Medical Physiology Teaching Assistants are all current second year students or recent MSMP alumni. They are a diverse group of individuals who have all demonstrated their knowledge of physiology with exceptional academic performance throughout the core curriculum. MSMP TAs are instrumental in supporting the success of incoming students each year by holding regular office hours and study sessions, hosting recitations sessions, assiting with exam reviews, and providing endless support and guidance.
Karan, MS 2020, Senior TA
Karan is this year's Senior TA for the MSMP program this year. Born and raised in the Cleveland area, he graduated from the University of Akron in 2016 with a degree in natural sciences and then spent a few years conducting clinical research at the Cleveland Clinic before starting the MSMP program in January 2019. Having been legally blind in one eye as a child, Karan has special interest in ophthalmology and worked as a scribe at Ohio Eye Alliance for the past two years. Karan served as a core TA last year and is excited to lead this year's group of Teaching Assistants.
Samantha, MS 2020, Clinical Reasoning TA
Sam graduated from Baylor University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Business Management. She completed the MSMP program in December of 2020 and is hoping to utilize the knowledge gained to become a physician.
Jessy, MS 2021, Exercise Physiology TA
Jessy attended Wake Forest University and graduated in 2017 with a major in Health & Exercise Science. Jessy worked as a core TA during the 2020-2021 academic year and is currently TAing for the exercise physiology elective course. She graduated from the MSMP program last May and is planning to apply to medical school.
Carla, MS 2021, Clinical Reasoning TA
Carla graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in Sociology of Heath and Medicine and Neuroscience. She is working as a TA for the clinical reasoning elective courses this year and has plans to apply to medical school and become a physician.
Olamide, MS 2021, Clinical Reasoning TA
Olamide (aka Ola) graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a concentration in Child & Adolescent Development. She is a 2021 graduate of the MSMP program and hopes to attend medical school to become a physician. She chose the MSMP program because the core curriculum includes well-structured rigorous science courses divided into blocks that help prepare students for medical school. She loves the MSMP community with it's non-competitive, friendly, and encouraging environment! She also found the annual Winter Retreats very helpful with their focus on the medical school application process (and other professional schools). She has been volunteering with Heartland Hospice while in Cleveland and has learned so much!
Deborah, MS 2021, Clinical Reasoning TA
Deborah graduated from Vanderbilt University with a major in Medicine, Health, and Society and a minor in Psychology. She worked as a teaching assistant for the core curriculum during her second year in the MSMP program, and is currently working as a teaching assistant for the Clinical Reasoning I and II courses. She hopes to start medical school next year with plans to specialize in internal medicine and practice in medically underserved communities.
Kelly, Class of 2022, Core TA
Kelly grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago, IL, and graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in H??ealth Sciences. She worked in an emergency department as a medical scribe with ScribeAmerica in Orlando and quickly learned to love the fast pace of the ER - she hopes to return one day! Kelly hss volunteered with various organizations such as Special Olympics and Hearts for the Homeless. This year, she is finishing up electives and volunteering at Heartland Hospice.
Kristina, Class of 2022, Core TA
Kristina is originally from Chicago and graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 2018 with a degree in biology. During undergrad, she worked as a certified nursing assistant, volunteered at Loyola’s Ronald McDonald Children’s Hospital and helped out with the Hospitalist Project at The University Chicago. Before starting with the MSMP program in 2020, she worked as a clinical informatics specialist (medical scribe essentially) at Oak Street Health. Here in Cleveland, Kristina has found a passion for tutoring adult learners working toward their high school equivalency with Seeds of Literacy. She loves enjoying an occasional glass of red wine, reading psychological thrillers, and discovering ways to reduce her carbon footprint and live more sustainabily.
Jeramiah, Class of 2022, Core TA
Jeramy is one of this year's core TAs for the neuro and renal blocks. He grew up in New Jersey and attended Cal Poly SLO where he majored in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Biology. As an undgrad, he spent a lot of time in the Medical Design Club where he worked on a neurostimulation project to develop a wearable device that assisted in nerve regeneration. Following graduation, he completed a solo cross-country road trip back to New Jersey before moving to Cleveland to start the MSMP program in the Fall of 2020. He has grown to love Cleveland and is looking forward to exploring all that it has to offer this next year!
Dara, Class of 2022, Core TA
Dara (pronounced like ‘Sara’, but with a ‘D’) is one of our fearless core TAs! Her family moved around a lot growing up - she's lived in the Washington, DC metro area, Tennessee, and Texas! Dara graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017 with a BS in molecular biology and a minor in music. While in undergrad, she played in a couple non-western music ensembles, worked in palliative care research, and was involved in SNMA and African Students Organization. After graduation, she moved back to the DMV to work as an oncology research program coordinator for Johns Hopkins University before starting the MSMP program in 2020. Dara loves anything to do with music, museums, the outdoors, and food (both cooking and trying restaurants) and exploring these interests here in Cleveland!
Regan, Class of 2022, Core TA
Regan (pronounced like 'Megan', but with a 'R') is excited to be on the core TA team this year! She was born in Pittsburgh (Go Steelers!), but mostly grew up in Southern California. Regan attended the University of California Riverside and graduated in 2018 with a degree in Biochemistry. During undergrad, she worked at the campus climbing gym and outdoor ropes course, volunteered at a local Kaiser Permanente hospital, and destressed by playing rugby. Before moving to Cleveland for the MSMP program, she worked as a medical scribe at CHOC Children's Hospital in the emergency, neurology, and endocrinology departments. This year, she is looking forward to exploring more of Cleveland and getting to know all the incoming students!
Alex, Class of 2022, Core TA
Alex grew up in upstate New York and attended the University of Michigan (Go Blue!!) for undergrad where she majored in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience and minored in Gender and Health. While at Michigan, she worked on clinical psychology research, volunteered in the UofM hospital system, and worked with Gowns for Good and The Detroit Partnership. When the pandemic started, she moved to Medina where her family now resides. Alex started the MSMP in 2020 and will be taking some elective courses this year in addition to participating in the Neuroscience AOC. Her time in this program has been full of growth and she's excited to help incoming students have the same great experience.
Valeria, Class of 2022, Core TA
Valeria was born in Caracas, Venezuela and immigrated to Miami, FL in 2013. She completed her first years of college at the Honors College at Miami Dade before transferring to Johns Hopkins University where she graduated with a degree in Psychological and Brain Sciences. As an undergrad, she was involved in biomedical research at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, working on innovative rehabilitation techniques for stroke patient survivors. Valeria's goal is to attend medical school to become a physician.
Suanu, Class of 2022, Core TA
Suanu is one of the core TAs this year. He was born in Nigeria but raised mostly in the suburbs of northeast Atlanta (Gwinnett County, anyone?). He attended Emory University and finished his degree in Human Health in 2017. While there, he was involved in everything from working at a women’s clinic to the African Students Association and lots of various volunteering. Suanu took some time off from school after graduation and worked a variety of jobs related to food, photography, and fitness. In August 2020, he moved to Cleveland for the MSMP program and hasn't looked back since! He's learned so much in just the past year and looks forward to helping incoming students achieve even more!
Nareg, Class of 2022, Core TA
Nareg is from Los Angeles, CA and lived there his entire life before moving to Cleveland in 2020 for the MSMP program. He graduated from California State University, Long Beach, in 2018 with a BS in Biology. During undergrad, he volunteered and conducted research at UCLA, worked as a scribe at a gastroenterology practice, and tutored high school students in underserved communities. Nareg is a diehard sports fan, especially with his beloved Liverpool (English soccer, anyone?) and Los Angeles Lakers. He's a sucker for beaches and taking pictures of every sunset he can. He's found that Cleveland's Edgewater Beach is a great spot to satisfy all his sunset needs!
