Meet Us!

Program Leadership

Program Director

Anne-Marie Leuck, MD

leuck002@umn.edu

Associate Program Director

Serin Erayil Schmidt, MBBS

erayi001@umn.edu

Program Administrator

Amy Strohman

ID-Ed@umn.edu

Fellow Perspectives

Why did you choose the UMN ID fellowship program? What would you say are the strengths of the program?

As an under-represented minority, one of my career goals is to work with the ethnic minority community. The Twin Cities is home to a vast array of immigrants and refugees whose infections are unique to their group and not commonly found elsewhere. With the Fellowships' robust Global Health focus and strong ties with the Minnesota Department of Health, my career ambitions can be easily achievable.

I love the diversity of training sites; the staff are all so engaged and approachable and MN is a great place to be to learn medicine. After matching I’ve learned that MDH is also an amazing asset for our training program. I think for those interested in global health we also have many opportunities to highlight. Fellows are valued and respected here, and learning (not just clinical work) is very clearly the primary objective in our fellowship program.

Flexibility in schedule and ability to tailor to career interests. Broad opportunities in research and global health. Wellness endorsement for fellows by the program.

I chose the University of Minnesota for multiple reasons.

1) I wanted a strong clinically focused two-year program. University of Minnesota has a very strong clinical program with no major weaknesses - we spend plenty of time caring for patients with HIV, transplant patients, and general ID patients. We also have a really strong diverse group of hospitals we rotate at. HCMC, a county hospital/safety-net hospital, gives us valuable experience treating refugees, immigrants, and persons who use drugs. We see a lot of tropical diseases as well at HCMC (which applicants may not realize, applying to Minnesota). UMN does all major transplant types and is a large tertiary center. The VAMC is also a referral center but you get plenty of "bread and butter" ID here which was really important to me.

2) Wellness. I think our program strikes a nice balance between working hard when you are on service (we do need to see plenty of patients to learn) with sufficient time off service. I typically am able to leave by 5pm and only very rarely would have to stay later than 6pm (perhaps once or twice a month). We also balance clinic well - all sites and faculty want to know when your clinic afternoon is and balance the workflow to make sure you are done with inpatient work (including notes) by noon so you can leave to go to clinic and not have inpatient work at the end of the day. The 2-month orientation period to take boards, have a few days at the different sites, and "bootcamp" is another great example of wellness. That 2-month period was such a welcome break after a grueling IM residency - helped me remember what my hobbies actually are! Lastly, being able to have a full 6-weeks of paternity leave - on top of my other time away - without having my fellowship extended was amazing!

3) Faculty at all sites are amazing. They all want to teach, have varied research interests, and are fun to work with and learn from. Having only 3 fellows a year with 3 full clinical sites means that the staff also love to work with fellows where their research interests match! It was very very easy to find a mentor.

Current Fellows

First Year Fellows

Mary Mayerchak, MD

Nicholas Mielke, MD

Second Year Fellows

Molly Lindstrom, MD

Edith Nyangoma, MbCh

Alex Rivero, MD

Alumni Perspectives

How did your fellowship experience shape your career paths?

I entered fellowship interested in public health and the clinical management of infectious diseases. I was privileged to receive excellent training in both. Within a few months, I met incredible mentors who offered thoughtful and encouraging guidance, helping shape my career trajectory. During three years of fellowship, I observed barriers to health experienced by my patients with illnesses such as malaria, COVID-19, and HIV and concurrently focused on projects addressing these barriers. At the end of fellowship, I had heard hundreds of patient stories, received an MPH degree, and written articles advocating for better health system processes. After fellowship, I entered the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service program for further public health training. I am forever grateful to the UMN ID fellowship program for supporting and nurturing my interests at the intersection of clinical medicine and public health.

Chrstine Thomas, DO, MPH

Epidemiologic Intelligence Service, CDC

The highlight of my fellowship was the opportunity to perform T32-supported research under the mentorship of Dr. Ruth Lynfield, state epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health. This protected time allowed me to develop expertise in the molecular epidemiology of respiratory viruses including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus. In my current role as UMN faculty, I am continuing my collaboration with Dr. Lynfield and colleagues as the University of Minnesota site PI and project lead for a new academic-public health partnership--the Pathogen Genomics Centers of Excellence network--funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This network will focus on modernizing the public health system’s disease-investigation capabilities by integrating next generation sequencing and other advanced microbial detection technologies within CDC and in state and local public health systems. The 5-year project (2023-2028) led by my lab will focus on using novel molecular diagnostic techniques to describe the epidemiology of respiratory pathogens and antimicrobial resistance longitudinally in the region.

Beth Thielen, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

I enjoyed my ID fellowship training at the University of Minnesota and would choose the fellowship again without a doubt. I really liked training at 3 very different hospitals. It gave me an opportunity to find my fit (safety net vs university vs government facility) and see a breadth of cases which is important for any general infectious diseases doctor. I was also given the space and opportunity to develop my skills as a clinician educator. Ultimately, through those opportunities, I was able to start my career with protected time for medical education. The UMN ID fellowship does an awesome job tailoring experiences to the trainee. From my batch, we have a physician-scientist, private practice ID physician, and an HIV primary care clinician. It is great to be surrounded by individuals with varied interests and these connections are so helpful when out in practice!

Jessica Oswald, DO

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Hennepin County Medical Center

Teaching Faculty

Fellowship Program Faculty.pdf

Past Fellows

2026

Kelly Hallowell
Infectious Diseases Physician
Hennepin County Medical Center
Minneapolis, MN

Zachary Hartnady
Infectious Diseases Physician
Ridgeview Medical Center
Waconia, MN

Johnathone Yang
Infectious Diseases Physician
St. Paul Infectious Disease Associates
St. Paul, MN

2025

Jonathan Byrd
Infectious Diseases Physician
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Minneapolis, MN

Alice Lehman
Asssistant Professor of Medicine
Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Infectious Diseases and International Medicine

Thomas Schmidt
Infectious Diseass Physician
Allina Health

2024

Nicholas Goodhope
Infectious Disease Specialist
Monument Health
Rapid City, SD

Rachel Husmann
Affiliate Faculty, University of Minnesota
Infectious Disease Specialist , Hennepin Healthcare
Minneapolis, MN

Katherine Marichal
Infectious Disease Specialist
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Minneapolis, MN

Thomas McHale
Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, GA

2023

Michael J Davis
Infection Diseases Specialist
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sashi N Nair
1 Year Transplant ID Fellowship, 2024
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota
Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine

2022

Greta Josephson
Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

Spencer Morse
Infectious Disease Specialist
North Memorial Health
Robinsdale, MN

Christine Thomas
Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Nashville, TN

2021

Bruce Aldred
Infectious Disease Specialist
Ponce De Leon Center, Atlanta, GA

Serin Edwin Erayil
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota
Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine

Adelaida Matevosyan
Infectious Disease Specialist
Frederick Health, Westminster, MD

Caleb Skipper
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota
Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine

2020

Abulqadir Ahmad
Infectious Disease Specialist
North Memorial Health
Robinsdale, MN

Teresa Fox
Infectious Disease Specialist
HealthPartners
Saint Paul, MN

Matthew Pullen
Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN

Beth Thielen
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN

2019

Shannon Andrews
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
University of Minnesota

Ashley Husebye
Infectious Diseases Specialist
St. Paul Infectious Disease Associates
St. Paul, MN

Jessica Oswald
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota
Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN

2018

Mahsa Abassi
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN

Rachel LaNasa
Infectious Diseases Specialist
Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY

Sarah Lofgren
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN

Ketzela Marsh
ID Staff Specialist
Long Island, NY

Muthu Narayan
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota
Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN

Arick Sabin
Infectious Diseases Specialist and Clinical Microbiology Consultant
Gundersen Health System, La Crosse, WI

Nicholas Yared
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Toledo
University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo, OH

2017

Muhanad Mohamed
Infectious Diseases Specialist
Mayo Clinic Health System, Eau Claire, WI

Jon Alpern
Assistant Professor, Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota 
Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN

2016

Sara Lund (Nelson)

Infectious Diseases Specialist

St. Luke's Hospital Infectious Diseases Associates

Duluth, MN

2015

Josh Rhein

Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota

Infectious Diseases Institute, Makarere University, Kampala, Uganda

2014

Mankpondehou Etienne Djevi
Infectious Diseases Specialist
St. Paul Infectious Disease Associates, St. Paul, MN

Caitlin Eccles-Radtke
Assistant Professor of Medicine, ID Staff Physician
Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN

Sudershan Singh
Infectious Diseases Specialist
Woodland Memorial Hospital, Sacramento, CA

2013

Anne Parker-Frosch
Assistant Professor of Medicine, ID Staff Physician
Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN

Anne-Marie Leuck
Assistant Professor of Medicine
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Joyce Sanchez
Staff Physician, Department of Medicine
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Megan Shaughnessy
Assistant Professor of Medicine
University of Minnesota
Staff Physician Infectious Diseases
Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN

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