Dear Alumni,
Welcome to the Stanford Medicine Alumni Association website. I am honored and humbled to take up the baton as the current President of SMAA, and I look forward to working with you to further SMAA’s mission to reach, inspire, serve, and engage our alumni (RISE). I welcome each one of you to engage and reengage as an integral part of the SMAA family, connecting with classmates, mentoring our current students and trainees, volunteering for our communities, and building friendships through various educational conferences, sporting events and social gatherings.
I encourage you to visit this website to learn of programs and services we provide throughout the year. If you have additional comments or questions, we would love to hear from you. Click here for our contact information and let us know if we can make the SMAA community event more engaging, inclusive, diverse, and fun!
Best regards,
Deval Lashkari, PhD ’96
President
Stanford Medicine Alumni Association
Board Officers
Deval Lashkari
PHD ’96
PRESIDENT
Dr. Lashkari has worked in the life sciences area developing and commercializing novel technologies. During his time as a graduate student, Dr. Lashkari worked at the Stanford Genome Technology Center on new technologies used in the human genome project. He was also President of BioMASS and was involved with summer research programs for minority undergraduate students. After completing his PhD in Genetics, he became a founding research director for a genomics tools company. He gained corporate and business development experience through senior management positions in a number of life science businesses. Dr. Lashkari is a co-founder and Senior Partner at Telegraph Hill Partners, a San Francisco based life sciences and healthcare venture capital firm and works closely with innovative healthcare companies.
Ethan Nicholls
MD ’88
PRESIDENT - ELECT
Dr. Ethan A. Nicholls received his A.B. from Harvard University, his M.D. from Stanford University and completed his Anesthesia residency and fellowship in Pain Management at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
He joined the Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group in March 2015 where he currently serves as Chair of the Department of Anesthesia, Alameda Division. Previously, he was a senior partner and served as President of Northern California Anesthesia Associates (2004-2015). After completing his residency and fellowship training, Dr. Nicholls held the position of Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at the University of California, San Francisco before leaving for private practice and working at El Camino Hospital, and later Washington Hospital.
In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Nicholls has served in numerous other roles. Most recently on the Board of Trustees, Castilleja School in Palo Alto (2011-2017). He served as a Delegate, District 4, California Society of Anesthesiology (2001-2007) and previously held multiple staff and committee positions at El Camino Hospital including Chief, Department of Anesthesiology.
Dr. Nicholls has two daughters, is a Stanford Women’s Basketball season ticket holder and enjoys traveling and attending the theatre and SF Opera.
Volney (Vol) F. Van Dalsem III
BA ’71, MD ’75
PAST PRESIDENT
Dr. Van Dalsem III has had a long engagement with Stanford University, receiving his BA in Biology in 1971 and M.D. in 1975. He completed his internship, residency and fellowship in Diagnostic Radiology at the University of California, San Francisco in 1980, where he continues to serve on the Diagnostic Radiology Margulis Society Alumni Board of Directors.
Dr. Van Dalsem practiced Diagnostic Radiology at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California from 1980 through 2007, and has served as the Medical Director of the Radiologic Technology and Diagnostic Medical Sonography Training Programs at Foothill College since 1991. In 2007, he returned to Stanford Medical School as an Associate Professor, Clinical Educator faculty member and Medical Director of Outpatient Imaging for Stanford Hospital and Clinics. He was appointed Professor of Abdominal Imaging in the Stanford Department of Diagnostic Radiology in 2012.
Dr. Van Dalsem has been a member of the Board of Governors of the Stanford Medicine Alumni Association since 2014, and is currently president of the association.
Melissa Sims
MD ’07
SECRETARY
Dr. Melissa Sims is an accomplished radiologist in private practice on the San Francisco Peninsula and an adjunct lecturer for the Department of Surgery – Clinical Anatomy at Stanford University. Her journey into medicine was preceded by a career as a dot-com founder and web developer, and she remains passionate about integrating technology with healthcare for the greater good. Dr. Sims is recognized for her leadership skills, having served as Chair of the Department of Radiology at a community hospital.
She graduated cum laude from Harvard University with an A.B. in Psychology before earning her M.D. from Stanford School of Medicine and an M.P.H. from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Sims completed her Radiology residency at both UCLA and Stanford, followed by a fellowship in Musculoskeletal Imaging with National Orthopedic Imaging Associates. Beyond her clinical practice, Dr. Sims is a contributor to the field, notably collaborating on the new editions of Stoller’s Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine textbooks.
Her deep connection with Stanford School of Medicine is evident through her commitment to medical education. Dr. Sims's served as an Anatomy Teaching Assistant for three years during medical school and returned as a lecturer in 2024. During her time at Stanford, she was President and Treasurer of the Stanford Medical Student Association and served as Coordinator for the Stanford University Minority Medical Alliance, a student organization dedicated to increasing diversity in medicine.
Dr. Sims lives in San Mateo with her husband, Leroy (BS ’01, MS ’02, MD ’07, Fellow ’10), and their two daughters. They enjoy international travel, supporting Stanford sports teams, cooking, and learning foreign languages.
I-Han Liang
BA ’97
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALUMNI RELATIONS
Board Members
Shelley Force Aldred
PhD ’05
Shelley Force Aldred, Ph.D., is Co-founder and CEO of Rondo Therapeutics. Prior to starting Rondo, Dr. Force Aldred was a member of TeneoBio’s founding team where she led preclinical development for the company’s CD3 T-cell engager platform which ultimately generated $1.5B in up-front payments through partnerships and an acquisition by Amgen. Early in her career, Dr. Force Aldred developed a passion for starting companies when she co-founded SwitchGear Genomics which later sold to Active Motif. Dr. Force Aldred earned a Ph.D. in Genetics from Stanford where she continues to be involved as an advisor for Stanford’s SPARK translational medicine program and as a member of the Board of Governors for the Stanford Medicine Alumni Association.
Jane Binger
BS ’73, MA '80, ED '82
Dr. Binger has dedicated her career to the intersection of education, healthcare, and breaking barriers so college students and healthcare professionals of all backgrounds can reach their professional dreams.
Presently, Jane is Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer of DeepTok, a Foundation for California Community Colleges non-profit; Senior Advisor, Center of Excellence in Diversity in Medical Education, Stanford Medicine; Diplomat, University of California Merced Foundation where she co-sponsors the Grad Slam Research Presentation Competition; and an Executive Board Member, California Medicine Coalition. Previously, she was a Senior Research Officer, Sutter Health, where she led teams that developed the first system-wide strategy for research, personalized medicine, and graduate medical education. She was Executive Director, Physician Leadership Education, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford for nine years.
Dr. Binger enjoys volunteering for the National Hispanic Medical Association Annual Conference Committee, Napa Valley College MESA/STEM Center Advisory Board, and Stanford University as an undergraduate admissions alumni interviewer. She earned her BS, and MA and Doctorate in Education from Stanford University, and MS from UCSF. On weekends, you will find Jane hanging out with her husband (Bob Bernstein, AB ’77, AM ’77, MD ’80) and family, and fishing in the High Sierra.
Gabriel Brat
MD ’08
Gabriel Brat is a trauma surgeon and assistant professor of bioinformatics at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is also the co-founder of Tissue Analytics, a platform that leverages machine learning and computer vision to transform wound care. He teaches courses in health IT innovation at the medical school and mentors and advises healthcare and digital startups. He is passionate about the intersection of surgical innovation and digital health and has published and patented numerous mechanical and digital tools to improve surgical outcomes. Gabriel has an undergraduate degree in bioengineering and a graduate degree in public health and biostatistics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He completed his medical training at Stanford University and his surgical residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Mark Ping Chao
MD '08, PhD '11, Fellow '14, Resident '16
Dr. Mark Chao is a physician-scientist, hematologist and biotechnology entrepreneur with a focus in oncology and regenerative medicine research. He is currently co-founder and CEO of TenSixteen Bio, a precision therapeutics platform company. Mark previously served as Vice President of Oncology Clinical Research at Gilead Sciences. Prior to that, Mark was co-founder and Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Forty Seven, Inc., an immuno-oncology company developing first-in-class macrophage-directed therapeutics which was acquired by Gilead Sciences for $4.9B in 2020. As one of the scientific pioneers discovering CD47 as a target in cancer, Mark helped lead research from lab discovery through late-stage clinical development. Mark was named one of the 20 under Forty in biopharma leaders by Endpoints News. He has broad interests in translational research, clinical development and biotechnology company formation.
He received his medical degree, PhD in cancer biology and internal medicine and hematology training at Stanford University. He serves on the board of directors for Hepatx Corporation, the Northern California Chapter of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and on the scientific advisory boards of TigaTx and IconOVir Bio. He and his wife Alice (BA ’99, PhD ’09) are proud Stanford alumni and have three young children.
Peter Yee-Chew Chiu
MD ’83
Dr. Peter Y. Chiu is an Emeritus Adjunct Clinical Professor of Medicine at Stanford University and has been very active in the Stanford MD Admissions Program and the First-Generation Mentorship Program of Stanford Medicine. Since 2013 he has been on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) Hearing Board that serves to adjudicate regulatory compliance issues that may arise between the BAAQMD and local industries. Previously, he practiced as an Occupational Medicine Department and Emergency Department physician at Kaiser Milpitas/Santa Clara from 1990 to 2011 and as a Family Medicine physician in San Jose from 1986 to 1990. Additionally, he was appointed by Governor Brown to serve on the California State Board of Behavioral Sciences from 2013-2019 and by President Clinton to serve on the US Presidential/Congressional Environmental Risk Assessment and Risk Management Commission from 1994 to 1997. Prior to his career in medicine, Dr. Chiu was a principal environmental engineer for the Association of Bay Area Governments from 1976 to 1979. He received his MD degree from Stanford University and his BS, MPH and DrPH degrees from the University of California, Berkeley.
Chana Davis
PhD ’06
Chana Palmer Davis is a geneticist who is passionate about helping the public use science to make informed, healthy choices. Her areas of expertise include precision medicine, companion diagnostics, cancer early detection, the human microbiome, and plant-based nutrition. Chana completed her PhD in genetics at Stanford in the lab of Dr. Patrick Brown before spending a decade in biomedical research at the Canary Foundation, Genentech/Roche, and Genome British Columbia. In 2018, Chana shifted her focus to science communication, and founded Fueled by Science. Through her podcast, articles, and posts, she shares digestible, science-based resources, fights misinformation, and teaches others to think like a scientist. Chana lives in beautiful Vancouver, Canada with her husband and three children.
George Demetri
MD ’83
Dr. Demetri is the Quick Family Chair in Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, where he co-directs the Ludwig Center at Harvard with Joan Brugge, PhD. His career as a physician-scientist has focused on developing therapies targeting specific oncogenic mechanisms to treat molecularly-defined subsets of sarcomas and other cancers. He led the development of imatinib as the first effective therapy for gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) as a paradigm of a mutation-driven solid tumor. Subsequently, he led the development of the next two FDA-approved drugs for GIST (sunitinib and regorafenib) after resistance to imatinib appeared. On the basis of this body of work, Dr. Demetri was awarded the 2020 David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). His research efforts have subsequently contributed to U.S. FDA approval of multiple other therapies to treat GIST (e.g. avapritinib), other sarcomas (e.g. trabectedin, pazopanib and eribulin), and other malignancies. Working at the interface of academic discovery and biopharma development, Dr. Demetri serves on several scientific advisory boards and recently co-founded IDRx, a clinical stage biotech company, to develop next-generation therapies for GIST.
Jessica Bintou Diarra
PhD Candidate, Student Representative
Jessica is a PhD student in the Stanford Immunology program. Prior to graduate school, she earned an Honors Bachelor of Science with High Distinction in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Toronto in 2021 and spent a year as a technician at a CAR-T cell biotechnology company. Jessica is passionate about immunotherapy and biotechnology. Jessica studies regulatory T cells, an immune cell that is important for preventing autoimmunity and limiting chronic inflammatory diseases. She is particularly interested in how these cells work and how to improve their function in the context of disease. Outside of the lab, Jessica is involved in outreach and diversity initiatives. She is the financial officer for the Stanford Black Bioscience Organization, a Stanford Community Associate, a member of the planning team for Black in Immuno, and a mentor for the Científico Latino Graduate Student Mentorship Initiative program.
Nirav Kamdar
MD ’10
Nirav Kamdar is a physician executive with over 10 years of clinical, administrative, business administration, research, boardroom, and advisory board experience within community, and academic healthcare organizations. He is a native Californian, growing up in Los Angeles, and cherished his years at Stanford Medical School for its training, the research he conducted, and the flexibility that the medical school offered to explore non-traditional contributions to medicine and healthcare. After medical school, Nirav trained in Boston to become an anesthesiologist, and thereafter took a faculty position at UCLA practicing anesthesia, doing research in perioperative telemedicine applications and conducting administrative work in quality improvement and patient safety. Simultaneously, he served on the medical advisory board of seed and venture funded medical device startups in hospital quality improvement and digital health. Most recently, he pivoted his career to an executive administration role at a large, 619-bed, hospital affiliated with the Cedars- Sinai Health System. As an active member in the Los Angeles community, he serves as a board member of a classical music society, Salastina, co-founded by another Stanford alumnus that builds community amongst both supporters and patrons of the performing arts, and works with UCLA to deliver music to patients in the intensive care unit through Salastina’s Vital Sounds program.
Bernd Kutzscher
’71, MD ’80
Dr. Kutzscher is a 34-year boarded private practice ophthalmologist, and now Chief of Comprehensive Ophthalmology, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco as well as Associate Clinical Professor, Dept of Ophthalmology at UCSF. For three decades he has served as an international & local volunteer eye surgeon for those in need with groups such as Hospital de la Familia, San Marcos, Guatemala; Orbis International (Flying Hospital), Surgical Volunteer, Vietnam; Clinic by the Bay (free San Francisco clinic) and Rotacare Free Clinic, Seton Medical Center (Co-Founder). He has served on the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Public Information Committee, and has been an SUSOM Ophthalmology instructor as well as serving on the Stanford Medical Staff in Ophthalmology. He is an American Academy of Ophthalmology, Fellow, 1990 and was American Board of Ophthalmology, Board Certified, in 1989. He is married to Marilyn Kutzscher, MD and they have three children who have pursued careers in medicine. He loves whitewater rafting, downhill and cross-country skiing, bicycling, and the San Francisco ballet and symphony.
Kimberly Lee
’97, MD ’03
Dr. Lee is an otolaryngologist/facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon in private practice in Beverly Hills, CA. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor in Head and Neck Surgery at UCLA and Attending Physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She graduated from Stanford University with Honors in Biological Sciences and Honors in Humanities, as well as Phi Beta Kappa and Academic Distinction, and was awarded the prestigious Dinkelspiel Award for her contributions as a campus leader while at Stanford. Dr. Lee completed her MD degree at Stanford followed by residency in Otolaryngology/ Head and Neck surgery at UCLA, where she was Chief Resident. Dr. Lee completed her fellowship training in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Lee has over a decade of hands-on clinical experience including establishing and managing a medical practice, training other plastic surgeons and injectors as a national trainer on behalf of pharmaceutical companies Galderma and Allergan, serving as a clinical advisor for medical device companies, and serving as a medical expert for numerous media outlets. She is a Committee Member for both the Women in Facial Plastic Surgery and Face to Face, a pro bono organization through the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery dedicated to assisting victims of domestic violence. In addition to her professional accomplishments, she is an avid golfer who enjoys traveling, the fine arts, and spending time with her twin sons.
Alicia Levey
PhD ’08
Dr. Alicia Levey currently serves as President and COO at Pionyr Immunotherapeutics leading business development and operations, portfolio strategy, and program management in addition to managing intellectual property and legal functions. Prior to Pionyr, Dr. Levey served as the CBO of Tempest Therapeutics and was a key contributor to establishing the company outside of Inception Sciences and raising $70M in venture funding. Leading up to the spin-out of Tempest, she was VP of Business Development at Inception Sciences, a small molecule drug discovery company formed in collaboration with Versant Ventures, a global venture capital firm focused primarily on early stage investing and biotechnology company creation. Dr. Levey served as a member of the Versant Ventures Investment Team for over 8 years, most recently as an Operating Principal. While at Versant, she was a key contributor to multiple Series A investments as well as business development efforts for portfolio companies. Dr. Levey worked as a Consultant, and later a Project Leader in The Boston Consulting Group. While at Stanford, she focused on the development of novel protease inhibitors and activity based probes for diagnostic imaging applications. Dr. Levey earned a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Aditi Mallick
MD ’13
Aditi Mallick, M.D. is the Chief Medical Officer for the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, where she leads the Center’s clinical strategy and cross-center work on health equity, social determinants of health, and innovation in whole-person care among other areas. Before joining CMCS, Dr. Mallick led the COVID-19 Response Command Center for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) where she oversaw efforts around vaccination, testing, case investigation, and contact tracing statewide. A core focus of her COVID-19 work was ensuring equitable access and improving outcomes for historically marginalized populations. Before NCDHHS, Dr. Mallick worked closely with a range of healthcare stakeholders across the public and private sectors – including state Medicaid agencies, provider organizations, managed care organizations, and other payors. Her prior federal experience includes serving as a Senior Medical Advisor in the Office of the Administrator at CMS, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She earned her A.B. with honors from Harvard College, her M.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine, and completed internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Arturo Molina
MS ’83, MD ’83, PD ’86, PD ’89
Dr. Molina is Chief Medical Officer at Protagonist Therapeutics where he oversees the phase 3 clinical Dr. Molina is Chief Medical Officer at Protagonist Therapeutics where he oversees the phase 3 clinical investigation of rusfertide, a hepcidin peptide mimetic for treatment of polycythemia vera. Dr. Molina is currently Adjunct Clinical Professor of Medicine (Oncology) and Office of Faculty Development and Diversity (OFDD) Co-Director of the LGBTQ+ Subcommittee of the Diversity Cabinet at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Molina was recently on the Board of Directors of Forma Therapeutics, which was acquired by Novo Nordisk in October 2022. From 2016-2022, he was Chief Medical Officer at Sutro Biopharma. In that capacity he oversaw the transition of development candidates through the IND process and phase 1 clinical trials. Previously, he was Vice President, Oncology Scientific Innovation at Janssen R & D (Johnson and Johnson, JNJ). While at JNJ he was responsible for the clinical development and New Drug Application for abiraterone (Zytiga®), which is now approved for metastatic prostate cancer in more than 100 countries. He was Chief Medical Officer/EVP at Cougar Biotechnology, which was acquired by JNJ in 2009. Arturo also worked at IDEC, then Biogen-IDEC, ultimately becoming Head, Oncology Clinical Development. In collaboration with Genentech, he led the clinical Supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) filing activities resulting in FDA approval of Rituxan® in two first-line indications in 2006: follicular lymphoma and diffuse B-cell lymphoma.
From 1991-2002, Dr. Molina was a faculty physician in Hematology/Bone Marrow Transplantation and Medical Oncology/Therapeutics Research at the City of Hope (COH) Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he became an Adjunct Professor, member of the COH Medical Group Board of Directors and President-Elect of the COH Medical Staff. Arturo received his MD and MS (Physiology) from Stanford University, and completed residency in Internal Medicine and fellowships in Medical Oncology, Biological Science, and Bone Marrow Transplantation, all at Stanford. Arturo was an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin where he received a BS in Zoology (Honors) and BA in Psychology (High Honors).
Jessica Ngo
MD ’05
Jessica Ngo is board certified in Emergency Medicine, fellowship trained in Emergency Medical Services and Disaster Medicine, and certified in Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine. She completed her undergraduate degree from University of Pennsylvania, then transplanted to the west coast where she completed medical school, residency and fellowship at Stanford University. She served as an attending physician and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Stanford University for 12 years.
Dr. Ngo has a passion for disaster response as well as education. She served on the Stanford Hospital Disaster Planning Committee Board, then co-founded Stanford’s first disaster deployment team named SEMPER, Stanford Emergency Medicine Program for Emergency Response. She has directed numerous disaster responses around the world, starting with the 2010 Haiti earthquake. She developed the drive-through medicine model, which has since been published and adapted around the world for Covid-19 testing and vaccinations. For over a decade she was very involved in Stanford medical student education, as Director of the Emergency Medicine Clerkship, Medical School Procedure Course and Stanford EMT Course. Dr. Ngo transitioned to the Palo Alto Veteran’s Affair hospital Emergency Department as their disaster expert.
Kamsi Nwangwu
MD Candidate, Student Representative
Kamsi is an MD/PhD student in the Stanford Neurosciences program. Prior to graduate school, he graduated from Yale University in 2019 with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and spent two years as a postbaccalaureate fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His research at the NIH explored the mechanisms underlying a disease-causing mutation in the lysosomal chloride transporter CLC-7. Now, as a graduate student in Michelle Monje's lab, Kamsi is interested in studying the role of central nervous system inflammation and glial cell dysregulation within the context of various disease states. Outside of the lab, he has served as the Stanford Medical Students Association (SMSA) president, Stanford University Minority Medical Alliance (SUMMA) co-chair, Stanford Medicine Arts Collective co-president, a VPUE STEM Fellows mentor, and on the board of the Stanford's SNMA chapter. In his free time, Kamsi enjoys ceramics, hikes, sports, and music.
Henry Hoang Nguyen
MD Candidate, Student Representative
Henry Nguyen was born and raised in Abbeville, Louisiana, and is a proud graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, Louisiana. Before becoming a Stanford medical student, Henry had the pleasure of co-founding organizations dedicated to increasing inclusivity in the fields of competitive athletics, the performing arts, and media production. He has found Stanford to be the perfect place to continue nurturing these organizations during medical school, and he has even picked up multiple new projects in the fields of biotechnology, medical education, and other forms of cutting-edge innovation. In his free time, Henry enjoys playing video games, binging K-Dramas, listening to podcasts, hanging out with friends, and napping.
Paula O’Connor
MD ’93
Paula O’Connor has served as the Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Nurix Therapeutics since September 2022. Dr. O’Connor is trained as a hematologist-oncologist with more than 15 years of drug development expertise. Prior to joining Nurix, Dr. O’Connor held senior level positions in Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Protagonist Therapeutics, Oncopeptides, Inc., Coherus Biosciences, Medivation, Onyx, and Genentech. Paula holds a B.A. in Psychology-Biology from Yale University, obtained her medical degree from Stanford University; did her medical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was the first African American Chief Resident in Internal Medicine. Dr. O’Connor completed her fellowships in Hematology, Oncology, and AIDS Oncology at the combined programs of the Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s, and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Outside of work, Paula is a parent, a tennis fan, and the owner of 2 Burmese cats.
Paula O’Connor
MD ’93
Paula O’Connor has served as the Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Nurix Therapeutics since September 2022. Dr. O’Connor is trained as a hematologist-oncologist with more than 15 years of drug development expertise. Prior to joining Nurix, Dr. O’Connor held senior level positions in Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Protagonist Therapeutics, Oncopeptides, Inc., Coherus Biosciences, Medivation, Onyx, and Genentech. Paula holds a B.A. in Psychology-Biology from Yale University, obtained her medical degree from Stanford University; did her medical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was the first African American Chief Resident in Internal Medicine. Dr. O’Connor completed her fellowships in Hematology, Oncology, and AIDS Oncology at the combined programs of the Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s, and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Outside of work, Paula is a parent, a tennis fan, and the owner of 2 Burmese cats.
Thomas Satterwhite
’00, MD ’04
Dr. Thomas Satterwhite obtained his bachelor’s degree (Human Biology with Honors) and Medical Degree at Stanford University. He remained at Stanford Hospital to complete his residency in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. His expertise in facial surgery was further refined with the completion of a craniofacial fellowship in Miami, FL under the tutelage of Dr. S. Anthony Wolfe. Dr. Satterwhite has presented nationally and internationally in plastic, reconstructive, craniofacial, and gender affirming surgery with more than 80 podium presentations over the years; and he has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters. He’s heavily engaged in numerous international and national organizations including the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. He is a peer reviewer for multiple well-respected journals, and he is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Satterwhite performs the full spectrum of gender affirmation surgical care in a private practice setting in San Francisco, CA since 2014 where he and his partner physicians at Align Surgical Associates provide comprehensive care in all aspects of gender affirming surgery for transmen, transwomen, non-binary, and gender diverse individuals. He is an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford Medical Center.
Anjali Shastri
PhD ’13
Anjali has more than 10 years of experience advancing biomedical research programs and policy in industry, academia, and government. Currently, as a Program Manager at 23andMe, Dr. Shastri manages research projects and collaborations with academic and industry partners to further genomics research and improve the products and services 23andMe provides its customers.
Dr. Shastri previously served as a Policy Advisor in the Office of Global Health Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State. There she worked across U.S. government agencies, NGOs, and international partners to strengthen countries’ capacity to combat disease, improve healthcare for vulnerable populations, and equip diplomats to engage in health diplomacy. She also worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Global Affairs, where she coordinated global health policy for Asia.
She received her Ph.D. in Immunology in 2014 from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where she studied how the parasite Toxoplasma gondii manipulates the host immune system. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Molecular and Cell Biology.
Throughout her career, Dr. Shastri has been passionate about increasing diversity in science. At Stanford, she was co-President of the Biomedical Association for the Interest of Minority Students and a Diversifying Academia Recruiting Excellence fellow; at 23andMe, she serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Committee.
Russell Stewart
’01, MS ’01, MD ’09
Dr. Stewart was an undergraduate student athlete at Stanford and received his BS and MS in Biological Sciences in 2001. He returned to Stanford in 2010 to complete his residency and fellowship in Diagnostic Radiology and joined the faculty as an Assistant Clinical Professor in 2015. He served as the Director of Body Imaging at the South Bay Cancer and Director of Quality Management for the Department of Radiology until 2018.
Dr. Stewart continues to practice clinically as a radiologist for Stanford and is helping lead early stage healthcare companies looking to utilize advanced technology and machine learning to empower physicians and improve patient care. He also continues to serve as an undergraduate pre-major advisor for incoming students at Stanford and maintains close ties with the Stanford Department of Athletics in helping recruit high school student athletes interested in careers in medicine.
Holly Tabor
PhD ’02
Holly Tabor received her PhD at Stanford in 2002 where she chose to focus her research on genetic epidemiology and embarked on what has been a career-long passion for interdisciplinarity, and bridging ideas, methodologies, and perspectives. After completing her PhD, she worked for four years as a Senior Scientist at the Stanford Human Genome Center, collaborating with the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Genetics.
In 2005, she was one of the inaugural ethics postdoctoral fellows at the Stanford Center for Bioethics and also received training as a clinical ethicist, applying ethics scholarship and training to helping health care providers, patients and families navigate ethical challenges in hospitals. She has worked as Assistant Professor in the Division of Bioethics in the Department of Pediatrics at University of Washington and at the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
In 2016, she returned to Stanford as an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Associate Director for Clinical Ethics and Education at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. She teaches every medical student and PA student the “ethics thread” of required sessions and serves as Co-Course Director of the Responsible Conduct of Research course, taken by almost every graduate student and postdoctoral fellow in the School of Medicine.
Holly is a recipient of the Stanford School of Medicine Henry J. Kaiser Award for Excellence in Preclinical Teaching, the Stanford Faculty Women’s Allyship Award, and the Stanford Medicine Outstanding Community Engaged Faculty Award.
Nathan Trinklein
PhD ’03
Nathan received his Ph.D. from Stanford in 2003 with a focus on functional genomics. After graduating, he served as the Technical Director of the Stanford ENCODE pilot project. Nathan began his career as a biotech entrepreneur by co-founding SwitchGear Genomics based on technology developed at Stanford. After the acquisition of SwitchGear, he was part of starting a therapeutics immuno-oncology company called Teneobio where he currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer. Teneobio employs a sequence-based approach for antibody discovery that leverages next-generation sequencing and high-throughput functionally assays to develop fully-human multi-specific antibodies. Dr. Trinklein has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and is an inventor on over 15 patents.
Raymond Tsai
MD ’13
Dr. Raymond Tsai is a Family Medicine physician working in California’s Central Valley. He currently serves as Vice President, Advanced Primary Care for The Purchaser Business Group on Health, a nonprofit coalition of some of the largest employers and public purchasers in the nation committed to improving care quality, ensuring health equity, and reducing health care costs. In his current role, he collaborates with member employers and public purchasers, who collectively provide health coverage for 21 million Americans and their families, to ensure access to the best quality primary care and improve our overall healthcare system. Prior to this role, Dr. Tsai spent around 7 years providing executive medical leadership for a private company’s philanthropic mission to improve health outcomes for its agricultural workers and the communities in which they live in mostly rural and traditionally underserved areas in Central California. Raymond received his MD from Stanford in 2013, during which time he served his class for 4 years as Social Chair for Stanford Medical Student Association. He completed his residency in Family Medicine at UCLA and is also Board Certified in Clinical Informatics. Prior to medical school he obtained his B.A. in Music: Vocal Performance from UC San Diego, and MS in Health Policy and Management from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Raymond has also worked at the World Health Organization, as well as in New Orleans establishing school-based health centers after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. One of his favorite hobbies include carving pumpkins, which is a skill he cultivated as part of the anatomy lab competition at Stanford.
Steven Wang
PhD Candidate, Student Representative
Steven is a PhD student in the Stanford Cancer Biology program. Prior to Stanford, he earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences at Columbia University. Steven is an awardee of the Stanford Graduate Fellowship and NSF GRFP, and is conducting his thesis work in Dr. Howard Chang's lab. For his thesis, Steven aims to develop novel cancer vaccines for poorly immunogenic solid tumors, as well as elucidating the pathogenic mechanism of autoimmune diseases. After his PhD, Steven plans to explore opportunities to start or join an early-stage biotech company. Outside of work, Steven enjoys scuba diving, snowboarding, and basketball.
Monica Wiemer
’00, MD ’06, Resident ’09, Fellow ’15, MS ’15
Dr. Monica Eneriz Wiemer is a practicing pediatrician and the Vice President of People and Culture at the Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group. She leads her medical group’s strategies and initiatives on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She previously chaired the department of pediatrics at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose. Dr. Wiemer graduated from Stanford with a BA in Human Biology. She received her MD at Stanford and completed her pediatric residency at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
As a Stanford fellow in academic general pediatrics, she studied the impact of language and literacy barriers on children’s health outcomes and completed a MS in health services research. As a Stanford medical student, Dr. Eneriz Wiemer served as president of the Stanford American Indigenous Medical Students, was an active member of the Latino Medical Student Association, and coordinated the Stanford University Minority Medical Alliance, a student organization dedicated to increasing diversity in medicine.
She lives in San Jose with her husband, Mike (BS ’00, MS ’01, PhD ’07) and their two children. She enjoys hiking and backpacking, gardening, and distance running.