School of Medicine

Meet Austin Anthony, president of the School of Medicine Class of 2023. He is from Memphis, Tennessee, and went to Vanderbilt University. The first doctor in his family, he is doing a seven-year neurosurgical residency at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona.

School of Medicine

Meet Warren Austin, a third-year medical student from the Carrick neighborhood of Pittsburgh. He spent August 2023 at Steelers training camp as the first local participant in the NFL’s Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative, where he divided his time between training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe and the clinic at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. The NFL created the program to address the issue of underrepresentation in sports medicine. 

School of Nursing

In the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, when most people were doing everything they could to avoid the disease, Adrian Bermudez signed up to go to the front lines as a travel nurse. His mother, also a nurse, was treating COVID-19 patients in a medical intensive care unit in Manhattan, and he raised his hand to work by her side.

School of Medicine

Meet Alexander Castro. He grew up in southwestern Virginia in a small coal town called Wise. His father is from the Dominican Republic, and his mother is from Eastern Kentucky. He attended the University of Virginia and spent a summer at the University of Pittsburgh in a pipeline program for students underrepresented in medicine. A May 2023 graduate of the School of Medicine, he is doing his residency in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

School of Medicine

With his strong work ethic, leadership skills and commitment to service, Alan is poised to make a significant difference in medicine and beyond.

School of Public Health

Meet Monica Henderson, who is using her training in Pitt’s School of Public Health to help address the social determinants of health among kids. She works in the Center for Race and Social Problems, which is housed in the School of Social Work.

School of Health
and Rehabilitation Sciences

Julia Lam, who holds a doctorate in occupational therapy from the School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, is starting a nonprofit to help people experiencing homeless to make the transition from living on the streets to living indoors. 

School of Medicine

“I came to Pitt with a dream, and because of the support I’ve gotten and the hard work I’ve done, I’m discovering how I can make that dream a reality. I’m looking forward to the challenges of residency and am curious to see what lies ahead for my career.”

School of Dental Medicine

“At my undergraduate school, the motto was ‘UCF stands for opportunity.’ And I had that energy in me coming into graduate school, so I came into Pitt thinking, ‘Pitt also stands for opportunity.’”

School of Health
and Rehabilitation Sciences

In September 2023, Lauren Rittle, a 2018 graduate of Pitt’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, became the first female athletic trainer to work the Pittsburgh Penguins’ bench. For Rittle, breaking barriers is becoming something of a habit.

School of Pharmacy

Meet Shay Roth, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. We spoke with her in fall 2023, as a fourth-year pharmacy student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, wrapping up her doctorate in pharmacy, the PharmD, with concentrations in global health and pharmacotherapy.