People
BUSM Welcomes New MD/PhD Class
The seven stellar students that began the MD/PhD program in August of 2009 come from diverse backgrounds and distinct life paths, leading them towards the pursuit of a career as a Physician-Scientist. The following are breif biographies of our new class:
“I was born in the SF Bay Area in California. I was homeschooled all my life until college and was active in such extracurricular activities as the Boy Scouts (I am an Eagle Scout). I love spending time in the outdoors and hiking to great views of nature (waterfalls, Half Dome). I graduated with a degree in Biochemistry from Seattle Pacific University and spent the next year and a half doing biomedical research in the Pacific Northwest. I love to travel and I love to meet and spend time with people. I am also a foodie and very thrifty, and am constantly looking for the best deals in town!” -Chad Mayer
“I grew up in Rochester Minnesota where I attended Mayo High School and was a member of the Southeastern Youth Minnesota Orchestra. In 2004 I moved to Pasadena, CA where I attended the California Institute of Technology and subsequently graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry. After graduation, I took a year off to perform research as a Research Technician in the lab of James Heath at Caltech where I explored multiparameter screening and diagnosis of cancer. Currently, I am a first year in Boston University’s combined MD/PhD program.” -Russell-John Krom
“I am originally from Rhode Island and attended Boston University for undergraduate studies, double majoring in psychology and music. At BU, I played violin in the All Campus Orchestra and gave solo classical voice and violin recitals. I worked as a research assistant under Dr.Vincent Falanga at the NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence at Roger Williams Medical Center, Providence, RI. There, I was involved in research on fibrin deposition in venous ulcers, GCSF in wound healing, and melanoma cell migration. I am a candidate for the MD/PhD degree at Boston University School of Medicine and am currently in my first year of medical school.” -Kendra Kobrin
“I am a new transplant to the northeast as a first-year MD/PhD student. I completed my high school and undergraduate studies in the other corner of the United States in Tucson, Arizona, where I majored in molecular and cellular biology. My undergraduate research work was in the Weinert lab, where the focus was on genome instability in budding yeast, with particular emphasis on the role of template switching as a mechanism for translocation formation. When I’m not being a science dork, I like to run, play tennis, or kick a soccer ball around. As of this fall, my interests have expanded to include drinking a lot of coffee and playing ping pong during 10-minute breaks between classes.” -Aly Elezaby
“I hail from Buffalo, NY and received a degree in Molecular Genetics from the University of Rochester. While at Rochester I studied the mitochondrial DNA repair proteins of yeast in the lab of Elaine Sia, PhD. In 2006 I moved to Boston and took a clinical research coordinator position at the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. There, I studied brain structure and function with magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological testing with a focus on memory strategies and aging. When I am not studying or in the anatomy lab, I enjoy playing guitar with my group, the Doctors Fox.” -Jonathan Dashkoff
“I was born in Saratov, Russia. I moved to the United States (Massachusetts) when I was about 13 years old. I went to middle and high school in Worcester, MA and in 2006 I graduated from Boston University with a major in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a minor in math. I then completed a GMS program at Boston University and became an MD/PhD student here in 2009. My current research interest is in the impact of various environmental factors on human health. In the past year I worked in Dave Sherr’s lab, in the Environmental Health department, where I studied the effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and dioxins on breast cancer development and progression. PAHs and dioxins are found throughout our environment and are produced by common processes like grilling meat and burning of fuels. Outside of medicine, I really like art, music (especially live music!) and history.” -Olga Novikov
“I am a first year MD/PhD student. I graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in 2006 with a major in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. While at Emory, I worked on a study involving facial/auditory discrimination in chimpanzees at the Yerkes Primate Research Center. In 2007 I began the Masters in Medical Sciences Program at BUSM. For my Master’s thesis, I looked at differences in the density and distribution of GABA-B receptors in Brocaβs Area (BA 44/45) of post-mortem autistic and control brains utilizing receptor binding autoradiography. Using this same technique, I am now studying the density and distribution of NMDA, Ξ±7 and Ξ±4Ξ²2 nicotinic receptors in dizocilpine treated rats in an effort to better understand the relationship between auditory sensory processing and receptor densities in the brain. I am currently interested in child development, particularly in the neurobiological basis of autism and other related developmental disorders. My interests out of school include camping and backpacking, snowboarding, and pretty much anything active. I also enjoy reading and traveling.” -Melissa Ghulam
