August 2009 Newsletter Volume 4, Issue 1

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WELCOME New UMed Students!

Communities & the Medical Facilities that Serve Them

Welcome UMed

2013! This issue is

dedicated to our

new students, part

of the College of

Medicine‟s Class

of 2013.

The new class is a

talented and diverse

class that represents

eight states, with over

62% of the students

coming from Illinois.

The youngest student

is 20, with the oldest

being 31. The average

age of the students is

23. Four students are

between the ages of

26 and 31.

MEET UMed 2013:

ANN ACHUFUSI

BRIAN BAMBERGER

ANGELA BIXBY

CARMEN CANCINO

BENJAMIN CARNEY

DANIEL CHOI

CELESTE CRUZ

KALI CYRUS

ANGEL DESAI

BETHANY DICKS

OLUBADEWA FATUNDE

JUSTIN FIALA

STEPHANIE GALLITANO

ANNE JENNINGS

ENOCH KOTEI

HOYON LEE

MELISSA LOPEZ

EDEN PAPPO

EUGENE PARK

YURY PARRA

GREGORY PODOLEJ

COREY THOMPSON

SABRINA UDDIN

OCTAVIO VEGA

The third annual

UMed Bus Tour is

scheduled to take

place on Saturday

August 22, 2009.

This year‟s theme

is communities and

the medical

facilities that serve

them. Members of

UMed program are

working to put

together an

interesting and

exciting tour of the

multiple

communities that

exist around the

Chicago area.

Communities to be

examined will be the

ethnic communities

that represent the

diverse population in

Chicago and the local

neighborhoods.

This year‟s guest

speakers are Drs.

Arthur and Claire

Kohrman.

UMed Orientation and Book Discussion This year‟s

book discussion

on August 11th

will focus on

“Mama Might

Be Better off

Dead” (Laurie

Kaye Abraham).

It is an eye-

opening account

of the care for

the urban poor

in America by

following the

medical

challenges of a

Chicago family.

The discussion

will allow

UMed students

to critically

consider

healthcare

policy and

programming

and how they

directly affect

the patients they

may serve as

urban

physicians.

(Continued on page 14)

2 UMED NEWSLETTER

Ann Achufusi

Brian Bamberger

In her free time, Ann

likes to spend time

with her family and

friends, keeping up

with the news,

listening to music,

traveling and

exercising. In the

upcoming months she

is determined to

become a better cook.

When she becomes a

physician, she would

like to incorporate in

her work medical

journalism, and other

outlets toward

working to improve

the quality and

comprehensiveness

of reporting of health

and medical issues in

minority and

immigrant

communities. She

loves the city of

Chicago, and thinks

it‟s a great place to

go to medical

school, and an

ultimate setting to

take part in a

program like the

Urban Medicine

Curriculum.

Hailing from Glen

Ellyn, IL, Brian

Bamberger graduated

in 2006 from the

University of Illinois

at Urbana-Champaign,

where he was part of

the last graduating

class of the Honors

Biology major.

Since graduation,

Brian completed two

years of service in

AmeriCorps. His first

AmeriCorps position

sent him to „Charm

City,‟ where he

served in homeless

outreach at the

Franciscan Center in

Baltimore. Brian

then spent a year in

Washington, DC

working at the

S.O.M.E. (“So

Others Might Eat”)

free Medical Clinic

and doing Hispanic

outreach at the

Spanish Catholic

Center. He has a

passion for serving the

homeless and, as of

right now, wants to go

into primary care.

In his free time, Brian

plays softball, runs,

reads, and tries to play

guitar. A self-

proclaimed band nerd,

he also plays three

different types of

clarinet and has been

known to conduct an

ensemble or two.

Ann Achufusi is a

2009 graduate of

Loyola University

Chicago, where she

majored in

Molecular Biology,

and minored in

Sociology. While at

Loyola, she worked on

malaria research.

3

Angela Bixby

Carmen Cancino

much and wishes to

participate in medical

missions while in

medical school. In the

future, she aspires to

work in an urban area

helping underserved

and diverse

populations; therefore,

she is excited to be

part of the UMed

program and learn

about health care and

policy among others.

Angela‟s hobbies

include reading, Yoga,

Pilates, and hanging

out with family and

Angela is 30 years old

and originally from

Medellin, Colombia.

She came to the

United States in 2001

with the dream of

becoming a doctor.

She completed a B.S.

in Neuroscience at

UIC last May. Angela

currently works as a

student research

assistant at UIC

College of Medicine,

and she loves working

with patients.

Moreover, she enjoys

volunteering very

friends. An interesting

fact, Angela is also a

Dental Rehabilitation

Technologist and

owned a dental

laboratory back in

Colombia for three

years. She is very

excited to meet her

UMed colleagues.

baccalaureate

program at California

State Fullerton, to

prepare for medical

school. She is a non-

traditional student

with a variety of

diverse life

experiences, and is

proud to call herself

an M1 at UIC!

Carmen has a love for

urban medicine, and,

while working

through the post-

baccalaureate

Carmen Cancino was

born and raised in Los

Angeles. Her pride

and joy are her two

children—ages five

and fifteen months—

both of whom have

the pleasure of

relocating with her to

Chicago to experience

their first Christmas

with “real” snow!

A graduate of UCLA

with a BA in

Sociology, Carmen

entered the post-

program at Fullerton,

participated in research,

and volunteered in the ER

at her local county

hospital. Ironically, it is

the same hospital in which

Carmen was born.

During her downtime,

Carmen loves to read,

cook, and watch movies,

but enjoys most the

quality time she spends

with her two kids.

4 UMED NEWSLETTER

Benjamin Carney

Daniel Choi

My name is Daniel

Choi and I was born in

Chicago, IL and raised

in Mount Prospect. I

stayed nearby for my

undergraduate

experience at

Northwestern

University where I

studied Biological

Sciences. Although I

love Chicago, I take

every opportunity to

travel. I was fortunate

enough to be able to

study abroad twice:

studying public health

in Paris and working

on a community

development project in

Masaka, Uganda.

My dream is to be able

to live in both places

again at some point in

the near future. In my

free time, I love to run,

workout, cook, watch

movies, and spend

time with my family

and friends. In

addition, I‟m a huge

White Sox, Bears, and

Bulls fan and love

sports in general. I

just recently moved to

the South Loop and

have been enjoying a

relaxing summer but

cannot wait for school

to start!

Benjamin Carney

grew up in Rogers

Park on the North

Side of Chicago. He

studied English

Literature at the

University of

Michigan before

working as a

paralegal and then

math teacher in

Brooklyn, NY.

Benjamin has also

worked as a janitor, an

airport liaison, a

cultural ambassador to

Poland, a Cubs ticket

broker and a doorman.

More recently, he has

worked in laboratories

investigating Ovarian

Cancer at UIC and

Cerebral Palsy at the

hospital formerly

known as ENH.

Benjamin is fond of

reading, eating and

biking. He once

considered buying a

sailboat and briefly

owned a non-

functioning

motorcycle (1974

Honda CB 350/4). He

is looking forward to

beginning.

5

Celeste Cruz

Kali Cyrus

My name is Celeste

Cruz I am originally

from Guatemala but

have lived in Chicago

for most of my life. I

graduated from UIC in

2008 with a bachelor‟s

degree in Psychology

and a minor in

Chemistry and

Spanish. I have

volunteered in Rush

University Medical

Center as a research

assistant in the

Anatomy department.

The studies I was

involved with

monitored bone

growth around bone

implants in rat models

in order to improve

bone implants in

clinical scenarios. I

was also a member of

the cuddler club,

which allowed me to

spend time with

Kali Cyrus is

originally from West

Palm Beach, Florida

and has spent most

of her life in tropical

climates. Although

looking forward to

Chicago living, she

is not looking

forward to the

Chicago winter and

buying her first real

winter coat!

Kali was a 2006

graduate of Stanford

University, majoring

in Psychology and

minoring in Human

Biology.

premature infants. My

favorite hobby is black

and white

photography. I also

enjoy spending time

with my family and

boyfriend, watching

movies, and relaxing.

I look forward to being

a part of the UMed

program and working

with underserved

minority populations.

After graduating, Kali

decided to pursue her

Master of Public

Health at the

Rollins School of

Public Health at

Emory University

where she expanded

her interest in the

physician's role in

mediating health

policy.

After being admitted

to UIC in 2008, Kali

decided to defer for a

year and moved to Rio

de Janeiro, Brazil

where she lived for 8

months. During her

time there, she helped

start a nonprofit

organization seeking

to establish

transparency as an

umbrella organization

for smaller NGO's

throughout the Rio

Area.

Kali loves attending

concerts, collecting

music, people

watching, and

traveling in her free

time.

6 UMED NEWSLETTER

Angel Desai

Bethany Dicks

University. With her

previous background

in international

development and

interest in social

policy, Angel hopes to

pursue public health

issues in the future.

In her free time, Angel

enjoys music (all

kinds!), books,

cooking (and eating!),

tea, and traveling!

Georgetown, she had

the fortunate

opportunity to intern

in India for a summer

as a primary school

teacher, as well as to

study abroad in

Strasbourg, France.

After graduation,

Angel enrolled in a

premedical post-

baccalaureate

program in

Pennsylvania, and

later came back to

Chicago to work as a

prostate cancer

research coordinator

at Northwestern

Angel Desai is

originally from a

northern suburb of

Chicago, but has

been away from the

area for the past 9

years and is excited

to finally be able to

return! A 2007

graduate from

Georgetown

University, Angel

majored in Regional

and Comparative

Studies with a

concentration in

international

development and

globalization.

During her time at

Bethany Dicks grew

up in Chicago and

moved to Appleton

Wisconsin in the sixth

grade. From there she

attended the

University of

Minnesota - Twin

Cities and graduated in

May of 2009 with a

dual degree, a B.A.

with honors in

Psychology and a B.S.

in Genetics, Cell

Biology, and

Development.

She has spent this

summer relaxing and

enjoying the Pacific

Northwest hiking and

backpacking in Crater

National Park and

Glacier National Park.

She enjoys spending

time with friends and

family, running,

reading, and swimming.

Her main concerns and

passions within the

urban medicine

community are

pediatrics and ensuring

that both children and

their families receive

not only primary care

but access to specialty

care as well.

7

Olubadewa Fatunde

Badewa Fatunde is

originally from

Houston/Dallas, TX

(long story), although

his family is originally

from Nigeria and he

has lived all across the

US in the last 2 years.

Badewa graduated

from the University of

Texas at Austin (UT)

in 2006. As a UT

undergraduate,

Badewa was a

medical interpreter for

Spanish speaking

patients, and is

passionate about

improving access &

quality of care to

underserved patients in

the US & abroad. So

he later studied these

issues along with the

composition of

America‟s health care

system in an MPH

program from

Dartmouth, which he

finished in 2008.

Hopefully, Badewa‟s

time in New

Hampshire has

adequately prepared

him for the brutal

Chicago winters!

Badewa maintains his

sanity mainly by

playing sports (yes, all

of them) & his tenor

saxophone. He also

loves to cook, eat, and

listen to Chris Rock or

anything else that

makes him laugh.

Justin Fiala Justin Fiala is a

Chicagoan through

and through. Raised

just a stone‟s throw

away from the city in

the northern suburbs,

at an early age he

succumbed to the

allure of the urban

environment.

Justin recently

graduated from UIC

where majored in

Spanish, with a focus

on Latin American

literature. While at

UIC he assisted on a

psychiatric study

examining HIV risk

amongst LGBT youth

in the Chicagoland

area, and hopes to

continue working

with this population.

Justin was also

greatly influenced by

his semester of study

in Valparaíso, Chile

and hopes to integrate

his love of Hispanic

culture and the

Spanish language into

his medical career.

Places you might spot

him during his free

time include: the new

Modern Wing of the

Art Institute, any

number of Chicago

area thrift shops, the

gym (there‟s a lazy

river… need we say

more?!), and at his

stove trying a new

recipe.

8 UMED NEWSLETTER

Stephanie Gallitano

is excited to be

returning to her

home state of

Illinois. After

spending the past six

years out of state,

she looks forward to

being back to a city

with real snow and

Bears fans (although

she will miss NYC

pizza).

Stephanie attended

Washington

University in St.

Louis and majored

in Biology and

minored in

Chemistry. While in

school, she

participated in

different research

opportunities and

provided patient

education in a local

clinic.

For the past two

years, Stephanie has

been working with

HealthCorps

designing a

nutrition, physical

fitness, and mental

resilience program

in a public New

Anne Jennings

Anne Jennings is from

Hull, MA and

graduated in 2008

from the University of

Virginia with a degree

in Biology and

Bioethics. After

graduation, she spent

the year working in

Boston and

Cambridge. In

Boston, as a Case

Aide, she supported

social workers at the

Big Sister Association

of Greater Boston. In

Cambridge, she

worked with Science

Club for Girls, an

inaccurate title, as she

coordinated science

clubs for girls and

boys in 1st and 2

nd

grade. This position

included some

management of grad

student volunteers,

handout creation,

instrument making,

and practicing a

serious teacher‟s

voice. In June, she

took a three week trip

to Guatemala and got

to climb a volcano.

Anne enjoys reading

and eating, as well as

sports or games that

she can win at.

Stephanie Gallitano

York City high school.

She loved working

with teenagers on a

daily basis and hopes

to incorporate those

wonderful experiences

into her future medical

career.

In her spare time,

Stephanie loves food

(check out her recipe

blog:

www.eatinggreenforlif

e.wordpress.com).

When she isn‟t eating,

she enjoys working

out, being outdoors,

and reading.

9

Enoch Kotei NEWMAN

Enoch Kotei was born

in London, England and

raised in Newark,

Delaware. His family

is originally from

Accra, Ghana. A small

town guy most of his

life, Enoch was eager to

pursue higher education

in Philadelphia and

now Chicago, where he

can enjoy city life and

serve those in greatest

need. Enoch graduated

Hoyon Lee

Hoyon Lee is from the

Chicago suburb of Long

Grove, but throughout

her life has lived in 8

different states. She

studied biology and

psychology at

Northwestern

University. Her interest

in Urban Medicine

began when she

volunteered with several

non-profit organizations

in Chicago during

college.

In her spare time, she

enjoys swimming,

watching television and

movies, and attending

festivals.

in 2007 from Temple

University with a

Bachelor of Science

degree in Biology. Soon

after, he was offered a

National Science

Foundation Fellowship

to attend graduate

school, where he

recently received a

Master of Science

degree in Biology. His

research centered on a

Hepatitis B viral gene

product that contributes

importantly to liver

cancer.

Enoch will be joined in

Chicago by his fiancée,

who will be attending

the Illinois College of

Optometry. In his free

time, Enoch likes to

play basketball, spend

time with friends &

family, and make hip-

hop music.

10 UMED NEWSLETTER

Melissa Lopez-Preyess NEWMAN Melissa Alia Lopez

was born and raised in

Humboldt Park on the

northwest side of

Chicago. She

graduated from the

University of Chicago

in 2007 and majored in

Latin American

Studies. For the past 2

years, she has enjoyed

working at the

Multicultural Health

Eden Pappo has lived

her whole life in

Glenview, Illinois, and

attended Glenbrook

South High School. In

May she graduated

from Duke University,

and is now used to

Southern weather and

will have to prepare for

the snow again. She

majored in

International

Comparative Studies

concentrating on Latin

America, as well as

Spanish.

Eden is part of the

UMed program

primarily because of the

Spanish-speaking

population, and because

of the urban medicine

she encountered

working in hospitals in

Ecuador in the summer

of 2008. It was a life-

changing experience!

Eden Pappo NEWMAN

Hobbies include

cooking, tennis,

friends and running.

She was excited

to run into a high

school friend at

second-look day, who

is now her roommate.

Research Program at the

University of Chicago

Hospital doing

community-based

research in the Pilsen

and Humboldt Park area.

Shout out to her gente at

¡Viva La Salud! During

her free time, she enjoys

hanging out with her

husband (just married!),

cooking and training for

triathlons.

11

Yury Parra

Yury Parra was born

in Bucaramanga,

Colombia and she

came to the United

States when she was

13. Yury graduated

from New York

University in 2008

with a B.A. in Biology

and over the past year

she has taken graduate

courses

in health policy and

international health.

During her

undergraduate years,

she participated in a

number of health

programs throughout

New York City.

With the support of

Youth Venture and the

NYU Reynolds

foundations, she

founded Heart to Heart,

an organization that

conducts free blood

pressure

screenings among

communities with a high

risk for hypertension and

also provides health

education. Her hobbies

include photography and

traveling.

Yury looks forward to

participating in UMED,

Eugene Park

Christian Health Center

as a bilingual

HIV/AIDS Outreach

Worker. He hopes to

continue to make a

positive impact in these

communities both as a

medical student and as a

licensed physician.

The one thing Eugene

loves most about the

Windy City: the

diversity. Each of

Chicago‟s many

neighborhoods has a

Eugene Park grew up all

his life in Seoul, South

Korea; he moved to

Chicago in 2004 to

attend Northwestern

University. There, he

majored in

Communication

Sciences and Disorders

with a concentration in

developmental cognitive

neuroscience.

Since graduating,

Eugene‟s worked in

Chicago‟s West Side

with the Lawndale

to bring her

experiences and

learn from those of

her fellow

classmates.

very distinct

personality that can

take years to really

appreciate.

Unfortunately,

Chicago‟s cold

keeps Eugene

indoors more often

than he‟d like.

Eugene loves to

play sports, chill

with friends, and

travel abroad

whenever possible.

12 UMED NEWSLETTER

Gregory Podolej

Greg Podolej has

called Notre Dame

home for the past four

years, but has always

been a Chicagoan at

heart. As a biological

sciences major, his

interest in public

health and healthcare

disparities has taken

him to several

international

destinations including

Ecuador, Mexico, and

Haiti. His

commitment to

medicine is to serve

marginalized

communities wherever

they may be, but a

special place is

reserved in his heart

for struggling

immigrant families in

Chicago—this most

likely originates from

his Polish immigrant

background.

Greg likes to go to the

beach, bask in the

warm Chicago

summer, run, and

explore the city. He

looks forward to

rolling in his new ride

(CTA) around town,

getting to know the

communities he will

be serving, and

brushing up on both

Polish and Spanish.

Not to mention

returning home to his

parents in Park Ridge

for some great Polish

food!

Corey Thompson

Corey Thompson is

originally from

Kalamazoo, Michigan

though he has spent the

past six years in

Chicago. Currently

living in Uptown, he has

never ceased to be

amazed at the

tremendous amount of

diversity and disparity to

be found in the city.

With a lifelong interest

in language and culture,

Corey graduated from

Western Michigan

University in 2001 with

majors in English

literature and Spanish

and in 2003 with a

master‟s in Spanish.

He has lived in Spain,

Mexico and Brazil,

and tries to visit a new

country every year.

Since moving to

Chicago, Corey has

worked as a Spanish

teacher and as a

purchaser for an event

design company. He

is truly excited to start

medical school and to

discover his niche in

medicine.

In his spare time,

Corey enjoys

gardening, cooking,

reading, watching

movies, traveling,

and spending time

with his family,

friends and two

spoiled cats.

13

Sabrina Uddin was

born in St. Petersburg,

FL and spent half her

life growing up in

Florida and California

though most of her

family resides in the

suburbs of Chicago.

Originally a warm-

weather girl, Sabrina

admits to permanently

finding herself

freezing in Chicago‟s

windy weather!

A 2009 graduate from

the University of

Illinois at Urbana-

Champaign, Sabrina

majored in Spanish

and minored in

Chemistry. Spending

a semester abroad in

Ecuador, Sabrina had

the opportunity to

volunteer in

underserved areas of

the Ecuadorian

community and gain

proficiency in Spanish.

She hopes to be able to

use her love for

Spanish and the

sciences to work in

medical facilities

around Chicago that

are in need of both

interpreters and

doctors.

During her downtime,

Sabrina likes to read,

watch romantic

comedies, spend time

with her friends and

large family, and loves

to travel.

Sabrina Uddin

Octavio Vega

Octavio Vega was

born and raised in

Chicago, which is

where his family

currently resides. He

is one of six siblings,

including three

brothers and two

sisters. While he is a

brother to his siblings

and a son to his

parents, Octavio is

also the proud uncle of

a niece and two

nephews.

In 2008, Octavio

completed his

undergraduate

education from the

University of Illinois

at Chicago with a

degree in Kinesiology.

Among his most

memorable

experiences at UIC are

his executive board

position in the Health

Oriented Latino

Association (HOLA)

and his assistance in

an Exercise

Psychology research

study.

Octavio‟s favorite

activities include

playing racquetball

with his father, going

for bike rides along the

lakefront, watching

movies, and spending

time with family and

friends. While

focused on his short-

term goals, Octavio

hopes to ultimately

practice medicine in

Chicago.

14 UMED NEWSLETTER

UMed Continues to Grow

0

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Age 20 Age21 Age 22 Age 23 Age 24 Age 26 Age 29 Age 30 Age 31

Umed ~ Class of 2013 Age

0

5

10

15

20

CA DE FL MA NY TX WI IL

Umed ~ Class of 2013 State of Residency

CA

DE

FL

MA

NY

TX

WI

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AI AK B W O M

UMed Class of 2013 Ethnicity

Students

Sixteen different

undergraduate programs.

A number of students

have completed MPH

degrees, or have plans

to complete one.

The Office of Special

Curricular Programs is

excited to welcome the

members of UMed

2013 into the program

and looks forward to

their participation in

the years to come!

Chicago is a very diverse

city with many languages

spoken, and the UMed

class is reflective of that.

Together, nine different

languages are spoken by

the students, including

Polish, Urdu, Korean, and

Portuguese. The 2013 class

has an interesting educational

background as well. UMed

13 brings with them

knowledge and experience

from

(Continued from page 1)

58%

42%

UMed ~ Class of 2013 Sex

Females

Males

15

We’re on the Web! See us at:

http://www.uic.edu/depts/mcam/umed/index.shtml

Urban Medicine College of Medicine University of Illinois 990I College of Medicine East 808 S. Wood Street Chicago, IL 60612 Phone (312) 996-6920

Fax (312) 996-9922 E-mail UMed@UIC.com

our Tagline here.

“Educating Physician Leaders to Serve Urban Communities”

UMed