Clinical Scholars Program Getting to Know Our Scholars 2011 Tyler Cheung, MD Tyler Cheung, MD, grew up in Millburn, New Jersey, and attended Yale University as an undergraduate. He then received his medical degree from Tufts University, and completed his neurology residency at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. Afterward, he completed two years of a movement disorders fellowship at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, with particular expertise in the clinical management of patients using deep brain stimulation (DBS) and botulinum toxin. Cheung s research interests are in the pathophysiology of Parkinson s disease and dystonia, two common movement disorders that are commonly treated by DBS. In particular, his research studies how DBS improves the symptoms of these conditions, how the basal ganglia process the information involved in creating good movement and what factors could lead to the onset of Parkinson s disease or dystonia. Cheung hopes to utilize the resources and tools available at Cedars-Sinai to help answer these questions. Alice Chung, MD Alice Chung, MD, comes to Cedars-Sinai from the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, where she served as assistant director of the Margie Petersen Breast Center. Chung also served as assistant director of Breast Clinical Research for the Margie and Robert E. Petersen Breast Cancer Research Program. She is a former Cedars-Sinai resident who received her medical degree from Chicago Medical School and completed her fellowship training at the
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She is a board-certified surgeon specializing in breast cancer surgery, in particular, in nipple-sparing mastectomy, sentinel node biopsy and oncoplastic techniques. In addition to her clinical services, Chung takes on varied research activities at Cedars-Sinai, working both independently and with her long-time colleague Armando Giuliano, MD, who recently joined Cedars- Sinai. Chung s research interests include outcomes for sentinel node-positive breast cancer patients, preoperative imaging for axillary metastases, breast conservative surgery in multifocal and multicentric breast cancer, and the impact of MRI on the treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ. Catherine Dang, MD Catherine Dang, MD, is associate director of the Wasserman Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Program and a surgeon in the Department of Surgery and the Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center at Cedars-Sinai. Dang is expert in treating both benign and malignant diseases of the breast and in performing minimally invasive diagnostic procedures. She also has expertise in surgical management of breast disease and breast conserving surgery. Dang is board-certified by the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Surgery, with additional certification in surgical critical care. She is a member of the American College of Surgeons, American Society of Breast Surgeons and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Funded by the Plastic Surgery Education Foundation in 2002, Dang has conducted research on scarless wound healing and has presented her results at numerous surgical meetings. She has also co-authored numerous studies in the American Journal of Pathology, Plastic Reconstructive Surgery and Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Her current research focus involves improved diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer as well as breast cancer risk reduction. Dang graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and received her medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She completed her general surgery residency at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She then completed her surgical critical care and breast surgical oncology fellowships at Cedars-Sinai.
Collins Kwarteng, MD Collins Kwarteng, MD, attended the University of Massachusetts for his undergraduate degree followed by University of Massachusetts Medical School for his medical degree. He performed his residency at Emory University in Atlanta. Prior to coming to Cedars- Sinai for his cardiology fellowship, Kwarteng s military medical experiences included the U.S. Army Combat Medical Services Airborne, Air Assault, Expert Field Medical Staff and Member of Crisis Action Team of the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division. Alan Parsa, MD
Alan Parsa, MD, was raised in Hawaii and grew up in the Pacific Ocean. It wasn t a surprise when he graduated with a degree in marine physics in San Diego and began to do design work in the ocean. During his work, Parsa realized his passion for medicine and entered medical school while continuing research on the side. After completing his training, Parsa was privileged to spend time in Manhattan as a fellow of Maria New, PhD, who became his great mentor. With the strong desire to return to work near the Pacific Ocean, Parsa joined the endocrinology department at Cedars-Sinai, where he was a fellow. He has been lucky enough to continue his passion of patient care, research and being in the Pacific Ocean. BJ Rimel, MD BJ Rimel, MD, is a member of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She has written numerous articles on gynecologic oncology for publications that include Gynecologic Oncology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, OBG Management, Cancer Epidemiology and Biomarkers in Prevention as well as book chapters and online materials. Her research interests include both surveillance and survivorship of gynecologic cancers. Rimel is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. After graduating cum laude with distinction in research with a bachelor s in microbiology and immunology from the University of Rochester in New York, Rimel earned her medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina. She completed her residency in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and a fellowship in gynecologic oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Michael Schmidt, MD Michael Schmidt, MD, is from Indiana and attended Indiana University, where he received his bachelor s degree in evolutionary biology. Following his undergraduate studies, Schmidt worked as a microbiologist for one year. He attended Kansas City University of Medicine and Health Sciences, followed by a pathology residency at Cedars-Sinai with an interest in gastrointestinal pathology and informatics. During his spare time, Schmidt enjoys surfing and playing basketball. Tara Leanne Sedlak, MD Tara Leanne Sedlak was born and raised in Canada. She earned her undergraduate degree in physiology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. She then moved to Vancouver, where she completed her medical degree, internal medicine and cardiology training at the University of British Columbia. She completed a fellowship at Cedars-Sinai in women s heart health with the goal of returning to Vancouver to set up a women s heart center. Her primary research interest is studying gender differences between
women and men with respect to their cardiac physiology, clinical presentation of cardiac disorders and management strategies. Hedyeh Shafi, MD Hedyeh Shafi, MD, was raised in Los Angeles and attended UCLA, where she received her bachelor s degree in neuroscience. She then attended Georgetown Medical School, where she had enrolled in the research track, allowing her to spend one year at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center studying hematopoietic differentiation in embryonic stem cells. Shafi was a clinical pathology resident at Cedars-Sinai with the goal of continuing at Cedars-Sinai as a transfusion medicine fellow. Her areas of interest are coagulation and hemotherapy. Scott Short, MD Scott Short, MD, is a California native who attended high school in rural Lassen County before attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. He graduated with honors
in biochemistry-molecular biology before attending Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. He excelled during medical school, was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and, ultimately, chose a career in surgery. He joined the surgical residency at Cedars-Sinai, where he has excelled both clinically and academically. Short has four reviewed publications, has been nominated for a Rubenstein Award for excellence in resident research and has presented at both the local and national level. He also has a strong interest in international medicine and has performed a surgical mission in China. Daniel Shouhed, MD Daniel Shouhed, MD, attended Cedars-Sinai for a general surgery residency, where he worked under the mentorship of Bruce Gewertz, MD, conducting research on improving the safety and efficiency of trauma patients going to the operating room for emergent intervention. Shouhed is involved with oncology research. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and attended UCLA for undergraduate school, where he received a bachelor s degree in physiological sciences. He spent a semester abroad in Spain before starting medical school at University of California, San Diego. Shouhed enjoys playing sports, going to movies and traveling, when given the opportunity. Matt Singer, MD Matt Singer, MD, was a resident in general surgery at Cedars-Sinai followed by one year of clinical research in the division of trauma-surgical critical care in support of his application to a trauma-critical care fellowship. Singer s goal is to become an academic trauma surgeon at a high volume center in California. He grew up in Southern California and attended medical school in Georgia. His greatest interests outside of medicine are travel and the outdoors. He traveled to Pakistan to trek to the base camp of K2.