Education and Training
College/University
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Medical School
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Residency
University of Texas-Southwestern
Career and Research Goals
I am somewhat undifferentiated at the moment. Clinically, I find heart failure extremely interesting and I also love taking care of critically ill patients in the cardiac intensive care unit. I hope to stay in academic medicine and spend a portion of my time looking at health disparities research to better understand limitations to access of care, interventions, and medical therapies in minority groups, particularly Hispanics.
Honors, awards and distinctions
- Alpha Omega Alpha Resident Inductee (2019)
- Kinesis Puerto Rico Scholarship (2009-2017)
- UWSMPH Merit-Based Scholarship (2013-2015)
- UWSMPH Second Year Leadership Award (2015)
- SSGIM Medical Jeopardy 1st place (2020)
- Texas ACP Doctor's Dilemma 1st place (2018 and 2019)
Tells us briefly about your background before fellowship.
I was born and raised in Caguas, Puerto Rico. I moved to the Midwest to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I stayed for medical school. I was lucky enough to meet wonderful mentors at UW-Madison who influenced my career choices and research topics. For residency, I moved to Dallas to attend UT-Southwestern Internal Medicine program where I met lifelong friends and had my most memorable moments to date in my short medicine career. I loved working at Parkland, our county hospital, and taking care of underserved populations there. My experiences in residency have shaped my research interests within Cardiology.
What are your career plans in Cardiology?
I am somewhat undifferentiated at the moment. Clinically, I find heart failure extremely interesting and I also love taking care of critically ill patients in the cardiac intensive care unit. I hope to stay in academic medicine and spend a portion of my time looking at health disparities research to better understand limitations to access of care, interventions, and medical therapies in minority groups, particularly Hispanics.
Why did you choose Duke for your fellowship training?
I had a very positive memory of my interview at Duke and of meeting with our program director and current fellows. I was also happy to see that there is a strong women representation at Duke Cardiology. I wanted to go to a strong program clinically that was going to help me become an excellent cardiologist but that was also going to give me the research experiences that would prepare me for a career in Academic Cardiology and Duke seemed like a great fit.
What advice might you offer residents looking at fellowship programs?
I think being honest to yourself is one of the most important things. You are going to go to interviews at programs where you might quickly realize that they don’t have the resources or opportunities you need to move forward. There are different personalities in Medicine and this is true even within the field of Cardiology. I encourage you to ask yourself: do I see myself working here?
From your experience in fellowship, what have you learned about training at Duke?
These are my first months at Duke but one thing that stood out to me was how welcoming everyone has been since my interview day here. The fellows are definitely a great strength of this program and they all have made my transition to Duke much easier. The faculty also has a strong commitment to the fellowship program and to training us to become excellent cardiologists.
How is your life in the Triangle area outside of work?
I moved here recently and decided to live downtown because I didn’t know much about Durham. I like that I can walk to restaurants or places downtown. I have been taking advantage of the many trails near me including the American Tobacco Trail