Graduate Affiliates

Aliaksandra Tucha

Yale School of Art, Photo ’25
Yale College, DC ’22

aliaksandra.tucha@yale.edu
203-687-2172

I take photographs and write and hope to make that my career. Originally I come from Belarus, where I lived until seventeen until I left to international school (United World College of the Adriatic), where my life has changed forever; I still think a lot about the things I learned there. I went on to study at Yale College, intending to become a doctor and explore cinema as a side interest. I ended up taking two years off during my time here and changing my trajectory completely. I understood that I care deeply about photography and decided that this shall be my path, at least for the time being.

Davenport has been my home on and off since 2016. It’s a place where I felt at peace. It also helped me get the finances for my art and writing; I feel indebted and grateful.

Let’s meet to get some food, or go to the YUAG or the library, or take a walk in nature? I am here to answer any and all questions or kindle a friendship.

Sarah Fitzpatrick

 
Yale School of Medicine
MD-PhD Program
5th year; PhD in Neuroscience
 
 

Hi everyone! I’m currently a 5th year MD-PhD student and the head GA for Davenport. I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from Ohio State University in 2016. After 2 years doing research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, I decided to pursue an MD-PhD and started at Yale in 2018. I’m currently working on my PhD in Neuroscience in Dr. Ellen Hoffman’s lab where I use zebrafish to study early brain development and the genetics of neurodevelopmental disorders. I also see patients in a primary care clinic every week and hold several leadership positions. My research interests are primarily neurodevelopment, genetics, and psychiatry, but I’m still exploring!

Outside of science and medicine, I spend my time salsa and bachata dancing, biking everywhere, hiking, working at MakeHaven, and spending time with friends, my partner, and our dog.

Please email me any time if you’re interested in med or grad school, MD-PhD programs, gap years, neuroscience, women’s issues, hobbies, happiness, or anything else! I’m more than happy to grab a meal or coffee and talk.

Eric Cummings

 
Yale School of Public Health
MS Health Informatics
 
 
Hi! I’m Eric, a second year MS student in Health Informatics and am interested in medical tech. I’m originally from Frand, but did undergrad in Computer Science and Business in Munich, Germany. At the moment, I am working on vaccine acceptance in Chad and an independent feature film in Colombia. In my free time, I play for Yale club water polo.
 
Please do reach out to discuss any topics! 

 

Alexander Zhang

Yale History Department PhD Candidate

alexander.zhang@yale.edu

 
I’m a PhD candidate in American legal history, and my scholarship is focused on race and the interpretation of legislation. I was an American Studies major at Yale, where I was also a photographer and member of WORD. I worked in tech for a bit before grad school. Feel free to reach out!

Claudia See

MD-MBA ‘24 Candidate

claudia.see@yale.edu

I’m a 5th-year medical student doing the joint MD-MBA degree program at the School of Management. I graduated from Yale in 2017 as a Biomedical Engineering major (go Davenport!) and spent two years working as an R&D Engineer for transcatheter heart valve devices at Medtronic in Southern California before returning to Yale for graduate school. At Yale, I’m involved in HAVEN Free Clinic, a medical device start-up with two med faculty, and Trinity Baptist Church. My current interests are clinical cardiology research and healthcare venture capital.
 
Feel free to talk to me about medicine, business, faith, the best restaurants in New Haven (I know them all), how you wish Connecticut had an H Mart, etc. 

Jun Luke Foster

J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School

junluke.foster@yale.edu

Hi Davenport, 
 
I’m a second-year student at the law school, and D’port alum! During my undergrad I majored in EPE with a focus on wealth and income inequality, and was a member of No Closed Doors at Dwight Hall. In the years since college, I was a musician: I performed, studied, and taught as a pianist, and recently completed a doctorate in piano performance at the Peabody Institute (part of Johns Hopkins). But I always felt that at some point I’d pivot back toward work more closely related to my focus in undergrad, and view law school as a path toward that end. 
 
When I’m not reading law cases these days, I’m often looking for dogs to meet (like the fellow on the right, Bentley), or finding a piano to play, or going for a run/workout. Also love poetry but don’t have much time to read things that aren’t law-related these days. 
 
Happy to talk about anything related to any of the above, or anything I can be of help with. Feel free to reach out. 

Ryland Mortlock

2nd year MD-PhD Student, Yale School of Medicine

(he/him)
ryland.mortlock@yale.edu
571-244-1108

Hi gnomes,
 
My name is Ryland, and I am a 2nd year MD-PhD student at the med school. I grew up moving around as part of a military family and ended up in California for college where I studied chemical engineering at USC (go Trojans!). Before coming to Yale, I spent two years at the NIH doing research in hematology and immunology. 
 
I love playing basketball, watching movies, and spending time with friends. Please reach out to me any time about anything! I would love to grab coffee or share a meal at the dining hall.

Nazar Chowdhury

Yale School of Medicine, MD Student

nazar.chowdhury@yale.edu

Hello DPort!
 
My name is Nazar Chowdhury, I am a second-year medical student and a Davenport alumnus and former FroCo class of 2020. I was an MCDB major at Yale, got my EMT license and worked as an Emergency Department Technician, was active in the Muslim Students Association, and spent the rest of my time between bioengineering research, intramural sports, and learning Arabic. At YSM, I’m involved with Yale Muslims in Medicine and research involving the use of AR/VR especially in Anesthesia. 
 
If you have questions being a pre-med at Yale, navigating research, a scholarship, or a gap year, or anything about Muslim or spiritual life overall, my past experience at Yale college and my time since becoming a medical student will (hopefully) be helpful to you! I am very reachable by email (nazar.chowdhury@yale.edu) for any ask, big or small. See y’all in the dining hall, don’t be afraid to approach me in person either :)
 

Victoria Marks

MD student, Yale School of Medicine

victoria.marks@yale.edu

Hi everyone! I am currently a fourth year medical student at the Yale School of Medicine. I am originally from outside of Philadelphia. I graduated from Yale college (and Davenport!) in 2018. During my time at Yale undergrad, I majored in chemistry and was very involved in Camp Kesem and my a cappella group, Proof of the Pudding. After graduating, I spent 2 years in Boston working at a healthcare consulting firm. I am now in my fourth year of medical school and am currently applying to an ophthalmology residency. Outside of medicine, I like to spend my time hiking, traveling, and hanging out with friends!
 
Please feel free to email me if you want to chat about being a pre-med at Yale, life after Yale, gap years, medical school, women in science, or anything else! I am always happy to chat.

Brandon Hudik

MD student; Yale School of Medicine

brandon.hudik@yale.edu

Hi all! My name is Brandon, and I’m a 4th year medical student here at Yale. Before medical school, I spent a few years living with my parents (and dog!) in NJ and working. I was in Davenport Class of 2017 as a mechanical engineering major.
 
Happy to talk about medical school and the paths to it, primary care, good hiking and food spots nearby, and ways to get involved in the New Haven community. 
 
See you around!

Chaney Kalinich

MD Student, Yale School of Medicine

chaney.kalinich@yale.edu

Hello! My name is Chaney, and I’m a medical student (and Davenport alum!) interested in emerging infections, genomic epidemiology, and humanitarian medicine. Before medical school, I was in the 5-year BS/MPH program (MB&B ‘19 and EMD ‘20) and was on the field hockey team. Since undergrad, I’ve done research at the School of Public Health studying arboviral and SARS-CoV-2 phylogenetics, and I’m currently doing a dedicated research year developing lower cost sequencing for a variety of microbial pathogens. I also work with the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine, the HAVEN free clinic, and the New Haven Medical Response Corps. 
 
Outside of school and medicine, I love reading (mostly sci fi), working out, board games, and any outdoor activity.
 
Please feel free to reach out for advice, just to chat, or for anything at all!

Nicholas Surdel

PhD Student, Psychology

nicholas.surdel@yale.edu

Nick is a third-year PhD student at Yale. He received his M.S. in Psychological Sciences from William & Mary and graduated Summa cum Laude from the University of Florida. Nick’s research explores how people form mental models of AI, and how people respond when they misbehave. He works at the cutting edge of research designed to improve human-robot teaming throughout society. Outside of the lab, you can find him at the docks with the Yale Graduate Crew team.
 
He encourages all Davenport students, especially First-Generation students, interested in the graduate studies or networking to reach out to him. He is always willing to find a time to have a coffee chat.

Kerri Davidson

Yale School of Medicine
MD-PhD Program; 3rd year

kerri.davidson@yale.edu

 
Hey y’all,
My name is Kerri, I’m a 3rd year MD-PhD student at Yale School of Medicine. I was born and raised in London, UK, specifically in Croydon for any of you that are familiar with London! I moved to the US for college and graduated from Princeton in 2019. While at Princeton I was a student-athlete on the Track & Field team while also being pre-med, so I’m more than happy to talk about balancing classes, social life and sport! 
After undergrad, I worked as a Research Technician in Seattle for 2-years in a basic science lab studying the cytoskeletal dynamics involved in nuclear transport. 
At Yale, I’m involved with SNMA/LMSA a student organization for underrepresented minorities in medicine. I’m also involved in various mentorship and outreach programs for high school/college students interested in pursuing a career in healthcare. 
I’m more than happy to chat about anything, from being an international student, to being pre-med, to being a student-athlete! Happy to help in any way I can!

Tobi Shitta-Bey

MBA/MPH Student, Yale School of Management/Yale School of Public Health

Hi everyone,
My name is Tobi, and I am a joint MBA and MPH student. I’m from Atlanta and went to Vanderbilt University for undergrad where I studied Medicine, Health, and Society and minored in Neuroscience. I have an interest in healthcare, particularly related to health equity and access. Before Yale, I worked in healthcare IT where I led a team focused on value-based analytics and coordinating initiatives between executive leadership and IT staff. 
When I’m not in class, I work at Tsai CITY as the Innovator’s Toolkit Coordinator and am involved in several other clubs at Yale SOM and YSPH. I also love exploring the New Haven food scene (especially brunch), boxing, and traveling. 
Feel free to reach out to me if you are interested in healthcare and/or business (and how these two areas intersect), need a TV show recommendation, want someone to explore a new restaurant in New Haven with, or just want to chat in general!