Member Spotlight

Institution: Yale University

Medical School: Virginia Commonwealth University

Residency: Columbia University

Fellowship Training Institution: Yale University

What opportunities and experiences influenced your career path?

I was inspired very early to pursue a career in global health. As an undergraduate I received a scholarship to spend three months in Ghana shadowing in a local hospital. I will always be grateful to the opportunity I was given which set off the rest of my career path. I have since worked in Peru, Botswana, Zambia and South Africa.

What has been one of your biggest professional accomplishment? If there is an article, social media post, etc. about your achievement, please include the link to that as well.

My biggest personal accomplishment was my work as a Fogarty Global Health Fellow. I spent a year conducting research in Johannesburg, South Africa with support from the NIH. My research on cervical dysplasia in women living with HIV taught me how to conduct research on every level. But most importantly, I learned how to collaborate with a diverse team across cultures and continents.

What challenges have you faced in your career and what advice can you offer?

I did not match to MFM fellowship on the first try. Coming to the culmination of my OB-GYN training and then having a major setback was crushing. But it re-enforced my desire to become a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist. As a fellow, even the most challenging days, I am reminding of the lengths I have gone to get here and it gives me a great deal of appreciation for the job I get to do every day caring for high risk patients.

What has SMFM meant to you, both professionally and personally?

I was selected for the Queenan Visiting Teaching Fellowship through the Foundation for SMFM as a 1st year fellow. The support of SMFM for global health education and research has allowed me to continue supporting my colleagues abroad. As a Queenan scholar, I was able to spend 2 months building an ultrasound education curriculum in Lusaka, Zambia.

What are you currently reading or listening to?

I love to read, so I always have a book at my bedside or in my bag while traveling. Most recently, I finished reading The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I hope one day I can make my dream come true of settling in sub-Saharan Africa to build a Maternal-Fetal Medicine training program. I have always been drawn to the culture of sub-Saharan Africa, which is based on the idea that we are all interconnected and reliant on one another for our own happiness and fulfillment. In both my personal and professional life I have found that I cannot be happy without sharing in the happiness and success of others.