Meet Inspira Advantage’s Med School Admissions Experts

Dr. Diaz is a resident physician and experienced admissions mentor with nine years of coaching experience and a unique background in both urology and diagnostic radiology. For five years, he has served as a medical school interviewer for the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine and the UCLA/Charles R. Drew Medical Education Program.

Dr. Rodriguez is an emergency medicine resident at AdventHealth Orlando with a passion for mentorship, medical education, and supporting students through the medical school and residency application process. He brings firsthand experience from his time on admissions interview teams at both Albany Medical College and his residency program, where he’s conducted many applicant interviews and gained invaluable insight into what sets successful applicants apart.

Dr. Gabriel is a medical school admissions coach who graduated from Harvard Medical School, where he also served on the admissions committee. With seven years of coaching experience, Dr. Gabriel has helped countless students gain acceptance to top med schools, including Harvard, Yale, Washington University in St. Louis, Emory, and Stanford.

Dr. Saltzberg is an emergency medicine physician and educator with over 40 years of clinical, medical education, and admissions experience. His expertise in medical admissions is unparalleled, with 35 years as a medical school admissions committee member and interviewer at the Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School, evaluating and interviewing thousands of applicants. He has also served as an undergraduate pre-med advisor at Northwestern University.

Dr. Obanor is an ABPN board-certified psychiatrist with a comprehensive background in outpatient mental health, medical education, and mentorship. He completed his psychiatry residency at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, where he served as an admissions committee member for the program, evaluating applications, interviewing candidates, and contributing to admissions decisions.

Dr. Abdul-Raheem is a pediatric resident and incoming Allergy & Immunology fellow at San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium (SAUSHEC) with extensive experience in clinical pediatrics, medical education, and mentorship. She graduated with an MD from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where she served on the admissions committee and was selected as an Osler Apprentice, a competitive honor recognizing excellence in clinical teaching and student support.

Dr. Liu-Zarzuela is a psychiatry resident at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she is pursuing a dual general psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship program. As a former MMI interviewer for the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and group interviewer at her residency program, Dr. Liu-Zarzuela provides expert insights to students navigating medical school and residency admissions.

Dr. Oh graduated from Washington University in St. Louis before attending the University of Washington School of Medicine. With years of mentorship experience, Dr. Oh has developed a systematic approach to medical school admissions that has proven successful for students of diverse backgrounds. Students he has coached have gained acceptance to prestigious schools, including Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Georgetown.

Dr. Brown is a dermatology resident at Washington University in St. Louis. He has years of admissions committee and coaching experience, having served as an interviewer and voting member on the Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) admissions committee. He is dedicated to providing applicants with insider insights on how to craft compelling narratives, excel in interviews, and showcase their unique strengths.

Dr. Rice is a dermatology resident at Washington University in St. Louis. He has years of admissions committee experience, serving as an interviewer at the University of Texas Medical Branch, residency admissions committee member at John Peter Smith Hospital, and interviewer and recruitment committee member at his residency program. During this time, Dr. Rice has reviewed approximately 250 applications and interviewed 200 applicants.

Dr. Bradley is a board-certified family medicine physician with over 15 years of experience mentoring and coaching students toward their medical school and residency goals. She earned her MD from Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and completed her residency at Northwestern McGaw University. Dr. Bradley served as an admissions committee interviewer at both schools, directly evaluating hundreds of applicants.

Dr. Cousins is a dedicated emergency medicine physician with a passion for mentorship and medical education. He has over eight years of experience mentoring and coaching pre-med and medical students and specializes in guiding applicants through the medical school and residency admissions process. He is also a former admissions committee member at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where he evaluated hundreds of applications.

Dr. Shah is an internal medicine resident at Yale New Haven Health who graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine’s MD/MPH program. At Tufts, she served as an admissions committee member where she directly supported the application review process. With years of experience in advising, she has mentored several students in their medical school application process.

Dr. Pedamallu attended Washington University in St. Louis before graduating from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine MD/MPH program, serving as an interviewer at both schools. She has conducted research at the NIH and has published several first-author manuscripts in top-tier journals, including JAMA Internal Medicine.

Dr. Dalmia is a board-certified pediatric and adult anesthesiologist and obesity medicine physician with over 14 years of experience providing expert, evidence-based care across a variety of settings. He has 20+ years of mentorship experience, including seven years of admissions committee experience in selecting, interviewing, and ranking hundreds of residency program applicants. Dr. Dalmia is also an alumni interviewer at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Dr. Garvey is a board-certified vascular surgeon with 23 years of clinical experience, including 18 years specializing in venous disease. Passionate about medical education, Dr. Garvey has spent over two decades mentoring students, advising on pre-med curricula, arranging shadowing opportunities, and reviewing medical school applications and personal statements. As a former medical school admissions committee member, she understands how to position candidates as successful applicants.

Dr. Oyewole is a physician, educator, and admissions advisor with years of medical education and mentorship experience. He graduated from the Icahn School of Medicine (ISMMS), where he served on the admissions committee as an application screener and interviewer. Dr. Oyewole has mentored countless students in application strategy, interview preparation, and school selection, helping students gain acceptance to medical school and match into residency.

Dr. Clark is a resident physician in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) at Stanford University. She has eight years of admissions committee and mentorship experience, including serving on the Admissions and Interview Committee at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and acting as a medical student liaison at Stanford’s PM&R program.

Dr. Akomeah is an emergency and lifestyle medicine physician. She graduated with an MD from George Washington University School of Medicine, completed a residency at Carolinas Medical Center, and earned a Master of Education from Johns Hopkins University. She has five years of admissions committee experience, acting as an application reviewer and interviewer at her medical school and residency program.

Dr. Mwangi is a board-certified family medicine physician who is passionate about mentoring the next generation of healthcare professionals. He has extensive experience guiding both aspiring medical students and those seeking residency positions and has served as an interviewer for the HCA-Houston Healthcare West residency admissions committee. He has interviewed numerous aspiring physicians and reviewed their applications, giving him insight into what makes a strong candidate.

Dr. Yoon is a neurosurgery resident and seasoned admissions counselor with 10 years of experience, including serving as an admissions interviewer at Brown University. As a Forbes "30 Under 30" honoree, he has authored 30+ peer-reviewed papers. His pioneering work contributed to the creation of the Veterans Health Administration (VACO) Index, a COVID-19 mortality risk indicator used nationwide.

Dr. Athreya is a family medicine physician, mentor, and leader with extensive clinical and medical education experience. He is the Medical Director and Market Lead at Crossover Health, has interned with the World Health Organization, and volunteered with AmeriCorps, providing disaster relief and community support. With years of admissions and mentorship experience, Dr. Athreya is a knowledgeable guide for students navigating the medical school or residency admissions processes.

Dr. Hasselmo is a Yale psychiatry resident with a passion for child and adolescent psychiatry. A multi-award-winning author, she has been recognized for her contributions to medical, creative, and research writing. With five years of admissions experience, she has guided students through the medical school and residency application process, helping them gain admission to their top-choice programs.

Dr. Blutinger is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and public health specialist with over a decade of clinical experience. He was a former admissions committee member at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he read and evaluated approximately 1,000 applications and interviewed nearly 300 candidates over three years. He currently works in Mount Sinai Health System as an attending physician and Emergency Department Medical Director.

Dr. Nwaukoni is a family medicine physician with extensive admissions experience, including serving on admissions committees at Cornell, PCOM, and Northwestern. She has 10+ years of interviewing mentorship experience, including spending five years as mock interview coaching for the Student National Medical Association.

Dr. Yoo is a board-certified ophthalmologist specializing in oculoplastic and orbital reconstructive surgery. He has extensive admissions experience, including serving on a residency selection committee for 17+ years, acting as Ophthalmology Residency Director for over nine years at Loyola University Medical Center, and teaching as a professor at Loyola for 15+ years.

Dr. Davis has extensive mentorship and admissions experience, including serving on the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and USC Keck School of Medicine for a combined total of over 20 years. She worked at Cedars-Sinai for 20+ years as both a staff physician and Associate Program Director of Residency Training in OB/GYN. She is currently an expert reviewer and consultant for the Medical Board of California.

While attending the University of Washington School of Medicine, Dr. Bigham served on the admissions committee for three years, interviewing prospective students. His commitment to mentorship has resulted in students he has coached gaining acceptance to top medical schools like UPenn, Stanford, the University of Washington, Dartmouth, UCSF, UCLA, UC San Diego, WashU, and others.

Dr. Miljanic is the Chief Resident at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s radiology oncology program and graduated at the top of his class with honors from the University of Texas Dell Medical School. He served as an interviewer for the UT Austin Dell Medical School admissions committee and as a voting member on the UT Southwestern residency admission committee, evaluating hundreds of applications.

Dr. Chan is an integrated interventional radiology resident at the University of California, San Francisco. She has a Bachelor of Science with honors in biology from Stanford University and an MD from Yale School of Medicine. She has more than 10 years of experience guiding students through the medical school admissions process.

Dr. Zarif is a board-certified surgeon specializing in the management of traumatic, sports-related, and degenerative conditions of the hand and wrist. He completed his residency at Lenox Hill Hospital Surgery. He has 15 years of coaching and admissions experience and has served on several admissions committees, including the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, the diversity and inclusion initiative at Temple University, and Lenox Hill Hospital-Northwell’s residency admissions committee.

Dr. Ladines-Lim’s extensive educational background includes a BS from the University of Maryland, an MD from the Yale School of Medicine, and a PhD from MIT. He then completed an Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Combined Residency at the University of Michigan and is currently an Infectious Diseases Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

Before pursuing an MD-PhD at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the University of Cambridge Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hallie graduated from Yale University. She spent two years working in the Yale University Undergraduate Admissions Office, including a year as the student lead for STEM recruitment. She has since graduated with a PhD in clinical neurosciences.

Dr. Lanier is a resident anesthesiology physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She has worked with many pre-medical and medical students, drawing from her experience as part of the admissions committee and an MMI interviewer at the University of Utah School of Medicine, allowing her to provide nuanced coaching and expert interview strategies.

Dr. LaRivière is an accomplished Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) alumnus and general surgery resident at the University of Colorado. He has 15+ years of coaching and admissions experience, including serving on the University of Colorado’s MSTP admissions committee and working as an applicant reviewer for his residency program.

Dr. Ng is a spine surgery fellow at Rothman Orthopaedics, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He was previously a Chief Resident in orthopedic surgery at the Maimonides Medical Center, a level 1 trauma center and the largest hospital in Brooklyn, NY. He has over a decade of admissions and coaching experience, including serving for years as an interviewer at Case Western University School of Medicine.

Dr. Pammal is an emergency medicine resident at Mount Sinai Morningside. He served as President of the School of Medicine Student Senate at New York Medical College (NYMC) for two consecutive years, where he spearheaded efforts as a Program Coordinator for NYMC's novel Resiliency Program and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Roundtable Journal on Health Policy.

Dr. Chung is a general surgery resident at the University of California, San Diego with 10+ years of mentorship experience, serving as an MIT educational counselor and a medical admissions committee member at the Yale School of Medicine. She has over 30 articles featured in major journals including scientific manuscripts, invited commentaries, and personal essays, and was an ad hoc reviewer for JAMA Surgery.

Dr. Mellacheruvu is a resident physician at Penn Medicine. He serves on the Resident Steering Committee where he collaborates with faculty and program directors to shape the residency experience. Dr. Mellacheruvu has extensive mentorship in helping students craft meaningful medical school personal statements and CVs; he has also acted as an MCAT, Step exam, and college-level STEM course tutor.

Dr. Kalagara attended Brown University before matriculating at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is an experienced admissions coach who has worked with many students over the past five years. Students she has worked with have been accepted to medical programs such as Harvard Medical School, Drexel, Brown, and Sinai. She previously served as an application reviewer at the Icahn School of Medicine.

Dr. Ravi graduated with an MD from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine after completing her undergraduate studies in cognitive science at Rice University. She is a neurology resident at Houston Methodist Hospital, one of the nation's top-ranked neurology and neurosurgery hospitals. Dr. Ravi has years of mentorship and admissions experience with a strong background in research.

Dr. Patel is an internal medicine resident physician at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and an incoming gastroenterology fellow at Staten Island University Hospital in NYC. Throughout his medical education, he has been actively involved in research, publishing manuscripts, and presenting his work at national and international conferences. Dr. Patel is a Doximity Digital Health Fellow and has diverse teaching and mentoring experience.

Dr. Cheng attended the University of Southern California before enrolling at the Keck School of Medicine, pursuing the primary care track. She has four years of coaching and admissions experience, including serving on Keck's Evaluation and Selection Committee, interviewing prospective applicants, and on the Keck Admissions and Recruitment Committee, evaluating and voting for student admissions.

Dr. Rand is a resident physician at UC San Diego. She has served as a student interviewer at UC Irvine, where she honed her communication, organization, and empathy skills to guide students through their journey toward healthcare careers. She looks forward to helping students find structure, clarity, and confidence in their medical school applications.

Dr. Podury earned her MD from Harvard Medical School in the Harvard-MIT HST Program after completing her BA in Neuroscience at Cornell. With a talent for improving patients' lives through technology and research, she is eager to guide applicants through the admissions process.

Dr. Kirsch is an accomplished neurologist who earned an MD from Touro University Nevada, where he graduated in the top 5% of his class. He completed a rigorous neurology residency and epilepsy fellowship at Case Western Reserve University – University Hospitals, where his exemplary performance earned him multiple accolades, including the prestigious Intern of the Year Award.

Dr. Xiang graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College before attending Harvard Medical School's MD/MPH program, where he served on the admissions committee as an interviewer. He has extensive experience in mentoring medical students, including conducting mock interviews, writing committee letters, helping with primary applications, and serving as a non-resident tutor at Harvard.

Dr. Okeke is a neurology resident at the University of California, San Francisco. He graduated cum laude with an MD from the Emory School of Medicine, where he served as a group interviewer for the admissions committee and provided feedback on applicants’ candidacies. At Emory, his exceptional qualities were recognized with his induction into the Gold Humanism Honors Society.

Dr. Huell graduated from Georgia Tech before attending the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where he received the full-ride Klara and Larry Silverstein Merit Scholarship. He served as an NYU admissions ambassador where he assisted with the recruitment of and retention of applicants and facilitated MMI interviews. Students Dr. Huell has coached have been accepted to nearly every top 20 medical school.

Dr. Lee attended the California Institute of Technology before enrolling in the University of Washington’s MD/PhD molecular and cellular biology program. He served as an interviewer and student admissions ambassador at the University of Washington School of Medicine and is currently researching immunotherapy development and immunology.