Nicole C. Schmitt, MD, FACS, is an associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at Emory University School of Medicine. A board-certified otolaryngologist, Dr. Schmitt’s clinical and research work is focused on head and neck surgical oncology and novel therapeutic combinations. Dr. Schmitt obtained her Medical Degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. She completed her general surgery internship, a research fellowship and her residency in otolaryngology at University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. She also completed a fellowship in head and neck surgery and tumor biology at University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dr. Schmitt’s research interest is in characterizing immune effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy and designing optimal combinations of chemotherapy and immunotherapy for head and neck cancer.

Click here to listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider donating to our GoFundMe. This will help us pay for the editing software necessary to run this podcast. Thank you for your generosity!

Hosts: Megan Wasson and Amelia Fogle
Editors: Megan Wasson
Producers: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Artwork: Harleen Kaur
Music: Bluedot Sessions

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Dr. Emily Lagergren, MD, RPVI is a board-certified vascular surgeon with Vascular Surgical Associates. She joined VSA in 2018.

Dr. Lagergren graduated magna cum laude from Florida State University, in Tallahassee, Florida, with a degree in biology. She obtained her general surgery training at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her interest to remain in the Southeast brought her to Emory School of Medicine, in Atlanta, Georgia, where she completed her two-year fellowship in Vascular and Endovascular surgery. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and finding the perfect work-life balance. 

Click here to listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider donating to our GoFundMe. This will help us pay for the editing software necessary to run this podcast. Thank you for your generosity!

Hosts: Shannon Su and Julia Byrnes
Editors: Megan Wasson
Producers: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Artwork: Harleen Kaur
Music: Bluedot Sessions

Stay tuned for our final episode of season 6, coming soon!

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Hi everyone! Welcome back to the third segment of our Moms in Medicine series. This week, we are talking with Dr. Gabriela García Nores.

Dr. García is an esteemed plastic surgery faculty at Emory (and a huge advocate and sponsor of her mentees). Dr. Gabriela Garcia Nores received her MD degree from the Universidad San Martin de Porres, Facultad de Medicina Humana, Lima, Peru, in 2009. She completed general surgery residency at NYU Medical Center, during which she did a two-year research fellowship in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Her plastic surgery residency was done at the Emory and followed by a fellowship in microvascular reconstruction at the University of Pennsylvania.

Click here to listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider donating to our GoFundMe. This will help us pay for the editing software necessary to run this podcast. Thank you for your generosity!

Hosts: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Editors: Megan Wasson
Producers: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Artwork: Shannon Su
Music: Bluedot Sessions

Stay tuned for the next part of our series!

The post Moms in Medicine: Residency and Pregnancy with Dr. Garcia Nores first appeared on WISER Podcast.

Hi everyone! Welcome back to another episode of WISER. We hope you enjoyed the first part of our series, Moms in Medicine. This week, we bring you Dr. Jacqueline Lee.

Dr. Lee received her medical degree from the UNC School of Medicine where she continued on to complete an OB/GYN residency at Northwestern University. Following residency, Dr. Lee completed her Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Emory Reproductive Center. Jacqueline Lee, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at Emory Reproductive Center. This week, we speak with Dr. Lee about her experience with pregnancy and parenthood during her fellowship years, and navigating job negotiations with a family and family planning in mind.

Click here to listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider donating to our GoFundMe. This will help us pay for the editing software necessary to run this podcast. Thank you for your generosity!

Hosts: Megan Wasson and Shannon Su
Editors: Megan Wasson
Producers: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Artwork: Shannon Su
Music: Bluedot Sessions

The post Moms in Medicine: Balance with Dr. Lee first appeared on WISER Podcast.

Hi everyone! Welcome back to The WISER Podcast after our mid-season break. We are super excited to start this new series, called Moms in Medicine, to share with you the stories from our wonderful guests about residency, motherhood, and family as busy surgeons.

Our first guest is Dr. Melika Zarei Deaton. Dr. Deaton attended medical school at the Virginia Tech Carillon School of Medicine and has been at Emory for plastic surgery residency. She is currently a PGY5 and shares with us stories about her first pregnancy during residency, navigating a surgical residency as a mother, and her tips and tricks for others who may be in her shoes soon.

P.S. Listen to the very end for a surprise! Congrats, Dr. Deaton, and thank you for sharing this exciting news with us.

Click here to listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider donating to our GoFundMe. This will help us pay for the editing software necessary to run this podcast. Thank you for your generosity!

Hosts: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Editors: Megan Wasson
Producers: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Artwork: Shannon Su
Music: Bluedot Sessions

Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

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In this episode, we are honored to have Dr. Jennifer Kawwass with us on the podcast. Dr. Kawwass is joined by President and OBGYN hopeful Megan Wasson and Vice-President Rachel Holstein. Dr. Kawwass speaks with our team about the field of REI, the influence of social media on her patients, and her work in advocating for patients and residents.

Among her numerous roles and responsibilities, she serves as the division director of Reproductive Endocrinology at Emory University and director of the Emory Reproductive Center. Dr. Kawwass obtained her undergraduate degree at Davidson College where she split her time between studies and a division I sport. She went on to medical school in her home state of Virginia at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and found her way to Atlanta for residency and fellowship training. She has received many accolades along the way including her role as Chief Resident and guest researcher for the CDC as well as her current engagements at the national level with the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).

Click here to listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Hosts: Megan Wasson and Rachel Holstein
Editors: Grace Nguyen and Megan Wasson
Producers: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Artwork: Shannon Su
Music: Bluedot Sessions

The post On Family Building & Wearing Hats with Dr. Kawwass first appeared on WISER Podcast.

On this episode, president Shannon Su and president emeritus Elizabeth Rieger are honored to host Dr. Betsy Grunch on the WISER podcast. Dr. Grunch is a neurosurgeon, mom, and “medfluencer” who speaks with us about her insane balancing act of being a mom and a physician, working social media, and what it’s like to be a physician in the spotlight.

Dr. Grunch is an esteemed Neurosurgeon and physician shareholder at the Longstreet Clinic, in Gainesville, Georgia, where she operates at both the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, and the Gainesville Surgical Center. She is a Georgia Native and attended the University of Georgia for her undergraduate degree, and the Medical College of Georgia for medical school. She then attended Duke University for her residency in Neurosurgery, and then spine fellowship. Dr. Grunch is also known as “Lady Spine Doc” on social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok, where she has almost 2 million followers!

Click here to listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Hosts: Shannon Su and Elizabeth Rieger
Editors: Julia Byrnes
Producers: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Artwork: Shannon Su
Music: Bluedot Sessions

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Welcome to episode 3 of season 6! In this episode, presidents Shannon and Megan speak with Dr. Jennifer Gross about her journey to becoming a head and neck surgeon and the intrigue of head and neck surgery.

Dr. Jennifer Gross is an Assistant Professor in Otolaryngology in the division of Head and Neck Surgery at Emory University. She is an Emory University School of Medicine graduate! Before attending medical school, she was awarded a national research scholarship to work at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She also interned as a public health inspector at the Beijing Centers for Disease Control, China. Dr. Gross completed her otolaryngology residency at Washington University in St. Louis and her fellowship in head and neck oncologic surgery at the University of Miami. She has authored multiple research publications and book chapters.

Hosts: Megan Wasson, Shannon Su
Editors: Grace Nguyen
Producers: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Artwork: Shannon Su
Music: Bluedot Sessions

Stay tuned for our next episode!

The post S6E3:On Head & Neck Surgery and Work-Life Balance with Dr. Jennifer Gross first appeared on WISER Podcast.

In this episode, our chief editor extraordinaire, Grace, hosts Dr. McKenzie Hollon on the WISER podcast. After many seasons of speaking with surgeons at the table, we figured it was about time to go beyond the drape, and there is no better person than Dr. Hollon to do that with us. She provides a peek into the wonderful world behind the drape, what it’s like to work and train as a cardiac anesthesiologist at a level one trauma center, and her foray into the realm of anesthesia education.

Dr. Hollon is an esteemed faculty member in the Department of Anesthesiology at Emory University Hospital who specializes in Cardiac Anesthesia. She is also the vice chair for education in the department of anesthesiology. Dr. Hollon obtained her undergraduate degree at Auburn University, and her medical degree from Louisiana State University. She completed both her residency and cardiac fellowship at Emory, and she currently serves as the Vice Chair of Education of Emory’s Anesthesia department.

Hosts: Grace Nguyen
Editors: Grace Nguyen, Megan Wasson
Producers: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Artwork: Harleen Kaur
Music: Bluedot Sessions

Stay tuned for our next episode!

The post S6E2: Behind the Drape with Dr. Hollon first appeared on WISER Podcast.

Welcome to season 6! In this episode, newly minted presidents Shannon Su and Megan Wasson interview Dr. Angela Cheng, a Plastic and Reconstructive Microsurgeon at Emory. Dr. Cheng provides insight into her experience as a woman in largely male-dominated fields, the significance of mentorship, and the importance of standing up for yourself and asking for what you deserve.

Dr. Cheng is an esteemed faculty in the Plastic Surgery Department at Emory University who specializes in breast reconstruction, microsurgery, lymphedema surgery, and body contouring. She is also Chief of Plastic Surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital and Assistant Program Director for the Plastic Surgery Residency Program at Emory. Dr. Cheng obtained both her undergraduate and medical degree from the University of Florida. She completed her general surgery residency at the University of Texas-Houston, followed by plastic surgery residency at the University of Virginia and a fellowship in breast and microsurgery at UT Southwestern.

Click here to listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Hosts: Shannon Su, Megan Wasson
Editors: Grace Nguyen, Jennifer Wang, Julia Byrnes, Shannon Su
Producers: Shannon Su and Megan Wasson
Artwork: Shannon Su
Music: Bluedot Sessions

Stay tuned for our next episode!

The post S6E1: Dr. Angela Cheng, on Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (and Asking for What You Deserve) first appeared on WISER Podcast.