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Home , Medical school

Pathology Residents 2013-2014

Yasmeen Butt, M.D. – AP/CP, PGY-1 St. George’s , Grenada

A Mesquite, Texas, native, Yasmeen took a summer job in 2002 in the metabolic laboratory at Children’s , working with Patti Jones, Ph.D., on LCHAD deficiency and the mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation pathway. She attended Austin College, focusing on , , and Japanese studies but returned to Children’s every summer to do further research with Dr. Jones and Dinesh Rakheja, M.D.

After earning her B.A. degree, she began working full time at Children’s as a research assistant in metabolic chemistry. A year later, she was promoted to research associate in charge of experimental immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, presenting her work on pediatric tumors as a poster at the 2008 Society for Pediatric meeting. In 2009, she began at St. George’s University and returned to UT Southwestern for pathology electives in her MS4 year. Yasmeen has conversational fluency in Japanese and enjoys translating light Japanese novels, reading fiction, and hiking.

Russell Fetzer, M.D. – AP/CP, PGY-1 University of Texas Health Science Center at

Russell is a Dallas native, graduating as salutatorian from Garland High School. He received his B.A. degree in History from Austin College, but his interest was drawn to through an Eagle Scout merit badge in first aid and emergency preparedness. He attended medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, where his academic achievements led to election to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. As a medical , he participated in the 2010 State of Texas General Preceptorship Program at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

His extracurricular activities include work with the AIDS Foundation of Houston, UT Houston Quality Improvement, and the Alzheimer’s Association of Houston. Russell completed an elective experience, “Understanding Healthcare: From Policy to Delivery,” and is interested in pathology practice in the private sector, while keeping an open mind to all career possibilities. He enjoys traveling, exercising, culinary efforts, and current events.

Valerie Juarez, M.D. – AP/CP, PGY-1 University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

A native of San Antonio, Valerie received her B.S. degree in Biology magna cum laude from the University of Texas in San Antonio. She worked briefly in real estate before entering medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 2009. Valerie’s interest in pathology emerged early, and she did a preceptorship at the Galveston County facility in the summer after her first year of medical school. A variety of electives in -based anatomic pathology cemented her decision.

Outside of medicine, Valerie has been active with the Marine Corps Key Wives Network since 2004, sending care packages to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and providing support for local families of Marines deployed overseas. During medical school, she also was active with the American Medical Women’s Association as a housing and health awareness volunteer, with the Austin Student Activities Council helping the homeless, and volunteering with the Galveston Shrimp Scamper Fun Run/Walk for children. Valerie remains interested in real estate and interior design and also enjoys travel.

Jaehyup Kim, M.D., Ph.D. – CP, PGY-1 Seoul National University College of Medicine, Korea

Originally from the Republic of Korea, Jaehyup received his M.D. with Highest Honors from Seoul National University. He stayed there for a year as a research assistant in gene expression in embryogenesis before beginning a three-year national service commitment as a for an underprivileged community.

Jaehyup came to the in 2007 as a graduate student in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin, where he worked in the laboratory of Peiman Hematti, M.D., Director of the hematopoietic stem cell laboratory and bone marrow and stem cell collection. He stayed on as a postdoctoral fellow in 2012-2013. His research has been on directed hematopoietic differentiation of embryonic stem cells for potential clinical applications. He has two clinical patent applications and multiple publications from this work.

Jaehyup intends to continue his academic pursuits in hematopoiesis, stem cell , and through a . He is also interested in paleopathology, having worked on medieval Korean mummies, and in paleoparasitology of soil and mummies. He enjoys gardening and hiking and has climbed Mount Fujiyama and Mount Kilimanjaro.

Long Li, M.D., Ph.D. – AP/CP, PGY-1 Peking University Health Science Center, China

Long was born in the Chinese province of Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia). He received M.B. and M.Med. degrees from the Peking University Health Science Center, where his Master’s was on correlating intracranial vascular with the subsequent development of aneurysms. He spent summers as a research assistant, tutor, and clinical assistant in the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, where he learned the theory and practice of acupuncture.

Upon finishing medical school, Long completed a three-year /residency in Neurological at the First Hospital of Peking University. Long came to the United States in 2007 to enter the graduate program in Neuroscience at Louisiana State University Health Science Center in New Orleans. His doctoral research there was performed in the laboratory of Chunlai Wu, Ph.D., and concerned age-related macular degeneration, ischemic stroke, and the molecular regulation of synaptic development. Long also set up a live imaging system to record his work. For relaxation, he enjoys tennis, soccer, swimming, traveling, and fishing.

Crystal Montgomery-Goecker, M.D. – AP/CP, PGY-1 University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

A native of Corsicana, Texas, Crystal earned a B.S. degree magna cum laude in Biology and Chemistry from the University of North Texas in Denton. She studied Clinical Laboratory at UT Southwestern, graduating with honors, and was certified in Medical Technology. Crystal began her career as a general medical technologist in the clinical laboratory at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin for a year, followed by three years at Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth. She then worked two years in the Flow Cytometry laboratory at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, where she performed analytic studies and interpretations of blood, bone marrows, and lymph nodes. Thus, by the time she enrolled at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Crystal was already aware of many aspects of pathology.

She expanded her knowledge through a summer preceptorship in between her MS1 and MS2 years and an acting internship in Surgical Pathology during MS4, although remains her first love. Crystal has been a fundraiser and volunteer for the American Medical Women’s Association. She enjoys reading, traveling, playing with her dogs, watching and attending sporting events, especially football, as well as running and weightlifting.

Shuang Niu, M.D., Ph.D. – AP/CP, PGY-1 Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences, China

Shuang earned her from Norman Bethune University in China and a Master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Jilin University, working on the regulation of gene expression in the rat pituitary. She came to the United States in 2003 to begin doctoral studies at the University of Virginia with Carla Green, Ph.D., (now at UT Southwestern) on circadian regulation of RNA processing and metabolism by nocturnin, which won the Andrew Fleming Award for outstanding Ph.D. dissertation.

A post-doctoral at Stanford University with Alejandro Sweet-Cordero, M.D., followed, with projects on dysregulated RNA processing in Ewing sarcoma, which won the National Institutes of Health’s Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award, and on characterization of cancer stem cells in osteosarcoma.

For 2012-2013, she was a postdoctoral fellow with Aaron Baker, Ph.D., at the University of Texas in Austin, studying post-ischemic cardiac angiogenesis and signaling pathways in endothelium and vascular smooth muscle in response to mechanical stress. Shuang loves playing and watching sports and was a member of her college women’s basketball team. She plays the guitar (now mostly for her daughter) and enjoys reading novels, especially thrillers and mysteries. Romantic comedy movies are a guilty pleasure.

Megan Wachsmann, M.D. – AP/CP, PGY-1 UT Southwestern Medical School

As an undergraduate in Biochemistry at the University of Texas in Austin, Megan was the youngest-ever recipient of a Beckman Foundation Scholars Award for her research project on HIV inhibition with aptamer therapy. After graduation, she worked for two years in Molecular Diagnostics at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center on assays for tumor markers, minimal residual disease, and therapeutic effectiveness.

At UT Southwestern Medical School, Megan did a summer project on RNA silencing in a zebrafish model with James Amatruda, M.D., Ph.D., and took two years out for a Master’s program under Ellen Vitetta, Ph.D., on dual immunologic targeting of tumor cells and angiogenesis in pancreatic cancer xenografts.

Megan served on the Medical Student Elective Committee and was a student representative on the Women in Science and Medicine Advisory Council. She has a deep personal interest in and initially felt this would be best fulfilled through an Internal Medicine residency at the University of Massachusetts. But she found her true calling with pathology and laboratory medicine. Megan enjoys live , sporting events, running, dancing, reading, cooking, great food, picnics, and time spent with family and friends.

Jamie , M.D., Ph.D. – AP/NP, PGY-1 University of Texas – Southwestern Medical School

Jamie hails from California and graduated from the in San Diego summa cum laude with a B.S. degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology while working summers for the biotechnology company Dako. She then did a three-year post-baccalaureate research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, where her research on neurodegenerative Gaucher disease resulted in an outstanding poster award from the National Human Genome Research Institute and an invited presentation at the Society for Inherited Metabolic Diseases.

At UT Southwestern, Jamie joined the Medical Scientist Training Program, doing doctoral research in the Department of Biochemistry with Steven McKnight, Ph.D., on the significance of the neuronal transcription factor NPAS1, a deficiency of which appears to model some aspects of human autism in mice. She has volunteered for community health awareness activities and for introducing high school to the health professions.

The daughter of a tennis coach, Jamie has been active in athletics throughout her life. She began competitive gymnastics at age 5 and was on her college’s NCAA nationally ranked tennis team, individually ranking No. 4 in the state and earning the Vice-Chancellor’s Senior NCAA Scholar Athlete Award in her senior year. Jamie and her mother were ranked the nation’s No. 3 women’s doubles team. Jamie has continued to play in tennis leagues and tournaments during medical school.

Adesuwa Egharevba, M.D. – AP/CP, PGY-2 University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Adesuwa was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and earned a B.S. degree in Psychology and Chemistry from Duke University. A post-baccalaureate curriculum at Southern Illinois University included and pathology courses that sparked an interest in Pathology before she even entered medical school. In medical school in San Antonio, Adesuwa received a C.A. Whittier Society academic scholarship and was one of 28 in her class to participate in the Regional Academic Health Center in Harlingen, Texas. She served on the Student Affairs Advisory Committee, the Curriculum Committee, and the Admissions Committee.

Beginning in college, Adesuwa has tutored students with behavior disorders or learning disabilities. In medical school, she also served as an academic tutor and teaching assistant. For entertainment, she enjoys reading true crime novels and dancing ballroom, Latin, and country styles. Adesuwa’s PGY-1 in Pathology has been at Washington University in St. Louis.

Midhat Farooqi, M.D., Ph.D. – CP, PGY-2 UT Southwestern Medical School

Midhat received his B.S. degree in summa cum laude from Texas A&M University, earning the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Senior Merit Award, the Gamma Sigma Delta Outstanding Senior Award, and the University Academic Excellence Award. As an undergraduate research fellow, Midhat investigated virulence genes in Brucella for his honors thesis. He worked part-time as a lab tech and wrote an op-ed column for the student newspaper.

In UT Southwestern’s Medical Scientist Training Program, Midhat pursued projects on maintenance of pluripotent embryonic stem cells, beta-catenin in development, and action of isoxazole on neural stem cells. He then settled in the laboratory of Michael Brown, M.D., and Joseph Goldstein, M.D., for a project on post- transcriptional regulation of SREBP-1c by insulin (winning best poster award at the MSTP retreat in 2007) and his dissertation on the effect of sterol intermediates on epidermal differentiation in a mouse model.

He has worked with UTSW’s Islamic Medical Association and the STARS program for high school students. Midhat enjoys soccer, cricket, tennis, basketball, and camping, is an avid foodie, and an amateur hand drummer. Midhat’s PGY-1 was at the University of Pennsylvania.