Sarah Axler – Sarah was born in Manchester, NH, but her family moved to Manchester, CT when she was three-years old (her parents are really original!).  After graduating from Manchester High School in 2000, Sarah attended Tufts University in Boston, MA.  She majored in Biology and became ‘wicked good’ at dropping her ‘ahs’ and ‘pahking her cah.’  She became a ‘Double Jumbo’ when she continued at Tufts University for medical school (she’s original, too!).  Sarah enjoys tennis, jet-skiing, reality TV (how can something so bad be so good), and spending time with her family and friends.

Nathan Bornstein – Nate was born in San Francisco, (go Niners!).  After high school, he sojourned up the coast to the great northern rainforest, otherwise known as Seattle, to attend college at the University of Washington (go Dawgs!).  While there, he majored in history, developed his interest in medical ethics, and spent some time in South Africa working in an AIDS clinic and getting into various dangerous situations, very few of which his mother has heard about.  From there, he moved east to attend medical school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where he furthered his bioethics training by pursuing a master’s degree.  He loves cycling, kayaking, backpacking, cricket (the sport, not the noisy bug), and relaxing in his recliner.

Deirdre Cronin, MD
Deirdre was born and raised in the Hartford area, starting her medical career as a volunteer EMT in her hometown of East Granby.   She received a degree in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University, and returned to become a Clinical Engineer at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford.   She left to start a family that now includes three children ranging in age from 11 to 4, as well as numerous cats, dogs and horses, and one husband.   After volunteering in EMS for twenty years, she decided to pursue her long-time passion to become an EM physician and graduated with her M.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. When not working or raising a family, she enjoys spending time on the Connecticut shore and traveling to distant and remote places where she hopes to continue her interest in International Medicine.

Jesse Fisk – Jesse grew up in a rural town in southern Maine. He went to Bucknell University in central Pennsylvania for college, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. At Bucknell, Jesse was active in the local fire department and became an EMT-B, additionally serving as a first responder to campus emergencies and working for the department of public safety. After graduating from Bucknell, he continued to head west and ended up at the University of Pittsburgh where he earned his Master’s degree in Bioengineering and then attended medical school. Jesse had previously raced mountain bikes at a mediocre level but gave that up when he realized this interest was not compatible with Pittsburgh drivers who derived immense pleasure in brushing their side mirrors against bikers’ handlebars. His greatest achievement in Pittsburgh was meeting a pharmacy student named Lauren and somehow convincing her to marry him. He is thrilled to finally be back in New England and may be found doing any number of things outdoors in his free time including hiking, camping, hunting, canoeing, or any type of fishing.

Jeremy Fried – Jeremy was born and raised in Kingston, PA.  He attended Middlebury College where he majored in Psychology and Spanish.  After college graduation he spent a year in Spain teaching English before he decided to return to school for a post-bac premed education.  After enduring all required premed courses in a space of 12 months, he entered medical school at the University of Connecticut.  In his free time he enjoys traveling, doing just about anything outdoors—hiking, climbing, skiing, playing with his dogs, or a relaxed night at home with his wife.

James Giddings – Jim was born and raised in Westerly, Rhode Island, developing a love for the Boston Red Sox at an early age.  Attending Brown University, he was a member of the Varsity Crew team and the Delta Phi Beta Fraternity, earning a BS in Biology and Premedical Studies.  After spending a year as a full time bartender in Mystic, Connecticut, Jim opted for a change of locale, attending Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Jim worked in several homeless shelters in the city, providing basic health care and TB testing, before being displaced for a year to Houston, Texas following Hurricane Katrina.  However, due in part to the wonderful community at Tulane and the laissez faire spirit of the Big Easy, Jim continued his medical studies uninterrupted.  Jim also found the time to pursue his interests in Wilderness medicine and Native health care, performing clinical rotations in Utah and Alaska.  He now looks forward to returning to New England, continuing to participate in the things he enjoys the most - sports, outdoors activities, and going out with friends. 

John Grady – John grew up in the Seattle area surviving on wild salmon and Dungeness crab. After finishing an Oceanography degree at UW (the "other" Huskies) a motorcycle accident forced him to forego a Naval career for stints in commercial real estate as a broker and the Dot.com industry as a software product manager. While studying for a career change into medical informatics, John joined Northwest Medical Teams for a medical mission to Nha Trang, Vietnam. Medical school in Phoenix, AZ quickly followed. From there, the decision for Emergency Medicine began.  John met his wife at Seattle University while both were completing MBAs. After he supported the family through her J.D. program, she is getting a chance to support the family through his medical education. With their two boys, they love competitive swimming, hiking, mountain biking, skiing, playing with their two golden retrievers and eating good seafood. When time allows, travel is also high on their list of favorite activities.

Matthew Ledford – Matt was born and raised in sunny Southern California.  After high school he attended UNLV and played soccer for the Rebels for two years.  Because of his love for sports and medicine Matt majored in Sports Injury Management and even published a paper that involved researching the effects of heading a soccer ball on balance.  After graduation Matt moved back to Orange County to work as an EMT in an Emergency Department in Anaheim.  Working shift work allowed Matt plenty of time off to pursue interests outside of medicine including mountain biking, traveling around the world, snowboarding, wakeboarding and finding the love of his life, his wife Alana.  Matt moved back to Las Vegas to attend medical school at Touro University.  In his free time Matt enjoys almost anything outdoors, spending time with his wife and eating cookies

Erik Owen – Erik was born in Wheeling, West Virginia and grew up between Nashville, TN and Atlanta, GA but, somehow, was never blessed with a Southern accent.  He went to college in Chattanooga, TN at Southern Adventist University and took a year away to work at a boarding high school near Valencia, Spain.  After, he returned to college in Chattanooga, he met Ciara, his beautiful Irish-Indian wife.  He graduated from college and moved to sunny Southern California to study medicine at Loma Linda University.  While in medical school, he found himself at home, in the emergency department.  Erik and Ciara are now starting a family here in Connecticut.  Erik enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, discussing history, philosophy and religion, listening to music, reading poetry, coffee, running, and hiking in the Appalachians.

Bernard Simelton – The son of a career Air Force officer, Bernard has lived the life of a stereotypical “military Brat”.  Bernard considers his lifestyle – having lived in 4 different countries and 8 different states – integral in shaping his outlook in life.  Bernard attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., where he majored in Biology.  After completion of his undergraduate studies, Bernard deferred his admission to Howard University College of Medicine to take a year off from his formal education and work as a Unit Clerk in the emergency department at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia.  This life changing experience was the motivating force behind his interest in emergency medicine.  After his brief stint in the Emergency Department, Bernard began medical school in the fall of 2004.  While there, he was an active member in the Emergency Medicine Student Association as well the Student National Medical Association.  Bernard enjoys traveling, reading, soccer and, more recently, tennis. 

Jeremy Skotko – Jeremy is a Florida boy now on a northern adventure.  Born in Miami, he was raised in Tampa until attending the University of Florida (go Gators!) for both undergraduate and medical school.  While finishing a major in Zoology, he spent three years catching and dissecting American alligators as part of his research studies.  His hobbies include traveling (and talking about traveling), running (proud to have survived his first marathon in April 2008), weightlifting, hiking, and surfing.  He also thoroughly enjoys spending time with friends and family.

Rochelle Van Meter – Rochelle was born and raised in the suburbs of Baltimore until her family moved to a small farm in northern Maryland when she was a teenager.  Rochelle attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA where she majored in Psychology.  She also met her husband there.  After college Rochelle moved to West Hartford, CT (that's where her husband grew up).  Rochelle worked in research at St. Francis Hospital and UConn; she also completed a Masters in Science (Biology) along the way.  Rochelle then taught as adjunct faculty at the University of Hartford.  Rochelle then went to medical school at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri.  (Never thought I could "do" small town living but she loved her time there.)  Spent an additional year completing a pre-doctoral fellowship in Anatomy and also welcomed their first child into our lives out there.  Rochelle spends her free time with her husband and son. She loves to jog, read and experiment with international cuisine in the kitchen.