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Current Residents - First Year Residents
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Gilberto Arbelaez MD
Gil was born in Neiva, Colombia and moved to Stamford, CT at the age five where he grew up. He went to upstate NY, after attending the Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT, to Hobart and William Smith Colleges for a BS in Biology and a minor in Environmental Science. After conducting research in a Chemistry lab as well as research work at the Cornell/NYS Agriculture station there, he graduated and went on to UConn to persue his MD. During his summer vacations while in college he worked in a masonry company and continued to do so during medical school for extra cash. Between his first two summers in medical school, while vacationing in Colombia, he met his wife. He has two younger brothers, one in undergrad and the other in law school. Gil enjoys travelling, riding horses, good food, and spending time with his family. |
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Jermaine Bridges MD
Jermaine was born in Flint Mi growing up in Grand Rapids MI. After high school he attended the University of Michigan (Hail to the Victors!) obtaining degrees in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. After his time in Ann Arbor he attended the University of Illinois in Chicago for Medical School. Jermaine considers himself a lifelong student, and immerses himself in various topics to learn more about the world around him, and works out to keep from falling completely out of shape. |
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Elizabeth Carter DO
Liz was born and raised in Milford, CT. After graduating Foran High School, she headed down to Virginia for undergraduate college. At James Madison University, she got her BS in Biology and minored in Spanish. GO DUKES! Continuing south, she moved to Atlanta where she studied medicine at Georgia-PCOM. Though she loved southern hospitality and the weather, she missed Connecticut so she decided to trek back north (maybe bringing back some “y’alls” and southern charm). Her family is thrilled to have her back in CT and associated with UCONN, GO Huskies! She enjoys playing tennis, dancing, running, volunteering, writing stories and poetry, and is an avid work-out enthusiast. Her favorite (and most expensive) pastime is traveling. She has backpacked through parts of Europe, South and Central America, and hopes to be involved with international medicine in the future. Her greatest love (outside of the emergency room of course) is spending time with friends and family. |
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Katherine Fellman MD
Kath was born in New Jersey and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She spent a large part of her childhood visiting family in the Spanish seaside village of Cambados, which is where her mom is from. This explains her love of octopus and razor clams. Kath earned her BA from Brown University in Providence, RI. After college, she worked for several years doing public health research at Clinical Directors Network in New York City, investigating the barriers to cancer screening in elderly, underserved women. Kath enrolled in Tulane's MD/MPH program in 2005, taking a year off between her third and fourth year to conduct research on disaster management during Hurricane Katrina for the Department of Homeland Security and to focus on public health work in Clinical Tropical Medicine. She worked on public health projects in El Salvador, India, and Peru during medical school. As for fun, Kath loves any activity involving good food and good wine, hiking, traveling, swimming, and relaxing. |
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Jason Kurtzman MD
Jason was born in Baltimore, MD where he was neglected by his resident-parents for a few years before they moved to New Jersey and had his brother Ethan and sister Alyssa. They moved to Simsbury, CT in 1990, which is where he grew up. Jason attended Hamilton College in snow-covered upstate New York where he played football and graduated with a BA in Physics. Then Jason made his way back to CT where he taught high school chemistry and physiology at St. Thomas More School in Oakdale. After a year of teaching, Jason started at UConn School of Medicine, and has found no great reason to leave the area. He still plays intramural sports as much as possible and is looking forward to an exciting upcoming year, including his marriage to his beautiful fiancée Heather, a PA in the ED at Dempsey (where she might be able to coddle the newbie’s on their first rotation through there). |
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Ian Medoro MD
Ian was originally born in Brooklyn, NY but moved to Albuquerque, NM at the age of five after his father decided to move the whole family rather unexpectedly. When Ian was seven years old, he watched the first televised open heart surgery on TV and decided then he wanted to become a doctor. While attending the University of New Mexico, Ian became interested in EMS and began his medical career at the age of 19 as an EMT. All told, he served in EMS for 10 years with six if those years as a paramedic. During that time Ian received a B.S. in EMS, served as a paramedic/ firefighter in a local fire department, and completed his career a flight paramedic. Somehow through all of this, he managed to meet and marry the love of his life who also decided to become a physician. Both Ian and Amanda entered medical school and, more importantly, graduated together. Ian enjoys scuba diving, skiing easy slopes, and traveling with his wife. He has two dogs, and loves playing the drums. Ian has a wide range of musical taste from Metallica to opera, and he is fairly certain that he has the largest comic book collection out of anyone in the UConn EM program. |
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Felix Pacheco MD
Felix was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He attended Stony Brook University and earned a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. Not sure of what he wanted to do after Stony Brook; he worked in the insurance industry as a claims representative before deciding to return to school. He finished his premed courses as part of a post-bac program at the City College of NY and went on to SUNY Downstate for medical school, where his desire to be an Emergency Medicine Physician became evident. He likes yoga, running, weight-lifting, and pretty much anything that pushes his physical limits. He also likes to play Texas Hold 'Em and never bluffs... or maybe he does. Felix now embarks on a journey to Connecticut, where he hopes to enjoy the outdoors and cleaner air. |
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Alexis Rodriguez MD
Alexis grew up in Johnston, RI and Plainfield, CT. He spent his formative years eating snow cones and instructing adults to call him Alexis rather than Alex. When it came time for college he was intrigued by the concept of Southern Hospitality and chose to attend Vanderbilt University. After 4 years of consuming chicken fried steak and mint juleps he ventured north of the Mason-Dixon Line to earn his MD from the University of Illinois in Chicago. During his 3rd year of medical school he gave his advisor a stress ulcer by announcing his plans to defer residency for 1 year in order to volunteer at a small hospital in the rural highlands of Guatemala. His hobbies and interests include traveling, shooting, hunting, cooking (mostly Italian), books/shows by Anthony Bourdain, and mountain biking. |
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Christopher Sala MD
Chris grew up in Stamford, CT as the youngest of five kids. He obtained both his Undergraduate and Medical degrees from the University of Connecticut through the Combined Program in Medicine. Chris earned a BS in Physiology and Neurobiology while balancing a dizzying schedule of random hobbies including, but not limited to home renovation, fencing (swords, not enclosures) and skiing. During med school he served as the Social Chair of Student Government and worked at the many student- run clinics. He was drawn to the friendly people, fast pace and diverse experiences of Emergency Medicine. In his free time he enjoys playing basketball, skiing, water-sports and hanging with his fiancée Sara. |
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Matthew Sarasin MD
Matt is from Warren, RI. He attended Brown University where he got a Bachelors of Science in Biology. While at Brown, Matt conducted and played trombone and tuba for the Brown Band, which holds the distinction of being the only collegiate ice skating band in the country. Matt also volunteered as an EMT at Brown and for his hometown fire department. For medical school, Matt left Rhode Island and attended the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, IL. During his second year of medical school, Matt served as the Executive Student Council President for the entire university. Matt loved living in the Wrigleyville area of Chicago for 2 years, but is excited to be back in New England for residency. Matt is an Eagle Scout, loves camping, traveling, and sports, and is a fan of the Red Sox and Patriots. |
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Ryan Sullivan MD
Ryan was born and raised in Holbrook, MA, just south of Boston. An avid soccer player, Ryan elected to spend a year of college studying abroad in Leeds, England where he traveled throughout Europe, playing and watching as much soccer as he could. After receiving his B.S. in Exercise Science from UMass-Amherst, he began working as an Exercise Physiologist/Personal Trainer in Boston. Hoping to stay close to family and friends, he later attended Tufts Medical School. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys watching all Boston sports (go Sox, Pats, Bruins, and Celtics), playing with his dog, playing soccer, skiing, and attending the World Cup (he attended the last two; in Germany in 2006 and South Africa in 2010.) |
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Tara Wayt DO
Tara was born in the Pacific Northwest, and grew up in Beaverton, OR, a suburb just outside of Portland. She attended high school and college in “The Beaver State,” and received degrees in psychology and general science at the University of Oregon. GO Ducks!! While at the U of O, she was a member of the crew team, and the nationally ranked dance team. Her passion for medicine, and interest in a new experience, brought her to “other” Portland, (Maine) to attend the University of New England for medical school. A glutton for the punishment of New England winters, she chose to stay in the Northeast for her emergency medicine residency. Tara still enjoys dancing, yoga, the gym, Starbucks (sorry DD, I’m a West Coast girl!), the Food Network, shoes, and going to the beach. However, nothing brings her more joy than laughing, and spending time with the people that she loves. |
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