Physician Q&A

Q&A with Dr. James Doty, Neurosurgeon, CCARE Director

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James R. Doty M.D., is a Professor of Neurosurgery and the founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University.

He is also a philanthropist serving on the board of a number of non-profits; an investor and consultant to a number of medical device and biomedical companies; a venture partner in the medical device industry; and an entrepreneur. He is the former CEO of Accuray, manufacturer of the CyberKnife, that went public in 2007 with a valuation of $1.3 billion.

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Q&A with Dr. Ahmed Hankir, Psychiatrist and Mental Health Campaigner

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ahmed hankir

Dr. Ahmed Hankir MBChB PGCert (Psychiatry) PGCert (Epidemiology) is a specialty trainee in psychiatry in the National Health Service (UK), an Associate Professor of Psychiatry with the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies (USA), and a Senior Research Fellow for the Bedfordshire Centre for Mental Health Research in association with Cambridge University (UK).

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Q&A With Dr. Paige O’Mahoney, Physician-Author and Wellness Coach

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Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I started medical school at age 27 after studying international relations in college and then working as a paralegal in an international law firm. I met my husband, who was also changing careers, the first day of a post-baccalaureate premed program called MedPath at the Ohio State University. I mention this because I did not choose to pursue medicine at an early age, but rather felt called to it during the course of my education and training in other areas.

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Q&A with Dr. Ali Wong, Plastic Surgery Resident and Creator of Sketchy Medicine

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Dr. Ali Wong is a plastic surgery resident in Nova Scotia, Canada and creator of the website Sketchy Medicine, in which she shares graphical representations of various medical concepts. Dr. Wong received her Bachelor of Science with Honours in Neuroscience (2009) and her MD (2013) at Dalhousie University. Following initial year in residency, she went on to receive an MSE (Master of Science in Engineering) from Johns Hopkins University (2016). Dr. Wong has been published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Journal of Hand Therapy, and Behavioral Brain Research.

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Q&A with Dr. Shane Quinonez, Pediatric Geneticist

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Dr. Shane Quinonez is a Clinical Assistant Professor and the Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Program  at The University of Michigan. He earned his MD at The University of Michigan and then completed his pediatrics, medical genetics, and biochemical genetics training there as well.

When did you first decide to become a physician? Why?
I wish I could answer this question by showing a childhood picture of myself with a toy stethoscope around my neck. The truth is not nearly as cute. As an undergraduate student at The University of Toledo, I initially enrolled in pharmacy school, thinking I would become a pharmacist. Around my sophomore year I began reflecting on what truly gave me fulfillment in all of my previous jobs, educational experiences, and extracurricular activities. I quickly realized that I was most happy when I was interacting directly with people and was presented with opportunities to improve their lives. While these elements were clearly available in pharmacy, I felt that I would be best able to explore these interests as a physician. Though my decision was fairly calculated, I do not think I would be nearly as fulfilled and happy with my choice had I not made that decision based on the person I truly am rather than the person I wanted to be. 

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Q&A with Jonny Kim, MD, NASA Astronaut Candidate

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When the 12 members of NASA’s 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class report to Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX for their two years of training, two of them—Dr. Jonny Kim and Dr. Frank Rubio—will leave behind medical careers for the chance to explore the final frontier. SDN recently spoke with Dr. Kim about his nontraditional path to medical school and his transition from emergency medicine resident to astronaut candidate.
Dr. Jonny Kim started his career in the US Navy, where he trained as a Navy SEAL and completed more than 100 combat missions, earning a Silver Star and a Bronze Star with Combat “V”. He earned a degree in mathematics at the University of San Diego and his MD at Harvard Medical School. He is currently finishing the intern year of his residency in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. At the end of the two years of astronaut training, Dr. Kim and the other astronaut candidates could be assigned to any of a variety of posts furthering NASA’s mission.

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Q&A with Dr. Sarvi Eastell, Surgeon, Entrepreneur, and Digital Health Advisor

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Dr. Sarvi Eastell is a surgeon, entrepreneur, and digital health advisor. She is the founder and CEO of Holding Your Hand, a company that helps patients navigate the healthcare system by connecting them with expert impartial advocates. She is an Honorary Colorectal Surgeon at St Mark’s Hospital Foundation Trust and Chief Medical Officer at Thriva Ltd, a company that produces at-home diagnostic kits to enable personalized health monitoring. In her spare time, she is passionate about mentoring doctors who want to innovate and/or diversify their careers. She speaks on leadership and personal development and provides workshops on the anatomy of mindfulness. Her mentees have approached her via channels such as Medic Footprints, Women Like Us, Google’s London Campus, Surgify.co and LinkedIn.
Dr. Eastell obtained her medical degree from King’s College London (2001). During medical school, she also intercalated and obtained a dual bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering and Mathematics (1998).

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Q&A with Dr. Jennifer Villwock, ENT

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Dr. Jennifer A. Villwock is the current Rhinology and Skull Base Fellow at the University of Kansas Medical Center. After graduating in 2011 from the Michigan State College of Human Medicine, she completed her ENT residency at the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University. Dr. Villwock is active in the American Academy of Otolaryngology and serves on the Ethics Committee of the American Rhinologic Society. You can reach her on Twitter @docwock

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Q&A with Dr. Abeyna Jones, Occupational Medicine

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Dr. Abeyna Jones is an occupational medicine registrar at King’s College Hospital and the Medical Director of Medic Footprints, a social enterprise for doctors and medical students promoting alternative careers and wellbeing. She is also a Fellow with the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Fellowship, devised to support UK doctors develop their enterprises whilst in clinical training and practice.

Dr. Jones received her medical degree from the University of Nottingham (2006) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education from the University of Edinburgh (2011).

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20 Questions: Tyler Edwards, MD, Family Medicine

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Dr. Tyler Edwards is an attending physician who specializes in family medicine, practicing for almost 15 years. In addition to his duties as a family physician, Dr. Edwards also works as a hospitalist at Frisbie Memorial Hospital, the same hospital in which his outpatient practice is affiliated. After graduating from Pennsylvania State University in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, he matriculated at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, subsequently earning his M.D. degree in 1999. He thereupon moved to Ogden, Utah, to complete his McKay-Dee Family Medicine Residency program, which lasted three years. Dr. Edwards has been married for 18 years and has four children. As a keen advocate for exercise, he enjoys physical, outdoor activities, such as cross-country skiing, running, swimming, and hiking.

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20 Questions with Dr. Cosima Gretton, Health Technologist

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Dr. Cosima Gretton is a medical doctor and product manager at Karius, Inc., a biotech startup specializing in infectious disease genomics. She is also a Technology Entrepreneurship Teaching Fellow at UCL, where she is currently designing and delivering a new health care pathway which would guide entrepreneurs through the UK healthcare system, and a fellow at the Digital Health Forum, which brings together industry, academic and clinical experts in digital health. Furthermore, she is a mentor for Startupbootcamp’s healthcare accelerator.
In 2011, she co-founded the AXNS Collective, a science communication company which is looking to advance public engagement in neurology and psychology with the help of scientists and artists.
Dr. Gretton obtained a degree in Experimental Psychology from Oriel College, Oxford University (2009), followed by her medical degree from King’s College London (2015). While at medical school, she studied at the University College London (UCL) Mobile Academy, which supports individuals with new business ideas. She also studied at the Silicon Valley think tank Singularity University, where her team founded an at-home salivary diagnostic start-up called Mitera.
She most recently worked as Product Manager at Outcomes Based Healthcare, designing and building a research app to gather smartphone sensor data for diabetic patients; as a technical lead for RADAR-CNS at the NIHR Biomedical Research Center, a project seeking to find predictors of relapses in a number of neurological conditions; and as a digital health innovation consultant.
Dr. Gretton has written a number of featured articles for The King’s Fund, WIRED Magazine, and KQED Science, and has been published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

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20 Questions: Sara E. Gottfried, MD, OB-GYN

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sara goddfried

Sara E. Gottfried, MD, is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist; founder and CEO of Gottfried Center for Integrative Medicine, Inc.; and volunteer clinical faculty at University of California at San Francisco Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Gottfried received a bachelor’s degree in engineering cum laude from the University of Washington (1988), followed by a Doctorate of Medicine with a focus on public health and integrative medicine from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Physician Scientist Training Program (1994). Dr. Gottfried completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at UCSF (1994-98).

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Q&A With Physician-Author Dr. Richard Friedman

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richard friedman

Dr. Richard Friedman is a professor of clinical psychiatry and a psychopharmacology clinic director at Weill Cornell Medical College, where he focuses on mood and anxiety disorders. In addition to his research, Dr. Friedman has interests in mental health policy and psychiatric practice, and is a classical pianist and long-distance swimmer. He graduated from Duke University in 1978 with a degree in physics before graduating from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School – University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1982. He has written for The New York Times science section since 2002, and recently became a contributing opinion writer in 2015. He has also written for The New England Journal of Medicine, The American Journal of Psychiatry, and The Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Friedman graciously agreed to talk with me over the phone. This interview has been edited and condensed.

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