Match Day 2019

Published March 15, 2019 This content is archived.

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story by bill bruton and dirk hoffman

Medical students in the University at Buffalo’s Class of 2019 learned where they will train in residency at Match Day, a rite of passage for prospective physicians.

The event was conducted March 15 at the Statler City Golden Ballroom in downtown Buffalo, the culmination of a process that began months earlier, when students interviewed at residency programs in their chosen specialties. 

From there, applicants and hospitals submitted ranked lists of their respective favorites to the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which uses a computerized algorithm to match future doctors to residency programs.

On Match Day, each student received a sealed letter from the NRMP. Classmates opened their envelopes simultaneously, revealing where they will pursue their medical residencies.

“It’s a four-year journey to get here,” said David A. Milling, MD, senior associate dean for student and academic affairs. “As simple as it sounds, these students are so different than when they came into medical school. It’s a day of pride to see them go through the process and move on to their medical residency.”

Day Filled With Joy

The Statler City Golden Ballroom was abuzz all morning. It was a loud, festive atmosphere.

After all the students were handed their envelopes, it got very quiet before Milling led a countdown from 10.

Once the students opened their envelopes, all the emotions flooded out.

There were tears of joy, hugs, calls to relatives, cellphone photos with family and fellow students and an overall sense of relief and accomplishment.

“It’s pretty emotional. I’m not really a sappy guy, but I almost teared up. My heart was pounding,” said Samuel Jo, who matched into an internal medicine residency at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Connor Arquette had similar feelings.

“The past week’s been a little nerve-wracking. Fortunately I had some rotations to distract me,” said Arquette, who served as president of Polity during his second year.

Arquette matched to a plastic and reconstructive surgery residency at Stanford University.

“I’m very, very excited. Overjoyed,” Arquette said.

The Waiting Was the Hardest Part

Kailyn Vera Rigby feels like her life’s been on hold for awhile.

“It’s hard making future plans until you’re holding this letter in your hand,” Rigby said. “Now I feel like I can move forward. I’ve been in limbo until now. I'm excited to find a place to live.”

Rigby matched to a family medicine residency at the University of Rochester/Highland Hospital of Rochester.

Rachel Lee La Rosa has had similar feelings.

“Everyone keeps asking ‘where are you going, what’s next?’”

Now she has an answer. La Rosa matched to a neurology residency at the University of Maryland in Baltimore.

“It’s surreal. It’s going to sink in later,” La Rosa said.

Kevin Hannon matched to his first choice — an internal medicine residency at the University of Rochester — which just happens to be located in his hometown.

“I’m from Rochester. I’m excited to go home,” Hannon said.

He is also relieved.

“It was a very stressful process. It’s been nerve-wracking and exciting,” Hannon said.

Joseph Iluore also matched to his first choice — an emergency medicine residency at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas — but it’s far away from his hometown.

“I’m very happy. I rotated there and l completely loved it. It’s far from home — being from New York City — but that’s totally fine,” Illuore said.

42 Students Staying on at UB for Residency

More than one-fourth of the class — 42 students — have chosen to stay at UB for advanced training.

One of those students who is staying at UB is Owen Mayer, who matched to an anesthesiology residency.

Mayer was in attendance with his wife, Jenny, and their children, Hudson, 7, Theo, 5, and Charlotte, 3.

“I feel good. We don’t have to pack up and move,” Mayer said.

All 153 fourth-year medical students are listed below with their future medical specialties and the locations of their residency matches. 

Name Medical Specialty Program Location
Laura Kay Ackerman Psychiatry Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Aaron Adams Emergency Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Aarti Mahesh Agarwal Otolaryngology Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University/TJUH, Philadelphia, PA
Jeffrey Paul Aldinger Otolaryngology Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA
Krist Michael Aploks General Surgery Danbury Hospital, Danbury, CT
Connor Arquette Plastic Surgery (Integrated) Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Matthew Erick Asirwatham Internal Medicine University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA
Remon S. Bebawee Internal Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Brandon Bentley Family Medicine Florida State University College of Medicine/Lee Memorial Health System, Fort Myers, FL
Emily Benton Emergency Medicine New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY
Penpa Bhuti Internal Medicine Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Elmhurst), Elmhurst, NY
Max Blumberg Medicine-Prelim
Ophthalmology
Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY
Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY
Joel Braverman General Surgery Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Mark J. Bucsek Obstetrics-Gynecology State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY
Sarah Budik General Surgery University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Lauren E. Burkard-Mandel Medicine-Prelim
Radiology-Diagnostic
University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Brittany Marie Cesar Emergency Medicine Drexel University College of Medicine/Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
Marc Chaise Transitional
Radiology-Diagnostic
Bassett Medical Center, Cooperstown, NY
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ
Randy Siu-Hong Cheung Internal Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Youjin Chung Psychiatry/Child and Adolescent UPMC Medical Education, Pittsburgh, PA
Victoria Lyne Clancy Surgery-Prelim East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
Alexander Clark Emergency Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Dylan G. Constantino Medicine-Prelim
Radiology-Diagnostic
University of California, San Diego, CA
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Samantha Davidson Pediatrics Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Catherine Jane De Guzman Emergency Medicine Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Danielle Dickson Family Medicine Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Jillian Angelina Dolan Obstetrics-Gynecology Allegheny General Hospital-Western Pennsylvania Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA
Cassandra Jordan Drees Pediatrics Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University, Providence, RI
Alison Edwards Obstetrics-Gynecology University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA
Kevin Espino Obstetrics-Gynecology NYU Winthrop Hospital, Mineola, NY
Adeline Fagan Medicine-Prelim University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Ayobami M. Fatunmbi Surgery-Prelim Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA
Peter Matthew Fields, Jr. Internal Medicine Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital/Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Lebanon, NH
Bradley Andrew Frate Transitional
Radiology-Diagnostic
University of Central Florida/HCA GME Consortium (Gainesville), Gainesville, FL
Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, NY
Mary Kate Frauenheim Obstetrics-Gynecology University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Caitlin Saundra Galbo Surgery-Prelim University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Colleen Gardner Obstetrics-Gynecology Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY
Caroline Anne Gorka Emergency Medicine Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA
Amanda Gotsch Emergency Medicine Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY
Stephanie Griffin Internal Medicine Hofstra Northwell-LIJ School of Medicine, Great Neck, NY
Kevin Groudan Internal Medicine UMMS-Baystate, Springfield, MA
Patricia George Haddad Anesthesiology Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA
Shelby Hall Pediatrics University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Kevin Hannon Internal Medicine University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Timothy Hansen Internal Medicine University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Joelle Nicole Hartke Neurological Surgery St Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ
Ryan Hess Neurological Surgery University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Tara Rose Hogan Surgery-Prelim Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Mohammad Hubeishy Research  
Joseph Iluore Emergency Medicine Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Austin J. Iovoli Medicine-Prelim
Radiation Oncology
University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Claire Cowden Irons Internal Medicine Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Kevin Isidro Internal Medicine University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, Tucson, AZ
Amit Jhaveri Internal Medicine New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY
Samuel Jo Internal Medicine Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ
Michael Paul Johnson Pediatrics University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Eric Jorgensen Medicine-Pediatrics University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Matthew Kabalan Otolaryngology University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Benjamin Kasper Emergency Medicine University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Daniil Khaitov Obstetrics-Gynecology Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Great Neck, NY
Nicole Khezri Medicine-Prelim
Neurology
State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY
Stony Brook Medicine/University Hospital, Stony Brook, NY
Caleb Kitcho Pediatrics University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, Madison, WI
Andrew Knapp Emergency Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Kevin Koss Anesthesiology Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Milwaukee, WI
Adam Kroe Family Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Nathaniel Joseph Kronenwetter Surgery-Prelim University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Amy Ku Pathology New York Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia Campus), New York, NY
Nirva Kudyan Research  
Nicholas Ruben Kurek Internal Medicine University of Cincinnati Medical Center/College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH
Tamara Kurek Obstetrics-Gynecology University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Rebecca Kuruvilla Pediatrics Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Rachel Lee La Rosa Medicine-Prelim
Neurology
University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Jessica Beth Lapiano General Surgery MedStar Health, Washington, DC
Mark Christopher Lawlor Orthopaedic Surgery University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Janet Lee Internal Medicine NYU Winthrop Hospital, Mineola, NY
Julie Jung Hyun Lee Internal Medicine University of California Riverside School of Medicine, Riverside, CA
Timothy James Lee, Jr. Internal Medicine University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Seth Levy Internal Medicine University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, VT
Tiffany Lin Pathology UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Rachel Lynn Longendyke Pediatrics Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Alexander Macfarlane Orthopaedic Surgery University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Erin Mandato Obstetrics-Gynecology University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Alexander James Manzella General Surgery Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ
Miriam Marti Internal Medicine White Memorial Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Owen Mayer Anesthesiology University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Stephanie Nicole Mazzawi Family Medicine University of Rochester/Highland Hospital of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Patrick McGoff Emergency Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Jasmyn Miller Internal Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Ryan Joseph Miller Family Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Thomas K. Mirchel Surgery-Prelim University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Nabiha Musarrat Morin Obstetrics-Gynecology Akron General Medical Center/NEOMED, Akron, OH
Kira Murphy Research  
Fareena Nawaz Internal Medicine Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY
Ted Nicolosi Medicine-Prelim/Sisters
Radiology-Diagnostic
University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY
Ryan Alexander O'Connor Internal Medicine University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Matthew Parker Family Medicine St. Anthony Hospital, Westminster, CO
Andrew A. Pasquale Medicine-Prelim
Ophthalmology
University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Priya Patel Otolaryngology University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Russell John Pizzo Psychiatry University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Denise Marie Polaski Psychiatry/General UPMC Medical Education, Pittsburgh, PA
Joseph R. Pollichemi General Surgery University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Alexander Pomakov Internal Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Evelyn Quist Family Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Nicholas Ravvin Psychiatry University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Chelsea Lynn Recor Family Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY
Kailyn Vera Rigby Family Medicine University of Rochester/Highland Hospital of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Christine R. Robertson Family Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Michael Rodman Transitional
Radiology-Diagnostic
Bassett Medical Center, Cooperstown, NY
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Mattie Rose Rosi-Schumacher Surgery-Prelim Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA
Brienne P. Ryan General Surgery Stamford Hospital/Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Stamford, CT
Thomas Sajda Orthopaedic Surgery University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Patrick Samuel Salemme Family Medicine Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Lawrence, MA
Ellene Sandoval Pediatrics Los Angeles County-Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA
Andrew Sauvageau Transitional
Dermatology
Riverside Community Hospital/University of California Riverside School of Medicine, Riverside, CA
University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI
Shannon Marie Schmit Medicine-Pediatrics University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Andrew Seier Internal Medicine/Sisters University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Neha Navneet Sharma Psychiatry Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Stephanie Shaw Medicine-Prelim
Radiology-Diagnostic
University of Miami/JFK Medical Center Palm Beach Regional GME Consortium, Atlantis, FL
Larkin Community Hospital, Miami, FL
Amanda Katherine Sherman Urology Lahey Clinic, Burlington, MA
Meiyi Shi Surgery-Prelim Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ
Timothy Daniel Shub Emergency Medicine Stony Brook Medicine/University Hospital, Stony Brook, NY
Neil Lawrence Sielski Neurology University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Rachel M. Simpson Internal Medicine University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Ashley Smith Pediatrics Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Danielle Smith Graduate Work  
Jillian Paige Smith Pediatrics-Research Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC
Sarah Sonenberg Emergency Medicine University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Pavitra Srinivasan Neurology Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA
Roy Stone Emergency Medicine University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine (Tulsa), Tulsa, OK
Kenneth Stransky General Surgery National Capital Consortium, Bethesda, MD
Alicia Supernault Pediatrics University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
James L. Thompson III Psychiatry University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
LaVerne W. Thompson Surgery-Prelim Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Paige Elizabeth Thompson Psychiatry/Child Psych University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Shannon Tierney Neurology University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Bryna Torre Anesthesiology UPMC Medical Education, Pittsburgh, PA
George M. Turco Pediatrics University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Frances Uwechue Surgery-Prelim University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Alyssa Marie Volmrich Medicine-Prelim
Phys Medicine & Rehab
University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Jackson Memorial Hospital/Jackson Health System, Miami, FL
Peter Wang Surgery-Prelim University of South Florida Morsani, Tampa, FL
James A. Waris Anesthesiology University of Rochester/Strong Memorial, Rochester, NY
Jacob Welch Research  
Steven Wells Anesthesiology State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY
Christopher Vincent Wilhelm Orthopaedic Surgery Yale-New Haven Medical Center, New Haven, CT
Robin Garrick Wilson Internal Medicine Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA
Corey James Wolf Anesthesiology Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Vincent Wong Medicine-Pediatrics Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ
Gabrielle Nicole Yee General Surgery University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Irene Shiao-Tian Yu General Surgery University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Jason Zayac Anesthesiology Yale-New Haven Medical Center, New Haven, CT
Yiyun Zhou Medicine-Prelim
Ophthalmology
University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
University of Rochester, Flaum Eye Institute, Rochester, NY
Eva Rachelle Zimmerman Medicine-Primary Yale-New Haven Medical Center, New Haven, CT
Felipe Jose Zinkewich Emergency Medicine Loma Linda University Health Education Consortium, Loma Linda, CA

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