The American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF) has welcomed 135 resident-trainees into its 2026-2027 Fellowships class for a total of 204 active members in the program. Twenty-one percent (21%) of the new admittees are former participants in the APAF’s P.A.S.S. (Psychiatry Ambassadors and Student Scholarships) Program. Now in its third year, the P.A.S.S. Program was created to support the career advancement of psychiatry resident-trainees and medical students by introducing professional development and mentorship opportunities before the final years of residency, and by facilitating their attendance at the APA’s Annual Meeting. With one-fifth of the new Fellows having participated in the P.A.S.S. Program, the APAF’s professional development offerings are evolving into a comprehensive pathway for medical students, residents, and post-residency psychiatrists to gain leadership experience through one of the most prestigious medical associations in the world.
The APA and APAF host nine highly competitive fellowship cohorts that place resident-trainees in settings from Capitol Hill to health care deserts. The incoming Fellowships class represents 99 unique teaching institutions from 27 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and 23 International Medical Graduates from 22 different countries.
“The APA Foundation has always supported the professional growth and development for industrious early career psychiatrists and medical students,” said Rawle Andrews Jr., Esq., executive director of the APA Foundation. “We expanded our career development suite with the P.A.S.S. Program, offering comprehensive technical assistance and support from medical school through post-residency training. We extend congratulations to our new resident-trainees and welcome them into our Fellowships community.”
As Fellows, early-career psychiatrists have the opportunity to serve on the APA’s Councils Caucuses, and Committees; to run for Chair and Vice Chair of their individual fellowships; and to contribute to the APA Foundation’s social media channels and blog page. Many of today’s APA leaders are graduates of the Foundation’s Fellowships program, including: current APA CEO and Medical Director Marketa Wills, M.D., M.B.A.; former APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A.; APA Past Presidents Altha J. Stewart, M.D., Rebecca Brendel, M.D., J.D., and Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A.; Past APA Treasurer Gregory W. Dalack, M.D.; as well as Past APA Assembly Speakers Vasilis Pozios, M.D., and Steven M. Starks, M.D., M.B.A. Other alumni of the Fellowships program have achieved leadership roles within the World Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training, and more.
To learn more about the APA Foundation Fellowships program, visit www.apaf.org/fellowships.
See a full list of the members of the incoming Fellowships class:
First Year APA/APAF Leadership Fellows
- Hannah Connolly, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
- Sarah Elmer M.D.
- Clara Guo, M.D., M.B.A.
- Simran Kalsi, M.D.
- Japsimran Kaur, M.D.
- Kyung Moo Kim, M.D.
- Mindy Kim, M.D.
- Thao Le, M.D., Ph.D.
- Ui Lee, D.O.
- Skylar Luu, M.D.
- Hannah Lynch, D.O.
- Jodie Nghiem, M.D., M.B.A.
- Sakshi Prasad, M.D.
- Miles Reyes, M.D.
- Naomie Shembo, M.D.
- Aakanksha Singh, M.D.
- Dzhuliyan Vasilev, M.D., M.M.Sc.
- Julia Versel, M.D., M.Sc.
First Year Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows
- Edgar Alaniz-Cantu, M.D.
- Giselle Appel, M.D.
- Stephanie Bueno, M.D.
- Nicholas Champagne-Aves, M.D.
- Katherine Chemakin, M.D., M.S.
- Andrew Contreras, M.D.
- Michael Dinh, M.D.
- Charlene Hsia, M.D.
- Sahana Kribakaran, M.D., Ph.D.
- Patrick Low, M.D.
- Suren Najaryan, M.D.
- Daniela Sanchez, M.D.
- Dominic Schnabel, M.D., M.P.H.
- Kara Shannon, M.D.
- Abigail Shilvock, M.D.
- Arpit Singh, M.D.
- Megan Walsh, M.D.
- Gabriel Zamora, M.D.
First Year Community Diversity Fellows
- Albulena Ajeti, M.D.
- Fouad Berry, M.D.
- Ashley Clark, M.D., M.S.
- Nermeen El-Araby, D.O., PharmD
- Laury Anne Jean-Paul, M.D.
- Adenike Kareem, M.D., M.P.H.
- Helen Kim, M.D.
- Jacqueline Leon, M.D., M.P.H.
- Joshua Martin, D.O.
- Georges Merhy, M.D.
- Jamal Murray, M.D.
- Philipa Owusu-Antwi, M.D., M.P.H.
- Muhammad Saad, MBBS, M.D.
- Jaskaran Singh, MBBS
- Denise Zheng, M.D.
First Year Diversity Leadership Fellows
- Rijul Asri, M.D.
- Melody Brown-Clark, M.D.
- Daniel Carvallo Ruiz, M.D.
- Omid Cohensedgh, M.D.
- Kimberly Farmer, M.D., M.A.
- Liliana Gonzalez Cabrales, M.D.
- Fernanda Gushken, M.D., M.S., M.P.H.
- Himani Jani, D.O., M.B.A.
- Bisma Masudi, D.O.
- Isreal Munoz, M.D.
- Nancy Osazuwa, D.O.
- Carl Palad, M.D.
- Samuel Powell, M.D., Ph.D.
- Jincy Rajan, M.D.
- Meghana Vagwala, M.D., M.Sc.
Jeanne Spurlock Congressional Fellows
- Viviana Alvarez-Toro, M.D.
- CheyAnne Rivera, M.D., M.P.H., M.L.
First Year Psychiatric Research Fellow
- John Havlik, M.D., M.B.A.
First Year Public Psychiatry Fellows
- Nada Abdallah, M.D.
- Franz Belz, M.D., M.P.H.
- William Boles, M.D., M.P.P.
- EmmaRose Brennan, M.D.
- Ashlyn Chea, M.D., M.S.
- Hossein Fattahi, M.D., M.S., M.A.
- Amir Hassan, M.D.*
- Harun Khan, M.D., M.P.H.
- Jae Yeun Kim, M.D.
- Alexis Knisel, M.D.
- Meghan Mallya, M.D.
- Audrey Nguyen, M.D., M.P.H.
- Alex Rains, M.D.
- Jeonghyun Shin, M.D., M.P.H.
- Wesley Speer, M.D.
- Donna Tran, M.D., M.P.H.
- Emily Waller, M.D., M.P.H.
- Shelby Warren, M.D., M.S.
First Year SAMHSA MFP Fellows
- Bilal Abu-Alrub, D.O.
- Ngozi Adaralegbe, M.D., Ph.D.
- Chelsea Anasi, M.D., M.P.H.
- Kenechukwu Anona, M.D., M.P.H.
- Janani Arangan, M.D.
- Jamie Baik, M.D., M.Ed.
- Rachel Bervell, M.D., M.P.H.
- Yash Bhatia, M.D.
- Clark Gianni Caballero, M.D.
- Qianwei Chen, M.D.
- Elizabeth Deya Edelen, D.O.
- John Eun, M.D., Ph.D.
- German Garcia, M.D., M.A.
- Torhiana Haydel, D.O., M.H.A.
- Marisol Hernandez, D.O., M.P.H.
- Alice Hou, M.D.
- Danielle Howell, M.D.
- Oluwadamilola Ibiyemi (Bankole), M.D., M.S.
- Shammah Ike, M.D., M.S.
- Roxana Jabbarinejad, M.D.
- Vybhav Jagannath, M.D.
- Kardeem Joseph, M.D.
- Marissa Justen, M.D.
- Lalitya Karra, D.O.
- Katherine Lee, M.D., Ph.D.
- Elizabeth Magill, M.D., M.P.H
- Aisha Mamman, M.D.
- Brandon Manor, M.D.
- Rachel Mimbella, M.D., M.P.H.
- Marusa Obele, MBBS, M.P.H.
- Bianca Obinyan, M.D., M.P.H.
- Tobi Okopie, M.D., M.P.H.
- Jennifer Oruebor, M.D., M.S.
- Thomas Pak, M.D., Ph.D.
- Sahana Prabhu, M.D., M.A.
- John-Alexander Rafael, M.D., M.B.A.
- Matthew Rios, M.D.
- Jourdon Robinson, D.O.
- Aanchal Shah, M.D.
- Bahareh Sharafi, M.D.
- Nivedita Sriram, M.D., M.P.H.
- Michelle Stafford, M.D.
- Mary Sun, M.D., M.Sc., M.A.
- Percy Takyi, D.O., M.B.A
- Meril Tomy, M.D., M. P. H.
- Jeffrey Wong, M.D.
- Phillip Yang, M.D., M.A.
- Sonora Yun, M.D.
*Indicates Edwin V. Valdiserri Correctional Public Psychiatry Fellow