Mentor
Connection
AAMS Mentor Connection is a resource available to students who have attended an AAMS program. With a growing mentorship network, AAMS mentors have diverse journeys, backgrounds and passions, and are eager to support and guide others through their pathways to a medical career. AAMS mentors are current university and medical school students, and are well placed to help guide others along their journey.
Mentor Connection is designed to help students with
College and medical school applications
Reading and assistance with admissions essays
General college and medical school queries and advice
Entrance tests
(i.e. SAT/ACT/MCAT/USMLE/UKCAT/BMAT)
Opportunities and connections
Advice and guidance for future endeavors
Meewon Olivia Park, M.D.
Details
Meewon Olivia Park is a senior medical student at the Stanford School of Medicine, expected to receive her M.D. degree in June 2021. She is passionate about patient-centered quality improvement and increasing access to surgical training in low- and middle-income countries. She received her undergraduate degree B.A cum laude in Neurobiology in 2014 at Harvard University. She conducted Alzheimer’s research for two years at Columbia University. At Stanford, she completed a Scholarly Concentration in Community Health with an application in Global Health. She conducted highly productive research in hand surgery, global health, quality improvement and plastic surgery, with her work resulting in several publications and national conference presentations. Meewon served as a teaching assistant for preclinical anatomy and surgical skills courses, mentor to underrepresented high school and college students, volunteer at local AIDS hospice home, and leader of Stanford’s Christian Fellowship.
Clinical Instructor
University Mentor
Mary-Grace Reeves
Details
Mary-Grace Reeves is a second year medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine where she is pursuing a dual scholarly concentration in Informatics and Health Policy. She graduated from Harvard College in 2016 where she majored in Chemistry and earned a citation in Spanish language. Her research in collaboration with Dr. Suzann Pershing and Stanford's Byers Eye Institute applies bioinformatics to explore changing practice patterns and success rates in ocular surgery. She is passionate about education structure and development, volunteering as student point on a subcommittee for medical school curriculum redesign, serving in multiple leadership roles for Stanford MD admissions, and voting as a member of the inaugural Harvard College Honor Council. Mary-Grace has studied classical ballet for 18 years, dancing under Boston Ballet Company instructors during her years at Harvard and serving on the student planning committee for Stanford's 2017 Medicine and the Muse Program.
Medical Student
Lisa Zhang, MD
Details
Dr. Xinyuan (Lisa) Zhang is a Urological Surgery resident at University of Washington. Dr. Zhang received her undergraduate degree in Environmental Policy and Biology from Washington University in St. Louis, and her medical degree from Stanford University. She has a strong interest in bioengineering, device design, and entrepreneurship, and was awarded the Dorothy Dee & Marjorie Helene Boring Trust Cardiovascular Research Award to design a high-density stretchable sensor to monitor and treat atrial fibrillation. She also enjoyed medical humanities and directed a short documentary film during medical school. She is passionate about helping other international students navigate through the medical education and mentoring students interested in a career in surgery.
Clinical Instructor
University Mentor
Samantha Cheng
Details
Yui Sze (Samantha) Cheng is currently a second year medical student at the University of Birmingham in the UK, where she is pursuing her MBCHB degree. She is researching with Mr. Richard T Bryan about prognosis and management for bladder cancer. She is also a committee member of the Birmingham Academic Medical Society, in which she plans national research conferences as well as other academic extensions for her peers. Samantha is also involved in supporting local students in the West Midlands area in their medical school application and related schoolwork. Her interest in surgery prompted her to serve as a volunteer for an cataract surgery trip in rural China as well as a teaching assistant for the academy for the past summers. Samantha is continuing to pursue her passion for surgery, teaching underprivileged children and participating in clinical research.
Clinical Instructor
Medical Student
University Mentor
Aaron Lin
Details
Aaron Lin is a medical student at the University of Birmingham in the UK. His focus is primarily in secondary research, with several systematic reviews and meta-analyses publications on complications and progneses following upper Gastro-intestinal surgery. He also conducts several audits a year, focusing on the standard of care for chemotherapy patients with early signs of neutropenic sepsis. Aaron is passionate about medical innovation, and currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Mindset Technologies, who have developed the world’s first AI powered dementia screening app. He is also passionate about medical education, and has served as the Program Coordinator for AAMS since 2017.
Clinical Instructor
Medical Student
University Mentor
Hamzah Selim
Details
Hamzah Selim is a medical student at University College London in England. He previously graduated from Imperial College London where he obtained a BSc (Hons) in neuroscience. Hamzah is the founder of Mindset Technologies, a venture aimed to screen and monitor early-stage dementia. Hamzah has conducted significant clinical, research and charity work with Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, a pioneer in the field of cardiothoracic surgery. Hamzah is particularly passionate about medical outreach and education, and frequently assists the admissions committee at his medical school. Hamzah is also passionate about soccer, and has previously served as the Club Captain for the Imperial College Soccer Team.
Clinical Instructor
Medical Student
University Mentor
Lucas Cocco Delgado
Details
Lucas Cocco Delgado graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology and a minor in Government and is currently pursuing a Masters in Education from Boston University. His undergraduate research, in collaboration with Dr. Richard T. Lee and the Harvard Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department, has focused on complement receptor C5aR1's evolutionarily conserved role in successful cardiac regeneration. He served as president of HACIA Democracy, the world's largest Model OAS conference, and of the Woodbridge Society, Harvard’s international student group, before becoming an educator with Teach for America. For the last year, Lucas has taught biology and biomedical science at a Title 1 high school. Since 2016, he has worked for the Academy as a Teaching Assistant and Residential Advisor. Aside from these roles, he is very interested in student post-secondary mentorship and counseling.
Clinical Instructor
University Mentor
Honor Paine
Details
Honor Paine is a junior at Dartmouth College, majoring in Neuroscience with a possible minor in French. She is a Presidential Scholar at Dartmouth currently working in an octopus cognition lab under Professor Peter Ulrich Tse. Honor is a member of the Dartmouth Ski Patrol and spends the winters as an emergency outdoor first responder at the Dartmouth Skiway. Recently she studied abroad in Paris, France, and spent time in Kenya as a volunteer at the Andersen Medical Center in Kitale, Kenya. She intends to attend medical school after graduation and hopes to specialize in either surgery or OB/GYN. Honor has been affiliated with the CSSSI and AAMS programs since 2015, and was a teaching fellow for the program in 2016.
University Mentor
Janice Zhang
Details
Janice Zhang is a fourth year undergraduate at Stanford University studying Human Biology. She has previously conducted basic science research in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and is currently exploring interests in Epidemiology and Public Health by conducting research in Chinese Health Policy with the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Outside of academics, she is involved in women's leadership organizations, serves as an editor for the Stanford Journal of Public Health, is a member of Stanford's Club Swimming team, and enjoys running half-marathons. Janice's passion for medicine began in high school when she spent summers working at the Cardiothoracic Surgical Skills Lab at Stanford, and she hopes to attend medical school in the future.
University Mentor
Medical Student
Clinical Instructor
Emily Nguyen
Details
Emily Nguyen is a 4th year undergraduate student double majoring in Physiology and Health and Disease at the University of Toronto. She is also the lead of a research team in the Multi-Organ Transplant Department at Toronto General Hospital, where she is involved in several projects surrounding kidney transplantation, specifically immunosuppressive drug therapy, post-surgical complications, and patient education initiatives. Outside of school, she enjoys photography and volunteering at the Royal Ontario Museum where she works with youth in hands-on discovery learning. Emily’s passion for surgery stemmed from being an intern and a teaching assistant during her summers in Stanford’s CSSSI program and she hopes to pursue a medical career in the near future.
Undergraduate Student
University Mentor
Angela Zhu
Details
Angela Zhu is currently a first-year undergraduate at McMaster University pursuing an honors bachelor's degree in Health Sciences with the intent of specializing in Child Health. The faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University is well known for running the most competitive medical and undergraduate program in Canada. Previously, Angela has spent time in the Hiesinger Lab at Stanford University exploring aspects such as myocardial regeneration and angiogenesis. During her downtime, Angela enjoys volunteering at senior homes and serving as concertmaster in her orchestra. Angela is more than happy to offer her guidance to students in their pursuit towards a path in medicine.
Undergraduate Student
University Mentor
Bina Wasunga Kakusa, M.D.
Details
Bina is a 4th year Stanford M.D. candidate. He graduated with a B.S. in computer science and neuroscience from the College of William and Mary where his work focused on brain computer interfaces. His current research interests are in the areas of global neurosurgery and functional neurosurgery with an emphasis in machine learning.
Medical Student
University Mentor
Kathy Ku
Details
Kathy Ku is a 3rd year MD/MBA student at Stanford. She graduated from Harvard with her Bachelor's in Molecular and Cellular Biology and her Master's in Engineering in 2014 and spent a few years working on a manufacturing startup in Uganda prior to starting medical school. Kathy's research interests include health disparities and outcomes.
Medical Student
University Mentor
Itai Palmon
Details
Itai Palmon is a medical student at the University of Michigan Medical School. He is passionate about surgical education, mentorship, and innovation in healthcare. Itai received his undergraduate degree with high distinction and Phi Beta Kappa in biological physics from the University of Michigan, where he served as Editor-in-Chief for the University of Michigan Undergraduate Research Journal and President of the Pre-Surgical Club. He co-founded Mindset Technologies, a mobile application aiming to screen and monitor early-stage dementia.
Emma Jaeger
Details
Emma Jaeger is a pre-medical student at Stanford, majoring in Biology with a concentration in Neuroscience and with a minor in Psychology. A Bay Area native, Emma was honored as Valedictorian of her graduating class at Woodside Priory High School. At Stanford, Emma recently joined the Dr. Gordon Lee Neuroscience Lab, researching surgical treatments for glioblastomas. When not in the lab, she can be found volunteering at Stanford Hospital or planning Stanford Premedical Association service events. She is also passionate about philosophy and was invited to apply to write an Honors thesis under the Stanford Center for Ethics and Society. She is also a certified EMT and plans to work as one on campus in the future. Emma spent her spring and summer interning for the childhood psychology startup BabyNoggin, researching the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences on early education under Dr. Jin Lee. She is currently teaching biology to middle and high school students with the e-learning startup Curious Cardinals.
Undergraduate Student
University Mentor
Brittany Hong
Details
Brittany is a senior at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) studying Neuroscience and Art History. She is passionate about integrating the art of empathy with the study of how the human brain and body works in order to increase avenues for people to receive the best care possible both physically and emotionally. Brittany is also the program coordinator for AAMS’s UCLA program that will take place this upcoming summer. At school, she is heavily involved with the cultural sphere on her campus, through her involvement in Korean Culture Night, where she works with over a hundred peers to put together an annual production that works to spread awareness of Korean culture. She is also a research assistant for the Semel Neuroscience and Human Behavior lab that focuses on developing different treatments for children with OCD, tics, and other anxiety disorders. Outside of school, she works as a medical scribe at Santa Monica Family Physicians. Brittany volunteers as a crisis counselor at the Crisis Text Line and also serves at her church and campus ministry at UCLA.
Undergraduate Student