FIRST YEAR RESIDENTS - CLASS OF 2011

Sarah Jane Borch, MD, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Lindsey E. Cobbett, MD, Jefferson Medical College
Latoya S. Etheridge, MD, Boston University Medical School
Avani Rana, DO, Western University School of Osteopathic Medicine
Jennifer B. Rosenberg, MD, UMass Medical School
Celeste A. Sharplin, MD, University of Rochester School of Medicine
Nicole N. Weathers, MD, Stony Brook University School of Medicine
Eva S. Zasloff, MD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Sarah Jane Borch, MD - spent most of her childhood in a rural corner of Southeastern Connecticut known for its cows and casinos. Because of a striking aptitude for putting puzzles together at an early age, her grandmother predicted that she was going to be a doctor. In elementary school, her prowess on the playground was established after attending the National Spelling Bee, despite being eliminated in the first round. In high school, she balanced nerdy pursuits such as Calculus Club and Student Council with a knack for wearing funky earrings and playing tennis. She gravitated toward the arts during college and graduated from Middlebury College with an English degree and a love of writing. After a few years of dabbling as a high school teacher, local journalist, photographer, and architectural marketer, she had an epiphany one day in New York City that medicine was her calling, finally fulfilling her grandmother's prophecy. The next six years were dedicated to post baccalaureate studies and medical school at the University of Connecticut. During this time, she developed interests in humanism, literature, the arts, and spirituality in medicine, as well as mind-body and energy medicine. Her most profound experiences have been as a counselor at the Painted Turtle Camp for children with life-threatening illnesses, and as a coach for women in prison as part of the "Pick Your Path to Health" Program. In her free time, she enjoys meditation, yoga, gourmet food, writing, painting, reading, and being outside-especially if it involves sunshine and water. She is thrilled to be part of the Tufts University FMR, live in a "wicked-good" city, stroll along the Charles River, cheer for the Red Sox, and start a job that she absolutely loves.

Lindsey E. Cobbett, MD - was born and raised in Wallingford, CT, a self-proclaimed "beautiful New England town to grow with." Yet despite the alleged charms of the small town, she somehow managed to leave her three parents, younger sister and brother and spend the next ten years exploring the major cities of the East Coast. She began in Washington, DC where she completed two years at Georgetown University, exhausting the offerings of the music department. She then transferred to Barnard College in NYC to pursue a degree in music history and theory and devote herself to playing the flute and singing. After college, she spent a year at Yale working in the otolaryngology department's "taste lab" to determine how taste perception influences disease. As well, she volunteered with Elder Life, a program that sought to improve the outcomes of hospitalized elderly patients at Yale-New Haven. Lindsey then moved to Philadelphia to complete post-baccalaureate coursework and receive a medical degree from Jefferson Medical College. During medical school she kept up with her love of music and founded the Jefferson Chamber Orchestra, a group of university musicians that perform for many campus events, including concerts for hospitalized patients at Jefferson. Lindsey is thrilled to have moved to Boston to join the Tufts University Family Medicine Residency team. She hopes that Boston will be her final East Coast destination. In her free time, Lindsey enjoys playing music, baking, doing yoga, reading, and playing chase with her cat, Kiki.

Latoya S. Etheridge, MD - was born and raised in Bellingham, Massachusetts and even though she has never been a fan of cold weather she has done most of her schooling in the Boston area. After graduating from Bellingham High School, she attended UMass Amherst where she received a degree in Biology and Microbiology. Latoya was always drawn to healthcare, but it wasn't until working as a nurse's aide at a pediatric office that she discovered she wanted to be a doctor. She then ventured out to Boston University for medical school where she most enjoyed building relationships with patients and learning how to manage a wide variety of medical problems. This, along with an interest in prevention and community health, naturally lead her to family medicine. Latoya's specific interests include Ob-gyn, youth mentoring, and learning ways to empower patients to make healthy lifestyle choices. She considers herself a down-to-earth person who loves to laugh and meet new people.

Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her family, playing volleyball, singing, cooking, relaxing out in the sun, and keeping up with Boston's sports teams, especially the Celtics! Even though Latoya may have to wait a little longer to get rid of her winter jacket, she is thrilled to be a part of the Tufts family!

Avani Rana, DO - was born in Navsari, India, a small town just north of Bombay. At just 4 months of age, she and her parents moved to Oregon. Growing up in a suburb in the outskirts of Portland, she enjoyed the outdoor treasures of the Pacific Northwest, from hiking through waterfalls to weekend beach bonfires. Some of her best memories are of the times she spent with her family traveling through parts of Asia, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Growing up, she also spent much of her free time involved in community services ranging from taking care of handicapped children at Easter Seals and serving meals weekly at a homeless shelter. At Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, Avani majored in biology with a minor in Women's studies. This is what spurred her interest in women's health issues. During her college years, Avani volunteered as an EMT as she also headed other community service activities. One summer in college she worked in a bakery in Dublin, Ireland, which also allowed her to travel through Europe. While Avani has always enjoyed diverse cuisine, this is where her passion for cooking began. After graduation, Avani continued to New Orleans, LA to pursue her Masters in Pharmacology at Tulane University. One year later, she fulfilled her lifelong dream and enrolled in Western University in southern California to complete her osteopathic medical training. Avani owes her success in achievements to her very supportive and loving family. She is especially ecstatic to be doing her residency at Tufts-Cambridge Health Alliance so that she may train from the country's best family physicians and mentors.

Jennifer B. Rosenberg, MD - has spent almost all her life in Worcester MA - what her Bostonian friends endearingly refer to as "western MA"-and has been trying to move east for years! Her one jaunt out of Massachusetts was to attend Colby College in Maine where she majored in Biology. While at Colby Jenn directed the Colby Volunteer Center, where she gained an appreciation for community outreach and leadership. She also kept busy playing the hand bells, working at the health center and researching the mating habits of mink frogs. But she is still kicking herself for not learning how to ski! She returned to Worcester to attend medical school at UMass. While she didn't live at home, she loved having home cooked meals and free laundry at her fingertips! Her favorite part of medical school was a rotation in southern Belize where she worked at a clinic and visited the rural villages, some reachable only by boat. Jenn knew immediately after her family medicine rotation that this was the field for her. She loves the depth of relationships that can be formed with patients and the opportunity to act as their advocate and motivate healthy choices. Outside of medicine, Jenn is a devoted fitness enthusiast and also loves to hike, bake (anything chocolate!!), practice karate (she's a black belt!), spend time with family and friends and play with her cute cat "kittledog". She is super excited to be part of the Tufts family and finally have migrated east!

Celeste A. Sharplin, MD - grew up in northern Louisiana as the oldest of eight siblings, all of whom were home-schooled. Music has been a large part of her life since age 3, when her mother began teaching her piano lessons. She began studying the violin at age 7, and eventually abandoned the piano in favor of the more sociable & transportable instrument. She also enjoyed playing football, riding bikes, and winning roller blade & foot races against neighborhood boys (until they outgrew her). Her summers were spent at her grandparents' blueberry farm, where she helped manage the family blueberry business every year until college graduation. During high school, she became interested in Chinese language and culture; this interest continued during her college education at Samford University in Birmingham, AL, where she took a Mandarin Chinese class and volunteered with a Chinese children's group each week. Also, Samford's pre-med music degree offered just the right opportunity for her to further her musical pursuits while preparing for medical school. After much chamber music, orchestral playing, violin teaching, and performing, she headed off to the snowy north, where the University of Rochester, by virtue of its proximity to Eastman and its international medicine emphasis, became "home" during medical school. Despite her preconceived notions about boring science types, she quickly fell in love with the field of medicine and enjoyed her extraordinary medical school colleagues immensely. She decided to become a "real" (a.k.a. family medicine) doctor during third year and is thrilled to be in the ranks of the Tufts University FMR. (Anyone know of an apartment where she can play her violin at odd hours of the day & night?)

Nicole N. Weathers, MD - Nicole has been a New Yorker her whole life. Her journey began an hour north of New York City in a town called Armonk (no that is not upstate). Her interests have always been vast as she was involved in sports, musical theater, photography, and many health interest groups in high school. She took these interests to the Big Apple where she attended NYU for undergrad and studied psychology, Buddhism, and pre-med. As corny as it sounds, her desire to help people in all walks of life coupled with her interests in integrative medicine are what drove her to become a physician. Once in medical school on Long Island, she found a wonderful mentor and what she felt was her "home" during her family medicine rotation. Not only did Nicole discover her passion for family medicine during medical school, she also discovered her soon-to-be husband Ryan who at the time was her Anatomy TA. She is very excited to be realizing her dream at Tufts, as she is able to train to become a strong family physician and pursue her interests in CAM, behavioral medicine, obstetrics, and adolescent medicine. Outside of the medical world Nicole loves to hang with friends and her hubby, knit, experience the great outdoors be it hiking, biking, or various sports. She also has a slight weakness for clothes, much to her husband's despair. Ryan and Nicole are excited to be on their residency journey together with Ryan attending Brigham and Women's for Ob/Gyn. For Nicole one of the most exciting parts of the move to Boston was the space increase as Ryan, Nicole, and their troublesome cat Naima had been living in a cozy (aka tiny) one room studio!

Eva S. Zasloff, MD - Eva moved from her hometown outside of Philadelphia to New York City to attend Barnard College of Columbia University where she studied visual arts. In addition to being an active member of the theatre and arts community, Eva participated in Peace Games, a program addressing violence through conflict-resolution in Harlem public schools. As an undergraduate, Eva spent two semesters abroad, one semester in Italy and another in Indonesia. Over the summers, Eva worked at Seeds of Peace, a conflict-resolution summer program for Israeli and Palestinian youth. After college, Eva participated in the Harvard Post-Baccalaureate premedical program while working on research projects at the Women's Psychiatry Department of Mass General Hospital and at the Infectious Disease Division of the Children's Hospital of Boston. During her medical school training at the University of Pennsylvania, Eva pursued her passion for women's health and community outreach. Having completed doula (birth assistance) training, Eva was part of an on-call childbirth support service and also served as leader of the "Teen Mom Mentorship Program." Additionally, she created and ran a funded IRB approved program entitled "Education & Support for Pregnant Teens" throughout the Philadelphia area. Eva also concentrated her studies on holistic & integrative medicine and coauthored two chapters in Rakel's Integrative Medicine textbook (2nd Edition). Upon graduation from medical school, Eva spent a year in Stockholm, Sweden where she did childbirth research in the Division of Reproductive Health at the Karolinska Institute. She loves to spend time with her husband and two wonderful children, to paint, and to travel all over the world.