Step 1 Qmax Authors

Editors	Laura E. Felley University of Wisconsin School of Medicine MD/PhD Candidate	Nathan Krah University of Utah School of Medicine MD/PhD Candidate

	Nick O’Neill Resident, Department of Orthopedic Surgery McLaren Macomb Regional Medical Center	Sarah Schimansky, MBBCh, BAO Foundation Doctor North Bristol NHS Trust, UK

	Holly Villamagna, MD Resident, Department of Internal Medicine University of Nevada School of Medicine

Senior Authors	Ali Alawieh Medical University of South Carolina MD/PhD Candidate	Sean Childs, MD Resident, Department of Orthopedic Surgery University of Rochester Medical Center

	Andrew Clithero, MD Resident North Colorado Family Medicine	Brian L. Harry, MD, PhD Resident, Department of Clinical Pathology Massachusetts General Hospital

	Joseph Leanza Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Class of 2017	Paul Leccese University of Colorado School of Medicine Class of 2016

	Viral Shah University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine MD/PhD Candidate	Benjamin Silverberg, MD, MSc Fellow, Department of Family Medicine Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center
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Authors	Samantha Allen Texas A&M Health Science Center Class of 2016	Mona Ascha Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Class of 2016

	Randy Aung, MD Dalhousie Medical School Masters in Science candidate	Gordon Bae Harvard Medical School Class of 2016

	Marina Boushra, MD Resident, Department of Emergency Medicine East Carolina University Vidant Medical Center	Lisa Mask-Bull, MD Resident, Department of Dermatology Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

	Vivian Choi, PhD University of Chicago School of Medicine Class of 2017	Chad Claus Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific Class of 2016
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	Atman Dave Saba University School of Medicine Class of 2017	Flavia De Souza Yale School of Medicine Class of 2016

	Arjun Dhayalan Albany Medical College Class of 2017	Nan Du Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Class of 2016

	Ana Maria Dumitru Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth MD/PhD candidate	Colin Hill University of Virginia Class of 2017

	Quoc-Anh Ho University of California, Davis School of Medicine Class of 2017	Marie Hu Ohio State University College of Medicine Class of 2016

	Albert Kazi, MD Research Fellow, Department of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Loma Linda University Surgical Hospital	Alexander P. Kossar Sackler School of Medicine Class of 2016
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	Matt lacovetto University of Colorado School of Medicine Class of 2016	Juhye Lee University of Washington School of Medicine MD/PhD Candidate

	Will Lewis Harvard Medical School Class of 2017	Alex Liu University of Texas Southwestern Medical School Class of 2017

	Stephen LoBue, MD Research Fellow, Department of Ophthalmology Emory University School of Medicine	Xilu Ma St. George's University School of Medicine Class of 2017

	Christopher Massey Texas Tech University School of Medicine Class of 2017	Marie McKinnon, MD, MPH Intern, Department of Internal Medicine Northwestern University

	Matt Mui University of Central Florida College of Medicine Class of 2016	Ajay Nair Ross University School of Medicine Class of 2017
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	Luke Nayak University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine BA/MD Candidate	Brenton Nash University of Vermont College of Medicine Class of 2016

	Jun Yen Ng, MBBS Intern Central Queensland Hospital and Health Services	Somaira Nowsheen Mayo Medical School MD/PhD Candidate

	Nick O'Neill Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences Class of 2016	Christopher Paiji University of California, Irvine School of Medicine Class of 2017

	Mithil B. Pandhi Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University Class of 2016	Michael Pfeffer University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School Class of 2016
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	Gabriel Reyes University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine MD/PhD graduate	Jorge Roman University of Texas Medical Branch Class of 2017

	Alyssa Self University of Colorado School of Medicine Class of 2017	Tyler Sevco University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Class of 2017

	Neal Shah, PharmD West Virginia University School of Medicine MD/PhD Candidate	Elaine Shao Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University Class of 2016

	Samantha Spilman Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine Class of 2017	David Staudt University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Class of 2017

	John Steib, DO Resident, Anesthesiology Institute Cleveland Clinic Foundation	Anne Taylor, MD Resident, Department of Pediatrics Lucille Packard Children's Hospital
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	John Tedesco, MA St. George's University School of Medicine Class of 2017	Ashley Weiner New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine Class of 2017

	Don Wei University of California, Irvine School of Medicine MD/PhD Candidate	Benjamin M. Weisenthal, MD Resident, Department of Orthopedics Vanderbilt University Medical Center

	Casey Williamson University of California San Diego School of Medicine MD/MAS (Clinical Research) Candidate	Matthew Woodward Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Class of 2017
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	Christopher Michael Wolfe, DO Resident, Department of Dermatology Florida State University College of Medicine	Jennifer Xiao, MD Intern Boston Medical Center

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Image Team
Editors	Kim Kallianos, MD Resident, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging University of California, San Francisco	Kachiu Cecilia Lee, MD Clinical and Research Fellow, Wellman Center for Photomedicine Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School
Assistant Editor	Dmitriy Timerman Harvard Medical School Class of 2016

Authors	Derek Allison, MD Resident, Department of Pathology Johns Hopkins Hospital	Stephanie Gleicher, MPH State University of New York Update Medical University Class of 2016

	David Hartman Medical University of South Carolina MD/PhD Candidate	Alejandro J. Matos-Cruz University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine Class of 2016

	M. Scott Moore, DO Resident, Department of Pathology University of Arizona College of Medicine
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Illustration Team
Editors	Artemisa Gogollari, MD Research Assistant The Health and Life Sciences University, Austria	Mehboob Kalani, MD Resident, Department of Internal Medicine Allegheny Health Network Medical Education Consortium

Authors	Ali Aliwieh Medical University of South Carolina MD/PhD Candidate	Mithil B. Pandi Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University Class of 2016

Associate Authors	Benjamin Gough Lake Eric College of Osteopathic Medicine Class of 206	Ryan William Hadden University of Alabama School of Medicine Class of 2017

	Renata Velapatiño, MD San Martin de Porres University
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Biographies
Editors	Laura E. Felley Laura is from Maryland, but tells all non-Marylanders that she's from DC. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2009 with Bachelors of Arts degrees in biology and psychology. She spent a year at the NIH studying osteogenesis imperfecta before joining the University of Wisconsin's MD/PhD program. Currently a fourth-year graduate student in an immunology lab, Laura studies the interactions between monocytes and natural killer T cells. When not in the classroom or at the bench, Laura loves running (slowly), gardening, horror stories in the style of HP Lovecraft, and folk dancing (badly, but with great gusto).
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	Nathan Krah Nathan graduated from Bowdoin College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology and a minor in history. He is currently a fourth-year student in the University of Utah's MD/PhD program, where he is studying the role of cell identity in pancreatic cancer initiation. In his spare time, Nathan enjoys running, skiing, mountaineering, and traveling.
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	Nick O’Neill Nick is from Peoria, Ill, and graduated from The University of Vermont in 2012, where he majored in biology. He is currently in orthopedic surgery residency training at McLaren Macomb Regional Medical Center in Mount Clemens, Mich. In his spare time, Nick enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and visiting the local Coney Island restaurants of Detroit.
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	Sarah Schimansky, MBBCh, BAO Sarah grew up in Bremen, Germany, and graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2015. She is ECFMG certified and currently works as an Academic Foundation Doctor in Bristol, UK. Outside of medicine, Sarah enjoys baking, travelling and learning new languages.
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	Holly Villamagna, MD Holly graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts degree in print journalism, then earned her medical degree at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Now an internal medicine resident, she plans to pursue a fellowship in infectious disease and to continue medical writing and editing. In her spare time, Holly enjoys running (very slowly), yoga, and planning her upcoming wedding.
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Senior Authors	Ali Alawieh Ali grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, and earned his Bachelors in Science degree with high distinction from the American University of Beirut. He is currently an MD/PhD student at the Medical University of South Carolina. His dissertation research focuses on the development of novel and translational site-targeted immunomodulators for stroke therapy. During his spare time, Ali enjoys traveling, hiking, and reading in metaphilosophy and philosophy of the mind.
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	Sean Childs, MD Sean graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and is currently an orthopedic surgery resident at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Outside of orthopedic surgery, he has a particular interest in medical education. Outside of medicine, Sean enjoys downhill skiing, playing the piano, working out, and spending time with friends and family.
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	Andrew Clithero, MD Andrew is from Riverwest, Wis, and attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He earned a Master of Science degree in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison before attending medical school at Kansas City University School of Medicine. Andrew is currently a resident at North Colorado Family Medicine in Greeley.
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	Brian L. Harry, MD, PhD Brian completed the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and is now a resident in clinical pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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	Joseph Leanza Joseph is a fourth-year medical student currently taking a scholarly year at Johns Hopkins as a Doris Duke Fellow. He is intent on pursuing general surgery and a transplant fellowship. In his spare time, Joseph enjoys playing ice hockey, snowboarding, mountain biking, and reading.
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	Paul Leccese Paul grew up in Colorado and graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science degree in neurobiology in 2010. He then spent two years as a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health before enrolling at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Paul is about to begin his fourth year of medical school and plans to pursue a career in emergency medicine. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, hiking, skiing, and rock climbing.
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	Viral Shah Viral grew up in Tinley Park, Ill, and graduated from Case Western Reserve University in 2010 majoring in biology, chemistry, and psychology. He is currently in his sixth year in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, where he is investigating the mechanisms of cystic fibrosis lung disease. Outside of medicine, Viral enjoys cooking, Tae Kwon Do, swimming, and putting on educational presentations for students.Tinley Park, Ill, and graduated from Case Western Reserve University in 2010 majoring in biology, chemistry, and psychology. He is currently in his sixth year in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, where he is investigating the mechanisms of cystic fibrosis lung disease. Outside of medicine, Viral enjoys cooking, Tae Kwon Do, swimming, and putting on educational presentations for students.
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	Benjamin Silverberg, MD, MSc An eternal student, Ben has studied at numerous institutions up and down the East Coast. This year, he's traded in his khakis for a pair of shorts and the chance to live in Southern California. When not in clinic, Ben enjoys travel, photography, alternative music, and Bollywood films.
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Authors	Samantha Allen Samantha grew up deep in the heart of Texas and didn’t stray far for college at Baylor University (sic ‘em Bears!) or medical school at Texas A&M Health Science Center. She is set to begin her OB/GYN residency in July 2016. When she’s not studying or practicing medicine, Samantha enjoys training for and running marathons, reading, and doing crossword puzzles.
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	Mona Ascha Mona graduated from Duke University with degrees in economics and French, and is currently a fourth-year medical student at Case Western. She is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and dreams of seeing the Cavs win a national championship with Lebron. In her spare time, Mona enjoys running marathons, triathlons, practicing her French and Arabic, yoga, and calligraphy.
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	Randy Aung, MD Randy was born in Yangon, Burma, and graduated from Dalhousie Medical School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2014. He is completing a Masters in Science program in community health and epidemiology at Dalhousie. His research interest is in the field of infectious diseases. Randy is moving for New York City for his pediatric residency training next year. In his spare time, he likes to play tennis and watch television.
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	Gordon Bae Gordon was born in South Korea and grew up in Toronto, Ontario. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in human developmental and regenerative biology. He is currently a fourth-year student at Harvard Medical School. Outside of medicine, Gordon enjoys practicing martial arts and photography.
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	Marina Boushra, MD Marina was born in Cairo, Egypt and has lived all over the world. She (somehow) graduated from the Penn State College of Medicine in 2016 and is currently testing her Program Director's patience as a first-year emergency medicine resident at the Vidant Medical Center. In her (nonexistent) free time, Marina enjoys baking and eating, running (very slowly and only so she can eat more food), being overly competitive at board and card games, and hoping that if she procrastinates long enough on wedding planning, her fiancé will just do it himself.
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	Lisa Mask-Bull, MD Lisa is originally from Tulsa, where she completed her undergraduate education studying studio art and biochemistry at the University of Tulsa. She proceeded to the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine and earned her medical degree in 2013. She is currently a dermatology resident at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. After graduation from residency, Lisa is excited to continue her training as a dermatopathology fellow at Tulane University.
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	Chad Claus Chad is from Las Vegas and graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he majored in biology with a minor in chemistry. He also participated in Division I college baseball as part of the Runnin Rebels. Chad is interested in pursuing neurosurgery and has a particular interest in traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury.
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	Vivian Choi Vivian is an MD/PhD student and is looking forward to graduating next year. She earned her PhD in microbiology and researched an enterotoxin produced by certain strains of Bacteroides fragilis. In her free time, Vivian enjoys meals with friends, cooking, and reading.
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	Atman Dave Atman is from the deep southern state of Louisiana, but is often told he has no southern drawl. He graduated from Tulane University in 2012 with a major in biomedical engineering and a minor in digital studio art. He is entering his fourth year of medical school. When not in the hospital or in clinic, Atman loves listening to audiobooks and podcasts, hitting the gym, and expanding his palate with his fiancée.
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	Flavia De Souza Flavia grew up in Jamaica, graduated from Wesleyan University, and is now in her last year at Yale School of Medicine. She hopes to match into psychiatry and eventually to work as a child and adolescent psychiatrist.
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	Arjun Dhayalan Arjun is a fourth-year medical student at Albany Medical College who will be pursuing a residency in orthopedic surgery. He graduated from the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education's accelerated BS/MD program, where he also minored in English and psychology. He has a deep passion for teaching and hopes to be involved in medical education in some facet for the rest of his career. In his free time, Arjun enjoys playing the saxophone, weight-lifting, and all outdoor pursuits from camping and hiking to white-water rafting.
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	Nan Du Nan is a fourth-year medical student at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, going into pediatrics. She graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biomedical engineering and a minor in global health and health policy. In her spare time, Nan enjoys baking chocolate chip cookies, traveling, and watching soccer.
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	Ana Maria Dumitru Ana Maria was born amidst the winds of change in Romania just before the fall of the Iron Curtain. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry, and an unofficial minor in rooting for the nation's best college basketball team. Ana Maria is now going into her fifth year as an MDPhD Candidate at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, where she studies mechanisms of faithful chromosome segregation in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program. No one would have ever believed Ana Maria to be the outdoorsy type, but now that she resides in the wilderness, Ana Maria enjoys hiking, biking, kayaking, skiing, and trying to avoid the acquisition of Lyme Disease.
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	Colin Hill Colin is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and plans to pursue a career in radiation oncology. In his free time, he loves hanging out with his dogs, playing fantasy football, and pumping some iron.
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	Quoc-Anh Ho When not on the wards, Quoc-Anh (“Q”) likes to cook, watch movies, sleep, and read up on what's going on around the world. He spends as much time as possible in the San Francisco Bay area catching up with family and friends, or traveling across the country just for the heck of it. Q is fascinated by chronic illnesses and palliative care, and thus hopes to enter the rewarding field of oncology.
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	Marie Hu Marie grew up in Sylvania, Ohio and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2008 with a degree in biology. She is a currently a fourth-year medical student at the Ohio State University College of Medicine and plans to pursue a career in internal medicine. In her spare time, Marie enjoys cooking/baking, traveling, running, biking, dance, and photography.
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	Albert Kazi, MD Albert is from Orange County, Calif. He graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2009, and earned his medical degree at Ross University School of Medicine. He is currently a research fellow in minimally invasive surgery, and will begin a residency in general surgery at Loma Linda University later this year. Albert is happily married with his wife, but resented by their cat, Mysty.
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	Alexander P. Kossar Alex graduated from Muhlenberg College in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience. After conducting cardiothoracic surgery research at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City,, Alex moved to Israel to attend the Sackler School of Medicine New York State/American Program in Tel Aviv. Alex is currently in his final year of study and is pursuing a career in surgery. In his spare time, he enjoys sports, good food, and spending quality time with his dog, Skippy.
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	Matt lacovetto A Colorado native, Matt is in his fourth year of medical school at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He plans to pursue a career in anesthesiology and critical care medicine. In his spare time, Matt enjoys hiking, reading, snowboarding, playing ice hockey, and spending time with family.
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	Juhye Lee Juhye is from Mountain View, Calif., and graduated from Rice University in 2013 with degrees in biochemistry & cell Biology and in chemistry. She is in her third year in the MD/PhD program at the University of Washington. As part of the Department of Genome Sciences, Juhye studies the evolution of the influenza virus. Outside of lab or school, Juhye enjoys hiking in the forests of Washington state, running, baking macaroons, and film photography.
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	Will Lewis Will is a third-year student at Harvard Medical School. He grew up in Philadelphia before moving to Boston to study anthropology and music. Before and during medical school, Will spent several years performing research related to lasers and biomedical imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital. Helikes to play jazz piano and travel with his wife, Maura.
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	Alex Liu Alex was born and raised in College Station, Texas. He graduated in 2008 from Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelors of Science degree, double majoring in biomedical engineering and computer science. He then spent one year in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, as a Fulbright research scholar, developing brain tumor imaging software. He is currently a third-year medical student with plans to specialize in radiology. Outside the classroom and hospital, Alex enjoys exploring Dallas, catching up on exercise, and coding.
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	Stephen LoBue, MD Stephen is originally from Southern California. He graduated from the University of San Diego in 2010 with a Bachelors of Art degree in biology and a minor in chemistry. Currently he is transitioning to a retina research fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine under Dr. Timothy Olsen. Stephen’s passions include weight lifting, tennis, nutrition, and cooking.
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	Xilu Ma Xilu was born in Recife, Brazil, completed high school in Ames, Iowa, and earned her undergraduate degree in human biology in 2013 at the University of Toronto, Canada. She is currently a fourth-year medical student at St. George's University School of Medicine and hopes to pursue a residency in pathology. In her spare time, Xilu enjoys shopping, cooking, working out, and planning future vacations.
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	Christopher Massey Christopher grew up in Mansfield, Texas, where he was the captain of his high school swim team. He continued his swimming career in college at Henderson State University. After retiring from swimming, he decided to focus his efforts toward becoming a physician. Christopher met his wonderful wife at Henderson, and is grateful for her never-ending support. Together they are raising two Golden Retrievers, each of whom weighs 80 pounds and each of whom thinks he is a lap dog. Most of Christopher’s time is dedicated to making sure the dogs don't break everything in the house.
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	Marie McKinnon, MD, MPH Marie is from Indiana, though she has lived in Houston, New Orleans, Big Sur, Denver, and Chicago since then. She earned her medical degree at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and a Masters of Public Health from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Marie is currently in her intern year at Northwestern University in the internal medicine program and hopes to pursue a career as a hospitalist with a focus on medical education. In her spare time, she enjoys running, reading, and crafting.
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	Matt Mui Matt was born in Alaska and grew up in Hong Kong before moving to Sacramento, Calif. He earned a combined Bachelors and Masters degree in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego. Currently he is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Central Florida. Outside of medicine, Matt enjoys basketball, snowboarding, aviation, and traveling.
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	Ajay Nair Ajay is a third-year medical student at Ross University School of Medicine. He is from Columbia, Mo., and graduated in 2012 from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biological sciences. Ajay's interests include neuroscience, nearly any sporting event, nonfiction, and old classic films.
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	Brenton Nash Brenton graduated from University of South Florida in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. He then matriculated to University of Vermont College of Medicine, where he is currently a fourth-year medical student.
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	Luke Nayak Luke is from central Illinois and is entering his final year in the six-year BA/MD program at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf, reading, watching sports, and spending time with his family.
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	Jun Yen Ng, MBBS Jun Yen earned his medical degree from the University of Queensland in 2015. His areas of interests are internal medicine, cardiology and endocrinology.
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	Somaira Nowsheen Somaira is a fourth-year MD/PhD student in the Mayo Medical Scientist Training Program, where she is pursuing her PhD on the regulation of DNA damage response pathway. Her interests include cooking, traveling, and painting.
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	Christopher Paiji Chris grew up in Southern California and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in public policy. He is currently a medical student at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. In his spare time, Chris enjoys hiking, watching baseball, and reading.
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	Mithil B. Pandhi Mithil is from Chicago and graduated from Kalamazoo College with a major in biology and minor in political science. He taught middle school in Oakland, Calif., as a Teach for America corps member and is currently in his fourth year at Midwestern University’s CCOM. Mithil enjoys painting, pour-over coffee, weekend trips, and basketball.
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	Michael Pfeffer Originally from Brookline, Mass., Michael graduated from Wheaton College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry. He is currently a fourth-year student at the University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School. In his spare time, Michael enjoys playing soccer, running, and listening to music.
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	Gabriel Reyes Originally from Orange County, Gabriel graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2006 with a major in biology, and also completed the MD/PhD program at UCSF, where he studied oncogene additions in chronic myelogenous leukemia. He is now a medicine intern at USCF and will be starting his anesthesiology training next year. Gabriel enjoys hiking with his dog.
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	Jorge Roman Jorge is from Fort Worth and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2009. He is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch and plans to pursue a career in dermatology. In his free time, Jorge likes listening to podcasts, working out, spending time with his cats, and writing. He particularly enjoys writing about the humanities and historical topics in medicine.
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	Alyssa Self Originally from Denver, Alyssa graduated from Brown University in 2013, where she majored in biology. She is entering her fourth year at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and plans to pursue a career in internal medicine. Outside of the hospital, Alyssa enjoys yoga, skiing, exploring Denver restaurants and breweries, and attending as many concerts as possible.
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	Neal Shah, PharmD Neal is from Long Island, N.Y. He earned his Doctorate of Pharmacy at St. John's University in 2013 and directly entered West Virginia University's MD/PhD program. He is currently a second- year graduate student studying the effects of chemotherapy on brain metastases from breast cancer, lung cancer, and melanoma. In his free time, Neal loves to play the guitar, listen to music, and exercise.
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	Tyler Sevco Tyler grew up in Lebanon, a small central Pennsylvania town renowned for its delicious sweet bologna. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013 with a Bachelors Degree in chemistry. Staying true to his Pitt Panther roots, he then began medical school at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he is currently in his third year. Outside medicine, Tyler enjoys weightlifting, swimming, trying new restaurants, and anything related to Pittsburgh sports.
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	Neal Shah Neal is from Long Island, NY. He earned his Doctorate of Pharmacy at St. John's University in 2013 and directly entered West Virginia University's MD/PhD program. He is currently a first-year graduate student studying chemotherapy for brain metastases from melanoma, breast and lung cancer. Neal loves to play the guitar, listen to music, and exercise.
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	Elaine Shao Elaine grew up in Chapel Hill, NC, and graduated from Wake Forest University with majors in biology and Spanish. She is a fourth-year medical student at East Carolina University and will be starting internal medicine residency at Washington University in St. Louis in June 2016. Outside of medicine, Elaine enjoys yoga, traveling, hiking, baking, and trying new restaurants.
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	Samantha Spilman Samantha Spilman is from Southern California. She graduated from University of California, Los Angeles in 2012 with a Bachelors of Science degree in neuroscience. She then went to Georgetown University to earn a Masters of Science degree in physiology. She is in her third year of medical school at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in Michigan.
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	David Staudt David was born outside of Philadelphia but has lived in Wisconsin since the age of 9. He graduated in December 2012 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelors of Sciences degree in biology. After spending some time teaching MCAT prep courses, he began medical school at the University of Wisconsin. Currently a third-year medical student planning on an internal medicine residency, he is a huge nerd. In his time not consumed by medical school and related activities, David enjoys biking, reading, fumbling with a guitar, and spending time with his wife and their cat (Mrs. Pantaloons). He makes a mean PB&J.
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	John Steib, DO John grew up in Cleveland and graduated from Allegheny College in 2012, where he majored in biochemistry. He recently graduated from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and will be returning home to complete his anesthesiology residency at the Cleveland Clinic. Outside of medicine, John enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, and managing his fantasy sports teams.
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	Anne Taylor, MD Anne hails from Michigan and now lives in the Bay Area, by way of Boston, DC, and Denver. She attended Harvard for her undergraduate studies, where she majored in molecular and cellular biology. She then worked in health care consulting at the Advisory Board Company in Washington, DC. She completed medical school at the University of Colorado in Denver, where she picked up alpine skiing. She will complete her training in pediatrics at the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University. In her spare time, Anne continues to enjoy the outdoors via hiking, camping, sailing, and more!
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	John Tedesco, MA John earned a bachelors degree in science from St. Lawrence University and a Masters of Arts degree in cell biology from City College of New York. He is currently a fourth-year student at St. George’s University School of Medicine
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	Ashley Weiner Ashley is from Long Island and graduated from Cornell University in 2012. She is now a medical student at the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, taking a year between her clinical clerkships to participate in the Academic Medicine Scholars Program. Ashley’s research interests include doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity, and she hopes to pursue a career within internal medicine.
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	Don Wei Don has always been interested in endocannabinoid signaling and social behavior, and neuropsychiatric diseases, particularly aspects of social impairment. He enjoys teaching and writing, and has enjoyed working on the Step 1 Qmax author team. Don resides in Orange County and, naturally, takes advantage of the beautiful geography.
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	Casey Williamson Casey is originally from Denver but moved to California to earn his undergraduate degrees in biology and English literature at the University of Southern California. After graduation, he spent two years studying tumor angiogenesis at the University of California, San Francisco before enrolling in medical school at the University of California, San Diego. He is currently working on a Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research before returning to finish medical school. Casey loves to ski, hike, camp, and run.
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	Christopher Michael Wolfe, DO Christopher completed a preliminary year in internal medicine at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center and Temple University before beginning a residency in dermatology at Florida State University. He plans to complete a fellowship in Mohs micrographic surgery and practice in the Southeast.
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	Matthew Woodward Matthew grew up in Farmington, Conn, and graduated from Tufts University with a degree in biology in 2008. He then completed research in neurodegenerative diseases at McLean Hospital, a Harvard affiliate, before starting medical school at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. Currently a third-year student with an interest in neurology, Matthew enjoys cooking, eating, hiking, and both playing and watching sports, particularly baseball and football.
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	Jennifer Xiao Jennifer is originally from Poughkeepsie, NY. After high school, she moved to Boston to join the seven-year Medical Program at Boston University. Currently a fourth-year student, she will be staying at Boston Medical Center to complete her intern year before moving to the University of Washington for radiology residency. Outside of school, Jennifer loves baking, running, and hiking.
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Image Team
Editors	Kim Kallianos, MD Originally from Atlanta, Kimberly graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006 and from Harvard Medical School in 2011. She is a fourth-year radiology resident at the University of California, San Francisco and will complete a fellowship in cardiac and pulmonary imaging at UCSF from 2016 to 2017.
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	Kachiu Cecilia Lee, MD Kachiu earned her medical degree and Masters Degree in Public Health from Northwestern University and served as chief resident in her dermatology residency at Brown University. She is currently enjoying a clinical and research fellowship at Harvard Medical School’s Wellman Center for Photomedicine. After fellowship, she plans to return to Brown University as faculty, with research emphasis on epidemiology, medical education, and photomedicine. As the first physician in her family, Kachiu hopes to play a critical role in helping medical students and residents fulfill their career aspirations. She has contributed to several projects in the First Aid/USMLE-Rx family of publications, including the USMLE-Rx family of publications, including the Qmax test bank, First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, First Aid for the USMLE Step 2 CS, and First Aid for the USMLE Step 3. In her leisure time, she enjoys photography, playing piano, and exploring New England with her family.
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Assistant Editor	Dmitriy Timerman Dmitriy is a fourth-year medical student at Harvard Medical School interested in dermatology and melanoma. He has worked on several projects with the USMLE-Rx team over the past 2 years. When not editing questions, USMLE-Rx team over the past 2 years. When not editing questions, Dmitriy enjoys cooking and playing chess.
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Authors	Derek Allison, MD Derek is a resident physician (PGY-2) in pathology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He earned his medical degree at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, where he became interested in medical education. There, he enrolled in the Medical Education Research Scholars Track and completed the Medical Education Research Certificate (MERC) Program through the AAMC. After residency, Derek will complete a fellowship in cytopathology, also at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Research and interests in his field include improving the accuracy of minimally invasive diagnostic and ancillary testing
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	Stephanie Gleicher, MPH Stephanie grew up in Armonk, NY. She graduated from Colgate University with a bachelors degree in chemistry and earned her Masters of Business and Science and Masters in Public Health degrees at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She is wrapping up medical school at SUNY Upstate with plans to begin a residency in urology at SUNY Upstate in July. Stephanie’s interests include long runs, Scrabble, travel, chocolate, and crosswords.
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	David Hartman David earned his undergraduate degrees in neurobiology and chemistry from the New College of Florida in Sarasota. He is currently in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Medical University of South Carolina.
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	Alejandro J. Matos-Cruz Alejandro earned a Bachelor of Science degree in interdisciplinary sciences from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. He is currently a fourth-year medical student at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. After graduation, Alejandro aspires to continue his training in neurosurgery.
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	M. Scott Moore, DO Scott is a resident in pathology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He completed medical school at Midwestern University AZCOM and earned a bachelors degree in German at Weber State University. He and his wife are enjoying the recent arrival of twins. He spends what little free time he has running, climbing, playing guitar, and cooking with his wife. He loves to help other students learn the tips and tricks that he used to prepare for the USMLE.
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Illustration Team
Editors	Artemisa Gogollari, MD Artemisa earned her medical degree at the University of Medicine, Tirana in 2013. She is a research assistant at The Health & Life Sciences University, Austria and is currently enrolled in the masters of health sciences program there. Artemisa’s research interests include medical decision-making, decision-analytic modeling, and gynecologic cancers. In her spare time she enjoys creating digital art and illustrations.
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	Mehboob Kalani, MD Mehboob is an internal medicine resident at Allegheny Health Network Medical Education Consortium in Pittsburgh. He was born in Karachi, Pakistan, grew up in Toronto, Canada, and pursued medicine upon completing high school. He earned his premedical and medical degrees at American University of Integrative Sciences in 2015. After residency, Mehboob's interests lie in pulmonary critical care medicine, and he is researching COPD exacerbation treatment and readmission rates. In his limited leisure time, he enjoys playing or watching soccer, long drives, and family gatherings.
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Authors	Ali Aliwieh Ali grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, and earned his Bachelors of Science degree with high distinction from the American University of Beirut. He is currently an MD/PhD student at the Medical University of South Carolina. His dissertation research focuses on the development of novel and translational site-targeted immunomodulators for stroke therapy. During his spare time, Ali enjoys traveling, hiking, and reading in metaphilosophy and philosophy of the mind.
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	Mithil B. Pandhi Mithil is from Chicago and graduated from Kalamazoo College with a major in biology and minor in political science. He taught middle school in Oakland, Calif., as a Teach for America corps member and is currently in his fourth year at Midwestern University’s CCOM. Mithil enjoys painting, pour-over coffee, weekend trips, and basketball.
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Associate Authors	Ryan William Hadden Ryan was born and raised in Salem, Ore., and attended Oregon State University, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise and sport science. While at OSU, he played football, coordinated a free medical clinic, and worked as a research assistant at the Linus Pauling Institute. Ryan is currently in his fourth year at the University of Alabama School of Medicine and has been elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honors society. He plans to pursue a career in orthopaedic surgery. During his spare time, Ryan enjoys being with his wife and kids, hiking, fly fishing, and exploring the great outdoors.
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