Rutgers Rising Star Scholars

The Rutgers Rising Star Scholars program recognizes medical school students who demonstrate excellence across the Rutgers Health mission areas, including academic achievement, excellence in discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship, and commitment to our community.

Rising Star Scholars must be a student of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School or New Jersey Medical School. Awardees receive $20,000 at the completion of their first year of a Rutgers Health‐based residency or fellowship, and up to nine years after for each year they remain employed by Rutgers or RWJBarnabas Health.

Meet the 2023 Rutgers Rising Stars

Alexa Altchek
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Pediatrics
Residency: Boston Children’s Hospital

Rosemary Behmer Hansen
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Psychiatry
Residency: Ohio State University

Susanna Betti
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Ellen Margaret Cahill
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Urology
Residency: Yale New Haven Hospital

Taylor Corsi
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: General Surgery
Residency: Yale New Haven Hospital

Robert Louis DalCortivo
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Orthopedic Surgery
Residency: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Zoee D'Costa
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency: UCLA Medical Center

Jared Alexander Escobar
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Emergency Medicine
Residency: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Zhuojun Guo
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Ophthalmology
Residency: University of Arkansas

Catherine Henckel
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Family Medicine
Residency: Greater Lawrence Family Health Center

Matthew Henderson
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Ophthalmology
Residency: Cleveland Clinic-Cole Eye Institute

Mustafa Jaffry
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Ophthalmology
Residency: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Michael Francis Levidy
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Orthopedic Surgery
Residency: Penn State Hershey Medical Center

Allison Murawski
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency: Duke University Medical Center

Alejandro Pando
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Neurological Surgery
Residency: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Daniella Portal
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Urology
Residency: Georgetown University Hospital

Fady Soliman
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Cardiothoracic Surgery
Residency: New York Prebyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center

Jennifer Kho Su
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Residency: Harvard Spaulding Rehab Hospital

Siri Uppuluri
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Ophthalmology
Residency: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Devin P. Vasoya
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Read the Latest Announcement

Past Honorees

Salma Ahsanuddin
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Otolaryngology
Residency: Montefiore Medical Center, NY

Alejandra Bolanos-Delgado
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Family Medicine
Residency: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Katherine Briski
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Pediatrics
Residency: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Joshua B. Cadwell
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Vanessa K. Cedarbaum
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Pediatrics
Residency: Yale, CT

Angelika Drozd
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency: New Jersey Medical School

Adam Fano
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Orthopedic Surgery
Residency: Thomas Jefferson University, PA

Mishel E. Figueroa
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Residency: Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, NJ

Sean Z. Haimowitz
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Otolaryngology
Residency: New Jersey Medical School

Kunj Jain
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Urology
Residency: New Jersey Medical School

Allison S. Liang
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Neurosurgery
Residency: University of Utah

Alex F. Lin
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Diagnostic Radiology
Residency: New York-Presbyterian

Shane S. Neibart
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Radiation Oncology
Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital

Chaden Noureddine
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Psychiatry
Residency: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY

Kristin R. Riddle
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
Residency: New Jersey Medical School

Marlena Sabatino
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Surgery
Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital

Yash S. Shah
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Ophthalmology
Residency: New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai

Sally Tarabey
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Residency: Boston University, MA

Amr M. Tawfik
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Orthopedic Surgery
Residency: Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, NY

Seiichi Villalona
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Nathalia Arias-Alzate
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Family Medicine/A-Program
Residency Program: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Jessica Barnes
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Anesthesiology
Residency Program: Preliminary Medicine: MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, MD; Anesthesiology: Johns Hopkins Hospital, MD

Angel Chen
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency Program: New Jersey Medical School

Aastha Chokshi
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency Program: Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital

Katherine Chung
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Family Medicine
Residency Program: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY

Crystal Diaz
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: General Surgery
Residency Program: Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, NC

Danielle Flood
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Family Medicine - Pawtucket
Residency Program: Brown University/Kent Hospital, RI

Charles Hamilton
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Vascular Surgery
Residency Program: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Robert A. Huseby
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Anesthesiology
Residency Program: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY

Stephen Lieto
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency Program: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY

Margaret MacGibeny
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Dermatology
Residency Program: Yale New Haven Hospital, CT

L. Julian McRae
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Surgery-Preliminary
Residency Program: Stony Brook University Hospital, NY

Maximilian Munoz
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: General Surgery
Residency Program: New Jersey Medical School

Daphney Noel
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Obstetrics-Gynecology
Residency Program: Temple University Hospital, PA

Reshma Parikh
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Obstetrics-Gynecology
Residency Program: Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, NJ

Neeket (Nick) Patel
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Ophthalmology
Residency Program: New Jersey Medical School

Nithisha Prasad
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Neurology
Residency Programs: Preliminary Medicine: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, PA; Neurology: NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Claire Ruane
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
Residency Program: New Jersey Medical School

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Vascular Surgery
Residency Program: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY

Reshma Vohra
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency Program: New Jersey Medical School
Brandy Burgos
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Pediatrics
Residency Program: Northwestern McGaw/Lurie Children's Hospital, IL

Maxine Chan
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
Residency Program: Duke University Medical Center, NC

Steffany Conyers
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Obstetrics-Gynecology
Residency Program: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, MA

Matthew Delbert
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Residency Program: New Jersey Medical School

Ashley Dixon
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency Program: New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell

Angelica Gangemi
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
Residency Program: Christiana Care, DE

Talicia Jackson
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Obstetrics-Gynecology
Residency Program: Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, NJ

Jessica Ludolph
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Pediatrics
Residency Program: Hackensack University Medical Center, NJ

Kathryn Whitehill
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Pediatrics
Residency Program: Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, NJ

Emily Yosh
New Jersey Medical School
Specialty: Surgery
Residency Program: New Jersey Medical School

Zachary Berlant
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Pediatrics
Residency Program: New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center

Elizabeth Ginalis
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Neurological Surgery
Residency Program: New Jersey Medical School

Daniel Haddad
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Orthopedic Surgery
Residency Program: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Patrick Hughes
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Ophthalmology
Residency Program: New Jersey Medical School

Samuel Kogan
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Plastic Surgery
Residency Program: Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, NC

Daniel Levin
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Emergency Medicine
Residency Program: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Brittany Martinez
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Family Medicine
Residency Program: New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center

Travis Quinoa
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Neurological Surgery
Residency Program: New Jersey Medical School

Yekaterina Sherman
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Residency Program: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Rebecca Shipkin (formerly Temkin)
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Specialty: Family Medicine
Residency Program: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School