Highlights from Graduate Fellows

Working with and learning from dedicated infectious diseases experts who are approachable and always happy to help with any case, question, or just about anything

Patrick Ching, MD, MPH

The amazing depth and breadth of clinical experience, and the ability to walk down the hallway and find world-experts in so many of the fields within ID

Armaghan-e-Rehman Mansoor, MBBS

One thing that stood out to me through the fellowship was the Division’s (especially Dr. Powderly’s) support for the fellows – whether it be about training, access to research/scholarly opportunities, mentorship, addressing workload, changes in workflow, innovative educational endeavors, free meals etc. The division is so big that there is always someone who is an expert to approach for a particular clinical dilemma or research question. Access to our own data analysts is also something very unique to the division.

Gayathri Krishnan, MD

I feel fortunate to have worked in such a caring, sympathetic, and nurturing team. The encouragement from my mentors and other faculty, and the support of the leadership during difficult times were invaluable during my fellowship training.

Luis Parra-Rodriguez, MD

I really enjoyed working with the many members of the infectious diseases division and having great camaraderie with the other fellows. In second year, I appreciated the freedom and support from the division that helped guide me into choosing a more specific career path.

Abby Sung. MD

The thing that probably stands out for everyone over the past 2 years is the COVID pandemic. Though the early months of the pandemic felt chaotic, looking back I am overwhelmingly impressed with our department’s ability to rise to the historic challenges. ID directed the hospital and community response, rapidly transitioned to COVID research, and enrolled 1000s of patients into COVID-related clinical trials.

Patrick Mazi, MD

Highlights were definitely the people, getting to train with my co-fellows as well as the faculty who truly treated us, not only as colleagues, but friends was fantastic.

Joseph Cherabie MD MSc

I am so thankful to have been at Washington University. I could not have asked for better faculty and mentors. I think what I enjoyed most were the relationships I formed with my co-fellows. Whether it was celebrating a birthday, enjoying the holidays, or just getting a drink after a tough rotation, my co-fellows really became like family.

Nathan Nolan, MD, MPH

My favorite part of fellowship was working with all the wonderful people and faculty of the division. I have also been extremely fortunate to have amazing mentors who have helped me meet my career goals in Hospital Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Stewardship.

Miguel Chavez, MD, MSc

This is my second ID fellowship that happens in a country half-a-world away from my home country. The challenges are language barrier, different culture, new work environment, and unfamiliar healthcare system. I would need to thank all faculty, mentors, coordinators, staff, colleagues, and patients who accommodated me all my way. I am so lucky being part of this community. I also had a great experience taking care of transplant patients with infectious disease. This would be one the most memorable time in my life.

Sasinuch Rutjanawech, MD

I have been extremely fortunate to work alongside outstanding faculty with a deep commitment to education and research during my fellowship. I received constant support from my mentors with countless opportunities to discover ways I can contribute to the field and meet my career goals. The extensive clinical experience and great discussions during weekly grand rounds cases cannot go unmentioned. Sharing this time with my co-fellows was definitely one of the highlights, we pushed through the hard times together and built friendships that I will always cherish

Adriana M. Rauseo, MD

My favorite part of clinical training here was the HIV clinic, where I got to work with the best patients, fantastic staff, and really excellent preceptors. The highlight of my research year was working on an interesting project involving outpatient stewardship using community pharmacies with a very cool research mentor, Dr. Mike Durkin. I liked my project and my mentor so much that I’m doing a third fellowship year here at Wash U to continue working on it.

Sena Saywood, MD

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Washington University, and I want to thank all of the wonderful people who have impacted my life thus far including my mentors who have been an invaluable source of advice, and especially my co-fellows who have supported me (through the good times and the bad) to allow me to get to where I am now. To my co-fellows, I will never forget all of the struggles that we endured through during our first year, but I will always cherish the wonderful moments that we shared outside of work and during our travels together.

Daniel T. Vo, MD

One of my most memorable moments comes from the IDSA conference. I have never been to such a large conference with so many interesting topics from influential people. It’s like a once in a lifetime experience that happens every year!

Josh Hendrix, MD

A highlight of my fellowship was the mentoring support I received from both clinical and research aspects.

Frances Lahrmann Boly, DO

I’ve had a great time, and received wonderful training at WashU, from my days as an intern through my busy rotations on the ID consult services as a fellow, and for the last 3 years, working in the lab of Michael Diamond on Zika virus pathogenesis and vaccine development. I’ve made many friends and established professional relationships that I am grateful to take with me. Thanks WashU! See you all at IDWeek!

Brett Jagger, MD, PhD

For my medical career, I’ve never had one specific plan, but rather have been lucky enough to follow my passions as I discover them. At Washington University, I was able to get a lot of both clinical and research experience until I figured out what I enjoyed the most about Infectious Disease. I was helped along the way by great mentorship and close friendships with my co-fellows, attendings, and staff. We’re excited for the next step, but I will always look fondly upon my time in fellowship where I had the fortune to work with leaders in the field and create lifelong friendships.

Matthew Hevey, MD
 

I think what I appreciate the most from my fellowship was the incredible learning experience and the powerful support system for both my personal and professional development. I am humbled by the knowledge passed onto me by my mentors (Drs. David Warren, EP Barrette) and talented peers who have watched me grow and achieve my goals successfully.

Kap Sum Foon, MD

In regards to what stood out during my fellowship, I can think about many things. But, if I have to choose only one, I will go with the amazing clinic’s staff who make our job easier and take the patient care to a higher level.

Abdullah Aljorayid, MD

The fellowship gave me the opportunity to learn from and train with fellows and faculty whose enthusiasm for the specialty of infectious diseases is inspiring.

Jane O’Halloran, MB BCh BAO (Hons), MRCPIMD

If I had to highlight something in my fellowship, it would be the support I received from everyone in the ID division and especially my mentor, Andrej Spec, to pursue a career pathway based on my interests. Having shared the journey with my co-fellows was a bonus.

Carlos Mejia, MD

My time here at Washington University has allowed me to foster relationships with many experts in the field of infectious diseases who I know I can rely on in the future to discuss those difficult cases. I was also fortunate enough, during fellowship, to attend the IDSA Clinical Fellows Conference which introduced me to the leaders in the practice of infectious diseases and gave me insight into what makes a clinically focused infectious diseases physician great. With all the amazing experiences over these past two years I can say that my co-fellows have been a tremendous support system and I look forward to our continued friendship despite our career paths taking us in separate directions”

Lee Connor, MD

I am going to work for Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA as an Infectious Disease Physician and will specialize in HIV/AIDS as well as Hepatitis C care and treatment. The highlight of my fellowship was interacting, learning, laughing, and growing with well-established, internationally known, and well-respected faculty and fellows. I have learned a lot from these great people and grown to consider many of them my friends.

Darrell McBride, DO

I will be doing a Critical Care fellowship at Mercy Hospital in St. louis. My future long-term plan is to combine ID and critical care in my practice to provide care to critically ill and complex patients. I plan to stay and practice in St. Louis. I had a very wonderful experience during my training at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The training gave me exposure to seeing a wide array of patients with varied ID issues. The friendliness and camaraderie within the department make it the best place to learn from a fellow standpoint. I thoroughly enjoyed my work in the department and saw myself grow as a budding ID physician.

Krunal Raval, MD

I will be staying at Washington University to complete the research component of my Physician Scientist Training Program. I will be performing research to further understand the pathogenesis of Acinetobacter infections, both with epidemiological studies and basic science. One thing that I took away from the program was the ability to navigate the ever-more-complex healthcare delivery system in order to optimize the care received by our patients. As Infectious Disease doctors we typically have a bird’s eye view of the system, and it is important to know how who to go to with questions and how to improve healthcare delivery.

Juan Calix, MD, PhD

Working with a great and hilarious class of fellows. Being given the opportunity to pursue my research interests in a supportive environment. I am thankful to all my mentors and the division for the exceptional support they have provided.

Jason Burnham, MD

I have had a wonderful time doing Infectious Disease Fellowship at Washington University. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a part of such a great division at this outstanding academic institution. My highlights were ‘by far’ my class of fellows; we helped each other in good and bad times and we shared many laughs. I feel obligated to thank Dr. Kirmani and Dr. Powderly for supporting me throughout the two years.

Batool Eldos, MD

My class of fellows are the highlight of my training here, as we have become a family, guided by our wonderful program director and division leadership. Together, we negotiated a steep learning curve and made work enjoyable. I was fortunate to have great research mentors in Dr. Powderly and Dr. Lawrence, who have helped mold my career and research interests.

Anupam Pande, MD, MPH

I am lucky to be working with three mentors who have a passion for infectious diarrhea (Drs. Erik Dubberke, Carey-Ann Burnham and Margie Olsen). They are exemplary scientists and are generous with their time and knowledge. I also am thankful to my career development mentors (Drs. Vicky Fraser, Bill Powderly, Hilary Babcock, Dave Warren, and Clay Dunagan), who are constant sources of support and are always there to nudge me in the right direction.

Jennie H. Kwon, DO

I had a wonderful experience as a fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases. I had an amazing group of co-fellows with whom I spend most of my time both at work and outside of work. I know I have made friends for life. I have received extraordinary mentorship from Dr. Dave Warren, who has taken interest not only in my research, but also has helped me foster and further my career and personal goals. I am following a non-traditional path to academic medicine and infectious diseases, and with Dr. Powderly’s continuous support, I have had wonderful opportunities, including spending two months at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

Caline Mattar, MD

Being an ID fellow has allowed me to develop greatly in the clinical aspect of ID, which was my main goal. During my training I developed an interest in infection prevention and would like to thank my research mentor, Dr. Warren, for his guidance and constant support. I would also like to thank Dr. Hsueh for introducing me to the exciting world of antibiotic stewardship (AS) and allowing me to work with the new great AS team. Finally, big thanks to my co-fellows, whom I’m sure I will remain friends with for a long time.

Maria Reyes Angeles, MD

My training has greatly exceeded what I hoped for. In retrospect, I am amazed at the diversity and the complexity of the cases I have been able to see both as inpatient and as outpatient. I am most grateful for my mentors (William Powderly, MD, Margie Olsen, PhD, MPH, and Richard Hotchkiss, MD) and my collaborators. I am also very grateful that I have been able to work towards a Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation. My research has involved participation in 4 multicenter trials, and over a dozen studies of our own devising focusing on Candida, Histoplasma and Cryptococcus. Due to this work, I have been able to travel all over the United States, Central and South America, as well as Australia.

Andrej Spec, MD