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Click Here to Download the Group
Charter in PDF format
The Psychiatry and Neurology
Interest Group (PNIG) at AMC is a collection of dedicated medical and graduate
students who are interested in learning more about the brain. A 3rd year MD/PhD
student, Misty Richards, created the interest group during the beginning of her
first year of medical school at Albany Medical College. Her main motivation for
PNIG was to create a forum where students interested in the neurosciences could
share ideas, opportunities, and experiences with one another. In addition, it
would inspire students to learn more about psychiatry and neurology in order to
facilitate matriculation into related residency programs. She was fortunate
enough to meet Sam Saha, a 3rd year medical student, whose ideas,
motivation, and passion for both psychiatry and neurology have taken this
student-run organization to the next level. Sam has been an integral part of
the PNIG leadership and has established the Student Interest Group in Neurology
(SIGN) at AMC. SIGN has become one of the main components of PNIG, giving
students access to neurology resources, opportunities, and an extensive student
network. A 2nd year medical student, Erika Stageberg, has recently
become a coordinator of PNIG and we are excited to have her extensive leadership
skills on board.
PNIG
Board Members
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Misty
Richards
-
PNIG Director |
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Misty Richards was born and raised in Orange
County, California and attended UCLA to receive
her undergraduate degree in Psychobiology. Upon
graduation, she moved to the east coast, where
she worked as a research assistant at NIH and
Columbia University. She completed research on
the effects of mood stabilizers on mitochondrial
function as well as the occupancy of the
serotonin transporter by Zoloft, respectively.
Currently, Misty Richards is a 3rd year MD/PhD
student at Albany Medical College who is
infatuated with the brain. She created the
Psychiatry and Neurology Interest Group during
her first year in medical school as a way to
stay in touch with the psychiatry and neurology
community. She was later joined by Sam Saha, who
has been an integral part of the clubs’ success
and the driving force behind all things
neurology. In the end, Misty would like to
become a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Oh,
yes, and Misty loves soccer with a passion in
addition to spicy food! |
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Sam Saha
- PNIG Director |
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I'm a third year
medical student at Albany Medical College. I'm
originally from Middletown, NY not too far from
here, and I did my undergraduate studies at
Rensselaer in Troy, NY. I've been interested in
the neurosciences and behavioral sciences all my
life. While in Albany, I pursued my research
interests in neuropsychiatry, which got me more
interested in the medical neuroscience careers
including neurology and psychiatry. Along with
Misty Richards and a crew of classmates, I got
involved in PNIG to encourage students to pursue
more ideas, experiences and new information
regarding psychiatry, neurology and related
careers in medicine. As of now, I'm leaning a
bit toward neurology, though I know that may
change as my clinical experiences broaden.
Meanwhile, I'll continue to be significantly
involved in PNIG during my years at AMC to help
students like myself pursue their own careers. |
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Erika
Stageberg
- PNIG Director |
I am a second
year medical student. I grew up in San
Francisco, CA and graduated from UCLA in 2006
with a B.S. in Neuroscience. I became
interested in Neuro my first year in college and
declared it as my major at the end of my first
year. I had always been a fan of philosophy and
I found the study of consciousness from the
biological side was highly intriguing and a fine
compliment to the epistemologic side. I'm not
sure what specialty I want to go into, neurology
or psychiatry or neither. My motivation as a
leader of PNIG is to help myself and my peers
explore these exciting fields.
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Karlín
Feldman-Nazario
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Shadowing Coordinator |
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I am originally
from Puerto Rico, where I lived until the summer
after 10th grade. After that, my mom and I
moved to Dubai, U.A.E., where I finished high
school. For college, I went to Brown University
in Providence, RI and got a B.S. in Psychology.
During the summer before my Senior year, I got
married. My husband, my dog, and I moved to
Albany from Cambridge, MA in August. I had
always been passionate about pursuing a career
in medicine, but it wasn't until I started
college, that I realized what specialty most
interested me. I had initially started college
thinking I was going to major in Human Biology.
However, that all changed after I took abnormal
psych during my first semester. Everything I
did afterwards more or less revolved around
psychiatry. My most recent experience with
psychiatry was working at McLean Hospital in
Belmont, MA as a research assistant to Dr.
Jonathan O. Cole and as a mental health
specialist. I am interested in getting involved
with PNIG in order to get exposure to more
opportunities in the field of psychiatry. I am
particularly interested in helping set up a
shadowing program. |
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Emanuela
Sofroni
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Communications Chair |
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I
am a first-year medical student at Albany
Medical College. I was born in Romania but have
lived in sunny Orange County, California for the
majority of my life. As an undergrad at UCLA, I
was President of the UCLA Neuroscience
Undergraduate Society and have conducted
research on Alzheimer's disease with respect to
defective macrophage uptake of amyloid-beta.
After receiving my B.S. in Neuroscience from
UCLA, I have worked as a motivational speaker,
in addition to the exciting work as a full-time
EMT. Now at AMC, I look forward to working with
dedicated PNIG leaders and members to provide an
abundant source of opportunities to students
interested in Psychiatry and/or Neurology. I am
still very fascinated with the brain, so my
long-term goal is to become a neurologist and am
considering becoming a neurosurgeon. More
importantly, I look forward to sharing my
passion for neuroscience with others. |
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Gnana Simon
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Community
Service Chair |
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I'm a first year student at Albany Medical
College. I grew up in the Bronx (NYC) and its
always fun to say that just for widening of eyes
that follows it. I went to Union College for my
undergraduate and graduate studies. Neurology
and psychiatry were two areas that always drew
me. As a more than slightly self-obsessed
species, what is more exciting than exploring
the fundamentals of what makes us tick? As a
relatively new member of the club, I am excited
to help in anything and everything. |
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Mary Dubon
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Community
Service Chair |
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I
am a first year medical student at Albany
Medical College. I grew up on Long Island, NY
and graduated from the University of Notre Dame
in May of 2006 with a BS in Biological
Sciences. From the summer of 2006 until the
summer of 2007, I was an Academic Associate at
North Shore University Hospital in NY, where I
worked on Emergency Medicine Clinical Research.
My interest in medicine started in high school,
when I volunteered at a camp for children and
adults with various disabilities. Since then, I
have been actively involved in various community
service projects with children and adults with
developmental disabilities. My involvement in
these activities has led to my interest in
neurology, especially pediatric neurology.
Courses in neuroscience at the University of
Notre Dame also strengthened my interest in
neuroscience. I am going into my first year
with an open-mind; however, I am definitely
interested in neurology and neuroscience no
matter which way my career path leads me. I am
excited to collaborate with other students
interested in psychiatry and neurology and I
look forward to setting up some rewarding
community
service activities. |
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