Mary B. de Laosa, MD
PGY 6
Ohio State University College of Medicine
Undergraduate School: University of Florida
Medical School: The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Residency: Indiana University School of Medicine
Why did you pursue a pulmonary fellowship? I always knew that I wanted to be a pediatrician, but I discovered through my training that I wanted to specialize in pulmonary! I enjoy the diversity that a career in pulmonary has to offer including multiple sub-specialties as well as balancing outpatient clinic, inpatient service and bronchoscopy. I enjoy fostering long term relationships with patients and their families and being able to watch them improve and grow!
What do you like about the IU School of Medicine program? Throughout my residency here, I was able to work with the amazing pulmonary fellows, staff, nursing and program team. Their dedication to their patients and education was inspiring! The program also has a wide breadth of interests of each staff, vast research opportunities and the ability to care for children of the entire state of Indiana (and often children of other states as well). I have also always enjoyed teaching, and even thought I would pursue elementary education until I was in high school and discovered my love for science/medicine. IU has one of the largest medical schools in the country, so being part of this fellowship program allows for me to continue to partake in medical student education and play a role in training future doctors!
Research/QI interests? Cystic fibrosis, asthma and medical education
Future plans? I plan to continue fostering my clinical and research skills in fellowship to be able to serve my community and provide great care as an attending physician. I also hope to work in medical education in some capacity either within a medical school, residency or fellowship program!
Hobbies/ Interests? I enjoy spending time with my fiancé and our mini-goldendoodle Archie, my weekly trivia night with friends, exercising, reading for fun, traveling home to Florida to see my family, baking (always inspired by cooking shows to try new recipes) and binge watching my favorite TV shows.
What do you enjoy in Indianapolis? I love trying new restaurants! Some of my favorites are Livery, Union 50, Divvy and Patachou. I grew up in Florida, so I have also truly enjoyed being able to experience all the fun of actually having four seasons! Indianapolis has many state parks and accessible running paths that I love exploring with our dog!
Joseph Castlen, MD
PGY 5
University of Louisville School of Medicine
Undergraduate School: Boston College
Medical School: University of Louisville School of Medicine
Residency: Indiana University School of Medicine
Why did you pursue a pulmonology fellowship? Respiratory problems are very common in kids — asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood! I like pediatric pulmonology because we have the opportunity to care for patients in the clinic and in the hospital, we get to do bronchoscopies as part of that care, and there are lots of research opportunities.
What do you like about the IU School of Medicine program? Fellows in our program get to perform lots of bronchoscopies and are very well-trained by the end of fellowship. We have extremely friendly and supportive faculty who treat us like early-career attendings. I am also part of our Morris Green Physician Scientist program that provides extra funding and training to residents and fellows who are interested in research.
Research/QI interests? I am doing research on an NIH T32 grant looking at the overlap between primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and asthma, including prospectively having patients do pulmonary function tests and studying their genotypes. I plan to expand the project to do in vitro and in vivo studies as well.
Future plans? I am pursuing a career as a physician-scientist.
Hobbies/ Interests? I play the drums, like to play pickleball and love grilling out when the weather is nice.
What do you enjoy in Indianapolis? Biking and walking the Monon Trail, going to concerts at some of our great venues like Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park, cheering on the Fever and the Pacers, and exploring the city's museums (especially the Newfields museum and gardens).
Alexandra E. Silva, MD
PGY 5
Indiana University School of Medicine
Undergraduate School: San Diego State University
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine
Residency: Indiana University School of Medicine
Why did you pursue a pulmonology fellowship? During my training, I was interested in ventilation, medical complexity and palliative care in addition to respiratory physiology. I felt pulmonology provided an opportunity to pursue all of those interests in a ratio I found rewarding.
What do you like about the IU School of Medicine program? There is a balanced breadth of clinical interests amongst the faculty within our pulmonology department which serves to create a fun and well-rounded environment to learn in. Additionally, the faculty are some of the best teachers/mentors I have encountered in my training. Even as a medical student, it was clear they were invested in helping us grow as clinicians as well as people.
Research/QI interests? Chronic trach/vent, interstitial lung disease, asthma, access to health care, medical education
Future plans? I'm interested in staying in an academic environment as I love to teach and have enjoyed doing research. However, I'm also considering pursuing a diving medicine fellowship before settling into an "adult" job.
Hobbies/ Interests? Traveling, diving, cooking/baking, history (particularly the history of food and 16th century European history)
What do you enjoy in Indianapolis? I enjoy going to the various sporting events and music performances that pass through Indy. I also love going to different international supermarkets and making different dishes I've had while traveling.
Ada Reyes, DO
PGY 4
Kansas City University College Of Osteopathic Medicine
Undergraduate School: Oral Roberts University
Medical School: Kansas City University
Residency: Indiana University School of Medicine
Why did you pursue an allergy/immunology pediatric pulmonary fellowship? I find the pathophysiology of lung disease very interesting and enjoy being able to do procedures. Pulmonology was not initially somethings I was interested in. But the pulmonary team made it a such a great learning experience that I decided to pursue this fellowship.
What do you like about the IU School of Medicine program? The program has done a great job at not only recruiting good doctors, but also great people. It's a collaborative environment and everyone has been very supportive of each other.
Research/QI interests? I'm interested in aerodigestive research in patients, as well as language service access for patients who speak a language other than English.
Future plans? I think I would like to focus in aerodigestive medicine and asthma.
Hobbies/ Interests? Baking, reading, trying new restaurants
What do you enjoy in Indianapolis? There's so many different things to do downtown. There's great restaurants, parks to take walks in, and fun pubs. I love going to the Living Room Theaters downtown and then walk across the street to Bottleworks for some ice cream. But the highlight of my year is the Indiana State Fair.
Pauline Kamau, MS
PGY 4
University of Nairobi School of Medicine
Medical School: University of Nairobi, Faculty of Health Sciences
Residency: Indiana University School of Medicine
Why did you pursue an allergy/immunology pediatric pulmonary fellowship? While undertaking medical school training I really enjoyed understanding the pathophysiology of lung conditions. During the clinical years I was intrigued by taking care of patients with complex lung conditions and realized this was the area I would like to explore during the rest of my medical career.
What do you like about the IU School of Medicine program? Having done residency at IU, I greatly enjoyed my pulmonary rotations and the attendings who trained me were very inspiring. They were eager to support my dream to be a pulmonologist and that`s how I decided to stay. In addition, during my residency training I had an exposure to broad number of lung conditions and therefore knew I would be well equipped to be an excellent pulmonologist.
Research/QI interests? I have been previously involved in research on pulmonary infectious diseases and plan to continue the same.
Future plans? After training I would like to be involved in full-time clinical practice especially to the underserved population.
Hobbies/Interests? I enjoy Latin and Afrobeat dancing. While in my home country in Kenya, I enjoy mountain climbing, last climbed Mt Kilimanjaro.
What do you enjoy in Indianapolis? I enjoy attending Pacers games and going to the Indiana State Fair to watch the demolition derby. Indianapolis has very friendly people and always feel very welcoming.
