Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I grew up in a small town called Fredon in the Northwest corner of New Jersey. People are usually surprised to hear that NJ is the “Garden State” but my hometown truly fits this description. I chose a liberal arts education and went to Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA for my undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Public Health. I came back to NJ for medical school at Rutgers (formerly UMDNJ) Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Since then, I’ve been a Virginian as I completed my internal medicine residency at UVA in 2016 and have now completed gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. I am very excited to return to Charlottesville this summer to join the UVA Gastroenterology clinical faculty as an assistant professor.
Why healthcare?
My father is a retired pathologist and so I was exposed to medicine early. Throughout college, I knew I wanted to be a physician and volunteered as an EMT to gain clinical experience. In medical school, I enjoyed my medicine and general surgery rotations and when I did an gastroenterology elective, I knew it was the perfect fit. I enjoy both the procedural aspect and longitudinal patient care and look forward to incorporating teaching into my practice.
What brings you to Charlottesville?
My wife (Abby Kumral) and I were in the same medical school class. When it was time to apply for residency, we did the couples match — Pediatrics for her and medicine for me. During the interview trail, both UVA and Charlottesville stood out and we enjoyed our time in Charlottesville during residency. Abby practices general pediatrics at UVA Northridge Pediatrics and we are both very excited to settle down in Charlottesville and call it home.
What do you do in your spare time?
Abby and I really enjoy spending time outdoors and going on scenic day hikes. When we are not hiking, I like to enjoy a good novel (some of my favorites: Cutting for Stone, The Nightingale, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, The Gentleman of Moscow). I 
also enjoy watching college basketball and the NBA (rooting for another great ‘Hoos season!)
Favorite places to travel?
My parents are originally from Istanbul, Turkey and I have always enjoyed visiting family and traveling in Turkey. Recently, we have done hiking trips to several national parks including: Zion, Arches, and Canyonlands in Utah; Grand Canyon in AZ; Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon in CA, and most recently Great Smoky Mountains in NC and TN.
What about you would surprise us?
My first language was actually Turkish and I learned English later in pre-school. I still am fluent in speaking Turkish which is useful when I talk to my family abroad, intermittently with patient care, but mostly when you need good baklava.
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