“It has been a dream to be at Emory and live in Atlanta.”
Jessy Kline, 2026 Doctor of Medicine (MD) candidate, Emory School of Medicine, is from Bethesda, Maryland. As a child, Jessy brimmed with passion for directing movies, screenwriting and professional swimming. Her career path was at a crossroads until she joined a pediatric oncology lab at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at 15. Joining the NIH meant that Jessy spent her summers between poolside lifeguarding and coaching, and in the lab learning about tumor microenvironments and immunotherapies. She enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis, where she delved into topics such as philosophy, neuroscience and legal studies. She worked as a research assistant in a glioblastoma lab and helped run university blood drives. Throughout all four years of her undergraduate education, Jessy delighted peers by donning the Washington University’s Bear mascot costume. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in psychology, philosophy and neuroscience, she returned to the NIH before applying to Emory.
“I was nervous about moving to Atlanta without any connections,” remembers Jessy, “but I quickly found my home in the class of 2026.” Clinical rotations were one place Jessy made fast friends. The school randomly pairs classmates for clinical rotations. Because her peers were always shuffling during her over 2,500 hours of clinical rotations, she learned to cultivate meaningful relationships quickly. She was elected class president her first year at Emory and was re-elected every year. As the 2026 class president, she advocated for student needs and orchestrated several class events including the annual Cadaver Ball and created Doc and Chomp, a chili cooking competition. “I loved living in the city of Atlanta,” she says, “from the Aquarium to our secret spot at the Chattahoochee River, where we go cliff jumping. It has been incredible.”
Pursuing internal medicine with a specialty in hematology and oncology appealed to Jessy. As someone driven by people-oriented bonds, she felt at home with her extroverted peers in internal medicine. “I have always been interested in oncology as the patient population allows for deep, meaningful connections.” While at Emory, Jessy contributed to a research paper alongside esteemed faculty members Jennifer Kawwass (gynecology and obstetrics) and Audrey Marsidi (gynecology and obstetrics). She also worked with Theresa Gillespie (hematology and medical oncology) on research projects exploring Adolescent-Young-Adult (AYA) oncology and cervical cancer.
Caring for patients allowed Jessy to realize how rewarding it was to help people during some of the most difficult times in their lives. Patient interactions fueled her with purpose: “When you have both the responsibility and opportunity to work with people going through one of the worst times of their lives, it touches you intimately.”
Although Match Day 2026 will reveal Jessy Kline’s next chapter, she is adamant that “it has been a dream to be at Emory and live in Atlanta.” While she hopes to return to the northeast to be closer to her family, she fondly reflects on the everyday encounters that made her time at Emory extra memorable: “I lived with other medical students all four years and got to compare days in the kitchen,” adding, “preclinically, I would pack my bag with meals and spend the days on campus, ambling from lectures, to the library, the gym and outdoor breaks.” The camaraderie boosted her confidence, too, “I took all my step exams with one of my best friends and shared a room the night before to ease our nerves.”
There’s no doubt that while at Emory, Jessy refined the skills she will need to thrive, as well as the ability to develop deep, meaningful connections with her future patients.
During Match Day Jessy learned she matched at the University of Pittsburgh in internal medicine.