Jeff is in Brown University's MD/PhD program, completed his PhD on the molecular biology of aging in 2014, and is looking forward to earning his MD in 2016. He has worked on and led a variety of First Aid projects beginning in 2009, including First Aid Flash Facts, First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, and the First Aid Step 1 Express video course. In addition to biology and medicine, Jeff loves biking, playing the guitar, and spending time with friends and family.

Stephen graduated from North Carolina Central University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. While at NCCU he filled his time doing science, playing varsity tennis, and studying jazz music. After graduating, he moved to Boston to go to school for an inordinately long time. Stephen completed two years of medical school at Harvard and is currently in his second year of the neuroscience PhD program at MIT. When not solving the mysteries of the brain, Stephen enjoys reading, playing sports, and being a musician.

Karolina grew up in South Africa and came to the U.S. to attend Princeton University. She majored in chemistry with a focus on developing drug modulators for cholera, and travelled to India and Bangladesh to study the public health impacts of cholera. Given her fascination with languages and her polyglotism, she minored in linguistics and wrote her thesis on the South African township creole/pidgin languages, Tsotsitaal and Fanagalo. After graduating from Harvard Medical School in May 2014, Karolina recently started her intern year at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, after which she will begin residency training in anesthesiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. When not in scrubs, she enjoys reading, travelling, pilates, and anything related to languages.

Jocelyn grew up just south of Boston, Mass., and graduated from Yale in 2010 with a combined Master's and Bachelor's degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. She studied protein dynamics, specifically the formation of pathological tau aggregates as they pertain to early-onset Alzheimer disease. She currently attends Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and plans to go into orthopedic surgery. Before residency, Jocelyn is trying to collect as many Michelin star dining experiences in NYC as possible! 

Gianfranco graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2011 with degrees in biology and Spanish. He is a rising fourth-year medical student at the University of Alabama School of Medicine, where he is involved in the school's new Step1 board review series program. He recently completed a three-month research internship at the Universidad de Antioquia School of Medicine in Medellin, Colombia. His fascination with science and art has led him to pursue a career in reconstructive plastic surgery. When not on the wards, Gianfranco looks forward to working out, soccer, travel, scuba diving, drawing, and meeting interesting people.

Daniel is one of our most visual and interactive presenters with a true passion for teaching. He first discovered this calling at the University of Michigan when he served as an organic chemistry lab instructor. After graduating in a total of three years, he transitioned to medical school at Wayne State in 2009. During his third year, Daniel felt compelled to share his Step 1 knowledge with first- and second-year students by offering them review lectures. These lectures were very well received and ultimately lead to connections with First Aid and Pathoma. Daniel hopes to continue pursuing his love for teaching while training to become a dermatologist at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Apart from medicine, Daniel enjoys active relaxation activities such as exercising, designing apps, and striving to create.

Tiffany is from sunny Orange County, Calif., and graduated from Brown University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. As a second-year medical student at Brown, she coordinated volunteers for the Rhode Island Free Clinic and oversaw the annual "Low Yield" Student Variety show. Tiffany enjoys running, singing in the med school a capella group, and eating good food.

Katie is a sixth-year MD/PhD student at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on critical pathways involved in liver development and how these pathways can be perturbed in cancer using zebrafish as a model organism. Prior to beginning medical school, Katie attended the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, where she earned a Master of Science degree in integrated immunology. As an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota, she earned degrees in biochemistry and chemistry. When not in lab, Katie enjoys playing the violin in small chamber ensembles, reading, and trying new baking recipes.

Michael lives in Australia and is currently in his fifth year of the six-year MD/PhD program at University of Queensland, Australia. He graduated from Boston University in 2009 and studied abroad at University of Sydney, Australia in 2007. His interests are in plastic and reconstructive surgery and pediatric otorhinolaryngology. His research is aimed at optimizing osteoinduction in the context of craniofacial surgical application. Michael was a contributing author for First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2014 and is currently an editor for First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2015. Outside of academia, his interests include unnecessarily spicy food, good conversation, and travel.

Alexander grew up in Rhode Island and earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown University. After living on the East Coast for most his life, he decided to move out west to Orange County, Calif., to experience another part of the country. Currently he is a resident in the department of internal medicine at the University of California, Irvine. In the future, Alex hopes to pursue a career in the exciting and ever-changing fields of hematology and oncology. Outside of medicine and research, Alex enjoys traveling (particularly to Sweden), reading, cycling, learning new languages, listening to classical music, and hanging out with his girlfriend and dog (Wall-E).

Ravi graduated from the University of Virginia in 2008, where he studied architecture and could often be found riding or driving fire trucks as a volunteer firefighter and EMT. While at UVa, he was exposed to the impact of conscientious design on health but was surprised by how little empirical data existed to support this relationship. He is currently a rising third-year medical student at Brown and heads a new collaborative initiative between the medical school and the Rhode Island School of Design that focuses on design solutions to improve individual and community health. Ravi also enjoys cooking, reading, and sports. 

Julia grew up in Baltimore, Md., and majored in history at Duke University. After college she joined the Peace Corps and taught mathematics, physics, and chemistry in a small village in Burkina Faso. Teaching was so much fun that she went back to West Africa as a Peace Corps Response volunteer, teaching English in Liberia. Julia is delighted to be in medical school in her hometown, and enjoys traveling, swimming, and dinner parties in her spare time.

Michael is from Florida and graduated from the University of Michigan in 2010 with degrees in business administration and cellular and molecular biology. Following college, he entered the MD/PhD program at the University of Florida. In order to pursue his research interests in human genetics, he is completing his PhD studies at Harvard University, where he studies common and rare genetic variations underlying human anthropometric traits. Outside of school, Michael enjoys playing sports and is a passionate Michigan sports fan.