Press Release

December 21, 2006
Contact: Larry Parker
Phone: (973) 972-7265
parkerwl@umdnj.edu

UMDNJ-NJMS Graduates 174 Students From Pre-Medical Honors Program Top High School Students From Throughout
State Learn from Medical Faculty, Students

NEWARK — The UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School Pre-Medical Honors Program, sponsored by the NJMS Institute for the Public Understanding of Health and Medicine, held a graduation ceremony this month for 174 outstanding high school students from throughout northern and central New Jersey who attended a nine-week seminar series on medical science.

Students, who were nominated by their principals and/or science departments for their outstanding achievement and interest in the sciences, studied subjects ranging from organ diseases and disorders to diabetes and obesity to cancer - along with learning practical advice on how to pursue a medical career and what level of accomplishment it takes as an undergraduate to earn admission into UMDNJ. All seminars were led by NJMS professors, and much of the students’ work was done side-by-side with current NJMS students.

“We want to communicate that medicine is demanding,” said Dr. Jacob Lindenthal, professor in the NJMS Department of Psychiatry and director of the Pre-Medical Honors Program. Future medical students, he said, “need to put their whole heart and soul into it - they not only need intelligence, but discipline and passion.”

The top 20 percent of the class graduated with honors, in recognition of their outstanding work in the seminars; these students are listed below.

The Pre-Medical Honors Program, held annually each fall since 2000, is one of two annual lecture series sponsored by the NJMS Institute for the Public Understanding of Health and Medicine. The other, Minimed School, is held annually each spring as continuing education for adults interested in learning more about health care. For more information on the upcoming Minimed School in 2007, or on the just-concluded Pre-Medical Honors Program, please contact Michael Grabow of the Institute for the Public Understanding of Health and Medicine at (973) 972-1269.

UMDNJ is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health, on five campuses. Last year, there were more than two million patient visits to UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health and addiction services network.

2006 Pre-Medical Honors Program - Honors Graduates (Top 20% of Class)

Student                                High School                                 Hometown
Cynthia Alessio                    Nutley H.S.                                  Nutley
Cynthia Balasanmuga          Wayne Valley H.S.                       Wayne
Amar Bhavsar                     John F. Kennedy H.S.                   Iselin
Monika Debkowska             Woodbridge H.S.                          Woodbridge
Michelle Elia                       Wayne Valley H.S.                       Wayne
Mohammed Elsayed            Wayne Valley H.S.                       Wayne
Aisha Hasan                       John F. Kennedy H.S.                   Woodbridge
Matthew Heller                    Fair Lawn H.S.                             Fair Lawn
Diana Izrailova                    Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academ  Livingston
Melissa Johnson                Wayne Valley H.S.                       Wayne
Navneet Kaur                     Carteret H.S.                                Carteret
Annalisa Klein                   Queen of Peace H.S.                     Rutherford
Edward Lee                       Passaic Valley Reg. H.S.              Totowa
Amtul Mansoor                  John F. Kennedy H.S.                    Iselin
Tasneem Masqati              John F. Kennedy H.S.                    Iselin
Andrew Nouri                     Wayne Valley H.S.                       Wayne
Mary Okorie                      Columbia H.S.                               Maplewood
Isaac O’Neal                     (not available)                                Newark
Bejal Pandya                    Bridgewater-Raritan H.S.                Bridgewater
Mira Patel                        Passaic Valley Reg. H.S.               Little Falls
Misha Reese                   Columbia H.S.                                Maplewood
Christopher Reszcynski    Sparta H.S.                                   Sparta
Stanley Reszcynski         Sparta H.S.                                   Sparta
Deborah Rothbard            (home schooled)                            Livingston
Kruti Sanghavi                 John F. Kennedy H.S.                    Metuchen
Vikas Shah                      Carteret H.S.                                Carteret
Katherine Shin                 Passaic Valley Reg. H.S.              Little Falls
Tarandeep Singh              Carteret H.S.                                Carteret
Savinder Sodhi                 Carteret H.S.                                Carteret
Saniya Tabani                  Bridgewater-Raritan H.S.               Bridgewater
Keya Thakkar                  Queen of Peace H.S.                    Clifton
Lauren Tirri                      Wayne Valley H.S.                       Wayne
Kiyan Williams                Science H.S.                                Newark
Jingna Zhao                    John P. Stevens H.S.                    Edison
Rahul Dutta                    (not available)                               (not available)
Harrison Galicki              (not available)                               (not available)
Sarah Galicki                 (not available)                                (not available)