The University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) welcomes the 62 learners (55 residents and 7 fellows) entering our statewide sponsored and academic partner programs this academic year. Get to know them below!

Baraboo Rural Training Track

Baraboo Residents 2021

The Baraboo residents from left: Isheng Hou, MD, and Ali Howen, MD

  • Both residents are from the Midwest and share a commitment to providing primary care in rural, underserved areas.
  • Hou received the National Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA) award in 2018 for her outstanding work in and commitment towards health issues that affect Asians and Pacific Islanders.
  • Howen volunteered with Global Brigades in rural communities in Honduras to teach self-sustainability through student-led medical and dental clinics.

Learn more about the Baraboo Rural Training Track »

Madison Residency

Madison Residents 2021

The Madison residents from left: (seated) Melanie Biegler, DO, Isheng Hou, MD, Luke Ragon, MD, John Kalmanek, MD, Alex Hanna, MD, Nivedita Nair, MD, Camila Khan, MD, (standing) Jagpreet Sekhon, DO, Camille Gonzalez, MD, Taylor Ross, MD, MPH, Ashlyn Brown, MD, Bradley Pfeifer, MD, Jose Carillo, MD, Rachel Her, MD, Jenny Ho, DO, Rebeca Liebl, MD, Colin Kavanaugh, MD, Ali Howen, MD

  • Many of the new Madison residents were leaders in their medical schools and professional communities.
    • Two were involved with volunteer organizations to help people experiencing homelessness gain access to health care.
    • Four served the Latinx community by volunteering with organizations like the Latino Medical Student Association, the Medical Spanish Club, Centro Hispano of Madison, and one helped as a Spanish medical interpreter for inpatient, emergency, and clinical services.
    • Two participated in the Training and Urban Medicine in Public Health (TRIUMPH) program to focus on community responsive medicine and health equity, including developing longitudinal community-directed health projects with local organizations.
    • Two volunteered with COVID-19 relief programs by participating in food drives for displaced workers and helping with contact tracing and the translation of COVID-19 infographics.
    • Others were involved with a wide range of community groups from programs designed to assist children with disabilities to volunteering for Doctors Across America to address gun violence prevention, women’s reproductive rights, treatment of asylum-seekers and migrants, and the opioid epidemic.
    • Two worked with teams to design programs to benefit others including a mobile application designed to make it easier for caregivers to receive help and a peer-led fitness program for graduate students.
  • The new Madison residents are committed to global and community health. Their activities have included volunteering with a caring for refugees program; participating in a global health service immersion trip in Corozal, Belize, to work with local physicians and community health workers; and working with Live Well by Faith, a community health program that partnered with historically Black churches to create a system to match community members with primary care providers.
  • Sharing a strong passion for advocacy and equity, many of the new Madison residents are strong advocates for mental health, LGBTQ+ health, and rural and addiction medicine.

Learn more about the Madison Residency »

Fellows

DFMCH Fellows 2021

The new fellows from left: Primary Care Research Fellow Asma Ali, Pharm D, PhD; Addiction Medicine Fellows Alyssa Bruehlman, MD, David Leinweber, MD, Rebecca Kellum, MD; Sports Medicine Fellow Tom Harris, MD; Academic Fellow Taylor Boland Rigby, MD (Not pictured: Integrative Health Fellow Anna Wijatyk, MD)

  • The new primary care research fellow will expand on her doctorate research by evaluating health services and their implementation in underserved communities. Her ongoing goal is to help improve health outcomes in the United States and across the globe including the Middle East and Africa.
  • The incoming addiction medicine fellows share a passion for supporting patients and families through One plans to focus on perinatal care to engage pregnant patients in treatment and recovery. Another wants to address health care needs for people who are incarcerated, the complex social medicine of chronic pain management, and the processes for dismantling stigma within healthcare settings.
  • The new sports medicine fellow completed his pediatrics residency at the UW. He is looking forward to practicing in both sports medicine and primary care and is interested in a research focus that blends the two.
  • The academic fellow is an advocate, having been involved with professional societies, writing resolutions and advocating for a variety of policies including infant mortality, opioid use, and alcohol abuse.

Academic Partners

Prevea Health Family Medicine Residency-Eau Claire

Eau Claire Residents 2021

The Eau Claire residents from left: Cory Zastrow, DO, Cuong Le, DO, Joshua Jagodzinski, DO, Mark Washburn, DO, Bin Guo, MD

  • One of the five incoming Eau Claire residents is from Wisconsin. The program’s other four residents are relocating from New York, Kansas, New Mexico, and California.
  • Four of the incoming residents are doctors of osteopathic medicine.
  • The new residents have diverse interests including speed skating, electronic dance music, martial arts, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and golf.
  • Clinical interests include palliative medicine, osteopathic

Gundersen Health System Family Medicine Residency-La Crosse

La Crosse Residents 2021

The La Crosse residents from left: Kyle Drehmel, MD, Taylor Tomcyzk, DO, Allicen Waxlax, MD, Courtney Bork, MD, Jacob Bentley, MD, Katherine Edsall, MD

  • One if the program’s six residents is from Portland, Oregon, with the rest hailing from Minnesota and Wisconsin.
  • The new residents’ clinical interests include women’s health and obstetrics, global medicine, rural medicine, diabetes care, and medical education.
  • All plan to work in a rural setting.

Aurora Lakeland Rural Training Track

Lakeland residents 2021

The Lakeland residents from left: Kerry Kuffenkam, MD, Brenna Rauner, MD. Sarah Rustad, MD, Sabrina Webster, MD

  • All of new Lakeland residents have ties to the Midwest.
  • The new residents have a wide variety of clinical interests including emergency medicine, OB/GYN, geriatrics, and women’s health.
  • The new residents have a variety of hobbies ranging from piano to triathlons.

Aurora Family Medicine Residency-Milwaukee

Milwaukee Residents 2021

The Aurora residents from left: (top row) Michael Ainbinder, MD, Breana Chandra, MD, Dragos Ghinea, MD, Drew Gunderson, MD, Rayan Hamade, MD, (bottom row) Samia Khan, DO, Jonathan Melms, DO, Danielle Olsen-McAuliffe, MD, Ashley Quick Bear, MD, Jayni Sanghavi, MD

  • Of the program’s 10 incoming residents, five are from the Midwest, and two are from other parts of the US: California and Colorado. Three are from the countries of Israel, Lebanon and Romania.
  • Two incoming residents are doctors of osteopathic medicine.

Waukesha Family Medicine Residency

Waukesha Residents 2021

The Waukesha residents from left: Haley Bodette, MD, Karolina Bulak, MD, Megan Byrnes, MD, Aleksander Downs, MD, Brant Gunderson, MD, Gretchen Mueller, MD, Cody Raterman, MD

  • The new residents have a wide variety of interests including full-spectrum family medicine, women’s health, mental health and rural medicine.
  • All seven of the program’s residents attended medical school in the Midwest.
  • Incoming residents’ personal interests include biking, hiking, baking, rollerblading, kayaking, gardening, and travel.

Aspirus Wausau Family Medicine Residency

Wausau Residents 2021

The Wausau residents from left: Meghan Hughes, MD, MPH, Hilary Steltenpohl, MD, Thomas Licata, DO, Natalie Weeks, MD, Cody Fox, MD

  • Of the incoming Wausau residents, three went to medical school in Wisconsin, one in Barbados, and one studied osteopathic medicine in Iowa.
  • One resident is a DO and four are MDs.
  • The new residents have a variety of interests including sports medicine, mental health, addiction medicine, women’s health, and rural medicine.

Published: September 2021