Current Fellow Profiles
1st Year Fellows (2010-2013)
Alexandra Abrams, MD
Hometown: Portola Valley, CA
College: UCLA
Degree: B.S. Biology
Medical School: UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Pediatric Internship: Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto, CA
Pediatric Residency: Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto, CA
Research Interest: sarcomas
Karen E. Effinger, M.D.
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
College: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Degree: Dual B.A. degrees History and International Studies
Medical School: New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY
Pediatric Internship: Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto, CA
Pediatric Residency: Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto, CA
Research Interest: solid tumors, international oncology
Christopher H. Hsu, MD, PhD
Hometown: Chicago, IL
College: University of Pennsylvania, PA
Degree: B.A. Human Biology
Masters: M.P.H. Epidemiology: Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA
Doctorate: Ph.D. in Molecular Virology: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Medical School: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Pediatric Internship: University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, Chicago, IL
Pediatric Residency: University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, Chicago, IL
Research Interest: gene therapy, stem cell biology and therapeutics, cell cycle in malignancy, targeted drug therapy
2nd Year Fellows (2009-2012)
Phil Garfin, MD, PhD
Hometown: Kensington, CA
College: University San Diego:
Degree: B.S. Biology and B.A. Literature
Doctorate: Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology: University of Chicago
Medical School: University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Pediatric Internship: University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, Chicago, IL
Pediatric Residency: University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, Chicago, IL
Research Interest: cell cycle control in normal development and disease
Charles Gawad, MD
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
College: Arizona State University
Degree: Dual B.A. / B.S. Chemistry/Microbiology
Medical School: University of Arizona
Cloister Scholar 2002-2003: Howard Hughes Medical Institute/NIH
Pediatric Internship: UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Pediatric Residency: UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Research Interest: loss of posttranscriptional regulation in cancer, genomics
Aimee Newman, MD
Hometown: Woodland Hills, CA
College: Pepperdine University
Degree: B.A. Psychology
Premed Curriculum: California State University, Northridge
Medical School: University of California at San Diego, School of Medicine
Pediatric Internship: UC Davis Medical Center
Pediatric Residency: UC Davis Medical Center
Research Interest: autoimmune cytopenias, viral-mediated cancers
3rd Year Fellow (2008-2011)
Clara Lo, MD
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
College: UCLA
Degree: B.S. Biochemistry
Medical School: New York Medical College
Pediatric Internship: Children’s Hospital Orange County
Pediatric Residency: Children's Hospital Orange County
Research Interest: coagulation: chronic ITP and targeted therapy
John (Fritz) Tan, MD
Hometown: Singapore
College: Cornell University
Degree: B.A. Biology and Economics
Masters: M.S. Engineering, Cornell University
Medical School: UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Pediatric Internship: Hasbro Children's Hospital-Brown University
Pediatric Residency: Hasbro Children's Hospital-Brown University
Research Interest: computational biology
