Hometown: Asheville, North Caroline
Medical School: University of North Carolina
Residency: VCU
Clinical Interests: Diabetes, metabolic disorders and obesity

I grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, where I spent much of my time hiking and playing soccer. I completed both my undergraduate and medical education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Go Tar Heels!). During my time there, I engaged in basic science research in virology, focusing on coronaviruses and Zika virus. I also developed a strong interest in obesity medicine and helped run a free community-based weight loss clinic.

I moved to Virginia for residency training at Virginia Commonwealth University, where my interest in metabolic disease, diabetes, and obesity management continued to grow. During residency, I conducted clinical research investigating markers of cardiovascular disease in survivors of childhood cancer. 

I am thrilled to be continuing my training in endocrinology at Johns Hopkins and look forward to getting to know the city of Baltimore. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, playing tennis, reading fiction novels, gardening, and spending time with my friends, family, and my dog, Harvey.

Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon
Medical School: American University of Beirut
Residency: Boston Medical Center-Brighton (formerly known as St Elizabeth Medical Center)
Clinical Interests: Obesity medicine, general endocrinology

Mayssam grew up in Lebanon and earned her medical degree from the American University of Beirut. She later moved to Boston, where she completed her internal medicine residency at Boston Medical Center-Brighton. During residency, she discovered a passion for teaching and mentoring medical students. After graduation, she served as chief medical resident. After her endocrinology fellowship, she plans to pursue a career as a clinical educator in the field of obesity and general endocrinology. Outside of work, Mayssam enjoys working out, shopping, cooking, walking in nature, and exploring new restaurants with friends.

Hometown: Niagra Falls, Canada
Medical School: St. George’s University School of Medicine
Residency: University of Buffalo
Clinical Interests: Obesity medicine, general endocrinology

I grew up in Niagara Falls, Canada, and completed my residency training nearby at the University at Buffalo. I’ve always enjoyed athletics, playing and watching baseball, tennis, and football, as well as training in and teaching martial arts. I've been fascinated by metabolism and fitness for as long as I can remember, and that curiosity only deepened during medical training, making endocrinology a natural fit. Clinically, I'm currently interested in general endocrinology with a focus on diabetes, thyroid disease, and metabolic bone disorders. Outside of medicine, I enjoy playing board games like Catan, exploring new coffee shops, and staying active, whether in the gym or running through Patterson Park. A full-circle moment came early in medical school, during a mock CV-writing workshop, when we were asked to draft a CV for our dream training program. I wrote mine for the endocrinology fellowship program at Hopkins!

Hometown: Roanoke, VA
Medical School: Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Residency: University of Virginia
Clinical Interests: general endocrinology, metabolic bone disorders, diabetes, thyroid disorders

Varun was born in Staten Island, NY and spent most of his early life in eastern North Carolina before his family settled in southwest Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia for college and then Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine for medical school. He then returned to UVa for residency training. In residency, he greatly enjoyed working with medical students and interns in a clinical education track. He additionally enjoyed learning more about longitudinal care for patients with HIV in his HIV continuity clinic. His interest in endocrinology starting with his research in medical school focused on the analysis of the Raman spectra of urine in patients with diabetes and other renal diseases and strengthened in residency via QI projects focused on improving diabetes care for his primary care patients. In his free time, he enjoys reading (fiction and nonfiction), movies, board/video games, hiking, visiting coffee shops, and trying out new restaurants.

Hometown: Mumbai, India
Medical School: Topiwala National Medical College
Residency: Rochester General Hospital, NY
Clinical Interests: thyroid, general endocrinology

Vidisha grew up in Mumbai, India, and completed her medical education at Topiwala National Medical College in Mumbai. She later moved to Rochester, New York, where she completed her residency at Rochester General Hospital. During her residency, Vidisha discovered her passion for endocrinology. One of her key projects involved conducting a research study on the real-world performance of Afirma genomic sequencing classifier for indeterminate thyroid nodules and its comparison to the validation study metrics. She presented this at the ENDO society 2023 conference in Chicago. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, spending time with friends and family, trying out new recipes, shopping, and watching movies.

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Medical School: Central Michigan University College of Medicine
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Clinical Interests: Diabetes, Obesity Medicine
Research Interests: Quality improvement, diabetes, obesity medicine

Sara grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. She moved to Boston where she completed Boston University’s coordinated master’s program in dietetics and nutrition, which included a year-long dietetic internship at Boston Medical Center. During her dietetic internship, she also developed a passion for medicine and its relationship with nutrition. She was particularly interested in obesity medicine and spent a majority of her elective rotations working at various bariatric surgery centers (including Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center). She became a registered dietitian following completion of the program and started medical school shortly afterwards. During residency, Sara developed an interest in quality improvement and diabetes. Her interest in obesity medicine also continued. She co-authored a comprehensive textbook chapter about obesity management with a focus on nutrition for use in medical school curricula. She also developed a quality improvement initiative to increase documentation--and by extension, management-- of obesity in the ambulatory setting, which she presented at the Architecture of High Value Health Care national conference hosted by Johns Hopkins. After endocrinology fellowship, Sara hopes to pursue a career in clinical medicine with a potential focus on diabetes and obesity. In her free time, she enjoys martial arts, learning new languages, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends.