ABOUT THE COUNCIL
The Health Professions Council is a group of experts in the field of healthcare and medical education who are partnering with Careers in Healthcare to advise us on how we can best serve our pre-health students.
COUNCIL MEMBERS
MARIA BAHENA
DIRECTOR OF USER EXPERIENCE RESEARCH
AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
Maria Bahena is the Director of User Experience Research at the American Medical Association. In this role, she partners with business units across the organization to field quantitative and qualitative human behavior research that helps inform the development of digital products and programs for physicians, medical students, and patients. Prior to joining the American Medical Association, Maria held various research roles at associations and nonprofits throughout the Chicagoland area. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
ANTHONY CHANG, MD
PROFESSOR OF PATHOLOGY
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRITZKER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Dr. Chang specializes in renal pathology. He joined the Department of Pathology at the University of Chicago in 2004 and is now a professor. He was Past-President of the Renal Pathology Society (2017) and Chicago Pathology Society (2011-2013). He has taught more than 30 educational courses at the annual meetings for the American Society Clinical Pathology, College of American Pathologists, US & Canadian Academy of Pathology, American Society of Nephrology, American College of Rheumatology, and American Urological Association.
KASEY CHASZCZEWSKI, MD
PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGIST AT CHILDREN’S WISCONSIN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT THE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
Dr. Chaszczewski is a pediatric cardiologist at the Herma Heart Institute at Children’s Wisconsin, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program at Children’s Wisconsin. He earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and his medical degree from the Stony Brook University School of Medicine. Dr. Chaszczewski completed pediatrics residency and chief residency at Rush University Medical Center and his pediatric cardiology fellowship and advanced cardiac imaging fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Chaszczewski has a particular interest in medical education and learner engagement and has participated on medical school, residency, and fellowship admissions committees throughout his career.
MELISSA HARRELL ROBINSON
DIRECTOR OF PATHWAY PROGRAMS AND RECRUITMENT, MD ADMISSIONS
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH
In her role at at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health, Melissa oversees key pathway programs for the MD Admissions Office as well as providing leadership in recruitment strategies. Melissa works with prospective students, specifically those from backgrounds historically underrepresented in medicine, to assist them in learning more about the medical field and the application process to gain successful admission into medical school. She facilitates connections for prospective and current students with resource groups, pathway programs, and opportunities in research, job shadowing, clinical work, and community service. Melissa has 18 years of experience in Higher Education, eight of which have been spent working in medical education. Prior to joining the University of Wisconsin, she was the Assistant Director of Student Development with the Urban Health Program at the University of Illinois Chicago’s College of Medicine at the regional campus in Rockford, where she also served as the campus Diversity Officer and held a faculty appointment as a Clinical Assistant in the Department of Health Sciences Education.
JULIE OYLER, MD
PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRITZKER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Dr. Oyler is a Professor and Associate Program Director at the University of Chicago Internal Medicine Residency Program. She completed her undergraduate education at Stanford University and her medical degree and internal medicine residency and chief residency at the University of Chicago. She developed the University of Chicago Medicine’s Quality Improvement/Patient Safety Curriculum, which has been used to teach over 400 Internal Medicine residents. She is currently co-director for the HealthCare Delivery Improvement Science Track at the U Chicago’s Pritzker, School of Medicine, which was developed to train medical student leaders in quality improvement and patient safety. Dr. Oyler also teaches quality improvement and patient safety for the AAMC Teach for Quality program, the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Quality and Safety Educator Academy, and the American College of Physicians Advance QI program. She practices as a primary care provider on the south side of Chicago. She has been the Chair of the University of Chicago, Department of Medicine Women’s Committee since 2017 and has led initiatives like increasing the presence of “Women on the Walls” and “Increasing Awards Given to Female Faculty in Academics”.
EMILY SHARP-KELLAR, JD
DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL AID
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRITZKER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Emily Sharp-Kellar is the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. In this role, she partners with admissions faculty leadership to oversee all aspects of admissions and financial aid processes for MD students. Prior to joining the Pritzker admissions team in 2014, she received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and her undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama.
SCOTT SNYDER, PH.D.
DEPUTY DEAN FOR PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS, PHYSICAL SCIENCES DIVISION
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Dr. Snyder is Professor of Chemistry and the Deputy Dean for Professional Programs in the Physical Sciences Division at the University of Chicago. Prior to these appointments, he was on the faculty of both Columbia University and The Scripps Research Institute. Scott’s research specialty is synthetic chemistry, where he and his group seek to find new and better ways to prepare molecules isolated from varied natural sources, such as plants and bacteria, in hopes of generating both biochemical knowledge and therapies to combat human disease. He is also an award-winning educator who not only regularly teaches undergraduate organic chemistry to hundreds of students on the University of Chicago campus, but also is helping to shape the face of chemical education worldwide as a co-author of the 11th, 12th, and 13th editions of Organic Chemistry (Wiley).
JESSICA VOTH
DIRECTOR OF REGISTRATION & STUDENT RECORDS
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY FEINBERG SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Jess has worked in medical education at Feinberg School of Medicine for over 16 years, and much of that time was spent directly supporting the students as they progressed through the curriculum, which resulted in a deep understanding of the MD curriculum and what it requires of students. She is excited to share her knowledge and experiences to help support the pre-health students at UChicago through her contributions to the UChicago Health Professions Council.