I am an American Board of Family Medicine certified Family Medicine Physician, practicing since 2018. I started my medical journey in the Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology PhD program at the University of Minnesota Medical School in the Twin Cities (UMN-TC) in 2006, studying immune responses to infection. I quickly learned that I not only love studying how the body works, but I also love working directly with people. As such, I applied and was accepted into the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD program) at the UMN-TC Medical School in 2008 and started medical school right after passing my qualifying exams to become a PhD candidate. At the end of this convoluted path to earning both my PhD in 2013 and MD in 2015, my goal was to become an Infectious Disease Physician or Rheumatologist, marrying my research and deep study of the immune system with my clinical practice. I even received the prestigious UMN Foundation J Jacob Kaplan Award for most meritorious paper by a graduate student in the field of Gastroenterology for my work on the immune response to Salmonella infection in a mouse model of Typhoid. However, I found that during my clinical studies I loved pretty much EVERYTHING! I even took courses in Integrative Medicine through the UMN-TC Center for Spirituality and Healing, such as Ayurveda Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine, Reiki and Integrative Medicine in Hawaii. I especially loved understanding each patient as a whole person (mind, body, spirit and immune system!), and how seemingly disparate parts of each person’s medical journey interplayed with one another. I was not supposed to want to be a Family Medicine Physician, the profession just kind of chose me!
I attended the North Memorial/University of Minnesota Family Medicine Residency Program in Minneapolis, MN from 2015-2018, where I received an excellent well-rounded education learning pediatrics, adult medicine, high risk prenatal and obstetrical care, complex chronic disease management, mental health, sports medicine, underserved medicine, and social determinants of health. During residency, I enjoyed teaching medical students and my patients so much that I was nominated for and inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society and received the Resident Gold Foundation Humanism & Excellence in Teaching Award in 2019.
In my first attending practice at Hennepin Healthcare, a county hospital-owned multispecialty community clinic, I practiced full-spectrum Family Medicine. I cared for children through the elderly, practiced prenatal care, attended births and cared for mom and baby in the hospital postnatally. I worked very closely with other specialists in my clinic such as Internal Medicine, OB/Gyn, Midwives, Pediatricians, Cardiologists, Rheumatologists, and Psychologists. My ability to do a deep dive on complex medical situations and my love of partnering with patients and all of their specialists garnered me many referrals for complex patients from my specialist colleagues.
While my first practice was a rewarding one, I was far from my home in the Northeast for 15 years. In October 2021, I moved with my husband and son to Ridgefield, CT just 14 minutes away from my twin sister! I look forward to setting down roots and serving the people in my new hometown.