AIMS Spotlights:
The AIMS spotlight series highlights members of the AIMS community who are excited to connect with and mentor current and former Stanford student-athletes.
Interested in reaching out to one of our physician mentors, but not sure where to start?
Our Spotlight checklist:
We will post a Canvas announcement and Instagram post with the physician’s spotlight for that week. During that specified week, they have more availability to meet with students to talk about general advice, medical school, their career, and more.
In the announcement/post, you can find their email. Begin by introducing yourself (including that you’re in AIMS!) and ask to find a time to meet during that week.
It’s a good idea to have some questions prepared before you meet. Below, we’ve posted some questions to help you get started in your conversation with the physician. These are merely ideas, so feel free to speak with them about whatever you may be interested in hearing about!
1) Why did you decide to go into medicine?
2) Can you talk more about your journey through undergrad, medical school, and residency?
3) If you could go back, would you do anything differently in your undergrad/medical school years?
4) What inspires you most about your job as a physician?
5) How did you balance being a student-athlete with a rigorous pre-med class schedule? Why did you choose your major?
6) Were there any classes that you took as an undergrad at Stanford that helped you decide to go into medicine?
7) How did you incorporate your experience as a student-athlete into your application for medical school?
These questions are merely a guide to get you started in a discussion with one of our physicians. Feel free to ask them more about some of the topics we list in their spotlight posts or anything at all! Email us if you have further questions about meeting with a physician.
Marcus Allen
Marcus Allen was a member of the men’s basketball team, before graduating in 2017 with a B.A. in Psychology. He went on to play basketball professionally before completing the postbaccalaureate premed program at USC in 2022. He is now a first-year medical student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Marcus is the founder of an organization called Sneakers to Scrubs which inspires and guides minority students to careers in science and medicine. His advice to AIMS students: “Just keep showing up. It was difficult to study all day and play basketball at Stanford. I think what kept me going was this mentality of ‘keep showing up’ because what I can control is my energy and effort, and I try to live by that.”
Reach out to Marcus to learn more.
Dr. Chierika Ukogu
Dr. Chierika Ukogu was a member of the rowing team, before graduating in 2014 with a B.A. in Human Biology. She went on to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics for Team Nigeria, before attending Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is currently a resident in the Harvard Combined Orthopedic Surgery Program. She says about why she has chosen orthopedic surgery:
“Surgery is directly tied to how I thought about rowing. I am a big visualizer; I would think about the race, how I wanted every stroke to go, and how I wanted to finish. I’d think about the middle, how I wanted to feel, how I wanted to push myself, and I would routinely go over that and think about it the night before or on the starting line. Similarly now, when I’m approaching surgery, I visualize the approach, what I am going to see, the plans, what barriers I may run into, and what instruments I’m calling for.” Dr. Ukogu reminds pre-med athletes to, “Be good to yourself,” throughout the pre-med journey.
Reach out to Dr. Ukogu to learn more.
Dr. Ellen Tsay
Dr. Tsay was a member of the tennis team before graduating in 2016 with a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Biomedical Informatics. After Stanford, she attended University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and has gone on to a residency in orthopedic surgery at UCSF. She chose orthopedic surgery because she describes it as “rewarding to have [her] own hands be the solution” and for its visual thinking, collaboration, and excitement. Her advice for premed students to “keep a pulse on what gets you most excited about medicine– those times that you are animated and passionate that your eyes light up. Think about what specialties fit your interest and assess the end result, not the training portion.”
Reach out to Dr. Tsay to learn more.
Dr. Loren Mell
Dr. Loren Mell was a member of the baseball team and graduated in 1996 with a B.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Mathematics. After graduating from Stanford, he performed research in healthcare economics before completing medical school and his residency in radiation oncology at University of Chicago. In addition to being an experienced clinician, Dr. Mell is a dedicated clinical translational researcher, and he is the recipient of a NIH R01 Grant to study the effects of radiation on the immune system. He also serves on multiple national cancer committees. Dr. Mell encourages those who do not come from medical families to pursue medicine; he says about his journey, “I took a very unconventional pre-medical route. No one in my family was a physician. Nobody in my family was even really sick. I didn't have a grasp of the possible careers in medicine, and I didn't have a clear idea of what I might be interested in. It was only until much later that I came into oncology and was really drawn to it. Then, subsequent to that, I've actually had family members and close friends affected with cancer.”
Reach out to Dr. Mell to learn more.
Dr. Jared Sun
Dr. Sun was a member of the sailing team before graduating in 2009 with a B.A. in Human Biology. Out of Stanford, he went to the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where he earned his Ph.D. doing phenomenal research in emergency medicine and public health. While still finishing up his final year of Ph.D. work, Jared started at Yale medical school and returned to Stanford for his MBA during the last two years of med school. After completing both degrees in 2016, Jared then went on to complete his emergency medicine residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in 2020. Jared now works as an emergency physician at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles. He is also a fellow for the African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM) after the company he founded, EFAR (Emergency First Aid Responder) System, was adopted and began implementation under Western Cape EMS and the Academic Division of Emergency Medicine of Cape Town.
Reach out to Dr. Sun to learn more.
Dr. Ian Brown
Dr. Brown majored in Biology and was a walk-on to the football team, graduating in 1997. He obtained his MD/PhD from the University of Chicago and studied Immunology. Currently, he practices at UC Davis, where he runs two labs as a trauma surgeon. He’s happy to talk with AIMS members about finding their place in medicine!
Reach out to Dr. Brown to learn more.
Dr. Tally Desmarais
Dr. Desmarais was a member of the sailing team and graduated with a degree in Human Biology in 2014 and a master’s in Biology in 2016. She is currently an Internal Medicine resident at UCSD and is happy to talk to AIMS members about deciding on medicine late, maintaining a healthy and sustainable work/life balance, and how to enjoy each step of a long but rewarding career in medicine.
Reach out to Dr. Desmarais to learn more.
Dr. Alyssa Lo
Dr. Lo is currently an OB/GYN resident at LAC + USC Medical Center. She graduated with her BA in Human Biology in 2012 and competed on the Women’s Water Polo team. A 2x National Champion, Dr. Lo would love to talk about the application process, taking gap years, women’s health, and much more!
Reach out to Dr. Lo to learn more.
Dr. Jennifer Jeans
Dr. Jeans is an internal medicine physician currently commuting to a small hospital in Billings, Montana. She graduated in 1991 with a degree in International Relations and was a member of the women’s soccer team. Additionally, she has medical experience in Ecuador and New Zealand. She would love to talk about work/life balance in medicine, being a woman in medicine. and alternative paths to medical school!
Reach out to Dr. Jeans to learn more.
Dr. Robert Eastlack
Dr. Eastlack is currently a spine surgeon and Director of the San Diego Spine Foundation. He was a member of the men’s swimming and diving team and graduated in 1994 with a degree in Human Biology and went on to medical school at Baylor. He would love to speak more on medical law, entrepreneurship, and deciding your specialty!
Reach out to Dr. Eastlack to learn more.
Dr. Stacie Solt
Dr. Solt is currently an emergency medicine and addiction medicine attending physician in San Mateo. Dr. Solt, a 2003 Human Biology graduate, was a member of the women’s rowing team. She would love to speak with AIMS members about her experiences in medicine and give advice on the path to becoming a physician.
Reach out to Dr. Solt to learn more.
Dr. Fiona Gispen
Dr. Gispen is currently an attending physician specializing in Internal Medicine with Vanderbilt Medicine. We interviewed Dr. Gispen on her unique path to medicine as a former Stanford swimmer and learned about why she chose Internal Medicine as her specialty. Email Dr. Gispen to learn more about her advice, or to hear more about her path to medicine.
Reach out to Dr. Gispen to learn more.
Dr. Lauren Shapiro
Dr. Lauren Shapiro is an alumnus of the Women’s Soccer team who graduated with a degree in Human Biology in 2009. After attending Stanford School of Medicine, Dr. Shapiro completed her residency in orthopaedic surgery at Stanford. Currently, she is beginning her fellowship at Duke University. She is eager to speak with AIMS members about pursuing medicine late in your undergraduate career and orthopaedic surgery.
Reach out to Dr. Shapiro to learn more.
*note: Dr. Shapiro’s email has been updated to: lauren.shapiro@ucsf.edu
Michelle Xiao
Meet Michelle Xiao, a former member of the women’s soccer team and class of 2019! Michelle will be starting at Stanford School of Medicine this fall and is looking forward to speaking with and mentoring AIMS undergraduates. If you’re interested in learning more about her path to medicine, her research, or medical school in general, be sure to reach out and arrange a time to meet!
Reach out to Michelle to learn more.
Dr. Michael Sgroi
Meet Dr. Sgroi, a vascular surgeon, Assistant Professor of Surgery, and Associate Program Director of Vascular Surgery Residency and Fellowship at Stanford. After playing football and studying human biology at Stanford (‘05), Dr. Sgroi attended medical school at Michigan State University. A devoted husband and father of three, Dr. Sgroi has been spending his free time working on creating a virtual reality simulation to assist with surgical training. Our first AIMS spotlight is not only an extremely accomplished physician, but has also been instrumental in the development of AIMS. Dr. Sgroi is an amazing mentor for student-athletes and we can’t wait for you all to learn more from him!
Reach out to Dr. Sgroi to learn more.