Current Residents

Elie Ata
Hometown: Methuen, MA
Undergrad:  Merrimack College, North Andover
Med School: Central Michigan University – College of Medicine
Languages: Arabic, English, Spanish

Elie was born to Lebanese immigrant parents and grew up in Methuen. He was the first in his family to pursue higher education and went to Merrimack College where he was part of the inaugural honors class where their mission was to give back to neighboring communities through service learning and continued evaluation of the human condition. During his time at Merrimack, he majored in biology and minor in chemistry, Jewish Christian Muslim relations and Spanish. Additionally, Elie volunteered at St. Mary’s in Lawrence, teaching ESL to adults and organized an after school STEM program for the grade school students. Elie moved to Michigan after being accepted to the inaugural class of Central Michigan University College of Medicine. As part of the first graduating class, Elie and his classmates worked on pioneering a primary care continuity clerkship in rural and medically underserved communities. As a student, Elie came to work at GLFHC and was thoroughly impressed with what the residents and faculty were doing, not only in the world of clinical medicine but with policy, research, and community outreach. He especially was drawn to numerous interactions with clinicians that focused not only learning for the sake of regurgitating facts but for a deeper understanding of why. In his spare time he likes to participate in outdoor activities like running, kayaking, and skiing; and occasionally indulges in mind-numbing videogames and listens to all kinds of music from jazz and blues to country and rock but has a  predilection towards 90s rap and hip-hop.

Layla Cavitt, MD
Hometown: Saint Petersburg, FL
Undergrad: University of Florida, Nutrition/Dietetics
Med School: Florida International University
Languages: Spanish, very basic Farsi

Layla grew up with her three younger brothers in an Iranian-American family. Prior to college, multiple collaborative community projects alerted her to the resource disparities that accompany growing up in a lower socioeconomic status household and married her love of diversity with a passion for service to humanity. During her undergraduate studies, she focused on nutrition as a means of disease prevention and health maintenance. After graduation, Layla worked at WIC, within the Phoenix school district’s nutrition department, and as a hospital dietitian. These experiences motivated her to pursue primary care medicine in order to broaden the care she could offer, while still focusing on health maintenance, chronic disease self-management, and healthcare advocacy. During medical school Layla participated in Stand By You, a national palliative care program, and was avidly involved in women’s health work. She found that family medicine provided the biopsychosocial framework that subsumed her seemingly disparate passions, and that Lawrence’s focus on clinical excellence within a culture of dedication to care of the underserved was the fit she was looking. During residency, Layla plans to explore rural medicine and obstetrical training, while seeking healthcare advocacy opportunities. In her free time Layla enjoys reading, playing soccer, traveling, trying new food, and spending quality time with her cat Frida. Layla enjoys eating Julia’s homemade vegetarian treats and spending car rides discussing composting…on our way to ice cream.

Julia Cooper
Hometown: New York, NY
Undergrad: Swarthmore College, PA
Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Languages: American Sign Language-Basic, French-Advanced

Originally from the Bronx, Julia grew up passionate about urban farming and conducted plant genetics research for her honors major in biology at Swarthmore College. However, a growing interest in longitudinal relationships and community based work convinced her to shift her focus from crops to clinical medicine as a way of providing for the underserved. Julia spent a VISTA year at Project HOME, a homeless housing and advocacy organization in Philadelphia, and then entered medical school at the University of Rochester. There, she enjoyed caring for homeless patients on street rounds, providing smoking cessation counseling in the student-run free clinics, and promoting primary care careers through the school’s Primary Care Progress chapter. Julia is honored to be joining the passionate and progressive community at GLFHC and to pursue her particular interests in homeless care, addiction medicine and behavioral health. She speaks French and is excited to learn Spanish and Haitian Creole. Still a botanist at heart, she enjoys hiking, gardening and concocting vegetarian treats. Under Jamie’s beneficial influence, she is coming around to the idea that dogs are as good as cats.

Jamie Ellis
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Undergrad: Northeastern University – Psychology – BS
Medical School: University of Vermont Medical School
Languages: English, learning Spanish

Jamie grew up in Phoenix, Arizona where she spent her time playing a variety of sports, keeping up with her two older brothers and taking care of as many pets as her parents would allow her to have. Leaving the desert in search of new adventures, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts to attend Northeastern University for college where she fell in love with seasons (and snow). She majored in psychology and explored a few different career paths through the Northeastern co-op program before she found medicine through a volunteer job at the Mount Auburn Emergency Department. She attended University of Vermont College of Medicine where she found herself invigorated by every patient encounter and relished the breadth of opportunities family medicine has to offer. She was lucky enough to rotate at Greater Lawrence Family Health Center during her 4^th year of medical school where she developed an affection for the wonderful patient population and was impressed by the current residents. She is excited to tackle the new challenges of residency and looks forward to learning Spanish.  Jamie wishes to practice full-spectrum family medicine and medical interests include addiction medicine and obstetrics. Outside of medicine, she enjoys spending time exploring the outdoors with her two rescue dogs, watching the latest Disney or Pixar movie and trying new restaurants. Jamie aspires to be as well-hydrated and have the impressive lung and bladder capacity as Caroline!

Caroline Komanecky
Hometown: Northborough, MA
Undergrad: Colgate University – Hamilton, NY – Biochemistry
Medical School: Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University – Philadelphia, PA
Languages: learning Spanish

Caroline is originally from central Massachusetts and is excited to be back in New England after spending many years away in the farmland of upstate New York for undergrad, and, most recently, Philadelphia for medical school. Her passion for medicine, and family medicine in particular, was first inspired by working in Boston before medical school in case management at a medical respite center for people experiencing homelessness. Her love for family medicine continued to grow in Philadelphia, as part of the urban underserved primary care and population health tracks, and most markedly by her work with Prevention Point, the city’s syringe exchange program, in various capacities, including as a weekly mobile outreach medical clinic director. She was drawn to Lawrence for the opportunities to learn from like-minded and inspiring residents and faculty, train at a community health center, speak espanol, and practice truly full-spectrum multi-generational primary care. Outside of medicine, Caroline loves all things outdoors – running, biking, hiking – and improving her art-making and cat-parenting skills with the help of Becky.

Rebecca “Becky” Lee
Hometown: Cambridge, England and Concord, Massachusetts
Undergrad: Wesleyan University (MA) – Chemistry, Certificate in Molecular Biophysics
Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine
Languages: Spanish, French, Basic Hindi

Becky spent the majority of her childhood in Cambridge, England before moving with her family to Concord, Massachusetts. While studying at Wesleyan University, Becky divided her time between the chemistry lab and the art studio, studying both drug design and oil painting. Her interest in public health and medicine began after she worked as a teacher and health educator in a small village in Northern India for a summer. From the beginning of her medical school tenure, Becky was drawn to community-focused healthcare. During her first two years of medical school, she spent one day each week with the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Street Team, developing a deep interest in both homelessness and addiction medicine. She co-founded the Student Coalition on Addiction, an organization focused on improving education on addiction in the health professions, advocating for better services & treatment availability at the city and state level, and promoting student involvement in community activism. She graduated medical school with the Tufts University Presidential Award for Civic Life. Becky was drawn to Lawrence for its extraordinary commitment to social justice and community empowerment. Her passions within medicine include homeless health, addiction medicine, family planning and global medicine. She enjoys making art, practicing her ukulele, going on road trips and spending time in museums and with her cat, Nimu (although not necessarily at the same time). Becky is not the strongest at understanding logistical details when it comes to residency, however, and relies on her co-resident Yeri to tell her where to show up to work on any given day as well as how to eat healthy (kale salad). They share a mutual love for watching videos of Layla’s dance moves and eating Tuhin’s cooking.

Yeri Park
Hometown: Pomona, CA
Undergrad: University of California, San Diego – Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Medical School: Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia
Languages: English, Korean, basic Spanish

Yeri Park is an avocado-loving, corgi enthusiast native Californian with a whole lot of Seoul. Originally from Korea, Yeri moved to sunny Southern California in her youth with her family where she gained a fine appreciation for the Pacific Ocean, flip flops and carne asada fries. She attended the University of California San Diego, where she developed her passion for working with underserved patients and having awareness of social determinants of health. She flew across the country and attended Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine as one of the Family Medicine Scholar Training and Admissions Track scholars, in which she learned how the world of family medicine fits into our current healthcare system. This led to her position as a Regional Coordinator for Family Medicine Interest Groups (FMIGs) for the AAFP to provide resources for medical students to lead successful FMIGs at their schools. It was all of these experiences together that helped her learn to celebrate diversity of all kinds and to pursue family medicine. Only family medicine offered her the ability to become an integral member of her patients’ lives and an agent for social change. Her interests include women’s health, addiction medicine, mentoring/teaching and advocating for her patients. She chose Lawrence because she saw the commitment and passion for GLFHC’s mission statement from everyone involved with GLFHC. She knows that her co-residents, faculty and community members will be excellent guides for her continued path to work with the underserved communities and is excited to learn Spanish from her patients. When Yeri is not wearing a white coat, she can be found at the gym, aggressively meal-prepping on a Sunday evening, or on the town exploring with her friends. She hopes to learn all the facts of the Freedom Trail, become a food connoisseur and have a list of Boston restaurant recommendations like Tuhin.

Tuhin Roy
Hometown: Danville, CA; San Francisco Bay Area
Undergrad:   University of California, Berkeley – Economics and Molecular Cell Biology
Medical School/MPH: Tufts University School of Medicine
Languages: Spanish, French, Bengali

Tuhin grew up in sunny San Francisco Bay Area, and attended UC Berkeley (GO BEARS!). While growing up, he was drawn to the diverse cultures of the Bay Area, mostly through the exploration of food. In college, he explored and pushed his understanding of the community around him through different community engagement and leadership programs. He was involved in several global health projects, which sparked his interest in understanding the disparities in healthcare access both at home and abroad. Undecided between a path in public health or medicine he decided to explore both at Tufts University School of Medicine’s MD/MPH program. There, he continued his commitment to community service and exploration of global health, but also fostered newfound interests in policy, social justice, and advocacy. While he is still surprised by New England winters and the price of avocados on the East Coast, he was attracted to Lawrence because it well integrated all of his interests and stood out in its dedication to training physicians to be the best possible resources for their patients in underserved settings, helping to close the disparities in healthcare that made him passionate about medicine in the first place. His clinical interests are broad and varied, which makes him even more certain that Family Medicine at Lawrence is the perfect fit. At this time, he is looking forward to exploring his interests in adolescent health, addiction medicine, HIV care, and academic medicine. When not delving into nearly every clinical interest possible, he enjoys finding new places to eat, exploring different corners of Cambridge with his neighbor Sumana.

Sumana Setty
Birthplace: Springfield, MA
Undergrad: Brandeis University- Biology and Neuroscience BS
Medical School: New York Medical College
Languages: Telugu

Sumana grew up in Shrewsbury, MA where she quickly realized that she had a love of science and music. Her passion of science brought her to Brandeis University, where she threw herself into research and teaching. In her spare time, she continued with voice lessons and expanded her musical repertoire to include opera where she had originally just learned classical music. At the end of her senior year she put on her own senior music recital. She was not sure what she wanted to do after graduation, but she loved teaching, so she landed herself the Wilcox Fellowship at Concord Academy (CA). At CA she taught two sections of freshman biology to a group of lively 9th graders and during her second year there, she was given the additionally responsibility in the Academic Support Center where she worked one on one with struggling students. The two years that she spent at Concord Academy reinvigorated her love of science and inspired her to use science to help people on both a micro and macro level. This lead her to New York Medical College (NYMC). Her four years at NYMC were spent immersed in community service and any educational opportunity she could get her hands on. It seemed only fitting that family medicine was the best fit for her and when she interviewed at Lawrence she knew that it had everything she cared about. Outside of medicine, Sumana continues to sing (at the very least during car rides), rock climbs, and loves going on adventures. And two of her favorite activities include eating mint chip ice cream with Jen and playing with her dog Hudson.

Jennifer Wolf
Hometown: Hyde Park, NY
Undergrad: Binghamton University
Medical School: Wayne State University School of Medicine
Languages: Learning Spanish

Jennifer grew up in Hyde Park, NY in the beautiful Hudson Valley. She attended college at Binghamton University where she majored in Neuroscience and minored in Global Studies. She then moved out to the Midwest and spent a brief stint as a scribe in an emergency department before starting medical school at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. Eager to jump right in to clinical medicine, she began volunteering at a student-run free clinic in the city. During her time there she saw firsthand the barriers that people in underserved communities encounter on a daily basis and the impact it has on their health and well-being. This fueled her passion for working with underserved populations, and wanting to become more involved, she became one of the students to run the clinic during her second year. Jen was also very active in her school’s chapter of World Health Student Organization and went on trips to Ecuador and Haiti. There were many factors that contributed to her choosing family medicine as a specialty, but most important was a gut feeling she would have when surrounded by family medicine physicians – something just felt right. Lawrence really stood out as a program for Jen because of their strong training in obstetrics, Spanish language curriculum, and a deep commitment to the community that they serve. She is so excited to finally be back in a place close to real mountains (sorry Michigan!) so she can resume hiking and skiing. Her other favorite pastimes include exploring local restaurants, and hanging out with her husband and dog, Hudson. If you’re ever wondering what’s going on inside Jen’s head, just ask Elie – there’s a good chance he’s thinking the same thing.

Zoe Becker, MD
Hometown: Maplewood, NJ
Undergraduate: Haverford College – East Asian Studies – BA
Medical School: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons
Languages: Spanish, some Mandarin, very basic Hindi

Zoe was brought up in Maplewood, NJ, in a family and town big on activism and community service. Her personal interest in global work with underserved populations started early, and she undertook her first endeavor living and working abroad in Mexico at the age of 17. Since then, she has worked in several countries in Latin America as well as in China and India, along the way discovering and pursuing family medicine as a way to combine her loves of science, social justice, and learning about various languages and cultures. In medical school, she was part of a primary care track and also served for 4 years as a student clinician and board member at a student-run clinic in Harlem. Much of her past work has focused on sexual and reproductive health, and she continued pursuing this interest at medical school by developing a women’s health program for her student-run clinic. She is very excited to be at Lawrence, where she looks forward to receiving full-spectrum training alongside passionate, community-minded colleagues while providing linguistically- and culturally-appropriate care. Outside of the clinic or hospital, you’ll often find her dancing salsa or bachata, at the gym, spending time with friends and family in the area, or thinking up new nicknames to differentiate herself from the other Zoe.

Lance Braye, MD, MPH
Birthplace: Bronx, NY
Undergraduate:  The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina – Biology – BS
Graduate School: Medical University of South Carolina –  MPH in Health Behavior and Health Promotion
Medical School: Medical University of South Carolina
Languages: Basic Spanish, Basic Haitian Creole

Lance spent four years in the Bronx before growing up in Walterboro, SC. After graduating from Colleton County High School as a saxophone playing defensive end that could sprint 800 meters, he attended The Citadel, where he conducted microbiology research, sang on the gospel choir, and edited creative and academic publications. After meeting the love of his life and graduating with a passion for singing and writing, he attended the Medical University of South Carolina. Although he aspired to become an orthopedic surgeon, Lance became horrified by the complications of chronic diseases that were ubiquitous in his hometown and fascinated with the notion of preventing them. He realized during this time that Family Medicine was the true essence of being a physician, and allowed him to heal not just his patients but also the community while preventing disease.  Attending the Paul Ambrose Scholars Program eventually led to his MPH in Health Behavior and Health Promotion while his interest in social justice was refined by working with local Black Lives Matter groups. Despite never having been to Massachusetts until his interview, Lance chose GLFHC because of its commitment to training outstanding physicians in a challenging environment and empowering the community it calls home. Plus, he really needed to work on his Spanish. Although being a New York Yankees and Carolina Panthers fan around here is challenging, he stays sane by spending time with his wife, Paris, and indulging in sports, video games, music, cooking, and the outdoors.

Kathryn “Katie” De La Rosa, MD
Hometown: Chesapeake, VA
Undergraduate: Dartmouth College
Medical School: University of Michigan Medical School
Languages: conversational Spanish

Katie was born in Virginia to parents in the Navy, so she grew up with a little southern, a little New England, and a little West Coast/best coast influence. She attended Dartmouth College where she majored in Biology and minored in Spanish language and literature. After college, she ventured to the Midwest and spent a year in Chicago working as a first year corps member for City Year Chicago where she spent her days tutoring and mentoring 9^th graders in a local high school. She enjoyed the Midwest so much, she stayed to attend medical school at the University of Michigan. During medical school, Katie was involved in a handful of community outreach programs including a summer track and field program for area youth, a mentorship program for high schoolers interested in STEM careers, a community conference about women’s health topics, and a program that promotes healthy food choices for middle schoolers. She found that family medicine offered the kind of connection to community that she wanted to bring to her practice as a physician. She is so excited to be back in New England for residency, where she can hike a mountain any time she wants. She is especially excited to be here in Lawrence and to get to know the community here. In her free time, Katie enjoys activities of all kinds including running, cycling, hiking, and playing ultimate Frisbee. She also cannot pass up a good cup of coffee or bar of chocolate.

Zoe Gordon, MD, MPH
Hometown: Shaker Heights, Ohio
Undergraduate: Colgate University – Biology – BS
Graduate School: Case Western Reserve University – MPH
Medical School: Rush Medical Center
Languages: Advanced Spanish

Zoe aka “Gordita” grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio and is a passionate Cleveland sports fan – Go Cavs! She attended Colgate University where she studied Biology and Spanish, spending a semester abroad in the Dominican Republic. It was here where Zoe fell in love with the vibrant Dominican culture, community and food! Zoe interned at Boston Health Care for the Homeless and continued working there as an addiction program specialist after graduating college. Working side by side with teams of case managers, nurses, physicians, case managers she discovered the intersection between public health and medicine: primary care. In medical school she was part of a four-year Family Medicine Leadership curriculum, founded a student-based inpatient tobacco cessation counseling program and became a strong advocate for a universal health care system. In her spare time, Zoe enjoys cooking, board games (especially Settlers of Catan!), salsa dancing, playing tennis and petting other peoples’ dogs.

Helen Jin, MD, MBA
Hometown: Wichita, KS
Undergraduate: University of Kansas
Medical School/Graduate School: Boston University School of Medicine, MD and MBA
Languages: Basic Spanish, fair Mandarin Chinese

Helen Jin grew up in Wichita, Kansas with Chinese immigrant parents, a younger brother, and dog. She continued to stay in the state flatter than a pancake for undergraduate studies at University of Kansas (at the same time as Cara!), where she studied Biochemistry. During college, she volunteered at a sliding scale clinic where she found medicine as an engaging way to apply science to improve the lives of individuals and communities. As an AmeriCorps volunteer after college, she was drawn to curriculum optimization of her CNA classes for non-native English speakers. In medical school, she saw how similar gaps in healthcare quality create care disparities for underserved communities. To break down these barriers, she started to learn about healthcare quality improvement and applied those concepts to the development and evaluation of hot-spotting programs at FQHCs. To further her education in QI, she pursued an MBA within the dual-degree program at Boston University. She fell in love with the unique culture at GLFHC- how residents, MAs, faculty, nurses, and administration-is deeply focused on providing the best care possible for the Lawrence community with active community outreach and reflective continuous improvement. To relax, she makes pottery and walks her dog. She is also always on the look-out for a good thrift store deal.

Rebecca Joseph, MD, MPH
Hometown: Wellesley, MA
Undergraduate: Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA
Medical School /Graduate School: Tufts University School of Medicine – MD/MPH
Languages: English, Spanish

Rebecca grew up in Wellesley, MA. During high school she got involved with Amigos de las Americas, a youth leadership non-profit that works through the Americas. With AMIGOS she had the opportunity to spend time throughout Latin America, which sparked her love for the region and allowed her to explore community development and public health. She attended Bryn Mawr College where she majored in Biology, minored in Spanish, and spent a lot of time playing soccer. After college she returned to Boston to serve as an AmeriCorp member with Community HealthCorps. She spent the year at Brookside Community Health Center in Jamaica Plain, MA working on a variety of community health initiatives with the health center’s largely latino patient population. Her experience in AmeriCorps also introduced her to Family Medicine. She was lucky to attend medical school at Tufts University School of Medicine where she was a member of the dual degree MD/MPH program. While at Tufts, she worked at the student-run free clinic as a Sexual and Women’s Health Counselor and participated in the Tufts Student Service Scholars program for students interested in providing healthcare for underserved populations. She was attracted to the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency because it combines strong, full-spectrum training with a focus on community health and social justice. Outside of medicine, Rebecca enjoys running, rock climbing, and spending time with her husband and their dog, Bodhi.

Alice Kaufman, MD
Birthplace: Medford, MA
Undergraduate:  Smith College, Northampton MA – Anthropology
Medical School:  Tufts University School of Medicine
Languages: good Spanish, basic Italian

Alice is a Massachusetts lifer. Born and raised in the Boston area, she ventured west for college, but then came straight back to Greater Boston. She was raised by two allied health professionals which fueled her interest in health care from a young age. After graduating college she worked at Boston Medical Center in the department of Cancer Care. She worked in clinical research, but also helped out with the cancer survivorship programs, running weekly activities and groups for cancer survivors. Upon entering medical school, Alice joined the Tufts Students Service Scholars; an amazing group that became the friends and mentors that bolstered her along through medical school and inspired her to peruse a career in underserved medicine. During medical school she also developed an interest in research around social determinants of health, particularly food insecurity. She chose to come to Lawrence to continue her focus on underserved care and the strong OB training. In free time she enjoys spending time with her family, folk dance, and folk music.

Cara Smith, MD
Hometown: Topeka, KS
Undergraduate: University of Kansas – Applied Behavioral Science, concentration in Community Health and Development
Medical School: Howard University College of Medicine
Languages: Basic Spanish

Cara is a Jayhawk, born and raised in Kansas. She attended the University of Kansas – with Helen! – and graduated with a degree in Applied Behavioral Science and a concentration in Community Health. She then ventured east to Washington, DC for a term of Mennonite Voluntary Service. For her service, she taught math and computer classes fulltime at Briya Public Charter School, which simultaneously educates two generations of English language learners (parents and their children) from within a comprehensive health and social service organization for immigrants. After witnessing her students’ devotion to their families’ wellbeing, Cara started medical school at Howard, an institution dedicated to the health of its community and reducing disparities for people of color, where she co-directed the student run free clinic, served as President of the Family Medicine Interest Group, and reaffirmed her goal of becoming a community-centered family physician. She chose Lawrence for its unique combination of full-spectrum medical training, participation in an Accountable Care Organization, Spanish education, and commitment to health equity. Within medicine, Cara is interested in women’s health and obstetrics. Outside of medicine, she enjoys audiobooks, exploring the great outdoors, and cheering fanatically for Kansas basketball games.

Ryan Walker, MD, MPH
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Undergraduate: University of Miami− Biology, Psychology − BS, BA
Med School/Graduate School: Tufts University School of Medicine –  MD/MPH
Languages: Basic Spanish

Ryan was born and raised in sunny South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) where she lived with her great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother. She is a first-generation college graduate, and obtained her Bachelors of Science in Biology and Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and has minors in Chemistry, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Public Health from the University of Miami. After graduating college, Ryan elected to do a service year as an AmeriCorps Member with City Year Miami, where she worked with high school students and provided math and reading interventions, whole class support, and tutoring services. Thereafter, she obtained her MD/MPH from Tufts University School of Medicine. While at Tufts, Ryan continued to pursue her interests in service, mentorship, and public health through involvement with Tufts Student Service Scholars (TS3) program and Student National Medical Association (SNMA). Ryan is excited to continue her training at Lawrence, a place that embodies innovation, integration of public health and medicine, and partnership with patients and community.   Ryan has specific interests in women’s health, adolescent health, educational and health disparities, and community medicine.  She is a National Health Service Corps Scholar and Gates Millennium Scholar. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her significant other and family, playing card games, traveling, and trying new foods.

Alaina Aristide
Birthplace: Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
Undergrad: Wesleyan University
Medical School: Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Languages: English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese

Alaina was born and raised on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Throughout high school, she worked as a personal care attendant and it was this work that first piqued her interest in medicine. Alaina completed her undergraduate degree in Spanish Language and Literature at Wesleyan University and attended the Mount Sinai School of Medicine through the Humanities and Medicine Early Acceptance Program. Between college and medical school, Alaina received a Fulbright teaching grant to travel to Argentina, where she assisted in English language classes and worked with nurse midwives. During medical school, Alaina was able to pursue her interests in women’s health, family planning, social justice, anti-racism work, harm reduction and global health, spending a year in Nicaragua researching the chronic kidney disease epidemic known as Mesoamerican Nephropathy. Alaina was drawn to GLFHC for its comprehensive four-year curriculum, full-spectrum training and commitment to the Lawrence community. Outside of medicine, she enjoys playing soccer and attempting to garden.

Corinne Gibbons
Birthplace: Westport, MA
Undergraduate: University of Massachusetts  – Nutrition – BS
Graduate School: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health – MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Medical School: University of Massachusetts Medical School
Languages: Spanish

Corinne hails from Westport, MA, a wicked awesome seaside town that is located, geographically speaking, in the axilla of the state. She attended the University of Massachusetts for college and majored in Nutrition and minored in Spanish. During this time, she developed a passion for preventive medicine and working with vulnerable populations through mentoring in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program and working with homeless women veterans. Corinne then moved an hour east to attend UMass Medical School and quickly fell in love with Worcester’s diverse and vibrant community. While in central MA, Corinne taught health education to homeless teen mothers and volunteered at the Community Harvest Project, a local farm that donates all of its produce to those experiencing hunger. She took a one-year hiatus during medical school to earn an MPH focused on community program planning and evaluation. Corinne is thrilled to continue her medical training at Lawrence FMR, a place where language, culture, community and medicine are well aligned. Outside of medicine, Corinne loves enjoying the New England seasons (through running, skiing, boating and fishing), spending time with her husband and dog, planting/gardening and reading.

Miguel Joaquin
Birthplace: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Undergrad: Michigan State University – Biomedical Laboratory Science – BA
Medical School: Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
Languages: Spanish

Miguel was born in Santo Domingo and immigrated to the United States with his mother, father, and older brother at the tender age of 4 years. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Michigan State University (GO GREEN!) with a degree in Biomedical Laboratory Science. He continued as a Spartan at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine where he was thrilled to be a part of the college’s commitment to serving vulnerable populations and their emphasis on primary care. He served as president of the Student National Medical Association where becoming a clinically excellent and culturally competent and caring physician was a point of emphasis. Miguel has always had a passion for serving the underserved, especially in urban communities. During his time as President of SNMA he developed the educational curriculum for an established Reach Out to Youth (ROTY) program where children ages 6-12 from low income schools around Grand Rapids spent the day at his medical school being exposed to science and medicine. Miguel also led and participated in international medical trips to Peru and Nicaragua during his time in medical school. This encouraged his interest in global health and the importance of continuing health initiatives that are sustainable and locally driven. He is thrilled to be training at Greater Lawrence Family Medicine Residency and considers it his dream program. Their commitment to serving the community and caring for the underserved, along with providing full-spectrum training, will be an invaluable asset for his future patients. Miguel’s number one passion is dancing and breaking it down on the dance floor. He has a special affinity for salsa, merengue, and bachata.

Denise Lobo
Hometown: Niskayuna, NY
Undergrad: SUNY Binghamton
Medical School: University of Florida College of Medicine
Languages: Intermediate Spanish

After spending her childhood in cold upstate New York, Denise escaped to Florida for four years, but realized she had left her heart in the northeast and is so excited to be back! Originally from Pakistan, trips back to her birth-country exposed her to the disparities in the world and inspired her to pursue a career working with underserved populations. During college she had the opportunity to study abroad in Madagascar where she fell in love with the country and its beautiful people. While conducting a study on childhood malnutrition there, she discovered her calling was medicine. During medical school, Denise has continued her pursuit of global medicine, including leading a medical brigade in Ecuador and participating in brigades in Guatemala and Haiti. Through these experiences Denise realized her passion for serving immigrant populations and desire to become proficient in Spanish. Finding her values greatly aligned with the mission at Greater Lawrence, she knew this residency program was the right one for her. Outside of the hospital Denise enjoys planning her next trip, struggling up mountains, naptime, nomming on pizza, and dabbling in the arts.

Patrick O’Neil
Birthplace: Malden, MA
Undergrad: College of the Holy Cross – Biology – BA
Medical School: University of Maryland School of Medicine
Languages: Basic Spanish

Pat was born in Malden, MA and grew up in nearby Haverhill, MA (hi Mom & Dad!) and attended Central Catholic High School in Lawrence. His interest in medicine was initially sparked while in high school by the television show House, although he often left that tidbit of information out during his medical school and residency interviews. He ventured to the heart of Massachusetts – Worcester – to obtain his undergraduate degree in Biology at the College of the Holy Cross. While at Holy Cross, he was immersed in the Jesuit values of service and compassion while playing a little Ultimate Frisbee on the side. He was inspired by his coursework and fellow idealistic classmates to do a year of postgraduate service, and moved to Baltimore in September 2013 to live and work in West Baltimore with the organization Bon Secours Volunteer Ministry. He served as a Patient Liaison in the Emergency Department at Bon Secours Hospital in West Baltimore, where he practiced the ministry of presence with his patients and lived in an intentional community with four other individuals. He remained at Bon Secours Hospital for an additional year as a community health worker, a role which provided him with the opportunity to venture out into the community and see firsthand the structural violence his patients were dealing with in their everyday lives. These two opportunities at Bon Secours Hospital provided a foundation in community medicine that he continues to be heavily influenced by to this day. This concept of community medicine is what Pat appreciates most about GLFHC. He then attended medical school at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. Pat is thrilled to be back in MA with his wife, Sydney, a California native (TBD on whether she will survive MA winters), and their shepherd mix, Alice. He loves running, Boston sports teams, Spike Ball, Wiffle Ball, a good nonfiction book, and burritos.

Patrick Salemme
Hometown:  Jamestown, NY
Undergrad:  University of Notre Dame
Medical School:  Jacobs School of Medicine at the University of Buffalo
Languages: Spanish

Patrick was born in Jamestown, NY (home of the National Comedy Center) where he was raised by a loving family who taught him the importance of caring for others.  He attended the University of Notre Dame where he studied Anthropology and spent time in both Mexico and Peru learning about their culture and healthcare systems, which fostered his interest to go into medicine.  After college, he spent a year working for Partners in Health in Mexico, helping to establish and support clinics in rural Chiapas.  Once he returned to the US, he started medical school at the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo.  During his time there, he helped to manage the student run free medical clinic, led a brigade to Honduras, helped instruct underclassmen in clinical skills, ran a Ragnar Relay, and ate an embarrassing amount of the Original Chicken Wings.  During his free time, he can be found running, drinking a few pots of coffee, cuddling with his cat, traveling the world, frequenting McDonald’s where he worked for four years, and making long drives to visit friends and family.  He is beyond ecstatic to begin working at GLFHC because of its strong spirit of social justice, commitment to the community, and the ability to pursue individual interests within the field, such as HIV medicine.

Katy Sausen, MD
Hometown: Allentown, PA
Undergraduate: University of Notre Dame – Biochemistry – BS
Medical School: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Languages: Spanish

Katy grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and went to Notre Dame for college, where she majored in biochemistry and minored in Latin American Studies. While she did not love Notre Dame winters, she did love being surrounded by students passionate about the intersection of faith and social justice, and even came to love watching football (or, at least, socializing during football games). During her junior year, she studied abroad in Puebla, Mexico, where she ate a lot of pan dulce and panqueques con leche condensada. The following summer, she worked at a justice-oriented church in Camden, NJ, where she learned about the power of community engagement and grassroots organizing to transform a city. Upon graduation, Katy went straight to medical school at Vanderbilt, where was an active volunteer at their student-run free clinic, worked as a student hotspotter to support socially complex patients, and advocated for primary and underserved care through Vanderbilt’s FMIG and Social Mission Committee. Katy is thrilled to be joining GLFHC for residency, which she believes merges unparalleled clinical training opportunities with innovative community engagement to transform the health of the community. In her free time, Katy enjoys spending time with her husband (Chris), any form of outdoor recreation (hiking, camping, backpacking, rock climbing), running for long periods of time, and eating dessert. She is hoping to improve her skiing while in New England so that she doesn’t spend the majority of her time sitting in the snow after falling yet again.

Alex Spacht
Hometown: Mason, NH
Undergrad: University of Chicago – Philosophy
Medical School: University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Languages: English, Basic Spanish

Alex’s passion for social justice was ignited through socio-economic rights work in college where she witnessed the critical role of advocacy in reducing barriers to employment, education, and healthcare. Following graduation from college, Alex served as a consultant to Chicago’s public hospital system during the ACA rollout, where she encountered incredible physician advocates who responded to disparities in their communities through tireless patient care and system-level quality improvement. This experience prompted Alex to pursue medicine and she completed post-baccalaureate studies at Bryn Mawr College before attending University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. During medical school her interest in Family Medicine developed as she witnessed how the specialty uniquely meets the needs of marginalized patients and their communities. Alex is thrilled to join GLFHC because of its unparalleled commitment to caring for patients through community investment, the opportunities the Residency provides to develop skills in practice management, and the chance to become a bilingual practitioner. Alex’s clinical interests include obstetrics, end-of-life and palliative care, and clinical process improvement. When not in the hospital, Alex enjoys trail running, biking around Boston with her husband, indulging in all-you-can-eat sushi and napping with her dog, Max.

Angela Sterling, MD
Hometown: Kissimmee, FL
Undergraduate: University of South Florida- Biomedical Sciences (B.S.)
Medical School: University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Languages: Spanish

Angela grew up in Kissimmee, FL 15 minutes from the “Happiest Place on Earth”. As a daughter of Dominican Immigrants and the youngest of 5 she was fortunate enough to grow up in a predominately Hispanic community where she learned early the intricacies of being multicultural.  When she was 12 her family started a Christian international non-for profit organization which sparked in her a deep love for service. This passion for serving others and global citizenship continued throughout her undergraduate studies where she spent most of her days volunteering, conducting water quality research, and planning mission trips to remote areas in Latin America. In Medical School Angela was afforded the opportunity to direct and organize a global health conference, help found a free clinic for migrant farmworkers, and travel to Panama, Peru, and the Dominican Republic for medical mission work. She was attracted to Greater Lawrence because of the vibrant community it serves, the culture of advocacy, and the ability to train in full-spectrum Family Medicine. She hopes to one day be the kind of doctor who can provide full-scope quality medicine regardless of where she is in the world.  In her spare time, Angela enjoys travelling and experiencing new cultures, reading, spending time with her loved ones, salsa dancing, and playing tag with her dog Atlas.

Thu “Tina” Tran, MD
Hometown: North Richland Hills, TX
Undergraduate: Stanford University – Human Biology – BA
Medical School: University of Texas Southwestern
Languages: Vietnamese, Basic Spanish

Tina was born in Vietnam and immigrated over to the US with her family when she was three but considers herself a Texan at heart. She traveled west to California for college where she helped start a student-run women’s homeless shelter, worked as a Vietnamese interpreter in a free clinic, and dabbled in audio editing with the Stanford Storytelling Project. After undergraduate, Tina was fortunate enough to participate in the Emerson National Hunger Fellowship, a social justice program focused on domestic anti-hunger, anti-poverty initiatives through an anti-racism lens. Through the program, she spent six months in Pittsburgh working as a community organizer with FQHCs on food insecurity screenings and six months as a child nutrition policy analyst in Washington DC. She continued to nurture these passions in medical school as a student manager at a free clinic, Albert Schweitzer Fellow with a women and children’s shelter in Dallas, and a researcher on foster/kinship caregiver burden and trauma-informed care. Tina is ecstatic to be joining the Lawrence family, a program that is committed to excellence in family medicine and intentional community engagement. She is also looking forward to improving her Spanish! In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her fiancé, family and friends, exploring the New England trails and beaches, attempting to cook her mom’s Vietnamese dishes, being involved in a local church, scouring the area for the best boba shops, and finding ways to survive the New England winters.

Rebecca Weiner
Birthplace: West Orange, NJ
Undergrad: Rutgers University – Political Science – BA
Medical School: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Language: Spanish – un poquito

Rebecca Weiner was born and raised in New Jersey where she studied Political Science at Rutgers University.  After graduating she studied culinary arts and worked in NYC as a pastry cook.  Many adventures and a career change later, she wound up in Florida working as a veterinary technician.  While being surrounded by dogs and cats was a dream, the veterinary field inspired her love for medicine in general.  After completing premedical studies at Columbia University and 2 AmeriCorps terms of service, she came back home to Rutgers to study medicine in Newark, NJ.  Her journey inspired a love for population health, working with high emergency department utilizers, and family medicine above all else.  She was most drawn to Lawrence for its passion for serving the diverse needs of the local community.  Outside of work, she loves to read, cook, cycle, facetime with family across the country and dreams of learning to become a better sailor and skydiver.

Beverly Williams, MD
Hometown: Abiquiu, New Mexico
Undergraduate: University of New Mexico: Biology
Medical School: University of New Mexico
Languages: English, Spanish

Beverly was born in Los Alamos, New Mexico and grew up in a small village in northern New Mexico called Abiquiu (also the home of the famous artist Georgia O’Keeffe). She attended the University of New Mexico where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. She then ventured on to medical school at the University of New Mexico and became involved in a Rural, Urban and Underserved program that allowed her to rotate through various communities throughout the state and see, firsthand, what rural and underserved medicine truly looks like. This inspired her to get involved with other underserved populations, where she found her niche volunteering at a local non-profit organization called Street Safe. This non-profit helps women on the street that are victims of sex trafficking or experiencing homelessness. Volunteering at this organization sparked a passion for women’s health, where Beverly ultimately advocated for a reformed History and Physical that is inclusive of this population and ensures they receive the medical care that they deserve. This curriculum was accepted to be presented nationally and internationally, including at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. The strong emphasis of culture, language, and diversity is what drew her to Greater Lawrence to be her home away from home.

Outside of medicine, Beverly enjoys her love for candling—using her creativity to hand craft candles of various sizes, shapes, colors, and scents. She also enjoys being outside in nature and can be found either hiking, camping, or kayaking. Although she will miss the red and green chile of NM, she is excited to try fresh seafood and other cultural pearls in the community!