Family Medicine: Third Year Residents

Shannon was born in Indiana but spent most of her childhood in Westwood, Massachusetts. She was an avid soccer player in highschool and spent much of her free time with her three younger siblings. She attended the University of Notre Dame for college, majoring in professional sciences and minoring in Poverty Studies. A study abroad trip in Puebla, Mexico, where she frequently shadowed in urban and rural hospitals, helped to boost her spanish-speaking skills and reinforce her interest in medicine.

After college, Shannon spent a year in New York serving for AmeriCorps at Open Door Family Medical Center (a FQHC). She facilitated an early literacy program in the clinic, as well as nutrition and recess dance/exercise classes at the local elementary schools.

She started medical school at Tulane in New Orleans the year after, where she pursued a dual MD/MPH degree. She started a mobile screening clinic and continued to work with spanish-speaking populations, learning how to navigate the healthcare system for more vulnerable patients. During this time she also became passionate about women's health and worked to defend access to reproductive services for women in Louisiana.

She is thrilled to be returning home to Boston, to start training with Tufts/CHA FMR. She was drawn to Tufts for its enthusiastic faculty and residents and their many social justice initiatives, and is excited to explore her passions especially in women’s health and integrative medicine as a family medicine resident! In her spare time, Shannon loves baking, doing handstand hops in yoga, reading, and any outdoor activities including running and hiking.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Taylor was born and raised in Memphis, TN, where she developed her affinity for good food and live music. Her early life changed dramatically when her mother was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, when she was 10-years-old. With very few resources available for ALS patients and their families in the Mid-South area, Taylor and her sister helped their mom found the ALS Tennessee Chapter in 2001. She cites this experience as the foundation for her passion and commitment to serving individuals and communities with limited options.

For her undergraduate education, Taylor attended Boston University’s College of Communications, intending to continue the type of work she had done for the ALS TN Chapter. During her Senior year in BU, Taylor interned for the Boston Bruins hockey team during their Stanley Cup-winning season and is now the proud owner of a Stanley Cup ring and signed custom jersey, which her Dad proudly displayed for all to see. After graduation, Taylor moved to New York City and worked for several years in Public Relations and Brand Management. She became enthralled with one of her clients, which provided private grant funding to post-doctoral female researchers in STEM. Inspired by their work, Taylor left her career in Communications and moved back to Tennessee for medical school at East Tennessee State University’s (ETSU) Quillen College of Medicine, situated in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains.

During medical school, Taylor found her voice as a Women’s and Reproductive Health advocate while serving as President of the Medical Students for Choice (MSFC) chapter at ETSU. Taylor worked to position MSFC as a leader in education reform for reproductive health and family planning as well as issues around gender identity, sexual health, contraception, and transgender healthcare.

After her second year of medical school, Taylor completed a Master’s in Public Health through George Washington University (GW) while traveling through 18 different countries around the world and volunteering with Ministries of Health and local non-profit organizations in each country. This experience solidified her commitment to Family Medicine and inspired her overarching career goals in Global Women’s Health and Family Planning within the primary care setting. Taylor is thrilled to be back in Boston for her residency training and beyond. In her free time, you can find Taylor training her two dogs (Burger and Pepperoni), hiking, exploring Boston’s food scene, or jumping out of a plane on her yearly skydiving adventure.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Omar grew up in Eastern Massachusetts, attended UMass Amherst for undergrad, and then Tufts University for medical school. Growing up, he developed a passion for learning the inner workings of things. With his dad, he worked on cars and repaired things around the house, and then in high school, he started building his own electronics, robotics, and woodworking projects. He has also played saxophone from childhood and then picked up voice and guitar in high school. In undergrad he majored in microbiology, founded a student organization to create practice, networking, and performance opportunities for student musicians, and gained an introduction into patient care while working and teaching as an EMT. Before attending medical school, he spent a year providing end of life care for his grandfather, tutoring, and working as an EMT in the Boston area. During medical school, he found in Family Medicine a coalescence of his wide array of interests, a specialty where procedural, interpersonal, academic, and artistic aspects of oneself could all play a role in a practice. He is excited to be joining the CHA/Tufts FMR, where his interest in Family Medicine was first sparked as a rotating medical student. While his passions are broad and varied, he is particularly interested in addiction medicine, POCUS, infectious diseases, and teaching. In his free time, he enjoys woodworking, gardening, boxing, and playing music.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Jim was born and raised in Easton, Massachusetts. As the son of a teacher and a nurse, he grew up in an environment that stressed the importance of both education and well-being. After high school, he traveled to South Carolina to attend Clemson University (Go Tigers!) where he studied biology and psychology. Jim spent the first summer of college working at the Massachusetts Hospital School, where he managed the daily personal care of a young child with multiple disabilities. He attributes this experience to igniting his desire to care for marginalized populations. Also in college, he traveled to the Dominican Republic and Haiti to study population health and served in a health advocacy and policy role in student government, all while attending as many Clemson athletic events as possible.

After college, Jim remained in the Palmetto state for medical school at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Greenville, SC. As a med student, he was inspired by the relationships that family medicine physicians have with their patients, often treating each as if they were a member of their own family. While he carved his own path to family medicine, Jim spent his time volunteering at the Greenville Free Medical clinic and coaching a youth soccer team (i.e. running after a mob of 6-year olds).

Jim is thrilled to be returning home to Massachusetts to join the primary care revolution at Tufts FMR. His interests within medicine are broad and include sports medicine, medical education, LGBTQ health, and health equity.

In his free time, he enjoys running, skiing, hiking, and cheering for his favorite Boston sports teams (especially the Red Sox). Jim also enjoys traveling and exploring new restaurants with his partner, Shannon.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Paul grew up right here in Revere, Massachusetts. His favorite memories of his hometown include summers at Revere Beach, running the hurdles for Revere High School’s track team, and many, many trips to Kelly’s (a favorite local restaurant)! Paul comes from a big Italian American family. Their constant support is the reason he has been able to pursue his dreams.

As a first-generation college student, Paul attended Brown University, where he studied biology and public health. In college, he volunteered to answer calls at a local crisis hotline. He also traveled home on weekends to work in the emergency department at CHA Everett Hospital. He saw that many patients needed not only emergency care, but also primary care, health insurance, and a number of social and community-based resources. One day, when he read that family doctors care for patients in this broad context, he decided to become a family doctor.

After college, Paul became a research assistant at Tufts Floating Hospital for Children. He worked with families whose children had complex medical conditions. Paul helped to design a checklist especially for these families, to make sure that all of their child’s needs are met before they go home from the hospital.

Paul went on to study at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he continued to pursue his passion for community health. He helped establish Worcester’s Baby Box Project, which provides families with a safe place for their baby to sleep. He also led his school’s elective on treating patients with substance use disorders and helped to establish a program that conducts community health fairs. During his senior year, he created a mentorship program for Revere High School students who are interested in careers in healthcare, just like he was. Paul was recognized for his community work in medical school by induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

Paul is overjoyed to be a resident at CHA. He is grateful to help care for a community that means so much to him. In his free time, Paul enjoys running, playing the guitar, reading, and spending time with his family and friends. He can’t wait to start running Revere Beach again!

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Brandon grew up in the warm and perpetually sunny city of San Diego, California where he was able to enjoy the outdoors in all its forms and developed a particular appreciation for carne asada fries. He attended the University of California, San Diego for undergrad and split his time between his courses in Cognitive Science, being a Resident Assistant, and training with the school’s triathlon and cycling teams. After graduation, he continued to work with UCSD’s residential life team to help foster a sense of community and educational programming for the students living on campus.

In addition to his time as a volunteer at the local VA hospital Spinal Cord Injury clinic and at local races and wellness events, Brandon’s path towards medicine was also heavily shaped by a family member’s health issues while growing up. He witnessed how chronic pain and a lack of mobility and independence can impact one’s quality of life, affecting both one’s physical and mental health. He also learned how important it was for family members and caregivers to receive support in challenging times.

Brandon was fortunate to attend Tufts for medical school, where he learned more about primary care and the role a Family Medicine physician can play in the lives of individuals, families, and communities. He spent time as a youth mentor in Health Impact Partnership, researched how mindfulness can impact the quality of life in chronic conditions such as fibromyalgia, and also served on the Bridging Differences Task Force to increase the school’s emphasis on diversity, education, and inclusivity training.

He looks forward to joining Tufts FMR at CHA, where he will have the opportunity to work in a full-spectrum primary care clinic setting, with a focus on medical education, group health visits, and palliative medicine. Brandon enjoys spending his time outdoors in nature, playing low-pressure recreational sports and board games, and trying new places to eat. He also still looks forward to trying cross country skiing for the first time!

Pronouns: He/Him/His

John is from County Cork in Ireland. He attended Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated with degrees in Medicine and Dentistry. In his first role as a healthcare professional, John was part of the inaugural Mouth Cancer Awareness Day in Ireland. This population-based public health intervention was delivered on a national scale and saw thousands of people screened for mouth cancer. This frontline experience inspired John to pursue further training in public health, and he enrolled in a master’s degree programme at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which he completed part-time while continuing to work as a clinician in Ireland. This advanced training in public health shaped his career thereafter. John’s research interests have focused on population health and preventive medicine, in addition to health systems strengthening, integrated care and health communication.

John has previously worked at the World Health Organization headquarters in Switzerland on health systems strengthening projects. He extended this work to his home country when he returned to Ireland, and with his background in both medicine and dentistry, John’s work focused on the integration of oral health and primary care. He has continued to lead integrated care projects as an academic clinician, and while doing so, also completed his PhD in population health medicine, public health and primary care at Trinity College Dublin. During his PhD, John came to Boston for several months as a Fulbright scholar, where he worked with the office of global and community health at Harvard University. In the summer of 2019, John returned to Harvard for a research fellowship, and has continued to work alongside colleagues engaged in primary care research at the Center for Integrating Primary Care and Oral Health, and the Initiative to Integrate Oral Health and Medicine.

John is very excited to be joining the team at the Cambridge Health Alliance and feels tremendously privileged to work as a physician in a premier academic public healthcare system. Outside of work, John enjoys staying active and likes to keep fit. He is also a huge tennis fan and used to work as a tennis coach in college. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, trying out new restaurants, and watching sports events.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Amy was born in Frankfurt, Germany. However, she spent much of her childhood in a Chicago suburb until high school when her family moved to Bradenton, FL. Amy has always had a love for travel and a deep interest in international experiences and perspectives. She studied International Studies and Global Health at the University of Miami and eventually went on to become a high school science teacher in Brooklyn, NY. There, Amy taught health and environment classes and developed a true love for health education. She then went on to complete a post-baccalaureate program in Boston and then her medical training at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL.

While in medical school, Amy continued her work in health literacy and education through research, student-run free clinics and a book club held for fellow medical students. This love for health education, underserved and international care is what drew her to a career in family medicine, and more specifically to Tufts! She plans to become a full-spectrum family physician including pediatric and women’s health care.

Outside of work, Amy continues to travel any chance she can get. She also loves spending time exploring Boston, visiting family, and picking up new hobbies, like: growing plants, practicing a musical instrument, reading or simply trying a new recipe at home with her partner (especially since he does most of the cooking!)

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers