two roles – one as a clinician and the other as an administrator. In her clinical roles, she practices General Pediatrics and a Child Abuse Pediatrics. As an administrator, she serves in the following roles: Program Director of the Pediatrics Residency training program, Fellowship Director for the Child Abuse Fellowship Program, the Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Pediatrics, and the Director of Child Maltreatment Services for the Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Walker-Descartes has published several articles as well as book chapters focused on the various forms of child maltreatment. Her involvement in child protection and advocacy also includes her involvement in several local and national professional organizations such as the AAP Chapter 2 Committee on the Prevention of Family Violence, the AAP Special Interest Group on Child Abuse and Neglect, the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), the New York State Child Abuse Medical Provider Program (CHAMP) and the Ray Helfer Society for Child Maltreatment Pediatricians. She has also served as a consultant for the New York City Administration for Children’s Services Accountability Review Panel that reviews the child fatalities across the five borough and continues to lend her skillsets wherever possible to advance the healthcare agenda for all vulnerable children.

Contact: (718) 283-7503

Steve Paik MD, EdM is the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Admissions at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University.

He earned his MD at the Boston University School of Medicine. He completed his Pediatric residency training and Chief Residency at the Babies and Children’s Hospital at Columbia University. He then went on to complete a Pediatric Academic Fellowship in Urban Community Health at Columbia. During his fellowship, he earned an EdM at Teachers College Columbia University in Adult Learning and Leadership. Dr. Paik is Board Certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hospital Medicine, and he has served on faculty at NYU and Columbia as a Pediatric Hospitalist. He has served in pediatric residency leadership for 15 years (as Associate Program Director at NYU and Program Director at Columbia) prior to joining the Netter School of Medicine.

Dr. Paik has been an active member of the medical education community. He was in the first cohort of the Pediatric Academic Societies’ Educational Scholar Program. He has served as a faculty member for the Academic Pediatric Educator Excellence (APEX) Teaching Program.  He currently serves as a member of the AAMC Advancing Holistic Principles Advisory Committee.  His educational scholarly interests have included curriculum development and evaluation, faculty development, mentoring/coaching, professional identity formation, inclusive and equitable learning environments, skills development (teaching, feedback, conflict resolution, communication, and leadership).

Dr. Andy Nguyen, MD is a first year anesthesiology resident at Yale. As a first generation physician, he completed his undergraduate and medical school education through one of the inaugural cohorts of a combined BS/MD 7 year accelerated medical program at Augusta University and the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA where he grew up.  During his time in medical school, he used his more than decade long professional experience in photography and videography to merge digital media and medicine to build a social media platform culminating in over 300k in following and 50 million views across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and podcast streaming platforms. Most notably on YouTube (@ND M.D.) his 73Q interview series has created a library of resources that include testimonies from notable physicans of specialties ranging from psychiatry to plastic surgery such as Dr. America Revere, Dr. Jake Goodman, Doc Schmidt, Dr. Glaucomfleken, and much more. His experience traveling all around the country to share physician stories, directing and hosting multiple podcasts, using media experience to enrich medical school curriculum, and even being a TEDx speaker has been an example of the importance of maintaining creative passions in medical school and how important it is to share your story…because someone out there needs to hear it.

Dr. Karen Bach, MD, is a second-year plastic surgery resident at Yale. As a first-generation college graduate, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Physiological Sciences from UCLA. She then graduated from the University of Toledo College of Medicine in Ohio, where she was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha and the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Karen’s involvement with APAMSA began during her premed years, where she served as the national bone marrow director. Later, during her medical training, she founded the local regional chapter at her medical school as served as President. Her professional interests include addressing healthcare disparities across different ethnic groups, microsurgery, and hand surgery. During her leisure time, she enjoys traveling with her fiancé, exploring the newest food scene, and hanging out with her cat.

James Hwang is radiology resident at Yale University. He went to Duke University, where he studied biology with minors in Chemistry and Psychology. For medical school, he went to the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, which has multiple campuses. He was part of a program where I completed my first two years of medical school at the Rochester, Minnesota campus, and my clinical training years at the Jacksonville, Florida campus. Radiology requires a preliminary year, which he completed at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Santa Clara, California. He is now in my first year at Yale, and he intends to complete a radiology fellowship in the future. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with my fiancé, friends, and family, along with traveling, both nearby and internationally. He is passionate about lifelong learning and mentorship and would love to connect with those with questions for him.

Contact information: james.hwang@yale.edu, Twitter @jameshwang214

Arvin Saleh is currently a CA1/PGY2 anesthesiology resident at Yale in New Haven. Arvin grew up in the US Pacific Northwest, Indonesia, and Singapore, before earning his undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. During his undergraduate studies, Arvin spent 4 months researching agriculture and nutrition policy in Nepal. Arvin then moved north to Boston to pursue his MD/MPH at Tufts. During this period, he spent a year living in Tanzania researching child growth and development outcomes. Arvin’s professional interests include global health, critical care, and pediatric anesthesiology. During his spare time, Arvin enjoys cooking, trying to cultivate a green thumb, and saving up to get more travel experiences. He can be reached at arvin.saleh@yale.edu.

Dr. Amanda Zhou is a PGY3 dermatology resident. She went to college at the University of Southern California and medical school at Yale. In medical school, she was involved in medical education, medical student wellness, the humanities in medicine, and basic science research in a dermatology lab studying skin cancer prevention. In residency, she is on the Clinician Educator track and continues to focus on medical education and wellness, including serving as a member of the Graduate Medical Education Committee and being a “Friend” in Yale’s “Call a Friend” one-on-one peer support initiative.

Melissa Calica

Region 1 Director
Tufts University School of Medicine

Stephen Lin

Region 1 Director
University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine

Ruby Chung

Region 2 Director
SUNY Downstate
College of Medicine

Ker-Cheng (KC) Chen

Region 2 Director
SUNY Downstate College of Medicine

Yue Jiao Jiang

Region 2 Director
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Harlem

Sarah Lee

Region 2 Director
New York University Grossman Long Island School of Medicine

Paul Tominez

Membership Vice President
University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine

Isabel Wang

Co-President
Yale School of Medicine

Emily Xu

Co-President
Yale School of Medicine

Ashley Wang

Event Planning Co-Chair
Yale School of Medicine

Tiffany Jiang

Event Planning Co-Chair
Yale School of Medicine

Rebecca Chang

Service and Conference Co-Chair
Yale School of Medicine

Joyce Quon

Service and Conference Co Chair
Yale School of Medicine

Javieer Singh

Treasurer
Yale School of Medicine

Dr. Lan Ðoàn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health Section for Health Equity at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Her work is centered on the structural drivers of health and has focused on cardiovascular disease and psychosocial factors, including quality of life and depression, among Asian American older adults and how neighborhood deprivation modifies the impact of these determinants. She is an interdisciplinary scholar with expertise in analysis of complex datasets, with a focus on aging and aging-related processes, data disaggregation, immigrant health, and social environments. Her research is motivated by a commitment to promoting health equity for historically marginalized communities through meaningful, community-engaged research and collaborations. Dr. Ðoàn completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Population Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and received her PhD in Public Health, with an emphasis on Health Promotion and Health Behavior and minor in Biological Data Sciences, from Oregon State University.

Dr. Miller attended the George Washington University, where he studied journalism, biology and public health, and also completed medical school. He moved to New York City to complete his residency training in internal medicine at NYU, where he also completed his fellowships in cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, and served as the senior chief resident of internal medicine. Following his training, Dr. Miller joined the NYU faculty, and served as the Senior Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Training Program for nearly a decade; his clinical practice was primarily at Bellevue Hospital. He currently serves as Assistant Dean for Career Advisement at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, the Director of Clinical Cardiology at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, and as the Associate Program Director of the Fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease at NS/LIJ.

Dr. Tsai serves as President of New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, as well as Delafield-Rodgers Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In addition, he serves as Founding Director of the Center for Ophthalmic Artificial Intelligence and Human Health (COAIHH) and Co-Founder/Executive Advisor of the Center for Asian Equity and Professional Development (CAEPD), both at Icahn Mount Sinai. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, he served as Robert R. Young Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at Yale University School of Medicine. Tsai has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and 80 additional articles, chapters, and textbooks, including the Oxford American Handbook of Ophthalmology and Medical Management of Glaucoma (4 editions). He also serves on the Administrative Board of the Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems (COTH) of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and Immediate Past President of the International Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (IJCAHPO).

Dr. Ethan Daniel Fried is a graduate of the City College of New York, Sophie Davis School for Biomedical Education (a 7 year BS-MD program) and the SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine.  He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at SUNY Downstate-Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn and a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Cornell University Medical School – New York Hospital.  He has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health.  He also has a Master’s Degree in Health Professions Pedagogy and Leadership from Hofstra University.  Dr. Fried is currently Associate Chair for Education and Internal Medicine Residency Program Director at Lenox Hill Hospital, part of Northwell Health and Professor of Medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine at Northwell/Hofstra.  He is also Associate Designated Institutional Official for Lenox Hill and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Northwell.Health.  In 2012, Dr. Fried was inducted as a Master of the American College of Physicians.  This presentation will be the 16 th time he has given the opening plenary at the APDIM Chiefs Meeting.

Dr. Con is an Attending in the Department of Surgery, Division of Surgery, Surgical Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and an active researcher with numerous publications. He was the former Program Director for the Department of Surgery Residency Program, a role he held for 6+ years. During that time he developed a research track within the residency and mentored surgical trainees into obtaining competitive fellowships. Dr. Con continues to be involved in surgical education, clinical outcomes research and mentorship

Dr Timothy B. Sullivan is Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and was the founding Program Director of the Psychiatric Residency Training Program, from 2013-2023, at Northwell Health/Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH); and he is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Donald and Barbara Zucker SOM at Hofstra/Northwell. After graduating from Dartmouth Medical College, he trained in Internal Medicine and Hematology-Oncology at Saint Vincents Hospital in Greenwich Village, New York; and subsequently pursued further training in Psychiatry at the New York Hospital Westchester Division, Cornell University Medical Center, where he then served as a member of the faculty for several years.

Dr Sullivan is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association; Fellow of the International Society for Affective Disorders; Co-Chair of the Psychotherapy Section of the World Psychiatric Association; and Associate Editor of Psychodynamic Psychiatry He is also Chair of the Education Committee for the American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis (AAPDPP).

Dr Sullivan has throughout his career been active in the communities where he has worked, maintaining relationships with and frequently lecturing to NAMI, as well as serving for several years as First Vice President of the Board of Westchester Arc, and as a member of the Board of Governors of NYSARC. He currently serves on the Board of Partners Health Plan, a first-in-the-nation health insurance company marketed to individuals with developmental disabilities.

In addition to founding the psychiatry residency training program at SIUH when he arrived there in 2011, he has subsequently in his role as Chair focused on modernizing systems of care and recruiting teaching faculty from distinguished institutions; and also collaborated with other hospital departments on a variety of projects, including Integrated/Collaborative Care models; programs that improve the recognition and treatment of persons with substance use disorders in primary care settings; initiatives to enhance behavioral care for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and their families; community public health initiatives targeting underserved communities and populations at risk, especially adolescents; and resident and physician wellness. His current area of academic interest is the structure of future psychiatric practice and the training/educational needs of future psychiatrists, with an emphasis on proposed models of psychotherapy training.

Nadine A. Chang, Ph.D. is Senior Psychologist, Psychology Training Director, and Chair of the Asian Psychiatry Program Committee at Gracie Square Hospital, a freestanding inpatient psychiatric hospital affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Chang also holds faculty appointments as Assistant Attending Psychologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Chang earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology at New York University and Ph.D. in Clinical and School Psychology at Hofstra University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine with Dr. Aaron Beck, receiving the NIH National Research Service Award for this work. Dr. Chang was recently awarded a grant from the New York Community Trust to fund community outreach efforts with Asian communities in NYC. Dr. Chang’s interests continue to focus on implementing and disseminating cognitive-behavioral interventions for psychosis and other severe and persistent mental illnesses, suicide prevention and Asian American mental health.

Dr. Mike Zhou is a psychiatrist by training and currently serves as the Medical Director of Hamilton-Madison House, community non-profit in New York City specializing in Asian-American and immigrant mental health. In this position, he works with therapists, caseworkers, and peers – most of whom are fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, or Japanese — across various treatment programs including substance use, child and adolescent mental health, and personalized recovery from severe-persistent mental illness. In addition, he maintains a small private practice and continues to participate in resident education and supervision in the Mount Sinai system. Prior to these positions, he completed medical training at the State University of New York – Downstate College of Medicine and residency in psychiatry at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, where he served as the chief resident of the long-term psychotherapy program. He was born in China originally before immigrating to the US with his family in grade school, and where possible he uses Mandarin and these life experiences to facilitate his work.