Pediatrician-Scientist Program Alumni

Graduating Class of 2025

Sathi Wijeyesinghe, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: University of Maryland
Medical/Graduate Institution: University of Minnesota

Graduating Class of 2024

Audra Iness, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: California State University, Fresno, Calif.
Graduate/Medical Institution: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Va.
Fellowship Program: Medical Genetics and Genomics, Baylor College of Medicine
Current Role: Fellow

Jimmy Chang, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.
Graduate/Medical Institution: Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill.
Fellowship Program: Medical Genetics and Genomics, Baylor College of Medicine
Current Role: Fellow

Graduating Class of 2023

Marimar de la Cruz Bonilla, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: University of Puerto Rico
Graduate/Medical Institution: University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
Fellowship Program: Hematology/Oncology at Texas Children’s Hospital
Current Role: Fellow

Ian Francis, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, N.Y. and University of Denver, Denver, Colo.
Graduate/Medical Institution: Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
Fellowship Program: Critical Care Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Current Role: Fellow

Graduating Class of 2022

Natalie Guerrero, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Pomona College
Graduate/Medical Institution: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health  
Fellowship Program: Adolescent Medicine at Riley Hospital for Children and Indiana University School of Medicine
Current Role: Fellow

Yike Jiang, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: University of Maryland, College Park
Graduate/Medical Institution: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Fellowship Program: Pediatric Rheumatology at Duke University Medical Center
Current Role: Fellow

Prasanna Ramachandran, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Fairleigh Dickinson University
Graduate Institution: Washington University in St. Louis and Baylor College of Medicine
Medical School Institution: Baylor College of Medicine
Fellowship Program: Gastroenterology-Nutrition at Boston Children’s Hospital
Current Role: Fellow

Graduating Class of 2021

Arianexys Aquino Lopez M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
Graduate Institution: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Medical School Institution: University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
Fellowship Program: Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Texas Children’s Hospital
Current Role: Fellow

Javier Cabrera Lopez M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Columbia University
Graduate Institution: University of Minnesota
Fellowship Program: Allergy & Immunology, Massachusetts General Hospital
Current Role:  Fellow

Graduating Class of 2020

Patrick Connell, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
Graduate Institution: Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University
Fellowship Program: Pediatric Cardiology, Texas Children’s Hospital
Current Role: Fellow

Stella Hartono, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: California State Polytechnic Institute, Pomona, Calif.
Graduate Institution: Mayo Clinic School of Medicine
Fellowship Program: Allergy and Immunology, National Institute of Health
Current Role: Fellow

Naomi Tjaden, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Boston University, Boston, Mass.
Graduate Institution: University of Kansas Medical Center and Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Fellowship Program: Gastroenterology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Current Role: Fellow

Graduating Class of 2019

Alona Birjiniuk, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Graduate Institution: Harvard Medical School and MIT
Fellowship Program: Pediatric Cardiology, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Current Role: Fellow

Danielle Callaway, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas
Graduate Institution: The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Fellowship Program: Pediatric Neonatology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Current Role: Attending neonatologist and research fellow, Division of Neonatology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Roman Deniskin, M.Sc., M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: University of California - Los Angeles, Calif.
Graduate Institution: University of California - Los Angeles Medical School and Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Fellowship Program: Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Texas Children’s Hospital
Current Role: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pulmonology and Allergy at Kentucky Children’s Hospital/University of Kentucky College of Medicine

Inaugural Graduating Class of 2018

Joseph Alge, M.D., M.S., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Wofford College
Graduate Institution: Medical University of South Carolina
Fellowship Program: Pediatric Nephrology, Texas Children’s Hospital
Current Role: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Nephrology Section, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital

Emily Heikamp, M.D., M.Sc., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Duke University, Durham, N.C.
Graduate Institution: University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md.
Fellowship Program: Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital
Current Role: Attending, Cancer and Blood Disorder Center at Boston Children’s Hospital; Instructor, Harvard Medical School

Nicole Ramsey, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Howard University
Graduate Institution: Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and Weill Cornell Medical College
Fellowship Program: Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, The Mount Sinai Hospital
Current Role: Assistant Professor, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Xavier Villanueva Rios, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Graduate Institution: Harvard Medical School and Harvard University
Fellowship Program: Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Texas Children’s Hospital
Current Role: Instructor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hematology-Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital