About Me
Raised in southwest Florida, I majored in Religious Studies at Yale University. After college, I began working an office job. I eventually started volunteering at a hospital and found the service so meaningful that I decided to switch careers to pursue medicine. During a postbac year at Bryn Mawr College, I developed a fascination with chemistry. I then attended medical school at the University of Rochester, where I first learned about the field of Medical Toxicology.
Ultimately, I decided to pursue psychiatry and headed back down south for psychiatry residency at the Medical University of South Carolina. In residency, I saw a great number of patients who suffered from addiction and suicidality, and who had a history of overdose, whether intentional or unintentional. I began to see the significant overlap between the fields of mental health, addiction and medical toxicology, and I often thought about how patients would benefit if the three fields were somehow bridged. Then, one day, I realized "Hey, I could do that!" So I decided to take a rather unorthodox path for a psychiatrist and pursued a fellowship in Medical Toxicology, which led me to Atlanta’s Emory EM Med Tox program.
Hobbies
I enjoy reading and researching theology, as well as writing poetry and fiction. I also appreciate a good audiobook. Every now and then I take my camera along for a walk or hike. On my more creative days, I do some linoleum block printing. I like the Green Bay Packers, even though they make it really hard some years.
Why Emory EM Med Tox?
Coming from a psychiatry background, I was excited to find a Medical Toxicology program that was so supportive of training a fellow from a non-traditional residency. In addition to the incredible faculty, Atlanta Med Tox offers an exceptional number of training opportunities, including:
- Working at the CDC
- Seeing consults on an integrated medical toxicology and addiction service
- Taking poison center calls
The program is also associated with a large poison center and research university, and maintains a diverse training environment that includes learning alongside international and clinical toxicology fellows as well as serving at several clinical sites.
Five-year Plan
Working at the interface of mental health, addiction and medical toxicology, with an emphasis on the continuity of care for patients who present to the ED after an overdose and following them through outpatient mental health and substance use treatment.