Basics
Hometown
Bloomington, IN/Palo Alto, CA
Where did you attend college/university?
UC Berkeley (Go Bears!)
Where did you attend medical school?
University of Michigan Medical School
What additional degrees do you have?
PhD in Molecular Cellular and Chemical Biology from Harvard
Here at Duke you have the opportunity to work with world experts, people who are thinking about how to do things right and how to do things better. We have sick patients that challenge us to think "what next" when traditional therapies don't work. We have resources to support us when we want to develop that next step that does not yet exist.
Reflections on the Duke program
What were you looking for in a residency program?
At this stage, residents are motivated people who can teach themselves. However there is some material that is difficult to learn without guidance. I was looking for a residency that would put me in touch with mentors that understood the context of the information available to me and provided perspective and insight into the rationale behind the guidelines.
What are the strengths of the Duke program?
Faculty and patients. Here at Duke you have the opportunity to work with world experts, people who are thinking about how to do things right and how to do things better. We have sick patients that challenge us to think "what next" when traditional therapies don't work. We have resources to support us when we want to develop that next step that does not yet exist.
About Duke University and Durham
What's best about living in Durham and the Triangle?
After living in San Francisco and Boston, I learned to love good food and culture. However housing was so expensive I would never be able to afford a house as a resident. Or young attending. Durham has a fun food and nightlife scene that rivals what I found in bigger cities. The lower startup costs means entrepreneurs can be more creative. It is a fun, affordable city.
How does the Triangle appeal to people of diverse backgrounds?
Both the faculty and the patients are remarkably diverse at Duke. Compared to hospitals in some larger cities that only cater to a specific subset of the population, patients at Duke come from the fringes of society all the way to patients that flew from Kuwait to get the best care available. Likewise, the faculty has come from all over the U.S. and abroad to be at Duke. It is an international destination.
Where did you choose to live, and why?
My wife and I live with my mother and our dog so we wanted a larger house. We found a place in The Colony at American Village. The house is wonderful, only 8 years old, and the neighborhood is diverse and welcoming filled with young families and Duke employees. The best part is how affordable housing is here. I would not have a similar quality of life on a resident budget elsewhere.