Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education 2023 Winners
The following family medicine residents were selected for their exemplary patient care, their interpersonal relationships with patients, physicians and faculty, and their demonstrated leadership and community involvement. These 12 men and women are truly health care leaders.
Nathalia Arias Alzate, MD
RESIDENCY
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Family Medicine Residency Program, New Brunswick, New Jersey
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey
Dr. Arias Alzate takes pride in being selected as co-chief resident for her residency program and receiving the 2022 American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leaders Institute Scholarship. Other notable professional accomplishments are implementing a bipolar and depression support group for Spanish-speaking patients in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and developing a curriculum to help clinicians and medical students identify and address immigration-related trauma. In addition to community medicine and immigrant health, her professional interests include women’s health and reproductive access. She is also interested in exploring ways to address health disparities for Hispanic/Latino populations. Away from work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, cuddling on the couch with her two dogs, volunteering in her community and increasing her trivia knowledge. Following residency, Dr. Arias Alzate hopes to work at a federally qualified health center where she can provide high-quality care for underserved populations and advocate for improved health outcomes for her patients, particularly those from the Hispanic/Latino communities in New Jersey.
Carli Joy Beyer, DO
RESIDENCY
Methodist Family Medicine Residency Program, Dallas, Texas
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Kansas City University, Missouri
Dr. Beyer’s greatest professional accomplishments to date include being chosen as chief resident by faculty and peers in her residency program, receiving the AAFP Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education and being inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. She also takes pride in being honored as the recipient of the 2022 Texas Geriatric Society Scholarship. Her areas of professional interest range from geriatric medicine and preventive care to transitions of care and integrative medicine. In her personal life, she enjoys spending time with her husband, doing interior design, reading and exploring new coffee shops. Following residency, Dr. Beyer plans to complete a fellowship in geriatric medicine in preparation to practice a mixture of outpatient family medicine, inpatient geriatric consults and medical care in assisted living/nursing home facilities.
Ashten Duncan, MD, MPH, CPH
RESIDENCY
University of New Mexico-Santa Fe Family Medicine Residency
MEDICAL SCHOOL
University of Oklahoma-University of Tulsa School of Community Medicine
Mentoring students and colleagues and serving as co-chief resident are among Dr. Duncan’s most important professional accomplishments to date. The experience of developing and leading multiple research studies and quality improvement projects has also been a source of professional satisfaction, and he plans to continue conducting research focused on positive psychology, public health and health care delivery in the future. Other professional interests include practicing lifestyle medicine with a focus on psychosocial flourishing, as well as pursuing opportunities to educate and mentor residents and students. In his personal life, he likes to spend time with his wife and their pets, write creative works, explore new places and enjoy the outdoors, whether relaxing on a hammock or riding an electric bicycle along northern New Mexico’s trails. Following residency, Dr. Duncan will complete his four-year term of service as a National Health Service Corps Scholar. He hopes to practice comprehensive outpatient family medicine in an underserved community with an emphasis on caring for Native people and to serve as faculty at a family medicine residency program.
Kiersten Kelly, MD
RESIDENCY
Dignity Health Methodist Hospital of Sacramento Family Medicine Residency Program, California
MEDICAL SCHOOL
University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento
One of Dr. Kelly’s most important professional accomplishments to date is drafting, editing and publishing a primary research article on the impact of a Medical Safe Haven clinic model for victims of human trafficking on resident physician education. In addition to medical writing, her areas of professional interest include women’s health and rural medicine. In her free time, she enjoys creative writing, backpacking and competing on a club rowing team. She also competes in triathlons with her residency colleagues. Following residency, Dr. Kelly plans to pursue a family medicine-obstetrics fellowship in preparation to provide full-spectrum women’s health to an underserved population in a rural community — ideally one located in the 2000- to 5000-foot elevation range! She also hopes to be in a community with a rural residency program so that she can continue to have an impact on the next generation of physicians.
Peris W. Kibera, DO, PhD, MPH
RESIDENCY
Cleveland Clinic Akron General Family Medicine Residency Program, Ohio
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Cleveland
Receiving a nearly $90,000 grant to conduct a randomized control trial to assess the effect of two healthy food interventions on chronic disease management is Dr. Kibera’s greatest professional accomplishment to date. In addition to research and lifestyle/integrative medicine, her professional interests include psychotherapy, global health and obesity medicine. Away from work, she enjoys spending time with her son, watching soccer, reading, cooking and traveling. Following residency, Dr. Kibera plans to work as an obesity medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic, where she looks forward to seeing patients and conducting research.
AuBree LaForce, MD
RESIDENCY
Cleveland Clinic Akron General Family Medicine Residency Program, Ohio
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), Rootstown
Dr. LaForce counts the experience of delivering her sister’s firstborn child — her godson Jacob — as her greatest professional accomplishment to date. Her brother-in-law has a family history of Huntington’s disease (HD), which spurred him and her sister to create HelpCureHD to provide funding that helps families in financial need have babies free from the disease. Jacob is a healthy, HD-free baby, serving as a living testament to the organization’s work. Professionally, Dr. LaForce’s interests include providing comprehensive, full-spectrum care for small communities and pursuing opportunities to practice sports medicine, such as serving as a high school team physician or running a sports medicine clinic. She is involved in leadership roles in organized medicine as a member of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians board of trustees and in positions with the American Academy of Family Physicians that have included chair of the National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students, delegate to the Congress of Delegates and national coach for the Primary Care Leadership Collaborative. In her personal life, she strives to balance her “four F’s”: family, faith, fitness and fun. Following residency, she will begin a sports medicine fellowship, after which she plans to return to her hometown of Vermilion, Ohio, and practice a mix of family medicine and sports medicine in the community that raised her.
Christine M. Lomiguen, MD, MSMEd
RESIDENCY
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) Health Family Medicine Residency, Erie, Pennsylvania
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Our Lady of Fatima University College of Medicine, Valenzuela City, Philippines
Dr. Lomiguen’s greatest professional accomplishments include being honored with the 2019 American Medical Association Women Physicians Section Inspiration Award, the 2020 Mercy Center for Women’s Women Making History Award and the 2021 LECOM John M. and Silvia Ferretti Award for Distinguished Teaching. She also takes pride in her continued growth as a clinician, educator, scholar, volunteer and leader. Her professional interests range from competency-based undergraduate and graduate medical education to primary care sports medicine to rural and urban underserved health care disparities. Away from work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, attending sporting events, traveling and trying new cuisines. She is also looking forward to becoming a parent when she and her husband welcome their first child later this year. Following residency, Dr. Lomiguen plans to do volunteer work and pursue clinical practice in outpatient and inpatient family medicine and emergency medicine. She will complete her doctoral degree in medical education in May 2024. Future career plans include teaching and mentoring residents and medical students and creating and implementing research-based programs to improve health care education.
Janet Nwaukoni, DO
RESIDENCY
Northwestern McGaw Family Medicine Residency Program, Lake Forest, Illinois
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Pennsylvania
One of Dr. Nwaukoni’s most important professional accomplishments to date was serving on a research team that discovered the clinical significance of the APOL1 gene in systemic lupus erythematosus and initiated recruitment of individuals presenting with risk variants of the gene in Accra, Ghana. Participating in this three-year pilot project broadened her understanding of global research, provided her first opportunity to train medical personnel and honed her skills in protocol writing and fundraising. Other professional interests include strengthening the pipeline for those underrepresented in medicine and understanding the financial and administrative aspects of medical practice. She would also like to create a nonprofit organization that empowers young girls through education, leadership and community engagement, with an emphasis on medicine and mental health. Away from work, she loves music, theatre and other art forms, and she enjoys spending her time cooking, doing Zumba, crafting (especially with her Cricut), traveling and learning about new cultures. Following residency, Dr. Nwaukoni plans to find a position that balances her interests in academic medicine, clinical work and advocacy. Her long-term goal is to develop a clinical practice model that provides comprehensive care for adolescents and women via virtual platforms.
Patrick J. Tolosky, MD
RESIDENCY
University of Massachusetts Worcester Family Medicine Residency
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire
Dr. Tolosky’s most important professional accomplishment to date is being selected by his medical school classmates to receive The Good Physician Award for exemplifying the qualities of a good physician, such as caring and empathy. Professionally, his interests include exploring the intersection of human health and the health of our planet and studying how social determinants of health affect people on a local scale and how political and economic decisions affect populations on a broader scale. He is also interested in promoting health through physical activity, healthy nutrition, and intentional mindfulness and mental health practices. Away from work, his priority is spending time with his wife and new baby daughter. Personal goals include improving his fluency in Spanish, studying ancient human history and deepening his relationship with the natural world through forest stewardship, sustainable gardening, and a variety of outdoor leisure activities, including walking, paddling, cross-country skiing, camping and backpacking. Following residency, Dr. Tolosky plans to settle in New England and combine the primary care work of caring for individuals and families with the population-based work of caring for a community. Other future plans include pursuing formal training in preventive medicine and/or public health, continuing to hone his inpatient medicine skills and getting involved with a community-oriented agricultural organization.
Lori Trout, MD, MBA
RESIDENCY
Geisinger Lewistown Rural Family Medicine Residency, Pennsylvania
MEDICAL SCHOOL
University of Health Sciences Antigua School of Medicine, St. John’s
Dr. Trout loves being a family physician and considers her ability to help others to be her most important professional accomplishment. In the future, she hopes to earn a law degree and use that knowledge to be a strong advocate for her patients. Her personal pursuits include supporting conservation of clean air, clean water and other natural resources that are vital for a healthy population and finding ways to encourage patients to think of fresh foods as first-line medicine. Use of natural medicine as an adjunct to Western medicine and the medicinal benefits of plants, herbs and berries are among her other interests. Following residency, Dr. Trout will provide primary care for underserved populations at a nonprofit federally qualified health center.
Katherine Fraile Wainwright, MD, MS
RESIDENCY
University of Washington Family Medicine Residency, Seattle
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Dr. Wainwright cites teaching and mentoring other residents and watching them grow into incredible physicians as her greatest professional accomplishments to date. She enjoys all aspects of inpatient and outpatient family medicine, with particular professional interest in sports medicine, obstetrics and prenatal care. In fact, her dream job is a position in a family medicine residency program where she could practice outpatient family and sports medicine, serve as a team physician and be part of an inpatient family medicine teaching service that includes obstetrics. Away from work, she can be found exploring everything the Pacific Northwest has to offer through a variety of activities, including backpacking and skiing. She also likes to spend time running, biking and participating in sports with her husband, playing host to her friends and cooking. Following residency, Dr. Wainwright plans to pursue a sports medicine fellowship.
Bright Pan Zhou, MD, MS
RESIDENCY
Stanford-O'Connor Family Medicine Residency, San Jose, California
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Stanford University School of Medicine, California
Dr. Zhou counts becoming a family physician as their most important professional accomplishment to date, particularly because they are the first person in their family to attend medical school. Their professional interests include obstetrics and maternal child health, primary care-mental health integration and underserved medicine, particularly immigrant and LGBTQ+ health. Away from work, they enjoy a variety of pursuits, such as playing viola, swimming, reading Asian American literature and writing poetry and prose. Learning new languages is another favorite pastime, and they are currently working on learning Turkish, Vietnamese and Korean. Following residency, Dr. Zhou looks forward to being an attending physician who uplifts trainees and prioritizes physician well-being while centering patient care. They hope to practice full-spectrum academic family medicine, including obstetrics, primary care psychiatry, gender-affirming care and inpatient medicine, in a setting that encourages 360-degree learning and teaching.