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PGY-1: Yasir Ahmed, MD | Prasheeda Bremjit, MD | Sue Murray, MD

PGY-2: Jessica Bowers, MD | Carol Dwan, MD | John Snellings, MD

PGY-3: Dan Dawson, MD | Mechelle Elosiebo, MD | Sandra Moallem, MD

PGY-4: Michael Layne, MD | Maggie Williams, MD | Alisha Young, MD

Recent Graduates: Jason Myrmoe, MD | Ellen Peterman, MD | Joy Ricasa, MD

Combined FM/IM PGY-1

Yasir Ahmed, MD

Hobbies: My hobbies include playing and watching cricket, traveling throughout the US and across the world, and enjoying Urdu poetry.

Favorite books: Mirrors of the Soul by Kahlil Gibran.

Favorite quotes: “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration” - Thomas Edison

Interesting facts:My first time driving my brother’s Harley Davidson bike, I crashed it and completely totaled the bike. Luckily I survived!

-During my undergraduate years, I starred in a short film and played the role of a local gang leader.

-I paid off school through a variety of odd jobs that include being a chef, cab driver, KFC branch manager, Yahoo tech support representative, and a real estate agent.

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Prasheeda Bremjit, MD

Undergraduate Studies: Rice University, BA in Psychology

Hometown: Yakima, WA

Why EVMS? I chose EVMS because I thought that the Combined FM/IM program was a good fit for me. I am very interested in primary care and I liked the idea of doing family medicine but also having the solid foundation in inpatient medicine that internal medicine offers. Also all the people I met at EVMS seemed really happy with their residency choice and it seemed like a great place to be!

Hobbies: Reading mystery novels, watching Hindi movies, hanging out with friends

Favorite Books: Anything by Mary Higgins Clark or James Patterson

Favorite Quotes: “Be the change you want to see in the world” –Mahatma Gandhi

Interesting Facts: I have a twin sister who is in medical school:

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Sue Murray, MD

Undergraduate Studies: Visual Media & Technology

Hometown: Fort Valley, VA

Why EVMS?: Hampton Roads is a great place to live, and, perhaps more importantly, EVMS is a great place to train. As a student here, I had the benefit of experiencing firsthand the quality of training in the Combined Program, both in the faculty members who have graduated and come back as teachers and mentors, and in the residents I have watched progress through the program. Pairing the breadth of family medicine with the depth of internal medicine generates doctors with unparalleled flexibility and skill in practice. The patient population in Hampton Roads is unquestionably diverse and challenging, and the structure of the Combined Program in that setting provides both a solid foundation in the basics of primary care as well as ample opportunity to experience medical rarities. On top of it all, the Combined residents are some of the friendliest, most enthusiastic people I’ve ever worked with.  Plus the beach is a nice asset, and you’re bound to make friends who have boats…

Hobbies: fishing and fly tying, hiking, surfing, running, skiing, tennis, horseback riding, graphic design, traveling, reading, most anything on the beach, hanging with family

Favorite Books: East of Eden, War and Peace, 100 Years of Solitude, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Brothers Karamozov, Cutting for Stone

Interesting Facts: I was a 3D-animator and special effects artist before I went to medical school.

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Combined FM/IM PGY-2

Jessica Bowers, MD

Undergraduate: Chemistry

Hometown: Hampton, VA

Why EVMS? EVMS has an excellent hospital in a great location. I truly fell in love with the Combined Program. It is my dream to practice Family and Internal Medicine. This program allows me to train in both of these fields. At the completion of my residency, I hope to practice locally in the field of primary care.

Hobbies: Jogging and hanging out with friends and family

Interesting Facts: This is a picture of my sister and me. I am wearing the glasses.  She went to EVMS for medical school and recommended that I complete my residency at here train at EVMS given her positive experiences as a medical student, working alongside the residency training physicians.

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Carol Dwan, MD

Why EVMS? I want to be a primary care doctor and spend my life doing outpatient preventative medicine. People often think primary care is very simple, that family doctors see only scrapes, bruises, and sore throats.  But primary care doctors are where people could present for any stage of any complaint. I want to be confident in basic assessment, stabilization and triage of anyone who comes to me on the street: my neighbors, men, women, the elderly, pregnant ladies, children, etc.  But I want more than just breadth of training; I wanted more detail in my training, more exposure to rare diseases so they would be in my differential. I feel that this program will make me extremely versatile.

Hobbies: Spending time with family and friends, cooking, running, guitar, singing.

Favorite Books: 1984, Brave New World, Welcome to the Monkey House, Sometimes a Great Notion, Siddhartha, One flew over the cuckoo’s nest, One hundred years of solitude, The Giver, Amusing ourselves to death.

Interesting Facts: I have never liked coffee.

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John Snellings, MD

Undergraduate Studies: Biology, German Language and Literature

Hometown: Chesapeake, VA

Why EVMS?

I chose the Combined program because I was able to see first-hand the excellent training our residents receive in both the inpatient and outpatient settings, well on their way to becoming extremely adept primary care physicians. Whenever I worked with combined residents, they were always friendly, very competent, and held in high regard by the rest of the school—including the off-service rotations!  The opportunity to work with excellent FM and IM attending physicians, continue to use a fully-integrated EMR system, and the added bonus of being able to stay close to my family and friends are just a few of the additional reasons this program was my top choice.

Hobbies:

Reading, fantasy sports, golf, athletic training, travel, poker

Favorite Books:

To Kill a Mockingbird, Moneyball, The Threepenny Opera, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The House of God, One Hundred Years of Solitude

Favorite Quotes:

"A king may move a man, a father may claim a son, but remember that even when those who move you be kings, or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say, 'but I was told by others to do thus.' Or that, 'virtue was not convenient at the time.' This will not suffice. Remember that."

Interesting Facts:

• family originally from New York City—subsequently, I am a diehard Yankees fan
• was a classical radio DJ in high school

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Combined FM/IM PGY-3

Dan Dawson, MD

Undergraduate Studies: Exercise Physiology

Hometown: Tilbury, Ontario, Canada

Why EVMS? I chose EVMS because of the combined FM/IM residency program. Primary care medicine is my passion. I believe this program trains physicians that will be part of the solution to improved healthcare for everyone. Also, my wife and baby really like the beach.

Hobbies: hockey, running, piano, church

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Mechelle Elosiebo, MD

Undergraduate Studies: Food Science and Technology / Spanish: Hispanic Studies

Hometown: Memphis, TN

Why EVMS? Throughout medical school I knew I wanted to practice international medicine in a district hospital where I would likely be the only doctor for hundreds of miles. As I finished my 3^rd year of school, I realized that I loved obstetrics and internal medicine. I wanted the added skills that internal medicine would provide.

Hobbies: I LOVE to travel around the world, I LOVE to spent time studying about Jesus, Tennis, Reading, Music, learning foreign languages and about other cultures, and definitely hanging out with friends!

Interesting Facts: I visited Monte Carlo where the Masters Semi-Finals were held and where Nadal faced off with Federer. The Prince of Monaco’s funeral was the day before the match and the city almost cancelled the match so they could close off the city for mourning. The day of the match I traveled from France to Monaco and waited in the rain for 6 hrs waiting for the rain to stop. The match was great and luck always throws me into situations where it all works out.

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Sandra Moallem, MD

Undergraduate Studies: In Argentina when you graduate from high school you go straight to undergraduate school. After high school I attended the Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Hometown: I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When I finished medical school I relocated to Israel where I practiced medicine. After practicing for three years, I relocated to the United States. I have been in Virginia since 2008. I passed all the requirements for licensure in this country and I entered residency to continue my desire to be a family medicine / internal medicine physician.

Why EVMS? Because it's a great institution, with a lot of prestige and one of two that offers such a wonderful combined program

Hobbies: Listening to music, reading, rollerblading, and spending time with family and friends.

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Combined FM/IM PGY-4

(Chief Residents)

Michael Layne, MD

Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia

Hometown: Norfolk, Virginia

Why EVMS? Enthusiastic about the breadth of the Combined Residency and also because it's home to me.

Hobbies: Running, Swimming, Biking, Music

Interesting Facts: Studied abroad in UK for six months as an Undergrad.

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Margaret (Maggie) Williams, MD

Undergraduate Studies: Old Dominion University: Biology / Nuclear Medicine Technology

Hometown: Chesapeake, Virginia

Why EVMS? I love the Hampton roads area, and so I've done my undergraduate, medical, and current residency training here. Lucky for me that one of the 2 combined internal medicine and family medicine programs is located here.

Hobbies: Gardening, Reading, Movies, Hiking, Biking.

Interesting Facts: We have 355 gallons of water in my condo - contained in 4 large fishtanks. Of that number 125 gallons are devoted to 9 gold fish and 1 koi. The fish are spoiled rotten.

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Alisha Young, MD

Undergraduate Studies: Rice University in Houston, Texas Biochemistry/minor in management

Hometown: Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, home of the Oilers (ps. There is only one public high school in town. :)

Why EVMS? Because my mom said so. Seriously. I was on my way to become a trauma surgeon, when my mom, an RN pointed out that I have far too many interests - both inside and outside of medicine, to spend the rest of my life in an OR. From there, it was not a far stretch to the Combined program. The Combined curriculum offers the breadth of family medicine and the depth of internal medicine training. Another major selling point is how well I "clicked" with the people in the program during my visit. When I told Lisa, our program coordinator, that I found an apartment online, she drove by the place to make sure I would be safe as an out-of-town single gal. How could I not rank a program with this extraordinary level of love and support?

Hobbies: Working and learning something new. When not working, my latest hobbies include learning how to surf and fly (as in a private pilot's license.) I also enjoy jogging, baking (more like eating) and traveling.

Interesting Facts: I served eight years in the Army (as an enlisted soldier who went through 10 weeks of boot camp) and worked for the FBI for 10 years - can't tell you what I did for either. But I will say this, working for the FBI is one of the best jobs I ever had (right after being a doctor.)

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Recent Graduates

Jason Myrmoe, MD

Undergraduate Studies: Northern State University; Aberdeen, SD 1997-1999; University of Alaska-Fairbanks; Fairbanks, AK 1999-2002

Hometown: Aberdeen, SD

Why EVMS? I believe in the importance of a strong family physician and their ability to make a difference in the lives of their patients but I also had an interest in infectious disease and neurology as possible medicine sub-specialties. By training in both Family and Internal Medicine, I have the ability to pursue both a medicine sub-specialty and if I decided to remain a primary care provider, I have strengthened my foundation in medicine by having that extra year of post-graduate training.

Hobbies: Exercise, reading, camping, hiking, dancing, and board games (especially Settlers of Catan).

Interesting Facts: While living in Alaska, I learned how to dogsled.

Ellen Peterman, MD

Undergraduate Studies: Juniata College, Pennsylvania Studied German, Russian During undergrad spent 2 yr abroad at Philipps University Marburg in Germany and at Volgograd State Pedagogical University in Russia

Hometown: York, Pennsylvania

Why EVMS? I went to EVMS for medical school and was familiar with the Combined Program. When I was going through the process of applying to residency, I had a difficult time deciding what to do. In medical school I enjoyed all my clinical rotations and could easily have done OB/Gyn, IM, or pediatrics. I ended up choosing the combined program and now I have the option of practicing in all areas of medicine while having the option of fellowships. EVMS was an easy choice since I loved my clinical rotations, excellent learning environment and the outstanding teaching attendings.

Hobbies: I enjoy traveling, hiking, jogging and cooking

Interesting Facts: I did the 71 meter bridge bungy jump at Skippers Canyon in Queenstown, New Zealand

Jocelyn (Joy) Ricasa, MD

Undergraduate Studies: William & Mary, 2003. Major: Biology. Minor: Hispanic Studies.

Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA

Why EVMS? The area offers a perfect mix of urban & suburban, with an extraordinarily diverse patient population. Also since the school was founded by the community as an effort to increase the number of health care providers in the area, the school itself has extremely strong ties to the community, and in turn, the community supports the school. And specifically, because EVMS offers the Combined Internal Medicine / Family Medicine Residency Program - since my goal is to be more than capable physician in both the inpatient & outpatient setting, providing care for patients of ages 0 to 100+... and throwing in some pregnant women in there for good measure!

Hobbies: Snow skiing, snowboarding, & rollerblading. Riding my road bike on the Great Dismal Swamp Canal Trail. Travelling to the Dominican Republic with SOMOS (Student Organization for Medical Outreach & Sustainability) from William & Mary as a provider in a free clinic. Playing with my cute nephews.

Interesting Facts:

• My interests in medicine include: 1) bilingual medical care for the Spanish-speaking underserved and 2) sports medicine
• I have spent time during my undergraduate years as a Spanish medical translator on the Eastern Shore of Virginia for migrant farm workers
• I speak Spanish fluently (particularly in the medical setting), but Jan 2009 was the very first time I spoke Spanish outside of the United States!
• I have had the opportunity during residency to work with the team physicians in the locker room of the Norfolk Admirals (minor league ice hockey team).

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