AMA Member Spotlight
Celebrating inspiring members who are relentlessly moving medicine through advocacy, education, patient care and practice innovation.
Irraj Iftikhar, Future Physician
"Organized medicine is a great way to get involved in making changes on many different levels."
Shawn Jones, MD
"I would encourage those considering a career in medicine to relentlessly pursue their passion."
Toluwalase Ajayi, MD
"I love getting to know how I can provide the most effective, compassionate care to some of our most vulnerable patients."
Shawn Jones Jr., Future Physician
"The route to becoming a physician is different for every student; don’t compare your route to everyone else’s."
Russell Libby, MD
"There is no greater privilege and purpose than to have a close and effective relationship with your patients."
Baillie Bronner, Future Physician
"At the end of the day, your patients need someone who will not only listen to them, but actively advocate on their behalf."
L. Carlos Zapata, MD
"Although it takes a long road with many sacrifices to become a physician, it is the most rewarding career that I can imagine."
Andrew Louis DiMatteo, Future Physician
"Being a patient myself, I knew what an impact a great physician can have on patients’ lives, intentionally and unintentionally."
Andre Bourg, Future Physician
"Every time I walk into a patient’s room, I realize the amazing opportunity I have to impact their lives in a positive way."
Louito (Lou) Edje, MD
"As a program director and designated institutional official, I move medicine by helping learners launch into the wonderful world that is independent practice."
David Welsh, MD
"The best awards have come when patients or families come up to me and thank me for the care I have rendered, even years ago."
Charles Willson, MD
"Being a physician is the most uplifting career a person can have and practicing in America is a rare privilege."
Spurgeon (Bill) Clark III, MD
"The practice of the art of medicine is a calling, not an expectation of your parents."
Vijaya Appareddy, MD
"Physicians need to engage with their lawmakers and educate them in health-related legislation."
Jennifer Bryan, MD
"Pursue your professional passions while tending to your own needs. Never lose yourself."
Haidn Foster, Future Physician
"Knowing that my work in and out of the clinic tangibly improves patients’ lives keeps me motivated to give 100% of myself every day."
Omer Bajwa, MD
"Medicine is a very long journey so one should plan well and be very persistent."
Aleesha Shaik, MD
" It is inspiring to see my peers and mentors fight tirelessly for their patients and for a healthier America."
Sabesan Karuppiah, MD
"My mother struggled with lack of health care during her childhood and always instilled in me that I need to help as many people as I can."
Kelly Caverzagie, MD
"I chose a career in medicine as a way to connect with others and help them pursue their goals."
Michael Lubrano, MD
"Medicine is hard work, but if you are passionate about this field it can be incredibly rewarding."
Manna M. Varghese, Future Physician
"I hope, in the near future, we will live in a country where everyone has access to basic health care, including primary care services, without discrimination."
Hye-Jin Yun, Future Physician
"Becoming a physician is a rigorous journey that is filled with life-long learning and formative transformations."
Subhash Chandra, MD
"My patients sharing the most embarrassing, sad or horrific moments of their life with the trust and hope that I will be able to take care of them."
Fisayo Nwachukwu, DO
"Do not be dismayed by the challenges that come along with pursuing a calling in medicine. If you’re doing it for the right reasons, it will be worth it."
Sheila Rege, MD
"You can learn a lot of things, but the one thing you can’t learn is passion. Working in health care is spiritually very rewarding, but make sure you have a passion for helping others."
Mark Bair, MD
"Love it, live it and lift it. Medicine is more than a job—it’s a calling for physicians."
Nicole Plenty, MD
"Nothing gives me more joy than figuring out complex medical cases and caring for patients. I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love every day."
Desiray Bailey, MD
"I hope for a future where discrimination and prejudice no longer hinder the ability of all people to get safe, competent, and accessible health care."
Catherine Coughlin, MD
"I have spent the past four years teaching medical students at my school how to identify victims of human trafficking."
Rashmi Kudesia, MD
"I hope that when we fully consider the epigenetic impact of health during pregnancy, we as a society and profession will re-commit to helping women and families..."
Colonel Ronit Katz, MD
"I’m a firm believer that 'freedom is not free,' and through my work at the VA I’ve seen how much help is needed for those who have served our country."
Robert Lee, MD
"I believe we need to leave the world better than we found it. Helping people achieve and maintain optimal health is my calling to do this."
Kevin McKinney, MD
"As an endocrinologist, keeping people healthy over the long term and seeing their appreciation is very rewarding."
Damani Mcintosh-Clarke, Future Physician
"I believe that helping other medical students pursue their policy interests has been particularly meaningful."
David Tayloe Jr., MD
"I have worked in this community for almost 42 years, so I can open doors for families that other providers do not know exist."
Stephanie Strohbeen, Future Physician
"Being able to give back to my community makes me proud of myself and proud that I am able to show my children the impact that they can have by leading by example..."
Barbara Hummel, MD
"It is important to know that we must work together to influence the future of medicine for us, our colleagues and our patients."
Avani Patel, Future Physician
"Compassion in medicine is the most important aspect of my work. Earning the trust of patients and becoming their advocate is the most rewarding part..."
Mary Carpenter, MD
"Physicians can have a positive and lasting impact on not only the health of our patients, but also the health of our communities..."
Aishwarya Thakur, Future Physician
"Medicine is an ever-changing field, which means that those of us working to advance it, must move with it. "
Jeremy Llaniguez, Future Physician
"I like to move medicine by staying active in the AMA-MSS and pursuing leadership positions to empower my peers to move medicine."
Caitlin Farrell, DO
"Medicine requires commitment, strength, and passion. Follow that passion, and it will lead you to a rewarding lifelong career in medicine."
Robert Allison, MD
"Always be flexible in your thinking as medicine is ever changing. It won’t be the same as when you start your career or when you end it."
Faizah Shareef, Future Physician
"The personal connections I make every day in this field invigorate me to keep moving medicine forward."
Christine Bishof, MD
"I still believe that medicine is a calling. It never has been, and never will be a 9 to 5, Monday through Friday."
Deena Kishawi, Future Physician
"Remind yourself of the drive for your passions—be it community change, health and political advocacy, human rights, or whatever your motivation is."
Hans Arora, MD
"The opportunity to make such a significant impact on a person’s life and the immeasurable trust they place in your hands is a privilege that has no parallel."
Dan Pfeifle, Future Physician
"I advocate for patients, physicians, residents and medical students by working to create impactful, meaningful policy through the AMA."
Bukky Ajagbe, Future Physician
"I find the most joy in my ongoing work within organized medicine, which has allowed me to meet and work with mentors who are real life examples that a career in medicine is real, attainable, and possible."
Neelum Aggarwal, MD
"The fact that as a physician I am able every day, to work alongside colleagues and discuss the latest clinical and research practices, treat medical conditions, and then share the information to patients who value and trust in my judgement, means a lot."
Krystal Tomei, MD
"There are few things that are more impactful than the relationships I develop with my patients and their families. I love seeing these children grow up and being able to help them do just that."
Ved Gossain, MD
"Despite what you hear about the hardships of being a physician, it is still the best profession in the world. Work hard and remember it is all about your patients and not about you."
Kimberly Chernoby, MD
"As an attorney and a physician, I focus my advocacy efforts on legislative and regulatory barriers that interfere with patients’ access to care."
Shilpen Patel, MD
"Building relationships is what brings me joy in the work I do. Through these, I can understand what is important to those around me and in my clinic. This ultimately helps me figure out how to help and make the biggest impact."
Barbara Schneidman, MD
"I have been involved in the licensure-and-certification community for most of my professional career. This gave me an extraordinary opportunity to influence and guide many changes in the regulatory environment."
Shawn Jones, MD
"I would encourage those considering a career in medicine to relentlessly pursue their passion."
Uzoagu Okonkwo, Future Physician
"I find the most meaning in seeing the teamwork and collaboration between doctors and other health providers to ultimately help patients in the best way possible."
Betty Chu, MD
"We need you! There are multiple ways you can impact the care of health for our population. Whatever interests or skills you have, you can find a place in our industry if you are looking to create positive change."
Siobhan Wescott, MD
"As an Alaska Native, I move medicine by tirelessly working to raise the chronically low number of Native American students entering medical school."
Ricardo Correa, MD
"If you care about others and you want to make a change in this world, medicine is the answer. The work is intense, but it is the most rewarding job that you can find—you will change the life of a person or a community."
Barbara McAneny, MD
"Pick a specialty that speaks to your heart and your mind—making money is not that important. As a cancer doctor, when I am talking with patients about the end of their life, they never say they wish they had a bigger house or a fancier car."
Mildred Olivier, MD
"At the end of the day, you have to want to get out of bed and feel that your day will be filled with opportunities to learn, curiosity and challenges. You cannot stop learning or educating yourself after medical school—learning is lifelong."
James Burdick, MD
"Be willing to work hard, put yourself in the patient's position and find an area that fits your abilities and satisfactions."
Gunjan Malhotra, MD
"I was always fascinated with how the body functions and wanted to use that knowledge to help people in the way that I saw physicians help my loved ones over the years."
Laura Halpin, MD
"Learn to be an advocate for your patients and your profession. Trust yourself and work just as hard to learn to stand up for what you believe in as you have been working to master medical knowledge; advocacy is an essential skill in medicine."
Amar Kelkar, MD
"Every day, I strive to provide the most positive and empathetic medical care possible for my patients. My goal is to provide both physical relief and a sense of reassurance that helps assuage the worries they inevitably have."
Louis Weinstein, MD
"The ability to impart knowledge and act as a role model for so many physicians has an exponential effect on the numbers of patients who have been impacted in some way by my efforts."
Matthew Lecuyer, MD
"Every year, I make it a point to take time off—usually vacation to go to the AMA National Advocacy Conference. It is by far my favorite AMA event and my favorite way to turn my patients' stories into action."
Patrice Harris, MD
"I think it's important to be advocates for our profession but also for our patients. Members can move medicine. Members have moved medicine. Members will continue to move medicine..."
Colin Murphy, MD
"As AMA Resident and Fellow Section chair, I work with my colleagues in the AMA-RFS and collaborate with other sections to ensure the voice of trainees is heard at a national level."
Tamaan Osbourne-Roberts, MD
"All physicians juggle a lot of balls, but some are rubber and some are glass. Don't drop the glass balls: family, relationships, one's own health, one's hopes and dreams. Once such things are broken, they can't ever quite be put back together."
Hunter Pattison, MD
"There is so much about medicine that I am still learning even as I navigate through residency. The more knowledge and awareness you can have about health care, the stronger of a provider and advocate for your patients you can be."
Luis Sanchez, MD
"I am always looking for opportunities in the community and with my physician colleagues to emphasize the importance of being open-minded, self-aware and being available to assist those in need."
David Welsh, MD
"There's lots of complex problems out there but if you put the patient first, all the other things will take care of themselves."
Joanna Bisgrove, MD
"On the governing council, I plan to use my experience as a current corporate board member as we push forward in fighting for equal pay for women physicians and greater gender equity in top health care leadership, both in the boardroom and academia."
Luis Seija, Future Physician
"Every day presents an opportunity to fulfill the social contract instilled by my mother all those years ago. Patients deserve a sense of security and dignity when it comes to their health."
Emily Dewar, Future Physician
"As physicians, we are true 'health care experts,' and it is important that we use our expertise to improve the health of our community at large. "
Breyen Coffin, Future Physician
"While it requires great service and sacrifice, a career in health care has the potential to reap immeasurable rewards if you devote the time, patience and dedication to cultivate it."
Mark Kashtan, MD
"The trust that is placed in you is an incredible responsibility and a privilege, and those moments when you make a difference in someone else’s life are when you know there is nothing else you’d rather do."
Hussein Antar, Future Physician
"I am passionate about ensuring health care access so every patient receives the quality care they deserve, regardless of their background or ability to pay. On a local level, I participate in the free clinic program run by my school."
Nicole Riddle, MD
"Being on the AMA Young Physicians Section governing council has fulfilled a career-long dream for me. Having attended AMA meetings since my first semester of medical school, I am honored to serve my fellow physicians."
Hoyt Burdick, MD
"The most meaningful aspect of my work as a physician is that feeling at the end of the day that my caring and my work have made a difference in someone else’s life—and by God’s grace, I’ll get up and do it again tomorrow."
Josh Lesko, MD
"I seek to educate my peers regarding the issues threatening our profession and recruit them to the fight."
Lauren Benning, Future Physician
"I am grateful to have found my 'tribe' within my medical school classmates and the AMA. They have given me mentorship and encouragement when I needed them, and I would not have made it this far without them."
Lynda Kabbash, MD
"I hope that we keep the human aspect of medicine along with all the awesome technology and artificial intelligence on the horizon."
Kavita Shah-Arora, MD
"Medicine is not a career—it is a calling. It is a total commitment to the well-being of others, to lifelong learning, and to improve the world around us."
Richard Allen, MD
"I enjoy the interaction with patients and teaching young physicians and students."
Rohit Abraham, Future Physician
"I sit on a couple nonprofit health boards, advocate for issues I care about on Capitol Hill and regularly volunteer with community engagement efforts to address the opioid crisis."
Paul Wick, MD
"There are many career paths and opportunities in medicine. Advances occur daily, so be prepared to be a livelong learner. Accept that you may best improve the practice of medicine by being part of, and contributing to, organized medicine."
Tiffani Bell, MD
It is my mission to live a life of passion, where I find purpose and joy in my work and daily life.
Christopher Clifford, MD
"Seeing the need for health care in this population and observing how even a single physician can make a substantial difference inspired me to pursue medicine."
Frank Clark, MD
"I was encouraged to go to my first meeting by one of my mentors ... she encouraged me to check out the AMA if I wanted to be an agent of change ... "
Jessica D'Annibale, Future Physician
"The feeling that comes with making patients happier and healthier is an infectious one and makes medicine one of the most rewarding fields to work in."
Karen Dionesotes, Future Physician
"By being an active member within our American Medical Association, I help move medicine by being active in policy and advocacy."
Lauren Engel, Future Physician
"As a certified medical laboratory scientist and future physician, I move medicine by advocating for and serving patients from multiple areas within health care."
Ankush Bansal, MD
"Find a passion in the large expanse of medicine and use that to drive you along the journey from training and through practice."
Grayson Armstrong, MD
"I advocate to make sure that the medical education of future physicians is of the highest quality and takes advantage of the latest advances in technology."
Tyeese L. Gaines, DO
"As an emergency medicine physician, I feel privileged to care for patients at some of their most vulnerable and life-changing moments."
Dionne Hart, MD
"By advocating for patients living with brain disorders, adhering to the values practiced at my alma maters: 'To inspire hope and contribute to health and well-being' by always 'placing the needs of the patient first.'"
Marilyn Heine, MD
"I am honored to serve in our AMA House of Delegates, where we develop policy and on our Council on Legislation, where policy 'is brought to life' through advocacy, positions on legislation and model bills, as we advise our Board of Trustees."
Moudi Hubeishy, Future Physician
"I empathize with my patients who are stricken by intense hardship, and I aspire to be the optimistic, knowledgeable and decisive physician ready to help however I can."
Cyndi Yag-Howard, MD
"Banding together with our patients is key to us having any impact in Washington or in our own communities... Please, get involved. What's holding you back?"
Kelly Landeen, MD
"As a physician, I am able to serve my community; as a physician in the AMA, I am able to affect change nationally and globally."
Tani Malhotra, MD
"Medicine is a vocation, not a career. Doctors are a group of the most dedicated individuals. They sacrifice their personal and family needs for those of their patients."
Theodore Mazer, MD
"Advocacy for your patients and your colleagues goes beyond the exam room and needs your participation throughout your career and throughout your lifetime."
S. Bobby Mukkamala, MD
"I move medicine through my work in my county, state and national medical societies. We bear witness to things that aren’t perfect about our health care system, but being a witness is not as satisfying as being part of the solution."
Hilary Fairbrother, MD
"I encourage my students to join the AMA because I want them to be part of a solution. By joining together, physicians can make demonstrative change in healthcare."
Helene Nepomuceno, MD
"Sometimes it feels like the issues that face medicine are insurmountable, but being part of something larger than myself reminds me that together our voices carry power."
Brandi Ring, MD
"I work with patients who struggle to navigate the health care system and don't feel empowered to advocate for themselves. My AMA provides an effective platform to advocate for my patients, their families and our communities."
Sohayla Rostami, DO
"I create a positive environment to empower my patients and colleagues. I believe it is vital we support each other in our medical community so that we are able to best serve our patients and reach our common goals."
Capt. Harold J. Rothenberg II, MD
"I pursued three very diverse specialties—pathology, family medicine, even emergency medicine—to gain the widest possible perspective on what can be done to detect, diagnose, help, cure, comfort."
Ann Stroink, MD
" I want people to have ready access to care. I think no matter what area or specialty you practice, you have to understand where you fit in this world."
Avneet Soin, Future Physician
"I am working with the Boston Public Health Commission this summer to increase access to programs targeting housing instability, food insecurity, lack of health insurance and substance abuse."
Fatima Cody Stanford, MD
"I am sometimes more thrilled than my patients when they reach a positive milestone by achieving a healthier weight, or by improving or eliminating obesity co-morbidities such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or obstructive sleep apnea."
Carl Streed Jr., MD
"I move medicine by being an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) patients and communities."
Aaron Wolbrueck, Future Physician
"The trust and relationship that physicians can build with their patients is irreplaceable and I can’t wait to be a part of something greater than myself."
Nancy Church, MD
"I am a doctor because I love my patients. I love interacting with them. I love that I am making an impression on their lives and helping them become more than what they thought they could be."
Claire Wolfe, MD
"I’m proud of my 'firsts.' First woman president of my county medical society, first woman president of the Ohio State Medical Association, first woman president of the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine."
Anna Yap, MD
"The trust that patients give to us is humbling, and thus it’s important to me that all of us in health care treat all patients with dignity and justice."
Steven Young, MD
"Whether it is advocating on behalf of our patients at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Legislative meetings or on Capitol Hill in D.C., I am asking our legislators to consider how best to assist our patients."
Nara Tashjian, Future Physician
"Through the AMA, I have had the opportunity to work with representatives on state and local levels. Advocacy is a great skill to start early and the AMA Medical Student Section is a great platform."
Noel Deep, MD
"I hope to make a difference in the lives of my patients and improve the profession for my colleagues."