Corinne was previously the Appointed Senior Co-Lead of the Research Student Ambassadorship Program. She graduated UChicago in the Winter of 2020 and double-majored in Biology and Neuroscience. Her research interests lie at the intersection of science and medicine, particularly how patient care is being redefined by basic and translational clinical research. Corinne joined the program in April 2018, and was involved with everything from data management to manuscript writing to team leadership. 

Sydney was previously the Appointed Senior Co-Lead of the Research Student Ambassadorship Program. She majored in Fundamentals: Issues and Texts and pursued the pre-med track. Sydney was a part of the program since November 2019 and was very interested in the transition to minimally invasive procedures and its effect on patient outcomes. She is from Oak Park, Illinois and enjoys reading, rollerblading, running, and swimming at the point. Sydney is now completing her post-doc at Columbia University. 

Connor Raikar is a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, class of 2020. Currently, he is taking a gap year between his undergraduate studies and medical education, hoping to matriculate to a medical school in the fall of 2021. He is most interested in a career in cardiac surgery, cardiology, and/or medical education. In his free time, he enjoys baking sourdough, brewing specialty coffee, designing and coding websites, editing videos, and blogging about it all.

Aashka Patel is a second-year medical student at Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University. She received her Bachelor’s degree at UNC-Chapel Hill. She joined our program in 2021 and is interested in surgical subspecialties such as cardiothoracic surgery and neurosurgery. Aashka’s hometown is South Windsor, Connecticut. She is a classically trained dancer and likes to play tennis and read in her spare time. 

Ryan Hoang is a third-year undergraduate at The University of Chicago. He is majoring in Biological Sciences and pursuing the pre-med track. Ryan joined the program in 2020 and aspires to be a high risk surgeon, working in fields such as cardiac surgery and neurosurgery. He is from New Jersey, and he likes playing chess, squash, spikeball, and soccer in his free time.

Kelli Hu is a fourth-year undergraduate at The University of Chicago. She is majoring in Biological Sciences and pursuing the pre-med track. She has been a part of the program since 2020 and is very interested in pediatric cardiology and robotic, minimally invasive heart procedures. She is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and enjoys playing tennis, working on media design projects, and exploring the city with friends.

Saied Mizrai spent two research rotations with the Ambassadorship Program. He was involved in 21 abstracts and manuscripts and observed various procedures including a heart transplant, LVAD transplant, TECAB, watchman placement, and RHC with tissue biopsy.

Saied is currently at the Cleveland Clinic for his internal medicine residency.

Robert Spiller is a former research assistant at the Ambassadorship Program. In just one month that he spent with the program, he was listed as an author in 7 publications.

Robert is currently a second-year Internal Medicine resident at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, WA.

Anu Suresh is a former research assistant at the Ambassadorship Program and primarily worked on a manuscript about ventricular assist device program models. 

She is currently a third-year medical student at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. She continues to be interested in cardiology and is looking forward to her internal medicine rotations this year! 

Jennifer Cruz is a third-year undergraduate at The University of Chicago. She is majoring in Biological Sciences and Romance Languages and Literature and minoring in Health and Society. She joined the program in 2020 and is interested in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery. Jennifer is from Las Vegas, Nevada and enjoys hiking, skydiving and cliff jumping.