National Board Bio

Carolyn Vo is currently a first year medical student at Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine. She was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada and graduated with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno. Carolyn is passionate about giving back to her community, advocating for the medically underserved, and women’s health. Her current specialties of interest are OB/GYN and Family Medicine.

Eujung Park is a 4th year medical at University of Arizona, College of Medicine – Phoenix who will be applying to orthopedic surgery. She was raised in Baltimore and has lived in New Hampshire, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Her hobbies include pickleball, games nights, and hosting potluck dinners. She is the youngest of four in a Korean American family.

Urmee Das is currently a first-year medical student at Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her parents are first generation Indian immigrants. She grew up in Minnesota and completed her B.S. in Biology at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in 2024. In her following gap year, she worked in retail and hospital pharmacy, and scribed at multiple emergency departments in the Twin Cities area. She is passionate about the role medical professionals play in LGBTQIA+ disparities and their intersections with ethnicity and culture.

Ruisi Chen is pursuing an MS in Media, Medicine, and Health at Harvard Medical School. Born in China and educated across Copenhagen, Berlin, New York, and Boston, Ruisi brings an interdisciplinary perspective on health, technology, and systems. She completed her BBA in Strategic Design and Management at Parsons School of Design.

Her research focuses on how clinical, institutional, and communication infrastructures influence care access, patient-provider experience, and marginalized health needs. Her current work explores barriers to LGBTQIA+ sexual health information access and broader questions of representation in healthcare.

In her free time, Ruisi enjoys skiing, indie films, classical piano, and perfecting her banana bread recipe.

Arnold Kim is a rising OMS-III at the Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine in Vallejo, CA. Born and raised in San Jose, CA, he hopes to remain in the Bay Area for residency in order to give back to his hometown community. His path to medicine was not linear- he spent five years attending community college while working multiple jobs, using that time to explore his passions both within and beyond medicine. Despite this journey, he ultimately realized he could not envision himself pursuing any other career.

Arnold went on to complete his undergraduate studies at San Jose State University, earning degrees in Sociology and Dance, before enrolling in San Francisco State University’s Pre-Health Professions Post-Baccalaureate program. At Touro, he has developed his leadership and professional skills through involvement in national conferences, including AACOM’s Educating Leaders and the AOA House of Delegates, as well as through service on class council and COM Student Government.

As a board member of Touro’s Rainbow Health Coalition, Arnold organized and hosted a gender-affirming care lecture as part of the school’s Cultural Competency series, featuring Dr. John Kowalczyk, DO, who spoke on urologic gender-affirming surgeries. Although he has been a member of APAMSA’s Touro chapter, this marks his first year serving on a national committee.

Arnold is honored to serve in this role and hopes to use this opportunity to increase visibility and representation for queer medical students. He is currently interested in pursuing urology and aspires to become a physician who helps destigmatize and normalize sexual health.

Cassidy Downs is a first-year medical student at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu, Hawaii. She attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa as an undergraduate and received a Bachelors of Science in Molecular Cell Biology. She enjoys Native Hawaiian health advocacy, research, and surfing in her free-time. After medical school, she hopes to return to Molokai, Hawaii and serve her community as a physician.

Reina Takaki-Nakagawa is currently a fourth-year medical student at Touro University Nevada, College of Osteopathic Medicine. She was born in Tokyo, Japan, but has lived in Mililani, Hawaiʻi since she was 4 months old. She completed her B.S. in Bioengineering from Oregon State University and furthered her education post-bacc at the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu. Her professional interests include pediatrics and primary care, and she plans to return to Hawaiʻi to serve the local and native populations. In her free time, she enjoys eating and trying new restaurants, attending professional sporting events, and spending time with her husband.

Josephine Kaohi is a fourth-year medical student at Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine – Kansas City Campus. She received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and was raised in a multicultural household with Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Native Hawaiian heritage. Growing up as a military child, she moved frequently between the United States and Korea, which deepened her appreciation for cultural diversity. She is passionate about representing her heritage as a future physician and is committed to promoting culturally competent care in healthcare. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new restaurants, listening to K-Pop, and reading historical fiction novels.

Audrey Nguyen is third-year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She joined APAMSA two years ago and currently serves as her local chapter’s Co-President. Within medicine, Audrey is passionate about quality improvement and healthcare equity. Her work is informed by a deep commitment to cultural competency and implementing system-level practices to promote high-value care. Ultimately, she strives to become a physician who heals with not just her mind, but also her heart. Outside of healthcare, Audrey loves dancing, eating, and Gudetama.

Jenny Lai Chinnapha is a first-year medical student currently attending California Health Sciences University, College of Osteopathic Medicine in Clovis, CA. She immigrated from Bangkok, Thailand to Kauai, Hawaii when she was eight years old. Five years following her family’s immigration, they moved once more to the Central Valley of California where Jenny spent the remainder of her childhood. Since then, she has earned her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley with double major degrees in both Psychology and Molecular Cellular Biology – Neurobiology. She has also spent time volunteering as an EMT and working as a Medical Fellow at an ophthalmology clinic in the Bay Area.

Jenny has a passion for mentorship, advocacy, and cultivating spaces to support her AANHPI community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, amidst the AAPI-directed hate crimes, Jenny created the Happy Gaea Initiative, which donated all funds generated from selling her and her sister’s digital artwork to organizations that offered public health assistance to communities in need and tangible support for the Stop Asian Hate movement. At UC Berkeley, she founded the Thai American Cultural Association (TACA) and served as the organization’s president to provide students a safe space to explore their cultural identities and learn more about Thai language and culture. She looks forward to continue advocating for her larger community as part of APAMSA’s Southeast Asian Diversity Committee and to integrate this in her future medical practice as a physician. Outside of medicine, Jenny enjoys rock climbing, writing poetry, creating digital art, listening to live music, and sharing food with her friends and family.