Exploring Health Care Staff Biographies

Abby McDaniel: Exploring Health Care Program Director

Hi Everyone! My name is Abby McDaniel and I will be directing this year's EHC program. I'm looking forward to an enriching two weeks of learning from each other and having a great time.

To give you a little background about my experiences, I recently graduated from Stanford University, where I majored in Human Biology with a concentration in Bioethics. Following graduation I spent a year in rural China teaching English and doing community service work through VIA and the C.J. Huang Teaching Fellowship. During that year I became particularly interested in International Health and hope to pursue a degree in International Public Health. In my spare time I love to travel, listen to live music, eat good food, and enjoy the outdoors.

I really look forward to meeting all of you soon!

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Kazutoh Ishida: Senior Stanford Programs Director

Hello everyone! Thank you for your interest in our Exploring Health Care (EHC) Program. I ran the program in 2006 and I will be supporting Abby in running the 2007 program. I really hope that the EHC program will give you an opportunity to deepen your understanding about the various health care issues in the US and also to develop life-long lasting friendship with the Stanford Hosts and the UCSF Coordinator.

Outside of work, I am currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Hawaii majoring in Japanese language teaching. In my spare time I like to listen to music, watch movies and travel. We are planning an exciting program for you and we are looking forward to seeing you in the spring in California!

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Lisa He : Stanford Host

Hi everyone! My name is Lisa, and I'm a first year medical student here at Stanford. I just graduated from here in 2006 with my BS in Biology and MS in Management Science and Engineering. I've lived in the Bay Area since I was 7, so I am pretty familiar with the area. I'm really interested in both basic science and innovation/device creation. I am currently doing research in a neurology lab but am also interested in ophthalmology and surgery! I've really enjoyed traveling in Asia and Europe, learning about the history and culture, and can't wait to meet you here!

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Sebastian Jaeger : Stanford Host

My name is Sebastian and I am a native of the Bay Area, I grew up in Marin County. I am currently in the one-year's master's program through the Biology Department. After Stanford, I hope to attend medical school. I graduated with an A.B. in Biology from Dartmouth College in 2004 and subsequently went to Japan as a participant in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. ECH is a great opportunity to bridge my experiences in Japan with my interests in medicine and to reciprocate the hospitality I received during my two years living in Japan. My academic interests include public and international health and social justice issues, I’m exploring others through my master’s coursework. I’m currently working in a lab devoted to HIV research. Beyond that, I love travel and hiking the natural beauty that surrounds us here on the California coast. Come winter, I plan to hone my snowboarding skills up in Tahoe. I want to extend a warm welcome and help create a memorable visit for our future guests.

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Alex Keuroghlian : Stanford Host

My name is Alex Keuroghlian. I'm a fourth-year MD/PhD student at Stanford doing my research in neurosciences. Our lab studies the auditory localization pathway in barn owls. I'm originally from Toronto, Canada, where I went to York University before moving to California for med school. I also lived in London, England, for a bit as a child, and have spent a lot of time in Venice, Italy, where my extended family lives. My career interests include neurology, psychiatry, health policy, and international health. During college I traveled to Guatemala twice as a volunteer health worker. My hobbies include dancing, reading, watching movies and listening to music. I've been a distant admirer of Japan for quite some time now and can't wait for the program to start!

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Gene Ma : Stanford Host

My name is Gene, and I am currently a first year medical student.  My main medical interests are surgery and healthcare administration to underserved communities, especially the homeless population.  During my free time I enjoy doing many things, but my absolute favorite activities are eating and watching sports such as football, baseball, and basketball.  I was born and raised in San Francisco and am extremely excited to be able to show everyone around the beautiful city by the bay.  I can’t wait to meet everyone!!

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Genevieve Ovalle : Stanford Host

Hi! My name is Gen Ovalle, and I am a senior Human Biology major here at Stanford. My area of academic focus is national health policy, so I am excited to share and learn with you throughout the EHC program! Outside of class, I teach health education as part of a research project with the Stanford Prevention Research Center evaluating the efficacy of after-school athletic programs on child obesity. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling, reading, cycling, running, and being outdoors. I look forward to meeting you and welcoming you to California!

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Paul Cheng : UCSF Coordinator

Hi everyone! My name is Paul Cheng, and I am a first year MD/PhD medical student at UCSF. I was born and raised in Taiwan, and moved to Vancouver, Canada when I was 13. After high school, I left Canada and went to Boston to pursuit a degree in chemical engineering at MIT. I plan to pursuit my PhD in Bioengineering with a focus on applying protein engineering to therapeutic devices and agents. Like most first years, I have no specific medical interests at the moment. In my spare time, I enjoy a variety of out door recreations, including fishing, hiking and various sports. I look forward to meeting you all in sunny California!

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Lauren Luk : UCSF Coordinator

My name is Lauren Luk and I am a first year medical student at UCSF. I recently graduated in 2006 from Stanford University with a BA in Human Biology. My undergraduate work focused on neurobiology but I’m still figuring out what my particular medical interests are. In my spare time, I enjoy watching TV and movies, swing dancing, playing golf and doing outdoorsy stuff in the sunny California weather.  I also enjoy traveling, eating new foods, and meeting people of different cultures. I look forward to showing you what a great city San Francisco is!

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Patrick Tokuyama : UCSF Coordinator

Hi everyone! My name is Patrick Tokuyama and I am a first-year Pharmacy student at UCSF.  I grew up in Newport Beach, California and I graduated in June 2006 from UCSD with a B.S. in Biology.  Regarding my pharmacy career, I am interested in oncology pharmacy, psychiatric pharmacy, investigational drugs, and teaching.  Also, I have studied Japanese since I was 7 when my parents enrolled me in Saturday school.  I continued my studies through high school, college, and studied abroad during the summer of 2004 at Waseda University.  This experience led me to help teach English to exchange students at UCSD Extension for two years where I worked as a conversation leader.  In my free time, I enjoy surfing, hiking, reading, playing the guitar, and listening to music.  I look forward to having an excellent time with you! 

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