Meet the Class of 2023!
Top row, left to right: Abbey Allen, Lauren Wheelock, Alyssa Kelley, Wei Ng, Erin Mathes
Bottom row, left to right: Gabriel Ulibarri, CyAnn Williams, Maggie LeJeune, Sidney Bushman, Falyn Garner, Carly Sanofsky Lailie Simon
Bottom row, left to right: Gabriel Ulibarri, CyAnn Williams, Maggie LeJeune, Sidney Bushman, Falyn Garner, Carly Sanofsky Lailie Simon
Abbey Allen
Abbey was born in Oklahoma in 1990 and raised in Greenville, SC. She moved to Asheville, NC where she got her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a concentration in neuroscience from the University of North Carolina – Asheville. She was always interested in medicine but wanted to explore other outlets before she settled on the possibility of medical school. After graduating Abbey moved to Juneau, AK for a few years to work for a whale watching tour company. In 2016 she began training Duo Trapeze as just a hobby but ended up making a career out of it. After a few years of traveling and performing she returned to Juneau, Alaska. In 2020 Abbey’s passion for medicine could no longer be put off and she began taking science-based courses at a local community college in Greenville, SC while exploring options in the medical field. After reading Working Stiff by Judy Melinek, she was instantly intrigued with forensic autopsies and the idea that this type of pathology work might be the greatest form of advocacy you can offer someone. She got a job as an Autopsy Technician at Greenville Memorial Hospital and fell in love with it. She is more than thrilled to be a part of Tulane’s Cohort 3 and to explore all the possibilities in this field of work. Abbey loves partner dancing of all kinds, weightlifting and reading in any of her spare time!
Sidney Bushman
Sidney was born in Navarre, Florida but was raised in the small mountain town of Woodland Park, Colorado. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Integrative Physiology from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2019. Sidney always knew that she wanted to pursue a career in medicine, but she was not sure exactly where in medicine she belonged. During her senior year of college, her identical twin sister was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer. Concerned and scared for not only her twin sister’s health but her own health as well, she enrolled in a class called pathophysiology. It was here that she gained a love and appreciation for pathology and knew that this was the field she was supposed to be in. After graduating, she worked as a medical scribe in the ED at two different hospitals and eventually landed an internship as a forensic autopsy technician at the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner as well as a job in a pathology lab as a grossing technician. She maintained the internship and job for a little over a year before being accepted into Tulane’s Pathologists’ Assistant Program! In her free time, Sidney enjoys being outside, hiking, camping, snowboarding (when there is snow around!), and climbing. She is very excited to experience New Orleans and try all the great food this city has to offer!
Falyn Garner
Falyn was born in 1998 in Seattle, and left Washington State in 2016 to obtain her bachelor of science in Integrative Physiology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. After graduation in 2020, she started searching for her passion in the medical field. A simple miscommunication on the phone led her to be placed with a Pathologists’ Assistant (PA) for shadowing one afternoon instead of a Physician Assistant (PA). Thus, she was introduced to surgical pathology. Immediately enamored with the profession, it became clear what path she needed to pursue. After extensive research, she decided that Tulane was a perfect fit. She quit her job as an Accessioner at Boulder Medical Center, packed up her life, and drove from Colorado to Louisiana to pursue her education. When she’s not binging Forensic Files, Falyn enjoys being active, listening to music, and will take anything as an excuse to go to brunch!
Alyssa Kelley
Alyssa Kelley was born in Tucson, AZ and raised in Boise, ID. She graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Boise State University. Alyssa has over 7 years of veterinary medicine experience involving surgery, assisting veterinarians with histopath specimens, and using lab based diagnostics. Her love of learning about disease and anatomy grew with her time spent in the clinic. After struggling with health issues of her own (Lupus erythematosus), Alyssa's interest in pathology within the human body heightened. Reddit introduced her to the Pathologists' Assistant career which started the goal of becoming a PA herself. Alyssa is delighted to be attending Tulane University's Pathologists' Assistant program due to their obvious passion about both the field of study and about their students. She spends her spare time hiking with her Great Dane - Skully, paddle boarding with her goat - Timothy Skrinkle Uddersworth, painting, riding and competing in eventing, reading nonfiction, going to metal concerts, and is learning to roller skate with both the dog and goat.
Alyssa Kelley was born in Tucson, AZ and raised in Boise, ID. She graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Boise State University. Alyssa has over 7 years of veterinary medicine experience involving surgery, assisting veterinarians with histopath specimens, and using lab based diagnostics. Her love of learning about disease and anatomy grew with her time spent in the clinic. After struggling with health issues of her own (Lupus erythematosus), Alyssa's interest in pathology within the human body heightened. Reddit introduced her to the Pathologists' Assistant career which started the goal of becoming a PA herself. Alyssa is delighted to be attending Tulane University's Pathologists' Assistant program due to their obvious passion about both the field of study and about their students. She spends her spare time hiking with her Great Dane - Skully, paddle boarding with her goat - Timothy Skrinkle Uddersworth, painting, riding and competing in eventing, reading nonfiction, going to metal concerts, and is learning to roller skate with both the dog and goat.
Maggie LeJeune
Maggie was born and raised in Gonzales, Louisiana. She graduated from Mississippi State University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Microbiology. During her undergraduate studies, she discovered her love for research and the field of pathology working alongside a Pathology graduate student doing research in microbiology and immunology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Seeking to gain more experience that combined her two interests, she worked for two years as a research assistant in a Plant Pathology lab. While these two experiences consolidated her interest in pathology, she was unsure of which career path in pathology was right for her. After much research, she stumbled upon the pathologists’ assistant profession through a former classmate. As she began shadowing pathologists’ assistants, she realized this profession aligned perfectly with her interests of dissections, pathology, anatomy, and physiology. She is excited to join the Tulane community! In her free time, she loves walking, running, drinking coffee, spending time with her three sisters, and petting dogs!
Erin Mathes
Erin was born and raised in NOLA. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Louisiana State University. Following her life long passion of working in forensics, Erin continued her studies and earned a Master of Science in Forensic Science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After graduation, Erin began working at the Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office as a Board Certified Medicolegal Death Investigator. During her time at the coroner’s office, Erin started spending more time in the autopsy suite and was introduced to the field of forensic pathology. Finding her calling, Erin is ecstatic to begin her journey at Tulane University. In her free time, Erin loves tailgating, music, festivals, and sharing it all with her husband and precious daughter.
Wei Ng
Wei was born in Caracas,Venezuela and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at Northeastern University. After graduating he began working as a cytology technician at a private pathology company. Following that he took on a grossing technician position at Quantum Pathology and then a pathology technologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. Having spent 6 years working in pathology, he knows that being a pathologists’ assistant is the career for him. In his free time he loves traveling, watching Drag Race, playing video games and board games (2016 PAX Splendor Champion).
Carly Sanofsky
Carly, born near Chicago, attended her undergraduate studies at Lake Superior State University. While in Michigan, she enrolled in forensic chemistry but completed her baccalaureate degree in biochemistry. When these two sciences mixed, Carly was introduced into the world of pathology. After graduating, she worked at Loyola University’s histology/surgical pathology lab. As she explored the functioning pathology department, she interacted with the various personnel of the lab, including the pathologists’ assistants. One of these PAs inspired her to apply to Tulane, and here she is today. Throughout her adult life she has been asked why pathology. As every child is an explorer at their core, she believes, subconsciously, we all want to continue the pursuit of discovery. While Carly loves learning all things medical, she enjoys photography, reading and adventuring. As she takes this program head on, she aspires to learn everything she can to be the Pathologists' Assistant that finds the needle in the haystack to help change patient lives.
Lailie Simon
Lailie was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She graduated from Portland State University in 2013 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Organismal Biology. Originally planning on attending mortuary school, she accidentally fell into anatomic pathology when she began volunteering at the VA Portland Health Care System in 2012 in the histology department. Histology called a little harder, so she received her HTL certification in 2013 and began working full time as a histotechnologist at the Portland VA. In 2017, she was promoted to the grossing histotechnologist position and began grossing biopsies and small specimens. She soon realized grossing small specimens just wasn’t enough, so she started looking into becoming a Pathologist’s Assistant and found Tulane to be the best fit. Lailie spends her free time pole dancing, swimming, playing video games, and antiquing.
Gabriel Ulibarri
Gabriel grew up in the small town of Paso Robles on the central coast of California. He attended San Diego State University and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Cell and Molecular Biology in 2009. A career in health care was always the goal, but before moving forward with his education, he followed his passion for music. This led him close to home where he stumbled upon a job as a grossing technician in a private pathology laboratory, only knowing that he enjoyed working with his hands and the field of medicine. Here he spent eight years grossing, assisting with autopsies, and realizing his goal of becoming a pathologists’ assistant. Eventually, he felt the pull of music again, leading him to Portland, Oregon in 2018. Here he shredded ultra hard with his band while working in the Oregon Health and Sciences University laboratory, assisting with bone marrow biopsy procedures and working closely with the pathologists’ assistants. He soon learned of the stellar pathologists’ assistant program at Tulane and knew it was the right time and right place for him. He is incredibly excited to be a part of the third cohort and honored to learn from such phenomenal faculty. Any free time Gabriel has is spent writing/recording/performing music, drinking coffee or exploring the city.
Lauren Wheelock
Lauren was born in Orange, California. She attended the University of Oregon where she graduated with a bachelor of science in human physiology, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. After college, she began working as a medical scribe where she was first exposed to careers in healthcare. However, as COVID became more prevalent in the US, all non-essential hospital personnel were asked to leave. Lauren then joined Occupy Medical, a local non-profit dedicated to serving the unhoused community. Eventually, Lauren became Occupy Medical’s Program Director for the respite shelter they ran, where she fell in love with helping people but realized direct patient care was not something that interested her. Through a co-worker, she learned about the PA profession and decided to shadow one. That day she decided this was going to be her career and applied to Tulane. When she’s not studying, Lauren loves to bake and can regularly be found singing in her kitchen.
.
CyAnn Williams
CyAnn was born in 20th century New England and completed her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. While there, she undertook a research project that led her to work with populations in Cambodia affected by waterborne illness; this experience convinced her that she wanted a hands-on role in the healthcare field. As she transitioned to working as a certified nursing assistant, she found herself wanting to better understand disease processes and our society’s attitudes toward death and dying. She began working her way through various lab support roles in the hospital and was able to shadow a Pathologists’ Assistant, who showed her how fascinating this profession can be. After this, she was employed as a grossing technician occasionally assisting in hospital autopsies, before applying to Tulane’s program. Beyond her studies she enjoys travelling to Atlas Obscura points of interest, Universal Monster films, trying new flavors of King Cake, and her local library.
CyAnn was born in 20th century New England and completed her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. While there, she undertook a research project that led her to work with populations in Cambodia affected by waterborne illness; this experience convinced her that she wanted a hands-on role in the healthcare field. As she transitioned to working as a certified nursing assistant, she found herself wanting to better understand disease processes and our society’s attitudes toward death and dying. She began working her way through various lab support roles in the hospital and was able to shadow a Pathologists’ Assistant, who showed her how fascinating this profession can be. After this, she was employed as a grossing technician occasionally assisting in hospital autopsies, before applying to Tulane’s program. Beyond her studies she enjoys travelling to Atlas Obscura points of interest, Universal Monster films, trying new flavors of King Cake, and her local library.
