Meet Our Pathology Residents & Fellows
Our Current Residents and Fellows
The Pathology Residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center prepares residents and fellows for careers in pathology and academic medicine. Learn more about our current residents and fellows below.
2022–2023 Residents and Fellows
Aya Almashad
Aya graduated from the Cairo University School of Medicine. Since graduating, she has shown enormous interest in pathology. She has been active in different research projects including molecular studies in BCG effect in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and study in prostate cancer biomarkers in high-risk individuals.
Ibidunni Bode-Sojobi
Ibidunni graduated from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria, after which she was a productive academic microbiologist and the recipient of multiple teaching awards. She served as the sole infection control practitioner for a large hospital in Ottawa prior to joining BIDMC.
Brendan Camp
Brendan completed a DO/MPH from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and Baylor. He has published and presented various research aimed at improving colorectal and lung cancer screening in underserved communities. He loves to share his passion for the intersectionality of public health and pathology — follow him on Twitter.
Emily Mejia
Emily is a graduate of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, where she was the president of the pathology interest group, a medical student mentor, and an active participant in several community service projects. She has already started to integrate into the larger pathology community as a member of the CAP Medical Student Forum.
Michael Ren
Michael was born and raised in Wayland, Massachusetts. He graduated from Tufts University with a BS in biomedical engineering where he researched the use of silk in in-vitro 3D tissue modeling.
Michael earned his MD at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. He was involved in mentoring high school students in resilience, and peer academic coaching. He greatly enjoyed his pathology elective rotation here at BIDMC.
Outside of medicine, Michael enjoys the outdoors in all its forms including hiking, cycling, skiing, and foraging. He also loves board games and discovering new movies.
Danielle Rinck
Danielle graduated from Saint Louis University School of Medicine, where she worked to nurture interest in pathology among high school students in the cadaver lab. She also enjoys applying her digital art skills to medicine, and her drawings are published in a medical textbook.
Siba Saker
Siba graduated from Wake Forest School of Medicine, where she completed a program in medical education and undertook substantial mentoring roles. She also was elected president of a Wake Forest learning community and is a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.
Mohammed Wali
Mo graduated from the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, where he led the pathology interest group, was a student ambassador, researched the effect of COVID on postpartum mothers, and developed materials for teaching gender-affirming pronoun use in medical education. In his free time, Mo is a doting cat parent (of two), enjoys board games and exploring new cuisine options in the city.
Lisha Wang
Lisha received her MD from Shandong First Medical University and her PhD and pathology residency from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. She completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Michigan. She has co-authored over 50 publications on a wide range of cancer-related topics, and received the International Society of Urologic Pathology (ISUP) Stipend award.
Sehyo Yune
Sehyo earned her MD at Chung-Ang University College of Medicine and a joint MPH/MBA at Johns Hopkins University. She worked on informatics and machine learning projects at Massachusetts General Hospital and served as an Assistant Vice Chancellor of COVID-19 Wellness at Northeastern University before joining BIDMC. She aspires to combine her background in public health, business, and informatics with pathology through her training.
Feidi Chen
Feidi obtained her MD from Guangzhou Medical University (China), then went on to complete her PhD (University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston) and postdoctoral work (Washington University in St. Louis and Cleveland Clinic), studying the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. While amassing a truly impressive body of published work, she has also found time to pursue her love of toy collecting and her cat, Lola!
Samuel dos Reis Freire
Samuel completed his medical studies at the Universidade Federal do Ceará Faculdade de Medicina Fortaleza (Brazil), where he received a Science Without Borders scholarship to study abroad in Australia for a year and undertake research using complex systems to model hematopoietic stem cell migration. After medical school, he practiced as a family physician in rural Brazil. Get your paddles ready, because he also loves table tennis.
Ruth Gichinga
Ruth Gichinga comes to us from the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, where she amazingly continued to work as a registered nurse while excelling in her academic pursuits, volunteering in a variety of settings, researching the impact of immediate release of patient medical reports on web portals, and acting as a reviewer and senior editor of the Medical Student Research Journal.
Ashley Gochoco
Ashley Gochoco obtained her medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and is proud to be carrying on a family tradition of a career in our fine field. She serves as a CAP resident delegate and has been academically productive with numerous publications in cutaneous lymphoma and other dermatologic disorders. A violinist, one of her favorite things to do in Boston is attending BSO concerts whenever she gets the chance!
Lily Mahler
Lily completed her medical training at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama. She presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Medical Examiners on her work on viral myocarditis and won a Scholar of ’67 Travel Award to attend the 2019 Association of Pathology Chairs National Meeting. Lily is an avid painter and in addition to being a member of the BIDMC Art in Pathology Committee, she has contributed multiple pieces to fundraiser auctions and medical humanities journals. Her favorite art museum in Boston is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum!
Nandan Padmanabha
Nandan completed his medical school at Kasturba Medical College in Mangalore, India, where he dove into research on HPV immunization rates among medical students, the sensitivity and specificity of cytologic interpretation of CT-guided pancreatic aspirates, and the ameliorative effects of vitamin D in metabolic derangements. He also held leadership roles in multiple local and national medical societies. In his spare time, Nandan is active on Twitter and his favorite pastimes include cooking and travel.
Xia Qian
Xia joins us as a PGY2 resident after beginning her training at Mt. Sinai. She graduated with both an MD and PhD from Nanjing Medical University, where she studied molecular targets for cancer therapy. In post-doctoral positions she has published on cell signaling pathways in cancer and mechanisms of cancer metastasis. In her spare time, Xia loves jogging, traveling, and spending time with her family.
Danielle Stamer
Danielle comes to us from UMass Chan Medical School, where she built on her undergraduate biomedical engineering degree in tissue engineering to research hyperspectral imaging in burn evaluation, and where she published an educational case on classic seminoma of the testis. Danielle has a love of drawing, which she has shared through engagement with pediatric patients in the “Arts for Healing” program, and she also enjoys running and biking. Her favorite loop is around Jamaica Pond!
Sierra Amaya
Sierra joined us from the Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine, where she was co-president of Pathos, the MUSC pathology interest group, and invested in helping others through formal mentoring of both prospective and incoming medical students and participation in a non-profit clinic serving uninsured and underserved populations. Her undergraduate studies in microbiology and internship in public health will surely serve her well in today's medical world. In her downtime, she especially enjoys drawing and painting.
Maureen Dean
Maureen joined us from the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she served as a teaching assistant in osteopathic manipulative medicine and studied a new technology to measure bone strength, bringing together her passion for athletics with her burgeoning medical career. In college, she ran competitively for Ohio University's division one cross country and track & field teams. She has continued to train through medical school and will hopefully be able to mentor us all in healthy work-life balance!
Melissa Delio
Melissa completed her medical studies at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and returned to her Boston roots to train with us. Melissa has an extensive teaching history covering topics such as osteopathic manipulative medicine, graduate-level histology, and physiology. Her research interests include endothelial cell dysfunction in atherosclerosis and the effects of IL-1beta and IL-6 on lipolysis and insulin signaling in human adipocytes. When relaxing, Melissa enjoys cooking, tennis, and kickboxing.
Christian Hirt
Christian Hirt studied Medicine at the University of Berne. Following initial clinical training in general surgery he obtained a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University Basel focusing on the tumor-immune microenvironment. He continued his scientific training with a postdoctoral fellowship at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and one at the ETH Zurich, working on translational oncology research projects. After finishing his AP/CP he will go on to do a hematopathology fellowship at Stanford.
Yekaterina Merkulova
Originally from Smolensk, Russia, Katya is proud to be a graduate of the public school system. This includes obtaining her MD/PhD from SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY, during which time she authored a life sciences 101 curriculum implemented in over thirty New York middle schools, a week-long STEM camp for local middle schoolers, and a four-year-long extracurricular course on bioethics for medical students. Her thesis focused on better understanding the electrophysiological properties of the TRPC4 channels. In her spare time, she continues to play the trombone, and enjoys spending time with family, friends and her pitbull baby. She is beyond excited to start her career in forensic pathology in New York City.
Lindsay Nelson
Joining us from the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lindsay is passionate about global health. She has pursued both on campus activities including coordinating the global health service trips, and off campus activities, including a total of fifteen service trips to deliver medical, dental, and surgical care in Haiti, with a nine-month residence there as well. She enjoys hiking, skiing and exploring the mountains in the Northeast. After completing her AP/CP residency, she will pursue a fellowship in forensic pathology.
Masa Peric
Masa obtained her MD degree from the University of Belgrade, where she was a mentor of young students. Reflecting her fluency in French, Serbian, and English, Masa has a rich background of work with the United Nations and of organizing the humanitarian services of Rotary International. She enjoys her hobbies of boxing, reading, and board games. Masa is one of the Anatomic Pathology Chief Residents, a member of the College of American Pathologists’ Residents Forum Executive Committee, and a future GI/Liver fellow at our institution.
Marc Rodriguez
Marc completed his MD/MBA at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, where he found time to carry out work in renal pathology, ranging from a case presentation at the CAP 2019 annual meeting to studying machine learning in identification of glomeruli in whole slide imaging. Also at UIC, Marc had leadership roles in the Class Board and Latino Medical Student Association. In his spare time, he enjoys DIY projects, staying physically active, and reading both fiction and non-fiction.
Lynette Viruet-Guzman
Lynette, holder of an MPH, obtained her MD from the Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine, Puerto Rico, where she received the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society Award and was the recipient of the Academic Excellence Scholarship. She also carried out many volunteer commitments in community healthcare and studied knowledge of intimate partner violence in the general Puerto Rican population. Her disparate talents include oboe, paddle-boarding, and American Sign Language.
Michael Meade (Transfusion Medicine)
Mike grew up in Wisconsin, and completed his MD degree at Medical College of Wisconsin before coming to Boston for residency. He completed a CP-only residency here at BIDMC, and has stayed with us for a fellowship in Transfusion Medicine. He is interested in pursuing a career in blood banking at an academic center, and he is very invested in resident education and wellness. He enjoys hiking, table tennis, and chess/board games.
Xenia Parisi
Xenia grew up in Massachusetts and attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she studied for her BS in biochemistry and molecular biology. She completed her MD at Georgetown University while working at the National Institutes of Health. Her research interests vary but specifically include the molecular pathogenesis of disease. She is looking forward to becoming a hematopathologist through MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Cana Tompkins
Cana completed her medical studies at the University of New Mexico. She enjoys hiking, cooking, and spending time with her family and pets. Cana is one of our Co-AP Chiefs and is excited to be a future breast and dermatopathology fellow at our institution.
Leo Wu
Leo received his undergraduate degree in biology from Texas A&M University and MD from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He enjoys travel; his passion for this was solidified after a three-month, nine-country backpacking trip between college and medical school. Leo is pursuing a hematopathology fellowship at the University of Chicago in 2023.
Tiffany Yin
Tiffany graduated with her MD from the University of Queensland School of Medicine, Australia. She holds a master's degree in comparative pathology, and she has been a chemist and researcher in both industry and academics. In her spare time, she enjoys the arts, hiking, racquetball, gaming, and dogs.
Talal Ahmad (Hematopathology)
Talal is currently a Hematopathology Fellow, having completed his AP/CP residency at SUNY Upstate.
Poojaben Dhorajiya (Gastrointestinal Pathology)
Pooja is currently a GI/Liver Pathology fellow, having completed her AP/CP residency from Mount Sinai in New York, followed by Oncologic surgical pathology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Akisha Glasgow (Breast Pathology)
Akisha is currently a Breast Pathology Fellow, having completed her AP/CP residency at Case Western Reserve.
Joshua Goldsmith (Dermatopathology)
Josh joined us from the University of New England. He has consistently pursued a variety of volunteer activities, both at home and abroad, and has teaching experience ranging from tutoring anatomy in medical school to a year as a high school substitute teacher. His work experience includes the development of point-of-care assays. Josh is currently the dermatopathology fellow.
David Jou (Breast Pathology)
David came to us from the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, where he combined his interest in research with his athletic pursuits (running and cycling, among others) in work studying cardiac biomarkers in runners post-marathon, and was active in community volunteer work. His prior history in cancer research (STAT3) informed his career choice. He is currently one of the breast fellows after completing his AP/CP residency with us. He will go on to an oncologic surgical pathology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering next year.
Andrea Kirmaier (Medical Microbiology)
Andrea joined BIDMC as a Medical Microbiology Fellow after 15 years in academic research. As an evolutionary virologist, Andrea studied the interactions between retroviruses and their hosts, both at the genetic and the molecular levels.
From 2020-2022, Andrea built, implemented and managed a dedicated SARS-CoV-2 clinical lab at Boston College.
Jeffrey Kubiak (Medical Microbiology)
Jeffrey is a Medical Microbiology fellow. He completed his MD/PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, with his thesis focused on mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. He completed his CP residency at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York.
Simon Lamothe (Hematopathology)
Born in Canada and holder of a Masters in Molecular Genetics from the University of Montreal, Simon graduated with his MD from the University of Belgrade, where he founded the pathology student interest group. His background includes volunteering as an international educator and work as a researcher focusing on the role of cytokines in hematologic malignancies. Simon has served as Social chair, CP chief resident, and CAP Resident Forum representative. He is currently one of our Hematopathology Fellows.
Harry Rosenberg (Gastrointestinal Pathology)
Harry completed his MD/PhD at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, where his PhD work focused on astrocyte cytoskeletal morphology in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. He is also continuing with long-term work in inflammatory bowel disease. He is currently completing a fellowship in GI pathology.
Steven Schwartz (Neuropathology)
Steven completed his MD at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. The veteran of extensive graduate-level training in chemistry, he has in more recent years taken on projects analyzing usage patterns and storage needs of whole slide scanning. Steven has a passion for puzzles, and can carry on at least basic conversations in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and Hebrew. He has completed his AP/CP residency with us, and is currently in his first year of neuropathology fellowship.
Yaileen Guzman Arocho (Cytopathology)
Yaileen is from Puerto Rico and joined us from Ponce Health Sciences University School of Medicine. She completed her AP/CP training with us and served as an AP chief resident. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and indoor cycling. Yaileen completed a breast pathology fellowship and she is currently a cytopathology fellow.