Meet the Residents
Chief Residents | First-Year | Second-Year | Third-Year
Second-Year Pediatric Residents
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Nick Brenton
So, I am an Indiana native: born and raised on a corn and soybean farm in southern Indiana. When it came time to decide where I wanted to go for residency, both my wife and I decided it was time to branch out and experience a new place. I know it's the exception rather than the rule, but as I interviewed for my residency in pediatric neurology, I had that gut feeling when I visited UVA — telling me that this is where I'd want to spend the next five years for residency. The faculty, the residents, and hospital staff were all incredibly warm and down-to-earth. Charlottesville and the area surrounding the city are amazing. Having come from a relatively flat state, I can't tell you how awesome it is to see mountains everyday on the way to work. I am still fully convinced that the decision to complete my residency at UVA was the best decision for me and my wife. Hopefully you will decide to take a look at UVA, and if you have any questions, please shoot me an email. |
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Amy Brown
But after a lot of traveling over the last few years, I was really looking for a program with excellent training in pediatrics where I could settle down a bit. I was very excited to move to Charlottesville and about our pediatrics program here at UVA. It has certainly been different from setting up mobile health clinics in the West Bank! But UVA still serves underserved communities all across this region of Virginia and even has a growing refugee resettlement community. I couldn't have asked for a better place to train during residency. I hope you've had a chance to check out UVA Pediatrics and have found it to be as fabulous as I have. I look forward to meeting you soon! |
Welcome to UVA! I grew up in Northern Virginia, and I have always loved this area - especially Charlottesville. I attended college at Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg and shortly afterwards moved to inner city Baltimore to study at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. I entered a medical school program focused on international health and medicine and spent a total of three years in Israel. Working in a large, tertiary referral center for the entire southern region of Israel was a tremendous experience and only about 25 miles from Gaza. So you can say I have had a pretty adventurous time.
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Jennifer Burnsed
Hi everyone! I grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia (home of the Virginia Tech Hokies). While I came to UVA for undergrad and absolutely love Charlottesville, I am still a huge Hokie fan! I moved away from Virginia to go to medical school in Philadelphia but wanted to return to Virginia for my residency, to be closer to my family. My husband will be starting the MBA Program at UVA's Darden School of Business this fall. I have been very impressed by the quality of all of the residents, attendings, nurses, and medical students that I have had the opportunity to work with during my time here. Not only has everyone in the UVA pediatrics department been extremely helpful, they are also passionate and caring for both their patients and their fellow colleagues. When I am not working at the medical center, I enjoy spending time with my husband and exploring the wonderful Charlottesville community. Charlottesville is very affordable on a resident's salary (my husband and I purchased a house) and features a variety of great restaurants and cultural activities. My husband and I enjoy hanging out on the downtown mall, eating at the many great restuarants, and relaxing at home on our deck. If you have any questions about the program or life in Charlottesville, please email me! |
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Erin Chiu
Hi everyone! I am so excited to welcome you to UVA Pediatrics! When I was looking at residency programs, I knew I wanted to be somewhere I would feel at home. UVA offered such a welcoming and friendly environment that I instantly felt like part of the family. I have been impressed by the universal attitude of caring and camaraderie that exists amongst the residents and faculty here. Being surrounded by such wonderful mentors has really helped ease the transition from medical school to residency. I also love the size of the pediatrics program here at UVA. My class quickly bonded, and I feel like I am starting residency with some wonderful friends. I have been very impressed with how present and involved the attendings are in morning conferences and other resident activities. Everyone here is committed to teaching, and I am learning so much each day! I grew up in Richmond, VA, which is only about an hour east of Charlottesville. I went to Duke University for undergrad, and will always be a Duke basketball fan, even here in Cavalier territory! I went to medical school back in Richmond at VCU. My husband and I were both very excited to make the short move west to Charlottesville where there are beautiful mountain views from nearly every street corner (and the deck of our new house!). We are looking forward to exploring all the fantastic restaurants and wineries around town. We are also enjoying visiting all of the local trails and parks with our golden retriever. I hope you enjoy your time in Charlottesville, and please feel free to ask me any questions! |
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Peter Dean
Having worked with the residents and attendings while in medical school, I was confident that my residency at UVA would be a positive experience. I have been even more thankful to have been given the opportunity to stay here at UVA. I believe the program is unique in the fact that it will train me to be a thoughtful, evidence-based general pediatrician while also preparing me for a fellowship. The residents are all wonderful to work and hangout with. The attendings are also great. They are interested in your education and they seem to always be looking out for us. After I got married during my second year of medical school, my wife said that we could live in Charlottesville until I graduated and then we would move closer to our parents. Well, after three years in Charlottesville, she didn't want to leave (and nor did I). Charlottesville is a wonderful and diverse community. It is small enough that you will run into fellow residents at the grocery store but big enough to have everything you could want. There is plenty of affordable housing in many different areas of the city or county. In my opinion, UVA is the best place in the country to train as a pediatrician. |
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MacKenzi Hillard
A native of upstate New York, I first came to Virginia to attend the college of William and Mary. I grew to love the state and went on attend the University of Virginia for medical school. As residency approached, I looked at many programs, but quickly realized that I wasn't going to find a fit better than my home institution. To echo the words of my colleagues, I feel that the people here make the program truly unique. The faculty members are knowledgeable yet very approachable and constantly look for ways to make our program the best it can be. My fellow residents are inspiring and motivated, yet fun-loving and sincere. Personally, I have enjoyed my time thus far in Charlottesville. I like the outdoors and spend much of my free time running, biking, and enjoying great coffee shops and restaurants. Charlottesville offers many community organizations and events which provide great outlets to meet people with similar interests. I feel truly grateful to have been granted the opportunity to train at UVA and would be happy to answer anyone's questions about our program, town, or life here in general. |
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Lanier Jackson
I grew up in Athens, Georgia, and went to Wake Forest University (the new ACC football powerhouse) for undergrad. I went back down to Georgia for med school, and then decided to try something new for residency. Growing up in a college town, I knew that I would feel very at home here. It's a small town with all of the benefits of a large city because of the University. The program size is perfect — you get to see everything, but you also receive personalized teaching. The Charlottesville area is great. I've caught several concerts on the downtown mall, fished some of the local rivers, and played golf on a couple of great courses. I'm really excited about making Charlottesville my home. |
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Harrison Mabry
My wife Jenny and I looked at a lot of residency programs because we were not sure exactly what we wanted. UVA was a perfect fit for us. The thing that impressed us most was the people that we met during our interview. They were so much fun and easy to talk to that we knew we wanted to be a part of their program. We are a little different than the average resident in that we are married and both doing pediatrics. The chiefs have been very accommodating with our daily schedules and we have all our vaccation time together. Charlottesville provides lots of opportunites to do things outside. I like to run, fish, hunt, and hike, so this area provides ample opportunites to do all of that, a little farther from the beach than I would like, but the chance to work with such great people makes up for that. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about our program. |
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Jennifer Mabry
My husband Harrison (see handsome fellow with the bowtie above) and I are from North Carolina. I went to UNC for undergrad and then we both went to Brody School of Medicine where we met and got married after our third year. We both decided to do pediatrics and the only thing we agreed on for sure was that we wanted a program near the beach. We interviewed at lots of programs near the water and somehow ended up ranking land-locked Charlottesville first. We were so impressed with how friendly all the residents and attendings were that we just couldn't rank anywhere else higher. We have not been disappointed with any of the people or with the quality of education we're receiving. We are living in Crozet (about 20 minutes outside the city), near ponds and hiking trails, and have really grown to love our beautiful surroundings. Our class is full of really fun people to work and play with and I truly believe that God put us exactly where we belong. |
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Camille Michaud
Hi! I am a long-term Vermonter, who was lured south to the residency program at UVA Although I miss my cool friends Ben & Jerry, I'm not going to miss the frosty five month long winters in the North. Why UVA when there are so many other places I could go to get a good tan? The UVA pediatrics program fit all of the requirements I was looking for before starting out on my interview trail: medium size teaching program, good rotation overview, time and options for fun outdoor activities, and above all a great working relationship among residents and faculty. This program has not let me down. The upper level residents, attendings, and support staff have been so helpful in making the transition from student to physician, and seem to never stop teaching! If you don't believe me, come experience it yourself. Charlottesville even managed to entice my boyfriend and cat into relocating. They have both become well-adjusted to the move. As New Englanders, all three of us are avid Sox and Pats fans. Luckily, we found a local establishment that has the MLB package so we can keep up with our favorite Beantown stars. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or want to hear more about pediatrics at UVA or Charlottesville. |
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Sarah Smith-Vaniz
Hi everyone! I grew up in Gainesville, Florida, and am a huge Gator fan. After staying put at the University of Florida for both college and medical school (during the end of the Steve Spurrier era, two basketball national championships, one football national championship, and the first sophomore Heisman trophy winner), I am hoping to bring some good luck to UVA! I am so excited to have matched in Charlottesville. I love the outdoors, and have already been able to go on some great hikes in the area and go tubing and swimming at nearby rivers. Here you will find all of the great art and music that a college town attracts without the hassles of living in a big city. I live close to the downtown mall, and even bike to work everyday. The biggest reason that I am excited to be at UVA are the people here. I had a chance to do an externship here during my 4th year of medical school, and was so impressed with how friendly, enthusiastic, and down to earth everyone was. My boyfriend is an internal medicine resident, and our chiefs have done a great job of arranging our vacation time so that we can spend it together. Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions about the program! |
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Julia Taylor
Although I interviewed at many excellent programs that had the capability of meeting my educational and career goals, I can safely say that none of them would have done that while also allowing me to work closely with such a superb group of people. I actually came back for a second look, just to make sure that the incredibly energetic and friendly group of residents that I encountered on interview day were actually representative of the peds department rather than a just a front hiding miserable, overworked, and argumentative residents. After my second look, and since starting here at UVA Peds, I can assure you that the group of people that I have the priveledge to work with on a day to day basis are really the most professional, cohesive, and supportive group of residents, attendings, and ancillary staff one could ask for...the only thing missing is the beach, although the rumor is it's only 2.5 hrs away, and in the mean time I am going to learn to love kayaking the Rivanna river and hiking the many trails in the area, while my husband is happier than ever living in the land of Thomas Jefferson. We feel incredibly lucky to have found such a perfect fit for the both of us and I'm sure if you give us another few months we will come to love the mountain vistas as much as we do the beach (there really are some spectacular sunsets in Charlottesville). Best of luck on the interview trail! |
Although you can't tell from my picture, I am an almost native Floridian (since the age of 6) and a beach bum at heart (my lack of a tan stems from the fact that I believe in sunscreen as ardently as I do flipflops), and nothing makes me happier than blue skies and palm trees. So what, you might ask, am I doing in the foothills of Virginia? Well, only the best peds residency program I could find could possibly draw me away from the beaches and sunshine of Tampa Bay. In all truthfulness, my husband and I were only interested in the mid-Atlantic region (mostly because he is an architectural historian in love with all things colonial) but we did a thorough search of the area and fell in love with Charlottesville and UVA.