Current Fellow Profiles
1st Year Fellows (2011-2014)
Catherine C. Aftandilian, MD
Hometown: Sudbury, MA
College: Harvard College, Boston, MA
Degree: B.A. Cognitive Neuroscience
Medical School: Tufts University Medical School, Boston, MA
Pediatric Internship: Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA
Pediatric Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA
Research Interest: leukemia, Wilm’s tumor, fever and neutropenia
Erin H Breese, MD, PhD
Hometown: Carmel, Indiana
College: University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
Degree: B.A. French and Arts & Letters Preprofessional Studies
Doctorate: Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
Pediatric Internship: Riley Hospital for Children – Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
Pediatric Residency: Riley Hospital for Children – Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
Research Interest: Dysregulation of the immune system leading to oncologic
and hematologic disorders
2nd 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
3rd 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
