Anne Larkin, MD

Dr. Larkin was recruited to UMMS and UMass Memorial in 2001. She is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Vice Provost and Senior Associate Dean for Educational Affairs at UMMS. In this capacity she oversees the educational programs and needs of faculty and students across three schools and is responsible for upholding the accreditation standards for the institution. Her research interests lie in medical and surgical education, and she remains an active educator of both medical students and surgical residents.

After having received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Missouri, she attended medical school at the Columbia University college of Physicians and Surgeons.  She then went on to completer her General Surgery residency at Columbia-presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Larkin continues to maintain a busy clinical practice in breast and endocrine surgery. In addition, she is actively engaged in several important organizations including the American Board of Surgery (Councilor), New England Surgical Society (President), The American College of Medical Colleges, among others.

Sarah Uhranowsky

Sarah Uhranowsky is a first-year medical student at UMass Medical School. She is very excited to have the opportunity to represent UMass on the Special Student Committee and serve the greater Worcester Community.

Calvin Schaffer, BS

Calvin is a medical student at UMass Medical School in the Baystate Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health track. He received his undergraduate degree in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. His interests include public health and emergency preparedness, health care policy, including food and transportation access, and quality improvement, especially in the field of telehealth. As a medical student advocate, he has served as the chapter chair of Organized Medicine at his medical school, sits on the Committee on Long Range Planning and serves as a regional membership chair and as an alternate delegate for the American Medical Association Medical Student Section, and is the student representative on the Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Public Health. He is the current medical student representative to the Worcester District Medical Society Executive Committee and vice chair to the Student Special Committee.

Nayha Chopra-Tandon

Nayha graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Public Health Sciences. She continued her education there with a Master’s in Public Health in Biostatistics & Epidemiology, researching breast cancer biomarkers for early disease detection and teaching undergraduates. In medical school, she continues to mentor and enjoys working with the local Worcester Free Clinics. She looks forward to integrating her degrees in her future practice.

Louis Fazen III, MD

Louis Fazen, III, MD, MPH, is Board Certified in both Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine and was awarded a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins.

In addition to his career as a pediatrician in Central Massachusetts, Dr Fazen undertook numerous public health projects in Africa and Asia and Central America. He also served as a reserve officer in the US Public Health Service for 40 years attending American Indian populations in Montana, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico.

As a previously elected official for the Southborough Board of Health, Dr Fazen integrated clinical care while addressing the social determinants of health. The Medical Student Committee of the WDMS affords the opportunity to relate to an ambitious group of emerging physicians and re-energize my faith in the future of health care for all.

Paramesh Karandikar, BS

Paramesh is graduated from New York University with a BS in Chemistry and minors in Mathematics and Middle Eastern Studies. Prior to joining the UMass Medical School Class of 2024, he researched polymeric drug delivery systems and nanomedical biotechnologies in the space of cancer chemotherapeutics at the MIT Langer Lab. He has a strong interest in biotechnology and nanomedicine as well as the role of healthcare policy in a changing society. Currently serving as a member of the Student Special Committee, he seeks broader experience with healthcare policy at a community and regional level.

Iha Kaul

Iha graduated from Cornell University in 2014 with a BS in Human Biology and Health Policy. She is currently a medical student at UMass Medical School, class of 2022. She is passionate about public health and before medical school and was a Public Health Associate at the CDC working on Environmental Health in New Hampshire. She received her MS/MPH from Tufts University in 2018. In medical school she helped coordinate the “Public Health and Community Health in Worcester” Elective and Interest group. Iha is excited to work with the WDMS Student group to continue to connect medical students to opportunities in the communities where they live and work. She is grateful for the chance to work with such a talented and motivated group of people.

Christine Li

Christine graduated from MIT in 2018 with a degree in Brain & Cognitive Sciences and Management, and she worked as a management consultant at L.E.K. Consulting before coming to UMass Medical School. She is interested in healthcare policy and public health, and she is excited to have the opportunity to represent UMass on the WDMS Special Student Committee.

Brian Nickley

Brian is a second year medical student at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. He is originally from Massachusetts and hopes to stay here after graduating, practicing in Family Medicine or Internal Medicine-Pediatrics. He regularly volunteers with the free clinics in Worcester and COVID vaccine outreach, and hopes to incorporate community health into his career.

Trent Taros

Trent originally hales from Swampscott, a small beach town on Massachusetts’ North Shore. Needing to get away after high school, he traveled to Chicago, IL, attending Loyola University and graduating with a degree in biochemistry. Not wanting the scholarly fun to end, he matriculated at UMass Medical School, from which he will graduate in the spring of 2023. Academically, Trent is interested in medical simulation, especially with respect to medical education, and Radiology, which he plans to pursue a career in. When not in the hospital, you can find Trent in the gym, rock climbing, hiking, or just enjoying a good book and hanging out with his cat, Bella.

Bennett Vogt

Bennett graduated from Harvard University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical and physical biology and a minor in global health and health policy. He worked for two years as a life sciences consultant at ClearView Healthcare Partners before coming to UMass Medical School. While still evaluating future career paths, he is interested in a joint residency in Medicine and Pediatrics. His research projects include the infectious complications of immunosuppression and bone marrow transplants. His roles in organized medicine include being the student co-chair of the WDMS Special Student Committee, the Alternate Trustee for the Medical Student Sections for the MMS, and a delegate for Region Seven of the AMA-Medical Student Section. He is a passionate supporter of students raising their voices through advocacy and organized medicine.