Sepinoud Bazel, MD
My desire to be a physician has been a wish of mine since I was a young child. Having a father who is a general surgeon allowed me to gain a realistic sense of what it means to be a physician.
I was raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and
attended Muhlenberg College for my undergraduate studies in
Biochemistry and French. Following college, I pursued my medical
degree at Drexel University College of Medicine.
My greatest passion aside
from medicine is playing the violin. I have been performing for the
last 16 years as a soloist, chamber musician, and in various
orchestras throughout the years.
I thank my family and fiance for their love and support and for
teaching me what family is all about!
I
am very excited to be a part of the University of Connecticut/St.
Francis "Family" and am very much looking forward to the next three
years!
 |
Hugh
Blumenfeld, M.D., Ph.D |
|
I was born in Jamaica, NY, the last aftershock of the baby boom, and grew up between New York and New Jersey. I was pint-sized, played violin and liked school, so I got to use my judo skills more than other kids. At M.I.T. I majored in English and Biology, then went on to get an MA in Literature/Creative Writing at University of Chicago and a PhD in Poetics at N.Y.U. My dissertation on the English poet William Blake ended with a chapter on poetry and chaos theory. Living in Greenwich Village in the 1980’s, I got involved in the acoustic music scene there and recorded two CDs of original songs. I also met a former professional cookie taster on a stopover in Charlotte, got married, and moved to Coventry, Connecticut.
As an English Professor at Eastern Connecticut State University, I taught poetry and drama as well as seminars in American songwriters and Literature & Science. My interest in songs as a literary form eventually led me out of academia, and I pursued a career as a professional folksinger. For the next ten years or so, I criss-crossed the U.S. in an old Chevy, did several tours in Europe, and released three more CDs. The state’s arts commission asked me to be Connecticut’s official State Troubadour in 1999-2000, which got me gigs at the Kennedy Center and about a hundred elementary schools. Like all modern troubadours, I got proficient at webdesign, databases, and troubleshooting my laptop. I also learned that trick where you stick a pen into the carburetor when it's below zero and the car won't start...
I always thought of music as a healing art. I’ve found opportunities to play at hospices, hospital floors and group homes, and Andrea and I have worked at two camps for children with cancer. After becoming a father I stopped touring and decided I was finally ready to be a doctor. UConn’s medical program took a chance on me, and my wife Andrea has been more than supportive all the way. We now have two boys, ages 6 & 4. We eat macaroni and cheese, listen to Fountains of Wayne, and criss-cross the town in an old Volvo for gymnastics, soccer and tae-kwon-do. If you hear someone singing a patient to sleep in the ICU, it’s probably me.
Amber S. Cheema,
M.D. Co-Chief
Resident 
Hi! It is with great enthusiasm that I write this as this is one of the most exciting times in my life. Born in Houston TX to parents of Pakistani decent I have lived in many different parts of the US. It was in NJ however where I spent my middle school years and onwards. I completed my undergraduate education at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. After graduating in 2002 I decided to go abroad for medical school to the Aga Khan Medical University in Pakistan. This was truly an amazing opportunity for me as it not only allowed me to experience the culture there, but also to compare the health care needs and system of a developing country to that of my own.
I decided to transfer to St. Christopher’s College of Medicine, based in Luton, England for the clinical portion of medical school so I could gain US experience and be close to my family.
I have been married for a little over a year and a half now and both my husband and I look forward to joining the community in the Hartford area. He is a vascular surgeon, who will be a part of the Surgical Group with Hartford Hospital. After completing my rotations in 2006 I am now excited to start not only my professional life, but also my family life in the Hartford area!
Blair
Dierks, M.D.
Hello, my name is Blair Dierks and this is my story. I was born in Denver, CO. but my family soon moved overseas for my father’s job as an architect. For most of my childhood my family lived in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Australia, before we finally settled in Hawaii. During this time we traveled throughout Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa. After high school in Hawaii, I attended the U of Washington in Seattle, where I studied biochemistry. With the thought of a career in research post-graduation, I worked in a lab at the university for several years where we investigated novel genes involved in the differentiation of retinal stem cells. Desiring a change from bench-work, I moved to Costa Rica where I lived and worked on a small organic coffee farm. When I returned to Seattle, I worked in a small startup biotech company searching for new treatments for eye diseases. Rather than continuing a career in research, I pursued medicine at Ross University. Outside of my “unquenchable thirst for knowledge” I like to travel, camp, hike, bike, read, and play guitar. I look forward to a career where I can form lasting, caring relationships with patients and their families, and am excited to undertake my training at UConn.
Alex Faustin, M.D.
This is a very exciting part in my life to see one’s dreams come to reality. I am 7th of 8 children and was born and raised in Haiti until I was 9 years of age. It was there that my dream of becoming a physician came about. No one in my immediate family is a physician, so that was more than a reason to pursue my desired vocation.
My family and I migrated to Long Island, NY with the help of my father’s sister, whom has been living in the US for quite some time. During my undergraduate course, I enrolled in 3 different schools: Univ. of Delaware (98-99), SUNY at Buffalo (00), and graduated from SUNY at Stonybrook (Class of 02). I took a year off working at developmental disabilities Institute (DDI) until I matriculated at Howard University College of Medicine. That was a very special time for me, knowing that at the end of the 4 years there, I would become a doctor. Also, I met a lot of people whom were pursuing the same dream, and frankly were of similar persuasion. It was a source of inspiration and motivation.
I am elated to have been accepted at Uconn/St Francis family medicine program. It is a new beginning, and a new surrounding making up a few chapters in my life. I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.
Tsewang Gyurmey, M.D.
I grew up in a hill station called Darjeeling in the Himalayas. It is world famous for its aromatic tea and steam engines. After I finished my med school from Maulana Azad I went to Lady Hardinge and completed my residency in general medicine in 2006 both in New Delhi.
I have always wanted to do something for my community and one day dream of practicing and healing in a Free and Independent Tibet.
The first thing that struck me about the program was the warmth and friendly atmosphere shared by one and all. The core values of the program also match those of mine. I am thrilled, happy and very eager to start a new chapter in my life here and am sure it is going to be an important and enjoyable learning experience.
Hiking, cricket and watching movies and TV are some of my interests. I am also an automotive buff and love cooking for friends and loved ones.
Andrew
Mahtani, MD
I was raised in Nevada and California, and attended International schools in India and Hungary. I earned my medical degree at Semmelweis University of Budapest, after completing, during the final year, the Fifth Pathway Program of New York Medical College.
I enjoy spending time with family and friends, outdoor activities, traveling, playing soccer, and sword fencing which has a long tradition at Semmelweis. I wanted to become a doctor ever since I was a child. Living abroad opened my eyes to different cultures and systems, which fueled my passion for people, knowledge, and healthcare. After careful consideration, I found the UConn/St.Francis Family Medicine residency to offer the most supportive and comprehensive training. I am excited about the challenges that lie ahead; and look forward to meet with and become part of the UCONN community.
Emily Walker, MD, MPH
Co-Chief Resident
I was the middle child born to American parents in Ontario, Canada. When I was 9 years old, we moved to Charleston, SC, and I have spent most of my life living in the States. I went to Swarthmore College, where I played basketball and studied cognitive psychology. During a summer vacation, I lived with a friend’s family in rural Colorado and worked on their farm doing carpentry, roofing and animal care. After that experience, I decided I wanted to learn woodworking. Upon graduating college, I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and joined the local carpentry union. I found a job with a company that was restoring several of San Francisco’s beautiful historic buildings, such as the City Hall and the Opera House.
I loved the years I spent doing historical restoration and finish carpentry in San Francisco, but I could never shake the feeling I had had since I was young—that
I wanted to be a doctor. I enrolled in Bennington College’s premedical post-baccalaureate program where I took my premedical courses in twelve months. In the fall of 2001, I started medical school at Dartmouth in New Hampshire. After graduating, I matched in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. My intern year was spent caring for a largely indigent patient population at Grady Hospital, one of the busiest county hospitals in the country. During that year, I realized that OB/Gyn was not quite the right field for me. I also become more interested in public policy and social determinants of health. I finished my internship at Emory and then went to Yale University’s School of Public Health where I completed an MPH.
I realized that Family Medicine was the perfect way to have a clinical practice while keeping my focus on the larger picture of public health. The UConn/St Francis Family Medicine residency directors and coordinators have been extremely flexible in finding ways to include me into their program, including advanced standing from my internship in OB/Gyn. Since joining this program, I have been very impressed with the quality of the teaching, the variety and degree of pathology we see in the hospital and outpatient clinics, and the warmth and friendship among residents, faculty and staff. I could not be happier with this new path.
