Hannah Aho, MD

Denver Health Track

Education: BS, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities; MD, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Hometown: Minneapolis, MN

Hello! Congratulations on choosing family medicine, and thank you for your interest in UCFMR. I’m a Midwestern gal, born and raised in Minnesota. My grandmother, who was so committed to healthcare that she moved to the US from Chile to become a nurse, was always my inspiration for choosing a career in medicine. She was passionate about working with underserved communities and addressing healthcare inequities, and I must say she passed that on to me. I went to the University of Minnesota for undergrad (Go Gophers!) where I double majored in Genetics, Cell Biology, & Development and French. I then became a Double Gopher when I attended the University of Minnesota for medical school. I am so happy to have found myself in Denver- on interview day I was blown away UCFMR’s commitment to innovations in primary care delivery, physician wellness, and advocacy for the communities they serve! My interests within medicine include full spectrum family medicine, refugee health, treatment of substance use disorder, LGBTQ+ healthcare, HIV primary care, medical education, and quality improvement. Outside of medicine I enjoy spending time with my dog Canon, performing abysmally at trivia and karaoke, practicing aerial silks, and snuggling up to watch a horror movie.

Shawnecca Burke, MD

Rural Training Track 

Education: BS, Rhodes College; MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Hometown: Silver Spring, MD

Hello! I am new to Denver and so far I am loving it! Originally from Maryland, I stopped in Memphis, TN for my undergraduate degree then returned to Maryland for medical school. At Rhodes College I served as the Director of our all campus community service program and made alternative spring break trips to the Dominican Republic. During medical school I continued to foster my many interests, especially mentorship, underserved and rural medicine. I was a pen pal & mentor for multiple area high school students who were initially in danger of not graduating. Separately, I did two rotations with the Indian Health Service, in Chinle, AZ and Zuni, New Mexico—which were some of my mostly influential experiences to date! I was also the founder and president of our school’s Latino Medical Student Association. I was drawn to family medicine because I hope to practice in a rural area, and I think family docs are best equipped to fulfill the various needs of these smaller communities especially with the versatility and adaptability in family medicine. UCFMR was attractive because of the robust academic training that is built in to the similarly robust Rural Health Track. I also fell in love with the Fort Morgan community during my interview, and am excited to be serving them! This program also engages my interests in LGBTQ+ health, community engagement, and complementary and alternative medicine. Outside of clinic I enjoy cooking, reading (especially unpublished works), national parks, beaches and collecting holiday decorations.

Ally Costello, MD

University Health Track

Education: BS, BA Emory University; MD Tufts University; MBA Brandeis University

Hometown: Boston, MA

Hey, my name is Ally from the great city of Boston. I attended college at Emory University in Atlanta and studied Anthropology & Human Biology, and Music. After graduation I worked as a project manager at the EMR company, Epic. During these two years, I developed a passion for understanding the connection between healthcare systems and clinical medicine, motivating me to pursue my MD/MBA at Tufts. While I Tufts I helped lead a student-run organization called Medstart, which promoted building multi-disciplinary relationships in healthcare. Our annual conference brought together bench researchers, physicians, healthcare executives, and students and provided them with a forum to discuss how we can all work together to benefit healthcare. At Tufts, my research focused on evaluating the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) to see if the measures are evidenced based and patient centered. I fell in love with FM at UCFMR was because of their dedication to EBM as well as their emphasis practice transformation. My interests in FM include quality improvement, population health, reproductive health, addiction medicine, academic medicine and mentorship. I also love music, doing anything outside including running/hiking, Broadway musicals, cooking and eating, bodies of water, bars and doing barre.

Joshua Felton Gilens, MD

University Health Track

Education: BS, Rutgers University; MD, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Hometown: Princeton, NJ

I was born in California, raised in New Jersey, and have now settled somewhat in the middle here in Denver. I attended college at Rutgers University where I studied animal science and had the pleasure of working on the Rutgers farm. I realized I would be remiss to not work closely with people in my career, and so switched to human medicine. After a year of coordinating clinical trials in Princeton, NJ, I enrolled at the Rutgers RWJMS. My passions during medical school were in my extra-curricular activities. As class president, I had the opportunity to cultivate a community focused on wellness, professionalism, and safety in the clinical learning environment. I also worked at our student run free clinic and created a prescription produce program that provides patients with vouchers to use at farmers markets. Importantly, I was the founder of my school’s cheese club. I chose family medicine because of my love for people and providing care within patient’s social context. The UCFMR program had everything I was looking for: a well-balanced socially-oriented academic program with plenty of opportunities for OB, procedures, sports medicine, and a supportive and flexible faculty that was willing to engage in my interests. These interests include community health, social determinants of health, sports med, and health policy. Outside of medicine you can find me playing squash, running, gardening, and enjoying local flora and fauna.

Bethany Hileman, MD

Denver Health Track

Education: BS, University of Tulsa; MPH, University of Oklahoma; MD, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine

Hometown: Overland Park, KS

Hi there! I’m so excited to be in Denver and part of UCFMR. I’ve spent most of my life on the plains, and being up here in the mountains has literally left me breathless. I grew up in Kansas, but went to college in Tulsa and stayed in Oklahoma for medical school, where I also got the opportunity to study public health. In medical school, I spent some time working with local nonprofits doing women’s and sexual health education. I also got really interested in academic medicine and medical education, as well as incorporating public health and medicine. I’m glad to be a part of a residency program that has a strong academic foundation and faculty that will support my interests. Outside of medicine I spend my time hiking, cycling, cooking, and running a moderately successful cat Instagram.

Lakshmi Karra,MD

Denver Health Track

Education: BS, MS, Stanford University; MS, Harvard School of Public Health; MD, University of Michigan Medical School

Hometown: Palo Alto, CA

Hi everyone! I grew up in California (West Coast, Best Coast) and went to Stanford University, where I completed my BS and MS in Biology, but was NOT pre-med. Thinking I wanted to work in philanthropy or public health, I spent a year working at a public health non-profit and then moved to San Francisco to work in economic consulting. During this time, I became more aware of and invested in the health care concerns of my community – the San Francisco Bay Area. From healthcare for the homeless, to mental health care, to serving communities of color and immigrants, threads from my undergraduate career and my work experience came together to point me in the direction of direct patient care – medicine. I moved to Boston to complete a Masters in Psychiatric Epidemiology before ending up in the great state of Michigan for medical school.

Clinically, I am interested in urban underserved care, particularly in communities of color and immigrant communities. I am passionate about mental health, women’s health, and LGBTQ care. Lastly, I hope to leverage my background in economic research and epidemiology to contribute to strong, evidence-based policy to promote the welfare of families and communities throughout the US. I am proud to train at the UCFMR, which brings together strong academics, primary care innovation, and deep community engagement to train excellent family physicians and provide excellent care. Outside of medicine, you can find me devouring novels, hiking, biking, Spikeballing, and planning my next overseas vacation.

Sean Llewellyn, MD, PhD

University Health Track

Education: Brigham Young University, National Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Hometown: Provo, UT

Hello, I’m Sean and I spent the formative years of my life in NYC. Before that, I grew up and went to school in Utah. There, I was a competitive swimmer and when I stopped swimming competitively, I coached high school swimming. After that, I moved to Washington D.C. to work at the National Cancer Institute where I worked on an HIV vaccine. Finally, I moved to NYC to start the MD/PhD program at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. It was in NYC that I discovered myself and my true passions in life and medicine. At school, my PhD focused on the effects of diet upon the gut microbiota and health. My research opened the door to family medicine for me because I saw how important diet is upon health and it gave me the time to volunteer in our student-run primary care clinic. Personally, I’m passionate about LGBTQ+ history, cooking, baking, backpacking, and hiking. In NYC, I was able to explore the thriving LGBTQ+ scene and became the mother to the House of Cocker. Now, I’m here at UC Denver in the University Track. I chose to come here because I’m very interested in continuing clinical microbiota research with researchers at CU Boulder and performing research in practice transformations. As an MD, PhD, I want to bring more research into primary care and use my research to change healthcare policy.

Nainita Madurai, MD

University Health Track

Education: BA, Case Western Reserve University; BS, University at Buffalo; MD, SUNY Upstate Medical University

Hometown: Williamsville, NY

Hi there! I am originally from Western New York where I spent many glorious years singing classical Indian music, playing lots of board games, and just generally pulling off shenanigans. Fast forward several years and I am still doing all three of those things, but I am also lucky enough to be practicing family medicine. My undergraduate degree was in anthropology which I believe fits perfectly with the patient and community-centered nature of primary care. Throughout my journey through medicine my interests/projects have centered around geriatrics, medical anthropology, interprofessional education, refugee well-being, and recognition of bullying and child abuse. One of my favorite aspects of this program is that there are many opportunities to expand my interests and I look forward to learning more about and engaging with the communities here in Denver. My husband and I drove all the way from Syracuse, NY to Colorado when I started residency and we are loving it here. We are outdoorsy people and enjoy hiking, camping, star/moon gazing, playing Kan-Jam, dancing, you name it! We will probably try anything at least once. Even though we miss our families back out east, we are in love with the beautiful mountains and I am thrilled to be at UCFMR. My co-residents are incredibly kind and intelligent and I cannot wait to see how we all grow during residency.

Jeremiah (Jeremy) Moon, MD

University Health Track

Education: BA, University of California, Los Angeles; MD, Texas Tech University, Lubbock.

Hometown: San Diego, CA

Hi y'all! My name is Jeremy. I am originally from San Diego. I went to UCLA for undergraduate and moved to Texas Tech University for medical school. My interests in medicine include primary care innovation, community engagement, sports medicine and palliative care--to name a few. I love to cook (especially Korean food), hike, play basketball, snowboard, read, write and go to concerts (most recently Local Natives). UCFMR has some of the best opportunities for community engagement, primary care innovation, health and public policy. I've also already made some amazing friendships with my fellow residents and faculty, and am stoked to be here!

Madhav Narayan, MD

Rural Training Track

Education: Undergrad, University of Colorado-Boulder; MD, University of Colorado School of Medicine

Hometown: Broomfield, CO

Hello! I am a Colorado native with an interest in rural full-spectrum medicine. Colorado is a very nice place to live - there is a lot of sun, plenty of things to do in any season, and an opportunity to enjoy some of the most beautiful sights in the United States. Check it out for yourself - I still find myself in awe of the beauty of the Rocky Mountains!

Chelsea Roberts, MD

University Health Track

Education: BS, Washington University in St. Louis; MD, David Geffen School of Medicine

Hometown: Alamo, CA

I am from the San Francisco Bay Area, and went to Washington University in St. Louis for undergrad where I studied Engineering, Psychology and French. Shortly after graduation, I went to Uganda for my Peace Corps service, and I taught health topics in elementary schools with a focus in sexual health and reusable menstrual pads. Through this experience, I realized my future career path in medicine. Once back stateside, I went to Scripps College for my post-baccalaureate and DGSOM (UCLA) for medical school. Along the way, I married a Colorado native, who just couldn’t wait to get back to the mountains (he’s very happy to be here). We have a 6-month-old daughter and a dog. We like to go out hiking and are excited to explore the trails here. I also like running, yoga and eating. I am hoping to pick up a few winter hobbies too.

I am so excited to be part of the UCFMR family! I chose this program for many reasons, including: ample teaching opportunities, sites at academic and county hospitals, an innovative clinic environment and the ability to pursue my interests in women’s health and adolescent health. However, I ultimately chose UCFMR because of the supportive, welcoming, wonderful people I met on my interview!

Megan Townsend, MD

Denver Health Track

Education: BA, Wellesley College; MPP, Harvard Kennedy School; MD, Harvard Medical School 

Hometown: Saline, MI and Abilene, KS

Hello! After many years on the East Coast and a stint in the Peace Corps in Guinea, I am thrilled to be starting my residency here in Colorado and am so excited to begin the process of becoming a great family doc. As an intern on the Denver Health track, I am enjoying the chance to learn from our very diverse patient population in a supportive and vibrant clinic community. I am also interested in federal and state level health policy and am already benefiting from our faculty's incredible primary care research and advocacy activities.  I am interested in primary care payment and delivery reform, as well as the development of more equitable health systems that better serve vulnerable populations. Aside from work, I love to get outside as much as possible and have already had many chances to explore beautiful Colorado.

Daniel (Danny) Wells-Prado, MD

Denver Health Track

Education: BS, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities; MD, University of Minnesota Medical School

Hometown: St. Paul, MN

Hey future family medicine residents! I hail from the great state of Minn-e-snowta and brought along my husband and our dog Molly to Denver. I became interested in medicine early on because of my fascination with the complexity of the human body and the personal relationships with patients. Family medicine was a natural extension from these interests and I never looked back. In college I studied Genetics and Spanish while volunteering in FQHCs and participating in a semester-long program about inequality in the United States. After college I moved to Philadelphia for the National Health Corps/AmeriCorps program and served in a FQHC performing health insurance enrollment (yay Medicaid expansion!). I returned to the Twin Cities for medical school where I was active in our White Coats for Black Lives chapter and LGBTQ+ student group. Through RPAP I spent nine months in a rural critical access hospital during my third year experiencing the full-scope practice of family physicians. My interest in the UCFMR stemmed from the hybrid of academic and community settings and opportunities to learn full-spectrum family medicine with passionate faculty. I was also drawn to the staff who work at Lowry Family Health Center and Denver Health, especially their collective passion for underserved healthcare. I also cannot wait for opportunities to work with the LGBTQ+ community and the ability to explore my interest in HIV primary care. Outside of medicine, I enjoy running, television dramas, kayaking, and exploring the world of Denver ice cream (Smith+Canon the best thus far).