Rachel Brock
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Education history: MD from University of Washington; BA in Rhetoric Studies with a Chemistry Minor, Whitman College, Walla, Walla, WA
Hobbies: I love to do anything outdoors! I love to snowboard, mountain bike, hike/camp, kiteboard, and scuba dive.
Fun facts: I worked as a kiteboard instructor during the summers in college. I have traveled to more foreign countries than U.S. states. I will stop mid-conversation to pet a dog.
Before I came into medicine: I majored in Rhetoric Studies in college, studying the relationship between attitudes/beliefs/opinions and meaningful action. I thoroughly enjoyed this area of study, but did not know what I wanted to do long-term. When I graduated from college, I bought a one-way ticket to Peru to learn Spanish. I ended up spending a year in Peru working in a non-profit medical clinic.While in Peru, I decided to pursue medicine! I returned to the U.S. and spent two years working as a medical scribe in Seattle, WA while applying to medical school.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: I love the combination of medicine, pharmacology, and procedures in Anesthesiology! I thoroughly enjoy working in the OR and feel that Anesthesia is a specialty that combines all of the things I enjoy about medicine.
Steve Haberkorn
Hometown: Hinsdale, IL (Chicago suburb)
Education history: Willamette University, BA in Sociology; Portland State University, Premed Post-baccalaureate; University of Colorado School of Medicine, MD and internship
Hobbies: Spending time with my wife and two young kids. Anything outdoors, especially hiking, camping, skiing, biking, and climbing. Decompress with reading, video games, and podcasts.
Fun facts: Once worked on a replica of La Amistad, a famous 19th century sailing ship. Spent several months living aboard as it traveled down the east coast giving historical tours. I was just a lowly deckhand, but I got to experience many adventures along the way!
Before I came into medicine: Worked for several years in public policy, politics, and government before switching careers to medicine. Then did a postbacc and worked in Pulm/Critical Care research for a couple years prior to medical school.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: Love of physiology and pharmacology. Perfect mix of cognitive medicine, procedures, and acute problem solving. Great culture, people, and personality fit.
Haley Hopkinson
Hometown: Aspen, CO
Education history: Undergraduate: University of Virginia, Medical School: Medical University of South Carolina
Hobbies: I love to ski, play tennis, hike, bike, and run! I also love live music, trying new restaurants, and traveling. Of course, these are all best enjoyed with friends and family!
Fun facts: I grew up as a competitive ski racer and have competed all over the country! I also love a good adrenaline rush and have been sky diving, bungee jumping, and heli-skiing.
Before I came into medicine: Before I started medical school, I worked for one year in Charleston, SC. For the first half of the year, I worked as a scribe in an urgent care clinic. For the second half of the year, I decided to switch gears and worked at a pilates studio. I ended up loving Charleston and decided to stay another 4 years for medical school.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: I knew that I wanted aspecialty that is procedural and intellectually stimulating, but I also wanted to find a specialty where I fit in well with the other residents. I really clicked with all of the people I worked with while on my anesthesia rotations, both at my home institution and on my away rotation at CU. My interests in pharmacology and physiology, the procedural aspects and intellectually demanding nature of providing anesthesia, and the connections I made with other residents are a few of the reasons why I chose a career in this field.
Amanda Hunt
Critical Care Track
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Education history: Undergraduate at University of Minnesota Duluth - BA Hispanic Studies, BS Biology; Medical School: University of Colorado
Hobbies: I enjoy playing pick-up basketball and volleyball games. Time in the mountains is always a favorite of mine - hiking, camping, skiing. Otherwise, I love movie nights and ice cream. I am learning to love to cook, but I don't think baking will ever be my forte.
Fun facts: I played 4 years of collegiate basketball.
Before I came into medicine: I scribed for interventional cardiologists, and volunteered in a women's clinic in Peru for a summer.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: A culmination of enjoying the aspects that make up the specialty - physiology, hands-on patient intervention, great colleagues - and the opportunity to pursue critical care.
Mary Kinney
Hometown: Centennial, CO
Education history: BS in Biophysics at Wake Forest University; MD from Indiana University School of Medicine
Hobbies: Hiking, skiing, mountain biking, soccer, a good movie with popcorn, painting acrylic landscapes, and any quality time spent with family and friends.
Fun facts: I grew up with 4 older brothers as my own personal bodyguards!
Before I came into medicine: After graduating from Wake Forest University, I took a year before applying to medical school to work as a medical assistant in an OBGYN clinic in Denver.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: I enjoyed the sense of completeness I felt with patient care, seeing instant results in the OR and being the person who ensures patient comfort and safety from the beginning to the end of a case. Combining this with the intellectual stimulation and hands-on satisfaction, anesthesiology was an easy choice!
Noah LaBelle
Hometown: Greenville, SC
Education history: Clemson University, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville
Hobbies: Competitive Beach and Grass Volleyball. Most any outdoor activity: Snowboarding, Backpacking, Fly Fishing, Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Paddleboarding, Longboarding. Board games: Settlers of Catan, Terraforming Mars, Codenames, Everdell, and Wingspan are our friend group’s staples.
Fun facts: I've broken 16 bones. I'm part of the world record team for the fastest 100x5k relay. In 8th grade, I wrote a bill that was signed into South Carolina law.
Before I came into medicine: In college and during my gap years, I did demographic research using ArcGIS in the Dominican Republic, was an outdoor adventure trip leader, a zip-line instructor, a bartender, and a medical scribe.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: I decided to pursue Anesthesiology because I enjoy contributing to the immediate impact on patients' lives that is provided by the OR, the ability to provide peace to my patients during some of their scariest moments, the ability to practice critical care medicine on 2x speed, and joy that comes from working on a team.
Mark Landy
Hometown: Boston, MA
Education history: Cornell University - B.S. in Applied & Engineering Physics, UT Southwestern - MD, PhD in Neuroscience
Hobbies: Indoors: Board games, video games, playing with my dogs, scolding my cat (to no avail). Outdoors: Rock climbing, camping, hiking
Fun facts: My knees were dislocated when I was born, and I now only have about half the normal range of motion. I had to stretch for months to get on one knee to propose to my wife!
Before I came into medicine: Questioned whether I wanted to go into medicine.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: I've always liked working "behind the scenes" (eg backstage in theater or behind the photography lens), working with my hands, and physiology, so I thought Anesthesiology would be a good fit. And sure enough, I found I loved being in a position where I'm constantly thinking about the balance of physiological and pharmacological systems, while still getting to do some procedural work, and lead from behind the drape.
Connor Lester
Hometown: Denver, CO
Education history: Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA) - Undergraduate degree in Finance, Minor in Biology; Mills College (Oakland, CA) - Premedical Post-Baccalaureate; Georgetown School of Medicine (Washington DC) - Medical School
Hobbies: I love all things that Colorado has to offer! I love skiing, hiking, biking, golfing, camping, and wilderness backpacking. I also love cooking elaborate meals, perfecting salsa recipes, playing pickleball, hanging in hot tubs with friends while it's snowing, organizingfun adventures, and vegetable gardening. I also love planning my entire weekend around things that would make my golden retriever Mila happy.
Fun facts: Although we had to postpone our actual wedding due to COVID, my wife and I hosted a fake riverside "wedding" on a 3-day rafting trip with 15 of our closest friends.
Before I came into medicine: Prior to medicine, I worked in business in the tech industry as a project manager at a company called EMC.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: I really felt that I found my people in Anesthesia! Everyone is fun-loving, doesn't take themselves too seriously, and loves what they do. I also loved that Anesthesia lies at the intersection of surgery and medicine - two fields which I was fascinated by during medical school. Finally, I loved that Anesthesia is a field that is rich with QI and operational complexity, which is an opportunity for me to combine my background in business with this field, which I love so much!
Jamie Palmer
Hometown: Rochester, NY
Education history: University of Maryland, College Park - B.S. in Finance; University of Maryland School of Medicine - M.D.
Hobbies: Finding the best farmer's markets, skiing, hiking and board games
Fun facts: I'm the proud owner of 27 Junior Ranger badges of the U.S. National Park System.
Before I came into medicine: I worked with a Neurologist who enrolled patients in clinical research trials for Alzheimer's disease.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: I love how you are forced to think both proactively and reactively to care for patient's during critical moments, and you can see the effects of your interventionsin real-time!
Carter Theade
Hometown: Red Lodge, MT
Education history: BS in Chemical Engineering at Montana State University; MD at University of Washington School of Medicine
Hobbies: I love to ski, bike, and hang out with my corgi/mini-Australian shepherd, Hank. I also enjoy crosswords and listening to medical education podcasts.
Fun facts: I was a collegiate pole vaulter!
Before I came into medicine: Before medicine, I majored in and did research in chemical engineering with applications in the renewable energy sector. After redirecting my career to medicine, I worked as a medical scribe and volunteered at a local children's hospital.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: I found anesthesiology to be the perfect combination of direct patient care, physiology, procedures, and critical care I was looking for in a specialty. In addition, I truly love the relationship anesthesiologists have with their patients - helping patients feel comfortable at their most vulnerable.
John-Paul Tsai
Hometown: Aurora, CO
Education history: College: McGill University; Medical School: University of Colorado
Hobbies: I love fishing, fish keeping, disc golfing, working on my truck, photography, and my dog Zoe!
Fun facts: I lived in Taipei, Taiwan for a year while my mom was on sabbatical. I did my undergrad in French Canada, and I don't speak French. I worked in a ramen shop while studying at McGill. I set up a "dark room" for development of 35mm color film in my apartment bathroom.
Before I came into medicine: I was a Computer Science and Biology major at McGill.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: I deviated away from Computer Science because I realized sitting in front of a computer all day is not very gratifying. The immediate feedback on physiologic monitors paired with an arsenal of tools readily available to the Anesthesiologist made the field a clear winner for me.
Grace Wilson
Hometown: Roseville, MN
Education history: Undergrad: St. Olaf College; Medical School: University of Minnesota
Hobbies: I was a music major in undergrad and enjoy listening to live music of all varieties. I also enjoy running and spending time outdoors.
Fun facts: I ran the Twin Cities Marathon.
Before I came into medicine: I worked as a clinical assistant at a dermatology clinic for two years before medical school.
What made me pursue my residency training in Anesthesiology: I decided to pursue anesthesiology because I love physiology and working with my hands.