Spotlights
Students, Faculty & Alumni
GMS HPE Alumnus On COVID-19 Frontlines at BMC
Alumni Spotlight: Alex Sheng, MD, MHPE Dr. Sheng is the Associate Residency Program Director in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Boston Medical Center and Assistant Professor at Boston University School of Medicine. He received his Master’s degree in Health Professions Education from Boston University Graduate Medical Sciences in 2019. Q: Why did you decide to become a clinician educator and earn a Master’s degree in Health Professions Education at GMS? A: Physicians are natural teachers. We’re always... More
Meet Dr. Brady: Faces of Diversity
Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry What led you to pursue a career in mental health counseling and in particular why academia? I have been interested in the field of mental health for a very long time. When I finished my undergraduate degree in Sociology with plans to go to Law School I wanted to take a few years off to earn a living. I had the opportunity to work at a new forensic center for... More
Meet Fumi
PhD Candidate in the Department of Microbiology What drew you to Boston University for your graduate studies? It was mainly the friendly, collaborative atmosphere that the students had when I was interviewing here. It was less stressful in terms of there being more communication between students, and it being more supportive in a way I didn’t quite see in other programs. If someone from the United States talks to you about wanting to visit Japan, where would you... More
Student Spotlight: Carolina Lyon De Ana
PhD candidate and BU PhD Student Organization (BPSO) officer Carolina Lyon De Ana fell in love with Boston when she first moved to the U.S. from Venezuela in 2008. After leaving the city to pursue her undergraduate degree from Florida Gulf Coast University, she knew she eventually wanted to move back here. In 2015, Carolina began the Master’s in Pathology and Laboratory Sciences program, which she completed in 2017. She knew she wanted to study pathology... More
We Will Jump In: 2019 PA Graduates Make Leap to Clinical World
“Today we celebrate the accomplishments of 28 highly successful individuals who comprise the Class of 2019,” said Program Director Susan White, MD, as she opened the fourth commencement exercises for the Physician Assistant Program held Aug. 15 in the 670 Albany Street auditorium. The newly conferred graduates now join the 131,000 practicing physician assistants across the U.S. The graduation ceremony marks the end a two-and-a-half year journey through an intensive course of study, including an integrated... More
Student Spotlight: Ali Tavasoli
Ali Tavasoli first realized he wanted to become a dentist while working at a student-run clinic at University of California Davis and helping the underserved community in the Sacramento area. “I got to see how, even though we think we are living in a land of opportunity, not everyone has that equal access to that opportunity, whether it’s in oral health or in general,” he said. Originally from Iran, Ali moved to the United States about six... More
Student Spotlight: Farah Herrawi
“When we think about health, we usually think about physical health,” said Farah Herrawi, a second-year Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine student. “There’s such a big need for people to be in the mental health profession, and that’s the thing that people tend to forget.” Farah is dedicated to advocating for people with mental health illnesses, and works primarily with immigrants and refugees. She said a major reason she decided to work with this population... More
Student Spotlight: Anna Nagy
A California native and graduate of an arts high school, Anna Nagy did not initially plan to study genetic counseling in Boston. During her undergraduate years, she decided to make the shift from piano to science and studied human biology at Stanford University. It was when she worked in a laboratory and researched Type 2 diabetes, however, that Anna became fascinated by the scientific research process. “I kind of fell in love with the way some... More
Student Spotlight: Jeff Kuniholm
When Jeff Kuniholm attended his interview day for the Program in Biomedical Sciences PhD program at Graduate Medical Sciences, he was immediately impressed by the sense of comradery in the graduate school. “People were very willing to talk to one another, shake your hand, and introduce themselves,” he said. “That kind of loosened me up as an interviewee where I got to really know some of the faculty here, and it just sold it for me... More