Meet The Team
Vyoma Patel
President
"The event they had with the medical student and residency panel was really impactful and helpful to me, so I really appreciate and remember that."
Fun Fact: I bumped into Channing Tatum and made him spill his popcorn.
Alize Wajahat
Vice President
"The opportunity to share, connect and assist in the immense network of International Exchanges of IFMSA brings me excitement and joy. Looking forward to a bustling exchange season post covid!"
Fun Fact: I’ve done cross-country treks in 5 countries so far
Natasha Vo
Secretary
"A memorable time with IFMSA was my first meeting with IFMSA when we were introduced to everyone in the organization. I remember doing a scavenger hunt and thought it was a great way to break the ice and meet new members."
Fun Fact: I used to represent Team USA for synchronized figure skating.
Angela Sanchez
Finance Director
"My favorite memory was the Sexual Assault Seminar in collaboration with WIM, PHSA, and NSA. It’s a topic/cause I am passionate about and it was great to learn about the role we will play in these cases as future physicians. FYI — I was a part of the Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Board as an undergrad."
Fun Fact: I went scuba diving in Brazil.
Tom Gervat
Fundraising Director
"The team :)"
Fun Fact: I've been to Machu Picchu three times!
Mya Kassim
Communications Director
"I joined IFMSA last January and I have never regretted my decision. The club truly lives up to the vision of the organization ie. establishing unity among all medical students for the greater good of global health."
Fun Fact: I jumped in front of a pit bull who tried to ambush my doggo.
Uyiughoesa Idahor
SCOME Director
"The Mini Med school event! I love that it's a great way to engage with younger kids and help them feel empowered about their healthcare decisions."
Fun Fact: I am obsessed with crafts and DIY projects. I built an entire deck, couch, and installed an above ground pool in my free time! Just call me "Bob the Builder."
Azka Iqbal
SCOPH Director
"My favorite IFMSA event is the Teddy Bear Clinic and Mini Med School! It is so much fun to teach the children about medicine and watch them have fun. They are always so happy to see everyone and it is an experience that will stay with you for a lifetime. I also love the impact that IFMSA has in Grenada and around the world."
Fun Fact: I love to read and used to read a book a day but during med school I cut it down to 100 a year!
Gabrielle"Gabby" Arens
SCOPE/SCORE Director
"Being able to interview my peers who wanted to go abroad for IFMSA exchanges will always be a highlight. It was so cool to be able to hear about everyone's passion for travel, global health, and plans for their respective futures."
Fun Fact: I learned Arabic and Russian in undergrad, and studied abroad in Jordan.
Uyioghosa "Uyi" Idahor
SCOME Director
"Hearing from alumna about their experiences in clinical rotations, STEP, and applying for residency ."
Fun Fact: I have over 100 cousins.
Jaime Sexton
SCORA Director
"Since being a member of IFMSA I have felt included in a community and have been able to reach out to other students with questions about the material or what to expect from the upcoming term."
Fun Fact: I’ve run 25 half marathons and 2 full marathons
Jillian Orden
SCORP Director
"The diverse student population working together to help bring cultural awareness and knowledge to medical students."
Fun Fact: I'm a brown belt in karate.
Alize Wajahat
Director of Exchanges: SCOPE & SCORE
"The opportunity to share, connect and assist in the immense network of International Exchanges of IFMSA brings me excitement and joy. Looking forward to a bustling exchange season post covid!"
Fun Fact: I’ve done cross-country treks in 5 countries so far
Azka Iqbal
SCOPH Co-Director
"My favorite IFMSA event is the Teddy Bear Clinic and Mini Med School! It is so much fun to teach the children about medicine and watch them have fun. They are always so happy to see everyone and it is an experience that will stay with you for a lifetime. I also love the impact that IFMSA has in Grenada and around the world."
Fun Fact: I love to read and used to read a book a day but during med school I cut it down to 100 a year!
Alexis Sireci
SCOPH Co-Director
"With Covid, connecting with people can be difficult. In my first online meeting for IFMSA, we did a scavenger hunt with a team on zoom, and everyone was so welcoming. It made online schooling seem a little more personal.."
Fun Fact: I can do a backflip.
Dena Qyqja
Membership Engagement Director
"Through IFMSA I was able to enroll in other courses on bioethics and diversity, which are subjects I am now very passionate about and invested in"
Fun Fact: I have over 50 plants in my apartment!
Isabella Essilfie
Membership Engagement Director
"I am new to IFMSA and I am looking forward to having a great time in this club. "
Fun Fact: I love baking and I would make sure to bake every Saturday. It is so much fun.
Calum Macpherson,
PhD, DIC, MEVPC, FRSPH, FRSB, FRSTMH
Founding director and Vice President, WINDREF
Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, and Director of Research, SGU, Faculty Advisor of IFMSA
Dr. Macpherson completed his PhD at Imperial College, London, joined the African Medical Research and Education Foundation (AMREF: The Flying Doctors) in Nairobi, Kenya, which he worked with for 10 years. In 1982, he was appointed the Head of a National Control Program on Cystic Hydatid Disease, an important zoonotic infection amongst the pastoral peoples of Eastern Africa. He then joined the Swiss Tropical Research Institute in Tanzania, and served as Director, working on malaria vaccine trials, schistosomiasis control initiatives, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and nutrition, infection, immunity and the environment projects. He then spent a year at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and then moved to Trinidad as Professor of Veterinary Parasitology at the University of the West Indies. He joined St George’s University in 1993 as Professor of Parasitology and Director of Research in the School of Medicine. He assisted with the creation of the Schools of Veterinary Medicine and Graduate Studies. He has been an invited speaker and conducted field based research in over 70 countries. He serves on many internal and international committees. Dr. Macpherson is the Founding Director and Vice-President of the Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation, a 501 c 3 charitable trust registered in New York and the UK and an NGO in Grenada. Over the course of his career, he has supervised over 80 master’s degree and PhD students in Kenya, Tanzania, India, the UK, Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada. In 2014 he was appointed to the Research Advisory Committee of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and elected as a Global Football Ambassador by the Grenada Football Association. He has served on many World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization Advisory Committees, published over 140 peer-reviewed international journal articles and written or edited 5 books and over 30 book chapters. He has a wide diversity of research interests, but focuses on human behavior, zoonoses, vector-borne diseases, and surveillance. In 2008, he was the Founding Faculty Advisor for the IFMSA.