Observership Experiences

2026-2027 Observership Awardees

Mentee	Mentee Institution	Mentor	Mentor Institution
Ursula Biba, BS	UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine	Severine Cao, MD	University of Michigan Medical School
Aaliyah Bourne, MPH	Florida State University College of Medicine	Amy McMichael, MD	Wake Forest University
Nevian Brown, MS	Loyola Stritch School of Medicine	Roopal Kundu, MD	Northwestern University
Kelly Centeno, BA	Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell	Eva Kerby, MD, FAAD	Weill Cornell Medicine
Aditya Dutt, BS	Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University	John Trinidad, MD, MPH	Massachusetts General Hospital
Atef Fayed, BA, BS, MS	Georgetown University School of Medicine	Shamir Geller, MD	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Hermon Feron, BA	Boonshoft School of Medicine	Zelma Chiesa Fuxench, MD	Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania
Alondra Soto González, BS	Dept. of Dermatology, Perelman School of Medicine at Univ. of Pennsylvania	Rebecca Vasquez, MD	University of Texas Southwestern
Brianna A. Green, BS	David Geffen School Of Medicine at UCLA	Michi Shinohara, MD	University of Washington School of Medicine
Marc A. Hill, BS, MA	Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine	Kanade Shinkai, MD, PhD	University of California San Francisco Health
Olivia M. Katamanin, BS	Chicago Medical School / Northwestern University	Olushola Vaughn, MD	Medical College of Wisconsin
Aliza Khuhro, BS	The Ohio State University College of Medicine	Amy McMichael, MD	Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Coral Martes Villalobos, BS	Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine	María Melendez, MD	University of North Carolina
Somto Ndubisi, BS	Ross University School of Medicine	Amy McMichael, MD	Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Esther Nwozo, BS	The Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University	Rebecca Vasquez, MD	UT Southwestern Medical Center
Umayr R. Shaikh, MPH	Georgetown University School of Medicine	Hye Jin Chung, MD, MMSc	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

2026 Observership Experiences

Mentor Olushola Vaughn, MD with Mentee Olivia M. Katamanin, BS

Mentor Michi Shinohara, MD with Mentee Brianna A. Green, BS

Mentor Amy McMichael, MD with Mentee Somto Ndubisi, BS

Mentee Atef Fayed, BA, BS, MS with Mentor Shamir Geller, MD

Mentee Nevian Brown, MS with Mentor Roopal Kundu, MD

Mentee Ursula Biba BS with Mentors Severine Cao, MD (left) and Blair Jenkins, MD, PhD (right)

Mentor John Trinidad, MD, MPH with Mentee Aditya Dutt, BS

Mentee Aaliyah Bourne, MPH with Mentor Amy McMichael, MD

Not Pictured

Mentor Somto Ndubisi, BS with Mentor Amy McMichael, MD

I am extremely grateful to have been awarded the Skin of Color Society Observership Grant, which gave me the opportunity to complete a rotation at Wake Forest University School of Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. Amy McMichael. Learning from a mentor who shares my passion for improving dermatologic care for patients with skin of color meant a great deal to me.

On my first day, Dr. McMichael introduced me to the faculty and residents in the department, who made me feel welcome right away. I worked alongside Dr. McMichael and the residents throughout the rotation, which gave me the opportunity to see how clinicians at different stages of their careers approached patient care and reasoned through cases. This was particularly helpful for the hair and scalp conditions I saw most often, including central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, frontal fibrosing alopecia, and androgenetic alopecia.

What stood out to me was the way Dr. McMichael interacted with her patients. She talked through her reasoning with each patient and built the treatment plan around their concerns and preferences rather than the diagnosis alone. Some patients even traveled from out of state to see her, which reflects the quality of care she provides.

Seeing how certain conditions present and are managed in skin of color patients will help me develop a more informed and patient-centered approach to care and education. This experience will also enhance my ongoing research on dermatologic conditions that disproportionately affect skin of color populations.

This observership allowed me to sharpen my clinical skills and learn directly from an expert in the field who is deeply committed to teaching and mentoring the next generation. I look forward to carrying what I learned into my future career and using it to care for each patient with the same compassion I saw modeled during this rotation.

2025 Observership Experiences

Mentor Dr. Rebecca Vasquez with Mentee Edwin Antonio Olivera

Mentor Dr. Margaret Lee with Mentee Vivian Iloabuchi

Mentee Efia Nuako with Mentor Dr. Leandra Barnes

Mentor Dr. Julia Riley with Mentee Nikki Zangenah

Mentor Dr. Leandra Barnes with Mentee Jordan Bui

Mentor Dr. Steven Daveluy with Mentee Aditya Joshi

Mentee Maria Cristina Vasquez-Machado with Mentor Dr. Sarika Ramachandran

Mentee Mitchell Hanson with Mentor Dr. Michelle Henry

Mentor Dr. Jessica Shiu with Mentee Robyn Ku

Mentor Dr. Leandra Barnes with Mentee Brianna Camera Watson

Past Observership Experiences

2024 Observership Experiences

Mentee Laura Bou Delgado, BA with Mentor Junko Takeshita, MD, PhD, MSCE

Mentee Isaac Li-Chi Chen, MD, MPH with Mentor Crystal Aguh, MD

Mentee Luis Andrade, BSc with Mentor Rebecca Vasquez, MD

Mentee Sach Thakker, BS with Mentor Jun Kang, MD

Mentee Michaela Crawford, BS with Mentor Andrew Alexis, MD, MPH, FAAD

Mentee Jiwon Park, BA with Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD

Mentee Josephine Pyles, BS with Mentor Amy McMichael, MD

Mentee Aliyah King, BA with Mentor Monica Li, MD

Mentee Dominique Revan with Woolery-Lloyd, MD

Mentee Oluwadamilola Oke with Mentor Andrew Alexis, MD, MPH, FAAD

Mentee Emmanuella Asabor with Dr. Sotonye Imadojemu

2023 Observership Experiences

Mentee Janeth Campbell, MS with mentor Cheryl Burgess, MD, FAAD

Mentee Christine Akoh, MD, PhD with Mentor Seemal Desai, MD, FAAD

Mentee Kristin Tissera with mentor Nicole Gunasekera, MD, MBA, FAAD

Mentee Renee Haughton, MD with Mentor Andrew Alexis, MD, MPH, FAAD

Mentee Charissa Obeng-Nyarko, MS with mentor Brandi Kenner-Bell, MD, FAAD

Mentee Nia James with Mentor Lynn McKinley-Grant, MD, FAAD

Mentee Harry Liu, MD with Mentor Michi Shinohara, MD,

Mentee Alexander Bang, BS with Mentor Bernice Kwong, MD, FAAD

Mentee Ogechi Ezemma with Mentor Saakshi Khattri, MD

Mentee Alicia Edwards, MS with Mentor Adam Friedman, MD, FAAD

2022 Observership Experiences

Mentee Melissa Alfredo, MD with Mentor Cheri Frey, MD, FAAD

Mentee Leandra Barnes, MD with Mentor Ginette A. Okoye, MD

Mentee Pauline Flaum-Dunoyer with Mentor Andrew F. Alexis, MD,

Mentee Melissa Alfredo, MD with Mentor Cheri Frey, MD, FAAD

Mentee Preetha Kamath, MD with Mentor Lynn Cornelius, MD

Mentee Jennifer Laborada, BS with Mentor Mark Lebwohl, MD

Mentee Jazmin Newton with Mentor Susan Taylor, MD

Mentee Aderonke Obayomi, MD, MPH with Mentor Elyse Love, MD

Mentee Ogechukwu Opaigbeogu, BS with Mentor Valerie Callender, MD, FAAD

Mentee Deborah Paul, MD with Mentor Sotonye Imadojemu, MD

Mentee Krystina Quow, MD with Mentor Ginette A. Okoye, MD

Mentee Nicole Trepanowski, BS with Mentor Rebecca Hartman, MD, MPH