browngateways

GATEWAYS ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: MEET MAXINE FAITH VERA CRUZ ScM ‘21!!!
Maxine was born in the Philippines and grew up in Los Angeles County. She is a double (whoa) UCLA grad, first earning her BS in 2017, majoring in Physiological Science. As an undergrad, Maxine studied Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in the UCLA Tidball Research Lab & worked as a barista on campus. Given her passion for science and teaching, Maxine pursued an MS in Physiological Science at UCLA, continuing to expand her research skills and studying a stem-cell mediated therapeutic strategy for DMD. Maxine also fine-tuned her teaching skills, acting as a TA for several anatomy & physiology courses. In 2019, she was notably awarded the UCLA Departmental Distinguished TA Award. Maxine fueled her longstanding interest in a career as a physician caring for vulnerable patient populations by volunteering at California Hospital Medical Center & a homeless shelter for veterans, where she led a team of volunteer cooks. Maxine graduated UCLA w/ her 2nd degree in 2020 & then joined Gateways (for her 2nd master’s degree!). During her gap year, Maxine has worked in clinical research through the Miriam Hospital’s Immunology & Infectious Diseases Department. She has also been integrally involved with our ‘22 class as an Adjunct Instructor for our biomedical science team-based learning sessions and helped establish our Big Sibling alumni mentorship program along with her fellow classmates. (Fun Fact: Maxine is an exceptional baker, putting Barefoot Contessa to shame & often provided sweets for our Gateways team this year - I mean those choc chip cookies though!). We will truly miss Maxine as she heads back to the West Coast to the University of Washington School of Medicine to pursue her MD (along with her fellow ‘21 alum who is an M1!). CONGRATS Maxine - we are so proud of you! 🐻 💉 🍪

Good luck to our ‘22 students on their final Gateways exam of the year today! You will conquer MicroID2!! We are all so proud of you! Good luck! 🐻

GATEWAYS ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: MEET PAUL (WALKER) MAEDER-YORK, ScM ‘20! A HUGE CONGRATS to Walker who’s committed to attend the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine this fall! We are so proud of Walker, who was admitted to Miller’s 3-year MD program w/direct acceptance into Miller’s Neurology Residency Program! A little bit about Walker … he is from Cambridge, MA & obtained his B.A in Neuroscience from Harvard University in ‘19, where he played for the Harvard Rugby Football Club, was a member of the Harvard Glee Club & conducted research in Harvard’s Corey Lab. (Fun fact: Walker speaks Arabic and Indonesian & taught English classes in Egypt while learning to play the oud! He also spent a few months working on an organic pig farm in Germany!). Walker joined our program after graduating from Harvard & during his time in Gateways he played the violin in Brown’s Medical Orchestra. After graduating from Brown, Walker worked as a clinical research coordinator in RIH’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit while completing a Master of Public Health degree from Dartmouth College! After graduating from Dartmouth in ‘21, Walker worked full-time as a project manager for Algorex Health Technologies leading a team to provide actionable insights on SDOH for health plans. We are so excited for you to join the Miller School of Medicine for your MD & your neurology residency. CONGRATS WALKER! 🐻 💉 🌴☀️