Program on Health, Spirituality and Religion

Elaina is a second-year medical student at UMMS. She was destined to be a Wolverine having grown up in Ann Arbor and attended U-M for her undergraduate degrees in music and biopsychology. Here at UMMS, she continues her involvement in the arts with her work in the Humanities Path, as well as an ambassador for the Medical Arts Program Artists’ Guild. Outside of the hospital she enjoys lifting weights, analyzing pop music trends and trying new pastries. She is excited to join this year’s class of fellows and spend dedicated time reflecting on medicine’s inevitable intersections with humanity, spirituality and culture.

Ramzi grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, and earned his BS in Biochemistry from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he was awarded the Chancellor’s Medallion. As an undergraduate, he was actively involved in humanitarian, educational, and religious programming throughout southeast Michigan. He is currently a fourth-year medical student and is excited to explore the intersection of faith and clinical care as a fellow in the University of Michigan’s Program on Health, Spirituality, and Religion. Ramzi is interested in pursuing a career in anesthesiology. His research focuses on the contemporary state of anesthesiology medical education and the perioperative use of benzodiazepines. He is passionate about serving underserved communities and immigrant populations. Outside of medicine, he enjoys playing soccer and competing in video games.

Mary Falstin is an MD candidate at the University of Michigan Medical School whose interests center on global health, trauma care, spirituality and health equity. As a first-generation Coptic Egyptian American raised in the Coptic Orthodox Church, she comes from a community shaped by centuries of resilience, faith and religious persecution — an inheritance that has deeply influenced her understanding of suffering, service and human dignity. Growing up within the Coptic Orthodox Church taught her to view caring for others not simply as a profession, but as a moral and spiritual responsibility rooted in compassion, sacrifice and solidarity with vulnerable communities. Throughout medical school, she has deeply reflected on what it means to navigate a visible spiritual and cultural identity within academic and clinical spaces where faith can often feel difficult to openly carry. She hopes to continue exploring how medicine can engage spirituality in a way that is thoughtful, ethical and compassionate, while remaining grounded in the belief that caring for patients also means honoring the beliefs and values that sustain them through illness and uncertainty.

Diego is a second-year medical student interested in primary care. Prior to medical school, he spent six years studying for religious ministry and majored in Philosophy, Psychology and Classical Languages. He also earned a Theology degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, during which time he perceived a personal call to leave formation and pursue another path of service. Since then, he has continued to explore and express his faith through music and writing and he strives above all to have reverence for every person he meets, in every interaction, no matter what. He has great appreciation for the stepwise and often surprising nature of discernment through this adventure of life. His mission is to be a healing presence to all he encounters and he is excited to share and learn with likeminded peers in this setting. Otherwise, he enjoys practicing and teaching martial arts, going for walks and studying foreign languages.

Cheryl Hershey is a third-year medical student from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After spending several years working in social work she decided to change careers to medicine. She is passionate about maternal health, health care access and holistic health care. Outside of medicine she enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, children and dog. 

Bryce Kassalow is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Michigan. Prior to medical school he was a professional musician, playing guitar and singing for Back to Yours. He also spent a year working in the environmental conservation world, building trails in Utah's national parks and preventing wildfires in Montana. Informed by his Jewish upbringing, Bryce comes to medicine with a profound appreciation for the intersection of health and religion. While in medical school, Bryce has worked under Dr. Pasithorn Suwanabol to study the age-specific existential stressors associated with early-onset colorectal and lung cancer diagnoses. He is applying into otolaryngology head and neck surgery residency this year.

Haein is a second-year medical student from Athens, Georgia and attended Duke University where she graduated with a BS in Biology. She is excited to be a part of the Program on Health, Spirituality and Religion and is eager to explore how faith and medicine intersect. As an HSR fellow, she also hopes to learn more about how healthcare providers can provide healing and holistic care for patients and their families. Outside of medicine, she loves reading, spending time in the sun and watching college sports!

Arianna is a second-year medical student from Huntington Woods, Michigan. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a double major in Biology, Health and Society and Spanish, as well as a minor in Food and the Environment. During her gap years, she explored local food systems through work at food banks and farms and also served as a doula. Her interests include food as medicine, maternal health and the role of spiritual care in clinical practice. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, fermenting foods and arts and crafts.

Jadyn is a third-year medical student at UMMS. She grew up in Tennessee and studied Psychology and Biology at Harvard before moving to Michigan for medical school. Her clinical interests broadly include pediatrics, neonatology, geriatrics, surgery and dermatology. She is interested in humanistic care as well as the social and ethical responsibilities within healthcare when considering what is means to “treat the whole patient.” She hopes her medical career involves either global/rural health, health policy and ethics work or a combination of the three. Outside of school, she enjoys baking, knitting, reading, watching football and spending time with family and friends. She is excited to join the HSR Fellowship to grow with the cohort.

David is a fourth-year MD/PhD student with an interest in ophthalmology. He was born in New York City, and during his childhood, his family gradually moved west — first to Minnesota, then to Idaho. He studied biochemistry at Brigham Young University and earned a master’s degree in biostatistics from Northwestern University. David spent two years in France engaged in religious service and now leads the MedFrench club at the University of Michigan. He has visited 40 states and 30 countries and loves discovering new places — especially when traveling with his wife. He is passionate about using medicine to bridge cultural and religious divides. In his free time, he enjoys (though doesn’t necessarily excel at) sports, photography, baking and having deep conversations.

Sofia was born and raised in Michigan and went on to get her Bachelor of Science at the University of Michigan in Biomolecular Science with a minor in Business. In her gap year she worked as an exercise physiologist at her local hospital and did research in emergency medicine. Sofia is passionate about eating disorder awareness and education, ergonomics in surgery, and bone health in female athletes. She is excited to be a first-year fellow in the HSR fellowship program. 

Maria's desire to be an HSR Fellow is rooted in her deep interest in both religion and medicine, a desire to critically evaluate how religion is depicted and approached within medical education and a firm belief in the importance of a supportive community that values faith in medicine. Maria's experiences with the medical school curriculum have made her consider how ideas related to religion and spirituality – such as conscientious objection – are approached and discussed for medical students. She believe it has been invaluable to have peers and mentors within medicine that understand the importance of religion within medicine and encourage its practice in others.

Aja is a second-year medical student at the University of Michigan. She is from the San Francisco Bay Area, with a background in care work and social science research. Her contemplative practice began in 2020 and has since taken her through silent retreats at Spirit Rock, membership in Assaya Buddhist Sangha and completion of the Practice in Transformative Action program at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, a train-the-trainer program for people in care and social justice work. She has served on Assaya’s Diversity & Belonging Board, where she worked to make contemplative community more accessible and representative. At Michigan Medicine, her clinical and research interests center on psychiatry, addiction medicine and health equity, with ongoing research on mental health outcomes in LGBTQ+ populations. She is drawn to the intersections of spiritual practice, identity and wellbeing and is particularly interested in making contemplative tools available to people across faith backgrounds and life experiences.

Aayush Unadkat is a second-year medical student at UMMS. Born and raised in Ann Arbor, he studied Neuroscience at Michigan and spent his gap year implementing and researching prehospital trauma programs in low- and middle-income countries. He has continued to pursue his passions in global health and surgery through his involvements at UMMS. Outside the hospital, Aayush enjoys playing basketball, discovering new house music and performing as an Indian drummer at weddings. He is excited to join this year’s class and explore how patients and physicians use spirituality to guide decision-making.