Stephen Akinfenwa, M.D.
I was born and raised in Kaduna, Nigeria. I moved to the United States after my undergraduate studies at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. I went to Caribbean Medical University, Curaçao, for medical school and obtained my Master of Public Health degree from Walden University, Minnesota. I’m excited to train at UConn Health, and my professional interests are in preventive medicine, hospital medicine, and global health. I recently started having interests in cardiology and gastroenterology. Outside of medicine, I love to play soccer, read local newspapers, and spend time with my family; they are my world.
Rachelle Bleck, D.O.
I was born and raised in Rockland County, a suburb right outside of New York City. I completed my undergraduate degree from Stony Brook University and my medical degree from Touro School of Osteopathic Medicine. This is the first time I won't be a New Yorker and I'm proud it's to be a part of the UConn family. I am passionate about primary care. Outside of medicine, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, trying new food, and watching good movies.
Andrew Brown D.O.
I was born in Columbia, Maryland but grew up in Woodstock, Georgia. I completed my undergraduate degree at Baylor University in Waco, TX before I went to Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL for medical school. My professional interests include critical care and hospital medicine. My hobbies are aviation, landscape photography, hiking, and guitar.
Martha Dillon, M.D.
I am from Farmington, CT. I studied neuroscience and biochemistry at Smith College as an undergraduate and got my medical degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia. Professionally, I am currently interested in hospital medicine and endocrinology. Outside of medicine, I love cooking and baking new recipes, photography, reading, taking long walks with my family’s dog and sketching.
Shruti Adidam Kumar, M.B.B.S.
I was born and raised in India and grew up in different parts of the country, but spent most of my years in Bangalore. I attended medical school in Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, India. Professionally I am interested in the fields of hematology-oncology and endocrinology. Outside of medicine, I enjoy hiking, painting and spending time with family and friends. I am excited to explore New England and start my residency at UConn!
Jessica Mary, M.D.
I was born in St. Louis, MO but was raised in Cheshire, CT. I attended UConn for my undergraduate and medical school education. Now as a UConn PCIM resident, I will be three times a husky! I have participated in global health work during my training and worked with asylum seeker and refugee populations in Connecticut. I hope to continue this work in my future career as an internist. Outside of work, I like to bake, garden, do crossword puzzles, and jigsaw puzzles.
Matthew Min, D.O.
I was born in Long Island, NY, and grew up in Bronx, NY. I completed my bachelor’s degree in biology at Brown University in Rhode Island and earned my medical degree at Liberty’s medical school in Virginia. My professional interests include hospital medicine and allergy/immunology. Outside of medicine, I enjoy playing tennis, trying out new restaurants, and spending time with my wife and family.
Aleena Nasr, D.O.
I was born in Lahore, Pakistan but grew up primarily in Farmington, CT! I went to UConn for undergrad and attended medical school at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. My professional interest include nephrology, rheumatology, and hospital medicine. Outside of medicine, I love to read, travel, and spend time with my family.
Blake Piepenbrink, D.O.
I was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. I went to the University of Florida for undergraduate school, the University of South Florida for graduate school, and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine - Bradenton for medical school. My professional interests include primary care, hospital medicine, endocrinology, and infectious disease. My hobbies include playing ice and roller hockey, watching Tampa Bay sports, going to rock concerts, and spending quality time with my friends, family, and fiancé.
Waleeja Rashid, M.D.
I was born in Lahore, Pakistan, lived in Chicago then Texas. After completing bachelors in Cellular & Molecular Biochemistry from University of Texas at El Paso, I attended medical school at Ross University School of Medicine. Having lived in the Midwest and southwest regions I am now looking forward to living in Connecticut. My professional interests include subjects like cardiology, hematology/oncology, endocrinology and hospital medicine. Outside of medicine, I enjoy painting, running, listening to true crime podcasts, and reading.
Kevin Ruiz, M.D.
I was born and raised in Melbourne, Florida and attended University of Central Florida for my undergraduate degree in Health Sciences. I received my medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean and completed my medical school clinical rotations in New York City. My professional interests include primary care and hospital medicine. In my free time I enjoy playing multiple instruments including electric guitar and drums. I am very excited to be a part of University of Connecticut Internal Medicine – Primary Care.
Ben Thomas, M.D.
I was born and raised in south Florida, where I attended the University of Miami for undergraduate studies. I moved to Boston to pursue a degree in public health before attending medical school at the University of South Florida. My professional interests include primary care, hospital medicine, and health care policy. In my free time, I enjoy running, playing tennis, and cooking.
Gerald Thornberg, D.O.
I was born and raised in Rochester, NY. My interest in health, wellness, and medicine began when I lost 80 pounds in high school through a series of lifestyle changes. I attended the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), where I received a B.S. in Molecular Bioscience and Biotechnology. I continued to push myself and others to be their healthiest selves by working as a Fitness Supervisor at RIT’s Wiedman Fitness Center. I met my husband, Samuel Lawyer, who was attending the University of Rochester, and we pursued medical school together, ending up at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Middletown, NY. I am interested in general medicine, lifestyle medicine, and sports medicine. Outside of medicine, my interests lie in hiking, bodybuilding, video games, and cooking.
Laura Victoria, M.D.
I was born in Bogota, Colombia, and completed my medical school education at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Recently, I have been working on translational research, using genomics to find new therapeutic targets in asthma, and sharing with researchers from different cultures (my favorite part!). My interests include lung diseases, obesity, and preventive medicine. Outside medicine, I enjoy the outdoors (I want to visit U.S national parks!), trying different types of food, and dystopian/magical realism novels.
Zachary Wright, D.O.
I was born and raised in Fort Collins, Colorado. I finished medical school at Midwestern University in Arizona and I’m very happy to be starting my residency at UConn. My professional interests include global medicine, public health, and nephrology. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, especially while hiking, skiing, or camping.
Rachel Zielinski, D.O.
I was born in Poughkeepsie, NY where I lived until attending college at SUNY Binghamton University. I then headed south to Lynchburg, Virginia to attend medical school at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine. My interests within medicine include women's health, nutrition, and obesity medicine and I hope to pursue a career in Endocrinology. Outside of medicine, I enjoy singing, attending group fitness classes, trying new recipes I find on Instagram, and spending quality time with friends and family.