Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I have spent my time growing up in the Midwest and have lived primarily in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis. I can say first hand that while these three cities have an extensive history of rivalry, they are in fact largely the same city in 3 different locations. While in St. Louis for my undergraduate education I was lucky enough to meet me wife and convince her to follow me through relocations back to Cincinnati for medical school and on to Charlottesville for residency at UVA.
Why medicine?
My choice to go into internal medicine was fairly straightforward. During medical school I was regularly told that my zest for information gathering and note writing meant that my home was with the medicine team. In regards to why I chose UVA, I think I got incredibly lucky. I remember that after interviewing at a variety of programs the residents at UVA stood out. They seemed to me to be the most supportive and genuinely friendly residents I had met anywhere I had gone. We have loved our years here in Charlottesville and are very excited to spend a few more learning about Allergy and Immunology.
Proudest / greatest achievement outside the professional realm?
My family, there is absolutely nothing in this world more important to me than my family. My wife and I met early during our undergraduate years and I somehow convinced her to overlook a variety of character flaws and marry me anyways. At this point we have 3 amazing children and I’m pretty sure she’s stuck with us. I spend most of my free time outside of the hospital hanging out with my almost 3 and almost 5 year old boys and our freshly minted 2 month old daughter. It’s a lot of fun, it’s also a lot of work, but mostly fun (Michaela does most of the work, (Sorry).
Where did you go on your last vacation?
Prior to our daughter being born approximately 2 months ago my wife and I were able to sneak away for a short trip to Washington D.C. while our older boys stayed with their grandparents. We were able to check out a lot of really exciting museums, some incredibly delicious food and a Blackhawks/Capitals game. We were even able to hang out with some of our friends from college who work in Washington now.
What’s one thing you always have in your fridge?
I think the best answer to this is probably a tie between leftovers and children’s yogurt. I am quite lucky that no matter what we seem eat, somehow there are always leftovers for me to eat the following day. Additionally our children are pretty into yogurt in all possible forms we’ve found so far (pouch, cup or tube).
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
This one is pretty simple. I wish that I had mastery of a second language. I took ~12 years of Latin in high school and college. This has made me passingly familiar with Romance languages, but certainly not conversational or even helpful really. If I had to choose a language it would probably be Spanish. Though my second choice would definitely be sign language.
Words to live by?
“Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity – in all this vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us. It’s been said that astronomy is a humbling, and I might add, a character-building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.” ~Carl Sagan
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Tags: Allergy, DOM, May 2019 newsletter, medicine matters, newsletter, profile, profiles