ABOUT

Who I Am

I am a pediatric hematologist/oncologist, bioethicist, writer and medical educator. I’m currently an Associate Professor in the Center for Bioethics and Humanities and the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York.

I am also a parent, a classical pianist, a skier, and a rock climber.

What I Do

I take care of children, adolescents and young adults with cancers and blood disorders and their families, in the U.S. and abroad.

I created the Upstate Bias Checklist and now lead the Bias Checklist Collaborative, a group of schools working together to systematically advance diversity, equity and inclusion in medical, nursing and health professions curricula.

I also direct Patients to Populations, an innovative longitudinal course in health equity and related disciplines for medical students. As of 2019, our curriculum is available as a textbook from Springer Health. My newest work will explore how medical students understand equity and social justice as part of their professional identity.

I write about and study decision making and decisional conflict in pediatrics. I am especially interested in the impact of social media on trust and relationships in healthcare and in the intersections of these topics with culture, religion, structural racism, and other forms of bias and oppression. My bioethics scholarship is strongly influenced by medical anthropology. In 2020, I joined the Fulbright Specialist Roster.

Where I’ve Been

I was raised in a small town in Upstate New York.

I graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002, where I was an Echols Scholar, a member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society and a Peer Health Educator. I then spent time traveling and studying at the University of Copenhagen, before enrolling at the Emory University School of Medicine in 2003. While at Emory, I served on the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. I took a leave of absence in 2006 and earned a Master of Science degree in medical anthropology from the University of Oxford. I then returned to Emory, graduating in 2008.

After medical school, I completed an internship in general pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 2009, a residency in general pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital Colorado in 2011, and a fellowship in pediatric hematology, oncology and bone marrow transplantation at the Children’s Hospital Colorado in 2014. I also earned a second master’s degree in clinical research science from the University of Colorado in 2014. My fellowship research explored infectious diseases in children undergoing treatment for cancer in Guatemala. I am board-certified in general pediatrics and in pediatric hematology/oncology.

Since joining the faculty at Upstate, I have also completed a certificate in pediatric bioethics at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri and become certified in healthcare ethics consultation. In 2017, I was the Andrew Markus Visiting Scholar at the Ethox Centre and Green Templeton College in Oxford, England; and in 2020, I was recipient of the President’s Award for Advancement of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Upstate.